"Appears" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Japanese vinyl (part 1), CD, and worldwide digital cover artwork.
|
||||
Single by Ayumi Hamasaki | ||||
from the album Loveppears | ||||
A-side | "Immature" | |||
Released | November 10, 1999 | |||
Format | ||||
Recorded | 1999 | |||
Genre | Dance music | |||
Length | 5:38 | |||
Label |
|
|||
Songwriter(s) | Ayumi Hamasaki | |||
Producer(s) | Max Matsuura | |||
Ayumi Hamasaki singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
Ayumi Hamasaki German singles chronology | ||||
|
"Appears" is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released by Avex Trax on November 10, 1999 as the sixth single from her second studio album Loveppears (1999), which was released on the same day. Alongside this, it has been released in several other territories with different release dates under her Western alias Ayu. It also served as Hamasaki's first limited edition single, limiting physical sales to 300,000 copies. The track was written by Hamasaki herself, while production was handled by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. Musically, "Appears" is a dance song written in third person perspective, and is about the third person watching a happy and loving relationship. Upon its release, "Appears" received positive reviews from music critics. Alexey Eremenko, writing for AllMusic, selected the track as the best song from the album and her career. However, an editor from CD Journal criticized the amount of remixes on the CD single.
Commercially, the single was a success in Japan, peaking at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart and TBS' Count Down TV chart. It sold just below its restricted 300,000 units, and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of 200,000 units. An accompanying music video was directed by Wataru Takeishi, which displays Hamasaki walking around New York City and observing people. To promote the single, it appeared on several remix and greatest hits compilation albums conducted by Hamasaki, and has been included on some of her concert tours including part two of her 2000 concert tour and the 2007 Secret Tour.
"Appears" was written by Hamasaki herself, while production was handled by longtime collaborator Max Matsuura. The song's instrumentation consists of guitar by musician Naoya Akimoto and keyboards by Japanese pop band HΛL. It was then composed together by Kazuhito Kikuchi and mixed by HΛL. An alternative version of "Appears" was released as the single-edit, which was primarily composed and mixed by Kikuchi, but this edit did not appear on the final cut of Hamasaki's second studio album Loveppears (1999). Musically, "Appears" is a dance song, a genre that is heavily influenced throughout the parent album.