Together When...
| "Together When..." | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Ayumi Hamasaki | ||||
| from the album Guilty | ||||
| Released | December 5, 2007 (Japan) | |||
| Format | Digital Download | |||
| Recorded | November 2007 | |||
| Genre | Pop ballad | |||
| Label | Avex Trax | |||
| Writer(s) | Ayumi Hamasaki (lyrics) Kunio Tago (music) |
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| Producer(s) | Max Matsuura | |||
| Ayumi Hamasaki singles chronology | ||||
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"Together When..." is the first digital and forty-third overall single released by Japanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki. The song was distributed in late November (earlier than its official release date) as a ringtone.
The song has been certified by the RIAJ as being downloaded more than 750,000 times as a paid ringtone, and more than 250,000 times as a paid download to cellphones, receiving triple platinum and platinum certifications respectively.[1][2]
Contents
Background and composition
Hamasaki released the double a-side single "Glitter/Fated" in July 2007 from her album Guilty (2008).[3] The song reached number one on the Oricon Singles Chart and achieved a gold certification by Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for physical shipments.[4] It went on to achieve a double platinum certification for paid downloads and platinum for ringtone downloads and sold over 850,000 units in Japan overall.[5] The following single "Talkin' 2 Myself" reached number one and sold over 100,000 physical and digital units in Japan.[6] Hamasaki decided to release "Together When..." as the third and first digital single from the studio album.
"Together When..." was written by Hamasaki.[7] The song was produced by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura.[7] Musical instruments and composition was played and handled by Kunio Tago, while the arrangement was handled by CMJK.[7] Musically, the song is a pop ballad that has been compared to the work of her 2002 album I Am....[8] Allmusic's Adam Greenberg noted majority of the tracks from Guilty were "over-performed" which added "unnecessary melodrama to the proceedings and ruining what seemed the original intent of the album."[9]
Release and critical response
Aside from the first two singles "Glitter/Fated" and "Talkin' 2 Myself", Avex Trax released "Together When..." as a stand-alone digital download single.[10] This is Hamasaki's first single to be released as a stand-alone digital single, and repeated on her 2012 single "How Beautiful You Are", and 2014 singles "Hello New Me" and "Pray".[11]
"Together When..." received positive reviews from music critics. Greenberg highlighted the track as an album standout.[9] Bradley Stern from MuuMuse awarded the song ten out of ten rating, commenting "Call me sadistic, but the best moments in an Ayumi song are the parts where it sounds like she’s about to break (“Memorial Address”). This song is full of those moments."[8]
Commercial reception
Because the single was released digitally with no physical release, it was ineligible to chart on the Oricon Singles Chart. Despite this, the song sold over 750,000 ringtone units and was certified triple platinum by RIAJ.[12] The song sold over 250,000 digital downloads and was certified platinum by RIAJ, totaling the sales over one million units.[13] This is Hamasaki's last single to sell over one million digital units, with her 2004 single "Carols" and 2006 single "Heaven" achieving this first.[14]
Music video
The music video for "Together When..." was directed by Takahide Ishii and is set in a European-like setting. In the beginning there is a taxi driver and a quarreling couple leaving the taxi. The taxi driver, slightly upset about the tiny tip, watches around as the music starts and sees a woman dresses in a brown trenchcoat (Ayumi) sitting on a bench, smiling. As he follows her sight, he notices a crowd surrounding a puppeteer and two marionettes, male and female, dressed in black, performing a play called 'Happy Life!' on a tiny stage.
The scenery changes to a blue wasteland in the second verse and we see a couple, all dressed in black, walking towards and passing each other without a glance, only stopping when there's some distance between them. The woman in brown is shown again singing the chourus, while the couple in the blue wasteland stands motionless, until the woman in black (Hamasaki) tries to turn to face the man, but before she can, there are snippets of the pupeteer and his marionettes shown again.
As the third verse starts, the man in black vanishes. In the little town, the pupeteer sells his male marionette to a young boy, while the female marionette sits in a corner of the little stage. In the blue wasteland, it starts to storm as the woman in black looks around. A storm starts, and in the real world, too. The crowd and the pupeteer run away looking for shelter, leaving the female marionette behind. As the storm gets worse a truck drives by and as it passes the little stage the female marionette falls to the floor, shattering into pieces.
The chorus starts again and the woman in black seams to fall to the ground, but is stopped through threads, as she turns into a marionette. The taxi driver waiting for customers, looks at the woman in brown again, while she starts to cry, watching the broken marionette lying on the floor. As the chorus starts, the woman in the brown trenchcoat sings the song again, still crying and once she sings the last notes, she stands up walking over to the taxi, where the taxi driver opens the door and smiles at her.
Track listing
- "Together When..."
- "Together When..." (Instrumental)
Television performances
Ayumi promoted Together When... by live performances on the following networks:
| Date | Show |
|---|---|
| December 2, 2007 | Domoto Kyoudai |
| December 3, 2007 | Music Japan |
| Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ | |
| December 5, 2007 | FNS Yearly Music Special |
| December 7, 2007 | Music Station |
| December 21, 2007 | MUSIC Station SUPER LIVE |
| December 23, 2007 | Merry X-Mas SHOW! |
| December 31, 2007 | 58th Kouhaku |
Chart procession and succession
| Preceded by
"I Believe" by Exile
|
Japanese RIAJ monthly number-one ringtone December 2007 |
Succeeded by "Soba ni Iru ne" by Thelma Aoyama feat. SoulJa |
Notes and references
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- ↑ (Japanese) 「fated」の検索結果 - @TOWER.JP Search beta
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- ↑ 9.0 9.1 http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1316313
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