Smile (Mai Kuraki album) explained

Smile
Type:	studio
Artist:	Mai Kuraki
Cover:	Smile_(Mai_Kuraki_album)_regular_edition_jacket.jpg
Border:	yes
Caption:	Standard edition/digital download cover
Recorded:	2015–17
Studio:	Northern Music
Length:	46:46
Prev Year:	2014
Next Year:	2017

Smile is the eleventh studio album by Japanese singer and songwriter Mai Kuraki. The album was released on February 15, 2017, by Northern Music. It is the follow-up to her 2014 compilation album, . The album was released on three editions: standard edition, fan club edition, and limited edition, which is accompanied with a bonus disc. Smile

The album was preceded by three singles, "Serendipity", "Sawage Life", and "Yesterday Love", which was released as the video single and peaked at number six in Japan. To promote the album, Kuraki embarked on the national tour, "Mai Kuraki Live Project 2017 "Sawage Life"" from March 18, 2017.

Promotion

Singles

"Serendipity" was released as the lead single from the album on May 20, 2015. It has peaked at number 6 on the RecoChoku Weekly Singles Chart, but failed to enter the Japan Hot 100. The song was used by West Japan Railway Company for the promotion of San'yō Shinkansen.^{[1] [2]}

"Sawage Life" was released as the second single from the album on July 30, 2016. The song was written by the American singer-songwriter Porcelain Black and Bobby Huff and featured as the ending theme song for the Japanese animation program Case Closed.^{[3] [4]}

"Yesterday Love" was released as the third single from the album on January 11, 2017. The song was released on Blu-ray and DVD format and has peaked at number 3 on the Oricon Music Blu-ray Chart. The song was also featured as the ending theme song for Case Closed.^{[5] [6]}

Commercial performance

Smile sold 11,910 copies in its release date and debuted at number 4 on the Oricon daily chart behind Big Bang's Made, Scandal's Best Album "Scandal" and Leo Ieiri's 5th Anniversary Best.^[7] It peaked at number 2 on the chart on February 16, 2017 with selling 4,220 copies in a day. The album debuted at number 4 on the Oricon weekly chart with selling 21,222 copies in its first week.

As of March, 2018, the album has sold 29,716 physical copies in Japan.^[8]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the CD booklet of Smile.^[9]

• Mai Kuraki – vocals, producer, songwriting,
• Akihito Tokunaga - composing, tracking
• Toshiya Kubota - composing, backing vocals
• Daikō Nagato - producer, composing, tracking
• Shibu - composing, tracking
• Command Freaks- composing, tracking
• Tesung Kim - composing, tracking
• Sophia Pae - composing, tracking
• Jake K - composing, tracking
• Takashi Fukuda - composing, tracking
• Maxx song - composing, tracking
• Yongshin Kim - composing, tracking
• Alaina Beaton - composing
• Bobby Huff - composing
• Makoto Watanabe - composing
• Manabu Marutani - composing
• Nanna Larsen - composing

• Sidnie Tipton - composing
• Shane Pittman - composing
• Michael Africk - backing vocals
• Taito - tracking
• Shoko Mochiyama - tracking
• Nash Overstreet - tracking
• Naoki Morioka - guitar
• Yumemoto Tsuresawa - guitar, tracking
• Takayuki Ichikawa - recording, mixing
• Seiji Motoyama - mixing, composing, tracking
• Ethan Brand - mixing
• Miguel Sa Pessoa - mixing
• Asumi Narita - coordinator
• Masahiro Shimada- mastering
• Miho Saito - A&R
• Asako Watanabe - artist management
• Chiharu Kurosawa - artist management
• Tetsuo Sato - art direction, art design

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Oricon Albums Chart^[11]	4
Billboard Japan Albums Chart	7

Monthly charts

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, format(s), edition(s), label, and references

Region	Date	Format(s)	Edition(s)	Label(s)
Japan	February 15, 2017			Northern Music	^[13]
	February 22, 2017				^[14]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 倉木麻衣、JR西日本CM曲を配信＆京都を歩く. Natalie.mu. 1 May 2017.
2. Web site: 倉木麻衣、「Serendipity」MVは新幹線車内でダンスモブ. Barksj.jp. 1 May 2017.
3. Web site: 倉木麻衣、新曲「SAWAGE☆LIFE」がアニメ「名探偵コナン」エンディングテーマ＆配信決定！. Popscene.jp. 1 May 2017.
4. Web site: 倉木麻衣、1年半ぶり19回目のコナンテーマ曲配信. Natalie.mu. 1 May 2017.
5. Web site: 倉木麻衣、日本初のVRシングル「YESTERDAY LOVE」1/11リリース. Musicman-net.com. 1 May 2017.
6. Web site: 倉木麻衣、日本初VRシングル「YESTERDAY LOVE」リリース決定！. Popscene.jo. 1 May 2017.
7. Web site: BIGBANG、新AL『MADE』が首位独走中 SCANDALと家入レオのベスト盤が続く. Yahoo Japan. 1 May 2017.
8. Web site: CDアルバムランキング 2017年02月度. Oricon News. March 10, 2018. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170312041751/http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/m/2017-02/p/2/. March 12, 2017.
9. Mai Kuraki (2017). Smile (CD Album; Booklet). Mai Kuraki. Japan: Northern Music. VNCM-9033.
10. Web site: デイリーCDアルバムランキング2017年02月16日付付. Oricon News. 1 May 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170217232437/http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/d/2017-02-16/. 17 February 2017.
11. Web site: 週間CDアルバムランキング2017年02月27日付. Oricon News. 1 May 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170312041751/http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/m/2017-02/p/2/. 12 March 2017.
12. Web site: 月間CDアルバムランキング2017年02月度. Oricon News. 1 May 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170312041751/http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/m/2017-02/p/2/. 12 March 2017.
13. Web site: Smile (初回限定盤) (2CD). Amazon JP. 1 May 2017.
14. Web site: Smile/倉木麻衣. Mora.jp. 1 May 2017.