Eighth World (stylized as EIGHth WØRlD) is Misia's eighth studio album and her first since signing back with BMG Japan, released on January 9, 2008. It includes the singles "Any Love" and "Royal Chocolate Flush" as well as the J-Wave image song for Winter Campaign Holy December, Be in Love with J-Wave and "To Be in Love", the theme song to the Japanese release of the movie Bridge to Terabithia. The first pressing of the album was in a sleeve case packaging.
| Eighth World | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 9, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | 2007 | |||
| Genre | R&B, pop, dance-pop, lounge | |||
| Length | 74:12 | |||
| Label | BMG Japan | |||
| Producer | Misia | |||
| Misia chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Eighth World | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
The album is certified gold for shipment of 100,000 copies.
Title edit
The title, Eighth World, was chosen because of the coincidence of the year of release and the number of the album. Moreover, with the Kanji for eight {八, hachi), resembling a folded fan spreading out, and the symbol for infinity, ∞, being similar to the number 8 turned on its side, the message conveyed in the title is that "an infinite amount of happiness is spreading out in the eighth world of Misia".[2]
Information edit
With her previous album, Ascension, focusing on the vast theme of "life" and "birth", Misia began production of Eighth World with the idea of incorporating this element in a more tangible way. The album has a more personal theme, with lyrics about relationships and the many scenarios she encountered in her homeland as well as in Kenya, where she visited the Kibera slum in Nairobi.[3] In an interview with MSN Music, she explained, "Last spring, I visited Kenya and the reality of their conditions I saw in the slums was harsher than I had imagined. It made me think over a lot of things. It made me want to sing about "real" issues and with that in mind, one of the first songs I wrote right after was "Any Love"."[3]
"Taiyō no Malaika" was also written during her stay in Africa. A performance of the song was captured in a documentary of her visit. She explained the crowd's reaction, saying, "The words are in Japanese, so naturally, I didn't think they would understand. However, as I sang, I saw the mothers crying as they listened. That's when I realized firsthand that music has no borders and transcends language." The song "Ishin Denshin", which was written by the essayist Mayumi Satō at Misia's request, speaks of this realization.[3]
Track listing edit
All lyrics are written by Misia, except "Ishin Denshin", which is written by Mayumi Satō
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ishin Denshin" (以心伝心) | Sakoshin | 4:45 |
| 2. | "Any Love" | Sinkiroh | 4:52 |
| 3. | "Royal Chocolate Flush" | Sakoshin | 3:53 |
| 4. | "November: Interlude" | Sinkiroh | 0:57 |
| 5. | "Missing Autumn" | Sinkiroh | 4:59 |
| 6. | "To Be in Love" | Joi | 6:17 |
| 7. | "Hadashi no Kisetsu" (裸足の季節, "Barefoot Season") | Jun Sasaki | 5:36 |
| 8. | "Chandelier" | Joi | 4:26 |
| 9. | "Hybrid Breaks: Interlude" | Sakoshin | 1:02 |
| 10. | "Dance Dance" | Sakoshin | 5:31 |
| 11. | "Taiyō no Chizu" (太陽の地図, "Map of the Sun") | Gomi, Shusui | 4:58 |
| 12. | "Soba ni Ite..." (そばにいて..., "Stay by My Side") | Sinkiroh | 5:01 |
| 13. | "Kimi wa Sōgen ni Nekoronde" (君は草原に寝ころんで, "You Lay Down on the Grasslands") | Joi | 4:40 |
| 14. | "Taiyō no Malaika" (太陽のマライカ, "Angel of the Sun") | Misia | 4:47 |
Charts edit
Oricon sales chart edit
| Release | Chart | Peak position |
Debut sales |
Total sales |
Chart run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 9, 2008 | Oricon Daily Albums Chart | 1 | 131,635 | 11 weeks | |
| Oricon Weekly Albums Chart | 3 | 70,916 | |||
| Oricon Monthly Albums Chart | 12 | ||||
| Oricon Yearly Albums Chart | 85 |
Physical sales charts edit
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Oricon Daily Albums Chart | 1 |
| Oricon Weekly Albums Chart | 3 |
| Oricon Monthly Albums Chart | 12 |
| Oricon Yearly Albums Chart | 85 |
| Billboard Japan TOP Albums | 3 |
| G-Music J-pop Chart[4] (Taiwan) | 4 |
| Five Music J-pop/K-pop Chart[5] (Taiwan) | 5 |
| Soundscan Albums Chart (CD-Only)[6] | 2 |
References edit
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ "MISIA MSN ミュージック インタビュー 3/3". MSN Music (in Japanese). Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
- ^ a b c "MISIA MSNミュージック インタビュー 2/3". MSN Music (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
- ^ G-Music 風雲榜 (東洋榜) Archived 2011-05-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "五大唱片 (日韓榜)". Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ 週刊 CDソフト TOP20 Archived August 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
External links edit