"Audience" | ||||
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Single by Ayumi Hamasaki | ||||
from the album Duty | ||||
B-side | "see track list" | |||
Released | 1 November 2000 | |||
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Recorded | Tokyo, Japan. 2000 | |||
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Length | 4:08 | |||
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Songwriter(s) | Ayumi Hamasaki | |||
Producer(s) |
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Ayumi Hamasaki singles chronology | ||||
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"Audience" is a song by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki from her third studio album Duty (2001). It was released as the album's fifth and final single on 1 November 2000 by Avex Trax. Hamasaki wrote the track and Max Matsuura Lewis produced it. Dai Nagao and HΛL composed both the single and album version. The single artwork was shot by Japanese photographer Toru Kumazawa and features duplicate clones of Hamasaki, resembling an audience. Musically, "Audience" is a dance–pop and disco song.
"Audience" received positive reviews from music critics; many highlighted it from the parent album and her music career. It achieved lukewarm success in compare to her previous singles, with a peak position of number three on the Oricon Singles Chart and a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). The single remains Hamasaki's twenty–seventh best selling single in Japan. No music video was shot for the single.
Ayumi Hamasaki's track "Audience" appeared on her third studio album, Duty (2000). Hamasaki begun work on Duty and followed a similar musical concept like her first two albums A Song for ×× (January 1999) and Loveppears (November 1999). "Audience" was written by Hamasaki. Majority of the lyrics were about loneliness, chaos, confusion, and the burden of her responsibilities, aimed mostly towards her public image as an recording artist. In contrast to "Audience", the trilogy singles focused on hopelessness, a reflection of Hamasaki's disappointment that she had not expressed herself thoroughly in any of her previous lyrics. She described her feelings after the writing as "unnatural" and was constantly "nervous" for the final result.
The song was recorded in mid–2000 in Tokyo, Japan.Max Matsuura produced both the single version and the album version, with additional production handling by Naoto Suzuki for the single version.HΛL played the keyboard, Suzuki played the guitar and all other instruments were handled by Dai Nagao. "Audience" is a dance song that employs elements of disco music. In comparison, Duty was a rock–influenced album and "Audience" was the only dance track on the album.