| A Complete: All Singles | |
| Type: | greatest |
| Artist: | Ayumi Hamasaki |
| Cover: | Acompletecdonlylarger.jpg |
| Caption: | Standard cover. |
| Released: | September 10, 2008 |
| Recorded: | 1998–2008 |
| Genre: | J-Pop |
| Label: | Avex Trax |
| Producer: | Max Matsuura |
| Prev Title: | Guilty |
| Prev Year: | 2008 |
| Next Title: | Next Level |
| Next Year: | 2009 |
A Complete: All Singles is a greatest hits album by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki. Avex Trax released it on September 10, 2008 in a variety of formats, and was created to commemorate the singer's tenth anniversary since the release of her 1998 single "Poker Face". The album is divided into three sections, each highlighting a single released by Hamasaki from her debut in 1998 to her most recent single, "Talkin' 2 Myself" in 2007. Additionally, the compilation includes two new songs: the stand-alone single "Mirrorcle World" and a re-recorded version of "Who...".
A Complete: All Singles was appreciated by Japanese music publication CDJournal for highlighting Hamasaki’s music catalogue. It debuted at the top of the Oricon Albums Chart and spent more than 200 weeks on the Oricon Digital chart. The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) certified the album triple platinum for exceeding shipments of 750,000 units, and gold for digital sales of 100,000 copies. Hamasaki promoted the album through her annual Countdown Live show and her 10th Anniversary concert tour, which travelled between Japan, Hong King and China. Both shows had live DVD releases.
Hamasaki announced on her website in July 2008 that she would be releasing her greatest hits album, A Complete: All Singles.[1] It is her second compilation album to include all singles from her entire discography up to her most recent single, "Talkin' 2 Myself," the first being her A Best album from 2001. It is also her fifth compilation release, following A Best (2001), A Ballads (2003), and the double album A Best 2 (2007). She later published additional information about both albums, including the album's content, formats, and promotional activities.[2]
The compilation was created to mark the singer's tenth anniversary since the release of her 1998 single "Poker Face". Shigeo Miyamoto remastered all of the songs on A Complete: All Singles, and was produced by primary collaborator Max Matsuura.[3] The album is divided into three parts, with a total of 44 songs arranged chronologically from the release date of each single. The third disc features two new tracks: "Mirrorcle World," a reworked version of the album interlude "Mirror" from Guilty (2008), and a new recording of her song "Who..." from Loveppears (1999).[3] The Chinese-language version of "Who..." was also included in Chinese editions of the album.[4]
A Complete: All Singles was released on various formats on September 10, 2008 by Avex Trax. The standard release included three discs of material and came in a large jewelcase.[3] The DVD version included songs from the album performed at a limited-capacity TA Live show at Zepp Tokyo on May 27, 2003. The DVD includes a variety of live performances from Hamasaki's appearance at A-Nation, as well as live tracks that were not included in the compilation.[3] Furthermore, first-press editions of both formats came in a boxset with a forty-eight-page photobook featuring previously unreleased alternate artworks for each single.[2] Avex Trax later released A Complete: All Singles on triple-CD and DVD formats across Asia, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China.[5] [6] [4]
Avex Trax released "Mirrorcle World" as the album's standalone single on April 8, 2008. Its release commemorates Hamasaki's tenth career anniversary and the release date of her first single, "Poker Face". The single also includes a re-recording of her song "Depend on You" and a B-side track called "Life".[7] The DVD versions of the single included a music video featuring the singer dressed in various outfits while walking through Paris, France.[8] Commercially, it debuted at the top of the Oricon Singles Chart and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for sales of over 250,000 units.[9] [10]
The re-recorded version of "Who..." was released as a promotional single in Japan. It peaked at number 49 on Billboard Japans Adult Alternative Airplay chart in 2008, and was the 18th most downloaded ringtone in October 2008, according to RIAJ.[11] It was later certified platinum by the RIAJ after exceeding 250,000 digital downloads.[12]
Hamasaki embarked on two separate concert tours to promote All Complete: All Singles. Her first was a 32-date concert tour of Japan, China, and Hong Kong to commemorate her 10th anniversary. The tour began on April 5, 2008 and ended on November 2, the same year. A live DVD of the tour was released on January 28, 2009.[13] A second tour was her annual Countdown Live show, which was held all over Japan. Avex Trax distributed a live DVD on May 13, 2009.[14]
CDJournal, a Japanese music publication, praised A Complete: All Singles for highlighting Hamasaki's career over three discs, calling the affair "surprising." The album won two awards: Best Album of 2008 at the French J-Awards and one of the top ten best albums at the Japan Gold Disc Awards ceremony in 2009.[15] [16]
A Complete: All Singles was commercially successful in Japan. The album debuted at the top of the Oricon Daily and Weekly Album Charts, selling 538,876 copies in its first week and becoming her fourth number-one compilation.[17] By the end of 2008, it ranked eighth on the Oricon Year-end Chart, having sold 815,643 units.[18] The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) certified the album triple platinum for sales exceeding 750,000 units; by September 2011, Oricon stated that the album sold 853,000 physical copies in the region.[19] [20]
After Oricon began tracking digital downloads in November 2016, A Complete: All Singles debuted at number one on the Digital Albums Chart and has spent over 200 weeks on the charts.[21] Similarly, the album peaked at number one on the Billboard Japan Top Albums and Digital Albums charts, spending over 200 weeks on the former.[22] [23] The album was later certified gold by the RIAJ for exceeding 100,000 digital sales.
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japanese Albums (Billboard Japan) | 1 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[24] | 1 |
| Taiwanese Albums (G-Music) | 2 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | September 10, 2008 | Avex Trax | ||
| China | September 19, 2008 | |||
| Taiwan | ||||
| Hong Kong | October 15, 2008 | |||
| Various | 2008 | [25] | ||