Concentration 20
Standard cover. The digital formats were replaced on older pressings since 1996.
Studio album by Namie Amuro
Released	July 24, 1997
Recorded	1996–1997
Studio	Complex, Larrabee West, Record Plant (Los Angeles, California) Sony Music Studios (New York City) TK Sequence 1105st (Tokyo)
Genre	Dance-pop pop rock
Length	56:17
Language	English Japanese
Label	Avex Trax
Producer	Tetsuya Komuro
Namie Amuro chronology
Original Tracks Vol.1 (1996) Concentration 20 (1997) 181920 (1998)
Singles from Concentration 20
"A Walk in the Park" Released: November 27, 1996 "Can You Celebrate?" Released: February 19, 1997 "How to Be a Girl" Released: May 21, 1997

Professional ratings

Review scores
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AllMusic	[1]

Concentration 20 is the third studio album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro, released July 24, 1997, by Avex Trax. The album's genre is a fusion of styles including pop, dance and rock. Unlike Amuro's previous effort, Sweet 19 Blues, which primarily had lyrics written by Tetsuya Komuro, Concentration 20's lyrics were mostly written by Marc Panther. Komuro did, however, compose and arrange most of the album's songs and wrote the lyrics to three of them, it was Namie's second solo album since the beginning in 1997.

"A Walk in the Park" was released as the album's lead single on November 27, 1996. It was very successful, becoming Amuro's fourth number one single and fourth million-seller. The second single, "Can You Celebrate?", was released on February 19, 1997. It was an unprecedented commercial success, selling over 2.7 million copies and remains the best-selling physical single by a female soloist in Japanese history. It was certified double million by the RIAJ, her first and only single to receive such a certification. The rock-infused third single, "How to Be a Girl", reached number one and sold over 770,000 copies, becoming Amuro's sixth number one single.

The album received positive reviews upon release and won the Asia Association Music Prize Awards. The album was massively successful, premiering at the top of the Oricon albums chart with first-week sales of 824,980 copies. It resided on the charts for 28 weeks, and was the seventh best-selling album of the year, selling nearly two million copies and is the 83rd best selling album of all time in Japan. Combined with the sales of its singles, Concentration 20 has sold around 4.5 million copies.

Background

After Amuro's 1996 album Sweet 19 Blues sold in excess of three million copies in Japan and for a brief period was even the best-selling Japanese album of all time, recording for a follow-up album began. Much of the recording of Concentration 20 was done in the United States, primarily in Los Angeles, California.

Two months earlier, Amuro had been touring Japan on the Namie Amuro tour 1997 A Walk in the Park. Her previous album, Sweet 19 Blues became the biggest selling album of all time when it was released. The same month that the album was released, Amuro toured Japan's four domes in support of it. A few months after the tour, she would announce her pregnancy and pending maternity leave.

Style and artwork

The album embodies an array of styles including pop, rock and even some reggae. Unlike her previous album which was heavy on the pseudo-R&B side, this album was practically void of it. Concentration 20 took on a more electronic style similar to that of her producer's group, globe. Some argue that the album isn't really a reflection of Amuro, but just goes to demonstrate the talent of Tetsuya Komuro.

Opening the album is the industrial rock influenced, "Concentration 20 (make you alright)." The song was unlike anything she had previously released and really embodies the diversity within this project. "Me Love Peace!!" was Amuro's first attempt at reggae style music. She would not attempt a similar style again until Queen of Hip-Pop (2005) was released featuring some songs in dancehall and reggaeton fashion. Two of the singles from the album, "A Walk in the Park" and "Can You Celebrate?" appear on the album subtly remixed. Perhaps the one song that does demonstrate how much of this album was Komuro is "I Know..." The song is an instrumental track performed solely by him. The cover artwork depicts Namie in a stylish dress that was designed in Tokyo and her eyes we're closed that poses her wraps on a curtain cut lines.

Singles

The singles from this album were very successful, two were million sellers and they reached the top spot of the charts.

Tie-ups and theme songs

"A Walk in the Park" and "Can You Celebrate?" were both theme songs for Maxell UD commercials and "Whisper" was used as the background music for the Maxell MD74 commercial.^[15] "Can You Celebrate?" was also the theme song of the Japanese dorama Virgin Road. "How to Be a Girl" was used as background music in four commercials for Sea Breeze products. The first CM was promoting a sun lotion, the second a shampoo, the third a deodorant and the last a moisturizer.^[16] "No Communication" was used as background music in a commercial for the DyDo Mistio drinks.^[17]

Commercial performance

Concentration 20 debut at #1 with 824,980 copies sold (Namie's 3rd best first week sales for an album). It was again at the top spot in its 2nd week with 362,440 copies sold. The album stayed in the top 10 for 7 weeks and in the top 20 for 9 weeks. It sold over 1.9 million copies during its chart run and more than 2 million copies in total.^[18]

Promotion and live performances

Amuro embarked on a four-dome concert tour titled "Summer Stage 1997 Concentration 20 Live" in support of the album. The tour attracted approximately 300,000 people. Namie Amuro Concentration 20 Live in Tokyo Dome, a live concert album recorded during the Tokyo shows, was released on December 3, 1997.^[19]

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Album - Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

References