"Kanariya" | ||||
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Single by Ayumi Hamasaki | ||||
from the album Loveppears | ||||
Released | December 8, 1999 | |||
Format | ||||
Recorded | 1999 | |||
Length |
4:44 (Radio edit) 3:04 (Album edit) |
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Label |
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Songwriter(s) | Ayumi Hamasaki | |||
Producer(s) | Max Matsuura | |||
Ayumi Hamasaki singles chronology | ||||
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"Kanariya" (Japanese: "Canary") is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki for her second studio album, Loveppears (1999). It was released by Avex Trax in Japan and Hong Kong on December 8, 1999, and through Avex USA in North America in early 2000. The recording also served as Hamasaki's second limited edition single, with limited physical units of 300,000 copies. The track was written by Hamasaki herself, while production was handled by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. Two versions of "Kanariya" were made available for consumption—a radio edit produced by American disc jockey Jonathan Peters, and the album version composed by Yasuhiko Hoshino. Lyrically, the song was written in third person perspective.
Upon its release, "Kanariya" received mixed reviews from music critics, with some of them praising the original and radio edit, but generally criticizing the remixes. Commercially, the single experienced success in Japan, peaking at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart and TBS' Count Down TV chart. It sold just below its 300,000 restricted copies, and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of 200,000 units. An accompanying music video for the recording was directed by Wataru Takeishi, with it portraying Hamasaki in a dark laboratory surrounded by keyboards and electronic devices. To promote the single, it appeared on several remix and greatest hits compilation albums released by Hamasaki.
"Kanariya" was written by Hamasaki herself, while production was handled by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. Two versions of "Kanariya" were made available for consumption—a radio edit produced by disc jockey Jonathan Peters, and the album version composed by Yasuhiko Hoshino. Peters' remix of the track portrays a dance composition, a genre that heavily influenced Hamasaki's second studio album, Loveppears (1999). The song also includes musical elements of house and techno. "Kanariya"'s instrumentation consists of synthesizers and keyboards played by Peters; it was eventually mastered and co-produced by Japanese musician Naoto Suzuki. The track's album version was included as a hidden track with another album entry, "Who...", and has been described by members of CD Journal as a pop recording with instrumentation of guitars and a drum kit. Lyrically, the recording was written in third person perspective, a trait that is shared with the rest of the album's tracks.