Secret

About Secret

Secret is the eighth studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki, released November 29, 2006 by Avex Trax. As with all of her previous works, Hamasaki wrote all of the lyrics on Secret. The album's composition was handled largely by Dai Nagao and Tetsuya Yukumi, both of whom were frequent collaborators with Hamasaki. Generally a rock-pop influenced album, Hamasaki said that the meaning of the album was itself a secret, and that it incorporated secrets she was keeping about herself that the public did not know. Secret had been announced originally as a seven-track EP; however, it eventually evolved into a fourteen-track album. "Startin'/Born to Be..." was released as the lead single from Secret on March 8, 2006. It debuted at the number-one position in Japan, becoming Hamasaki's twenty-sixth chart topper; with this, she became the female singer with the most number-one singles in Japan, breaking Seiko Matsuda's record. However, it would sell poorly thereafter, charting for fifteen weeks and selling under 200,000 copies. "Blue Bird" would have more success: it topped the charts in Japan and was certified Platinum for shipments of 250,000 copies. With "Blue Bird", which sold around 300,000 copies, Hamasaki became the first solo artist in Japan to sell over 20 million singles. more »