"Terminal"
A woman in a dress at a sunny beach.
Single by Ayumi Hamasaki
from the album Colours
ReleasedOctober 1, 2014 (2014-10-01)
Recorded2014
GenreTrance, progressive house
Length5:44
LabelAvex Trax
Composer(s)Armin van Buuren, Benno de Goeij
Lyricist(s)Ayumi Hamasaki
Producer(s)Max Matsuura
Ayumi Hamasaki singles chronology
"Hello New Me"
(2014) 		"Terminal"
(2014) 		"Zutto.../Last Minute/Walk"
(2014)

"Terminal" is a song by Japanese musician Ayumi Hamasaki. Produced by Dutch trance DJ Armin van Buuren, the song was released as a single from her fifteenth studio album Colours on October 1, 2014.[1]

Background

Re-cut singles that were songs present on an already released album were common in Hamasaki's career, however "Terminal" is the first instance since "Daybreak" from her fourth studio album I Am..., released in 2002.

Hamasaki had first collaborated with Armin van Buuren in 2001, when he remixed her song "Appears" for Cyber Trance Presents Ayu Trance, with "Appears (Armin van Buuren's Sunset Dub)" later appearing on Cyber Trance Presents Ayu Trance 2 (2002).[2][3]

Writing and production

The song was written and produced by Armin van Buuren, as well as his long-time collaborator Benno de Goeij. The dub remix featured on the single was used by van Buuren in his personal DJ sets.[4] Hamasaki recorded the vocals for the song at Record Plant Recording Studios in Los Angeles.[5]

Release and promotion

For Hamasaki's Premium Showcase: Feel the Love tour in May and June 2014, tour exclusive singles were released at each of the three venues she performed at. For her performances at the Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya on May 30, May 31 and June 1, 2014, a single featuring "XOXO" and "Terminal" was released.[6][7] The song was first performed at the showcase, in a trance DJ set also featuring "Connected" (2002).[8] The song was initially given a wide release on June 18, when the Colours album was released digitally.[9]

The dub mix of the song was released globally on September 15, though van Buuren's label Armind.[10] It also featured on A State Of Trance at Ushuaïa, Ibiza 2014, a mix CD created by van Buuren compiling the music played at his residency show at the Ushuaïa Beach Hotel in Ibiza.[11] The single's Japanese release was timed to be released at the same time as Ultra Japan, an EDM festival in Odaiba, Tokyo held on September 27 and 28, 2014.[1] On the same day as the single's release, Hamasaki released her song "XOXO" as a Plug Air: a new format featuring a physical device that plugs into cellphones to stream content.[12]

Track listings

All tracks are written by Armin van Buuren and Benno de Goeij

Digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Terminal (Dub Radio Mix)"2:53
2."Terminal (Dub Mix)"4:33
Total length:7:26

All tracks are written by Ayumi Hamasaki, Armin van Buuren and Benno de Goeij

Japanese single
No.TitleLength
1."Terminal (Original Mix)"5:44
2."Terminal (Dub Mix)"4:35
3."Terminal (Hackjack Mix)"5:45
Total length:16:04

Personnel

Personnel details were sourced from "Terminal"'s liner notes booklet.[5]

Musicians and personnel

Charts and sales

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Japan Billboard Hot Single Sales[13] 31
Japan Oricon daily singles[14] 16
Japan Oricon weekly singles[15][16] 24

Sales

Chart Amount
Oricon physical sales[16] 4,000

Release history

Region Date Format Distributing Label Catalogue codes
Japan May 30, 2014 (2014-05-30)[7] Tour exclusive single ("XOXO" / "Terminal") Avex Trax
Worldwide September 15, 2014 (2014-09-15)[10] Digital download (Dub Mix) Armind ARMD1196
Japan October 1, 2014 (2014-10-01)[1][17] CD, rental CD Avex Trax AVCD-83113

References

  1. ^ a b c "Terminal Single, Maxi 浜崎あゆみ" (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  2. ^ 浜崎あゆみ / サイバートランス・プレゼンツ・あゆトランス (in Japanese). CDJournal. September 11, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  3. ^ "浜崎あゆみ / サイバートランス・プレゼンツ・AYUトランス2 [CCCD]" (in Japanese). CDJournal. September 11, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  4. ^ "【リリース情報】10/1（水）ニューシングル「Terminal」、Plug Air「XOXO」2タイトル同時発売！" [[Release info] two titles simultaneously released on 10/01, new single "Terminal" and plug air "XOXO"!] (in Japanese). Natalie. September 11, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Terminal (Media notes) (in Japanese). Ayumi Hamasaki. Tokyo, Japan: Avex Trax. 2014.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ ""ayumi hamasaki PREMIUM SHOWCASE ～Feel the love～"デビュー16周年を迎える2014年、プレミアム・ショーケース・ライヴ開催決定!" (in Japanese). Avex Group. April 8, 2014. Archived from the original on October 2, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  7. ^ a b 浜崎あゆみ 新曲6曲をファンクラブ会員限定で先行配信 (in Japanese). Natalie. May 23, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  8. ^ "【リリース情報】10/22 Release LIVE DVD & Blu-ray『ayumi hamsaki PREMIUM SHOWCASE ～Feel the love～』ジャケット写真公開！" (in Japanese). Avex Group. October 2, 2014. Archived from the original on October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  9. ^ "【リリース情報】ニュー・アルバム『Colours』の先行デジタル・リリース＆配信限定ノンストップMIX「EDMA(ロゴ)」デジタル・リリース！！" (in Japanese). Avex Group. June 17, 2014. Archived from the original on October 2, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  10. ^ a b "TERMINAL - DUB MIX AYU". Beatport. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  11. ^ "Armin van Buuren's 'A State Of Trance at Ushuaïa, Ibiza 2014' [out now]". Armada Music. September 16, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  12. ^ "【リリース情報】10/1（水）ニューシングル「Terminal」、Plug Air「XOXO」2タイトル同時発売！" [[Release info] two titles simultaneously released on 10/01, new single "Terminal" and plug air "XOXO"!] (in Japanese). Avex Group. September 9, 2014. Archived from the original on September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  13. ^ "Japan Billboard Hot Singles Sales". Billboard (in Japanese). October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  14. ^ "2014年09月30日のCDシングルイリーランキング" [September 30, 2014 CD single daily rankings] (in Japanese). Oricon. October 1, 2014. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  15. ^ Ｔｅｒｍｉｎａｌ (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  16. ^ a b "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  17. ^ Ｔｅｒｍｉｎａｌ (in Japanese). Tsutaya. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
Categories