A Best 2

A Best 2
Greatest hits album by Ayumi Hamasaki
Released	28 February 2007 (see Release history)
Recorded	2001-2007 (Black) 2001-2005 (White)
Genre	Pop, pop rock, dance, electronic
Length	77:27 (Black) 74:56 (White)
Label	Avex Trax
Producer	Max Matsuura
Ayumi Hamasaki chronology
Secret (2006) A Best 2 (White/Black) (2007) Guilty (2008)

Ayumi Hamasaki Best of Countdown Live 2006-2007 A
Live album by Ayumi Hamasaki
Released	29 November 2007
Ayumi Hamasaki chronology
Arena Tour 2006 A: (Miss)understood~ (2006) Best of Countdown Live 2006-2007 A (2007) Ayumi Hamasaki Asia Tour 2007: Tour of Secret (2008)

Best 2 is a series of greatest hits compilation albums recorded by Ayumi Hamasaki which were released simultaneously on 28 February 2007. The artwork on the cover uses the singer's symbol, a heavily modified A, to stand for the name "Ayu" or "Ayumi Hamasaki", as was used in Best in 2001.

A Best 2: Black debuted at #1 in Japan on its first day and took #2 in the weekly chart as well as in several countries throughout Asia. It was ranked #4 on CDJapan's Top 100 album of 2007. A Best 2: White debuted at #1 in Japan and several countries throughout Asia. A Best 2: White was ranked #3 on CDJapan's Top 100 album of 2007.^[1] A Best 2: Black includes "dark" songs with "painful/heartbroken" lyrics while A Best 2: White is the opposite, containing "light" songs with "bright/cheerful/upbeat" lyrics.

Both sets were released in 1CD+2DVD versions with limited version covers for each album's color. The first DVD for each version includes all music videos for the songs off the album. The second DVD from A Best 2: White includes her latest Best of Countdown Live 2006-2007 A; the second DVD from A Best 2: Black includes a documentary which chronicles her concert Best of Countdown Live 2006-2007 A. Both albums feature songs released between the singles "Evolution" and "Heaven". No songs off her album Secret are featured on either album.

A special website was opened in order to promote A Best 2.^[2]

The tracks on A Best 2 were remastered in Los Angeles by Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, however they were not resung like the previous A Best.^[2][3]

A Best 2: Black

A Best 2: Black
CD-Only Cover
Greatest hits album by Ayumi Hamasaki
CD+2DVD Cover

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
HMV	[4]

A Best 2: Black includes a previously unreleased track, "Part of Me" (featured in a new Panasonic CM) and its accompanying music video. The song was certified gold for 100,000 legal downloads.^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Original Album	Length
1.	"Dearest"	I am...
2.	"Carols"	My Story
3.	"No Way to Say"	Memorial Address
4.	"Hanabi (Fireworks)"	Rainbow
5.	"Walking Proud"	My Story
6.	"Free & Easy"	Rainbow
7.	"Endless Sorrow"	I am...
8.	"Because of You"	Memorial Address
9.	"About You"	My Story
10.	"Game"	My Story
11.	"Is This Love?"	(Miss)understood
12.	"Hanabi: Episode II (Fireworks: Episode II)"	Memorial Address
13.	"Never Ever"	I am...
14.	"Heaven"	(Miss)understood
15.	"Part of Me"	previously unreleased
16.	"Memorial Address: Take 2 version" (Hidden Track)	Memorial Address

DVD track listing

1st DVD – Promotional Videos

1. "Dearest"
2. "Carols"
3. "No Way to Say"
4. "Walking Proud"
5. "Free & Easy"
6. "Endless Sorrow"
7. "Because of You"
8. "About You"
9. "Game"
10. "Is This Love?"
11. "Hanabi: Episode II"
12. "Never Ever" [promotional clip]
13. "Heaven"
14. "Part of Me"
15. "H" [TV-CM]

2nd DVD – Best of CountDown Live 2006-2007

1. Best of CountDown Live 2006-2007 (Behind the Scenes) (90 minutes)

Charts

Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Release	Chart	Peak Position	First Week Sales	Sales Total	Chart Run
28 February 2007	Oricon Daily Albums Chart	1
	Oricon Weekly Albums Chart	2	470,057	702,900	52
	Oricon Monthly Albums Chart	3
	Oricon Yearly Albums Chart	7

• Total Sales : 702,900 (Japan)
• Total Sales : 750,000 (Avex)

A Best 2: White

A Best 2: White
Greatest hits album by Ayumi Hamasaki
CD+2DVD Cover

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
HMV	[6]

On 15 January 2007 this release was confirmed by her official website. On 16 January 2007, track listing for both CDs were officially released. The album covers and DVD track listings were released on 6 February 2007.

Track listing

No.	Title	Original Album	Length
1.	"Evolution"	I am...
2.	"Greatful Days*"	Memorial Address
3.	"Independent"	Rainbow
4.	"Humming 7/4"	My Story
5.	"Unite!"	I am...
6.	"Real Me"	Rainbow
7.	"My Name's Women"	My Story
8.	"Ourselves"	Memorial Address
9.	"Inspire"	My Story
10.	"Step You**"	(Miss)understood
11.	"July 1st"	Rainbow
12.	"Fairyland"	(Miss)understood
13.	"Voyage"	Rainbow
14.	"Moments"	My Story
15.	"A Song Is Born"	I am...

