Songs for Japan
Large red circle centered on a white background. The words "Songs for Japan" appear in black majuscule font above the circle, with "Japan" written in red.
Compilation album by
various artists
ReleasedMarch 25, 2011 (2011-03-25)
LabelEMI, Sony, Universal, Warner

Songs for Japan is a charity compilation album created to benefit relief efforts for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. A collaborative project between the music industry's "big four" record labels (EMI, Sony, Universal, and Warner), the album was released through the iTunes Store on March 25, 2011 through Universal.[1][2] Royalties for the songs featured on the album were waived so that all proceeds may be donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society.[3][4][dubious – discuss] A physical album was released on April 4, 2011 through Sony.[5] It is no longer available for download in the USA iTunes store.

Reception

Although Songs for Japan received praise for its charitable purpose it was criticized for being a compilation of already released songs, with the exception of Lady Gaga's remixed "Born This Way". This is unlike past charity albums such as Hope for Haiti Now that have included original music and performances.[6]

Commercial performance

The album sold 68,000 copies in its first sales week in the United States, debuting at number six on the Billboard 200.[7] It sold 8,000 copies in Canada and debuted at number three on the Canadian Albums Chart.[8] On the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand's compilations chart, the album debuted at number one.[9] As of May 4, 2011, over 500,000 copies of the album have been sold, and over $5 million has been raised.[10]

The album was certified as a gold record by the RIAJ in Japan for a shipment of 100,000 or more physical copies.[11]

Track listing

The CD features 37 tracks,[2][12] while the iTunes version contains 38 tracks.

Disc one
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Imagine"John Lennon3:07
2."Walk On"U24:29
3."Shelter from the Storm"Bob Dylan5:01
4."Around the World (Live)"Red Hot Chili Peppers3:58
5."Born This Way (Starsmith Remix)"Lady Gaga6:45
6."Irreplaceable"Beyoncé3:48
7."Talking to the Moon (Acoustic Piano Version)"Bruno Mars3:37
8."Firework"Katy Perry3:47
9."Only Girl (In the World)"Rihanna3:55
10."Like I Love You"Justin Timberlake4:43
11."Miles Away (Live)"Madonna4:50
12."Love the Way You Lie"Eminem featuring Rihanna4:23
13."Human Touch (Edit)"Bruce Springsteen5:08
14."Awake (Live)"Josh Groban5:39
15."Better Life"Keith Urban4:43
16."One Tribe"The Black Eyed Peas4:40
17."Sober"P!nk4:11
18."It's OK"Cee Lo Green3:46
Disc two
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."I Run to You"Lady Antebellum4:16
2."What Do You Got?"Bon Jovi3:47
3."My Hero"Foo Fighters4:19
4."Man on the Moon (Live)"R.E.M.6:01
5."Save Me"Nicki Minaj3:05
6."By Your Side"Sade4:34
7."Hold On (Alt. Mix)"Michael Bublé4:07
8."Pray (Acoustic)"Justin Bieber3:34
9."Make You Feel My Love"Adele3:32
10."If I Could Be Where You Are"Enya4:01
11."Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"Elton John5:36
12."Waiting on the World to Change"John Mayer3:21
13."Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)"Queen5:55
14."Use Somebody"Kings of Leon3:50
15."Fragile (Live)"Sting featuring The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra4:50
16."Better in Time"Leona Lewis3:54
17."One in a Million"Ne-Yo4:03
18."Whenever, Wherever"Shakira3:16
19."Sunrise"Norah Jones3:20
iTunes version
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
12."When Love Takes Over" (appears between tracks by Madonna and Eminem)David Guetta featuring Kelly Rowland3:11

Charts

References

  1. ^ "Global Music Effort Launches "Songs for Japan" Album on iTunes to Benefit Japan Disaster Relief" (Press release). New York: PR Newswire. March 25, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Montgomery, James (March 25, 2011). "Songs For Japan Includes Eminem, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga And More". MTV. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  3. ^ "John Lennon, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Josh Groban hits together on 'Songs for Japan' benefit album". Los Angeles Times. March 25, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  4. ^ "Major Labels Join for Compilation for Japan". ABC News. Associated Press. March 25, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  5. ^ Collett-White, Mike (March 25, 2011). "Major record labels join for Japan relief album". Reuters. London. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  6. ^ Fallon, Kevin (2011-03-25). "'Songs for Japan': Justin Bieber, Bob Dylan, and Beyonce Unite for Random Compilation of Unoriginal Music". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  7. ^ Caulfield, Keith (March 30, 2011). "Chris Brown Nets First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Los Angeles: Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  8. ^ Williams, John (March 30, 2011). "Six new debuts crash charts". JAM! Music. Canadian Online Explorer. QMI Agency. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  9. ^ "Chart #1766 – Monday 28 March 2011: Top 10 Music Compilations Chart". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. March 28, 2011. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  10. ^ "'Songs for Japan' Album Raises $5 Million for Earthquake and Tsunami Relief". Reuters. May 4, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
  11. ^ ゴールド等認定作品一覧 2011年05月 [Works Receiving Certifications List (Gold, etc) (May 2011)]. RIAJ (in Japanese). June 10, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  12. ^ "Songs for Japan by Various Artists". iTunes Store. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  13. ^ "Various Artists Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  14. ^ "Various Artists Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  15. ^ "Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  16. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
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