DVD track listing

1st DVD – Promotional Videos

1. "Evolution"
2. "Grateful Days"
3. "Humming 7/4"
4. "Unite!" [promotional clip]
5. "Real me"
6. "My Name's Women"
7. "Ourselves"
8. "Inspire"
9. "Step you"
10. "Fairyland"
11. "Voyage"
12. "Moments"
13. "H" [TV-CM]

2nd DVD – Best of CountDown Live 2006-2007

1. "Not Yet"
2. "Ourselves"
3. "Fly High"
4. "Beautiful Fighters"
5. "Never Ever"
6. "A Song for" ××
7. "No Way to Say"
8. "Free & Easy"
9. "Evolution"
10. "Flower Garden"
11. "Until That Day..."
12. "Audience"
13. "Boys & Girls"

-encore-

1. "Trauma"
2. "Independent"
3. "Humming 7/4"
4. "Blue Bird"

Charts

A Best 2: White – Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Release	Chart	Peak Position	First Week Sales	Sales Total	Chart Run
28 February 2007	Oricon Daily Albums Chart	1
	Oricon Weekly Albums Chart	1	475,284	721,850	52
	Oricon Monthly Albums Chart	2
	Oricon Yearly Albums Chart	5

• Total Sales : 721,850 (Japan)
• Total Sales : 750,000 (Avex)

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Catalogue Number
Japan	28 February 2007	CD+2DVD	AVCD-23263 (Black) AVCD-23265 (White)
		CD	AVCD-23264 (Black) AVCD-23266 (White)
Taiwan	9 March 2007
Hong Kong	13 March 2007
China	27 October 2007	CD+2DVD Initial pressing
		CD Initial pressing
Singapore	14 March 2007
South Korea	15 March 2007

Sales and accomplishments

Japan

After the first week sales of A Best 2: Black and White were announced, Hamasaki had already garnered sales of over 1 million copies. With the release of A Best 2, Hamasaki also broke many records.

As of August 2007, A Best 2 has charted in the top 5 of 2007 Oricon Half-Yearly Album 2007 Chart. A Best: White charted as #3 and Black charted as #4; the nearest competitor was Kobukuro with "All Singles Best" with sales around 640,000 copies. However, factoring in consistent sales of Kobukuro's "All Singles Best", it is predicted that A Best 2 will fall down to #4 and #5, respectively. According to Avex, A Best 2 had sold over 2 million copies as of March 2007.^[7]

Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Release	Chart	Peak Position	Oricon Sales Total	Avex Sales Total	Chart Run
28 February 2007	Oricon Daily Albums Chart	1 (Black & White)	170,000	200,000	1 day
	Oricon Weekly Albums Chart	1 (White) 2 (Black)	945,341	1,000,000	1 week
	Oricon Monthly Albums Chart	2 (White) 3 (Black)	646,479 (White), 632,999 (Black)	1,200,000	4 weeks
	Oricon Yearly Albums Chart	4 (White) 5 (Black)	1,424,734 (as of 2008)	2,000,000	52 weeks

• Total Sales: 1,424,734 (Japan)
• Total Sales: 2,000,000 (Avex)

Taiwan

A Best 2 as a whole performed very well on the Taiwan Charts. A Best 2: White topped the Taiwan Charts for 8 weeks, while A Best 2: Black has been following behind at #2 consistently, achieving peak at #1 on the second week of being released.

Featured singles

Album	Date	Title	Peak position	Chart Run	Sales
Black	7 March 2001	"Never Ever"	1	12 weeks	756,980
	16 May 2001	"Endless Sorrow"	1	11 weeks	768,510
	27 September 2001	"Dearest"	1	16 weeks	750,420
	24 April 2002	"Free & Easy"	1	9 weeks	486,520
	6 November 2003	"No Way to Say"	1	12 weeks	371,171
	29 November 2004	"Carols"	1	14 weeks	309,128
	14 November 2005	"Heaven"	1	14 weeks	326,694
White	31 January 2001	"Evolution"	1	17 weeks	955,250
	11 July 2001	"Unite!"	1	10 weeks	571,110
	12 December 2001	"A Song Is Born"	1	10 weeks	441,410
	26 November 2002	"Voyage"	1	28 weeks	679,463
	31 March 2004	"Moments"	1	21 weeks	302,923
	3 August 2005	"Fairyland c/w Alterna"	1	13 weeks	316,663
Black and White	24 July 2002	"H"	1	24 weeks	1,016,000
	9 July 2003	"&"	1	16 weeks	591,481
	28 July 2004	"Inspire c/w Game"	1	15 weeks	329,145
	20 April 2005	"Step You / Is This Love?"	1	19 weeks	345,340

Total Single Sales: 9,909,689

Live performances

• 23 February 2007 – Music Station – "Evolution"
• 24 February 2007 – Music Fair 21 – "Evolution", "Dearest", "Heaven"
• 26 February 2007 – Hey! Hey! Hey! – "Dearest"
• 26 February 2007 – SMAPxSMAP – "Voyage", "Unite!"
• 2 March 2007 – Music Station – "Part of Me"
• 2 March 2007 – Music Fighter – "Never Ever"
• 2 March 2007 – PopJam – "Moments"
• 4 March 2007 – Domoto Kyoudai – "Step You"
• 16 March 2007 – Music Station – "Memorial Address"
• 16 March 2007 – PopJam (final episode special) – "No Way to Say"

External links

• Information about A BEST 2 in Ayumi Hamasaki's website
• HMV Hong Kong Asian Chart
• HMV Hong Kong Japanese Chart
• g-music charts
• Korea monthly charts

References

1. "2007 TOP100 Charts". Retrieved 30 March 2011.
2. "ayumi hamasaki 「A BEST 2」SPECIAL SITE" (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 March 2011.
3. "New info about A Best 2 tracks mastered - Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai". Retrieved 30 March 2011.
4. "A Best 2: Black Review" (in Japanese). HMV. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
5. "Japanese Charts" (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 March 2011.
6. "A Best 2: White Review" (in Japanese). HMV. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
7. "Avex Financial Results of the first quarter of 2007 Page 2" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2009.