4 is the fourth studio album by Japanese hip-hop group Lead. The album was released as their fourth album on their four-year anniversary. It ranked lower on the Oricon chart than their previous album, coming in at number 18 and only remaining on the chart for two weeks.
| 4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 19, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2005–2006 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop, pop, R&B | |||
| Label | Flight Master | |||
| Lead chronology | ||||
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| Singles from 4 | ||||
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Each album came with one of four possible 3D trading cards.
Information
edit4 was released on Lead's fourth anniversary as artists, which was where the album's title derived. The album was one of their lower ranking albums on the Oricon Albums Chart, peaking at No. 18 and remaining on the chart for two consecutive weeks.[1] The album consisted of two preceding singles: "Virgin Blue" and "Summer Madness".[2][3]
For the album, the group delved into the reggae genre, along with their traditional hip hop and R&B beats. The album contained eight new tracks, along with alternate versions of their songs "Summer Madness" and "One" from their "Summer Madness" single.[4] As with their previous albums, a CD+DVD combination was not included, the album carrying only a CD version. Music videos for their songs "Summer Madness" and "Virgin Blue" were later released on their compilation DVD Movies 3 in August 2008.[5]
The song "Virgin Blue" was a cover of the same song, originally performed by six-member Japanese rock band Sally in 1984.[6][7] Lead's version was given an updated tempo, allowing the song to be more of dance anthem.[8] The lyrics to song were written by Sagara Yoshiaki with the modern arrangement performed by Suzuki Kisaburo.[9][10][11]
Promotional activities
editTo help in promotion, the group performed several songs live and the song "Summer Madness" was used as the ending theme to the television series We Have Muscle! (いただきマッスル! / Itadaki MASSURU) during the month of July.[12][13]
March 10, 2006 on the popular Japanese show Music Fighter, Lead performed "Virgin Blue".[14] On June 23, they performed "Summer Madness".[15] The group held their corresponding album tour Lead Upturn 2006 [4] throughout the summer and fall months. It was released later on DVD in December.[16]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arranger(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rough Style" | Mackie • T. Mori | Mackie • Takashi Oba • Shoken | Akitomo Fukishima | 1:42 |
| 2. | "Deep in My Heart" | Mizuho Hirata • Shinya Taniuchi (rap) | Mizuho Hirata | Mizuho Hirata | 3:07 |
| 3. | "Star Playa" | Shoko Fujibayashi • Shinya Taniuchi (rap) | Akira Sasaki • Mamoru Takaishi | Akira Sasaki | 3:56 |
| 4. | "Cosmic Drive" | Kaji Katsura | Takuya Harada | Takuya Harada | 4:13 |
| 5. | "Baby'Cuz U!" | Kazunari Ohno | Kazunari Ohno | Kazunari Ohno | 4:16 |
| 6. | "Feel Like Making Love" | Koji Hiraizumi | Koji Hiraizumi • Takashi Nakajo • Isao Takano | Koji Hiraizumi | 3:54 |
| 7. | "Jewel of Queen" | Shoko Fujibayashi • Shinya Taniuchi (rap) | Komorita Minoru • Kikomaru | Akira Sasaki | 3:48 |
| 8. | "Here We Go" | Gajin | Gajin • Kikomaru | Gajin | 4:23 |
| 9. | "Virgin Blue" | Sagara Yoshiaki | Haya | Suzuki Kisaburo | 3:41 |
| 10. | "PartyTune" | Gajin | Gajin | Gajin | 4:45 |
| 11. | "Summer Madness" (album version) | Nice Hashimoto | Motonari Murakawa | Nice Hashimoto • Yasunori Tanaka | 3:26 |
| 12. | "One (Big Up My Homies)" | Koichi Tsutaya | Seiji Motoyama • Hajime Kodama • Shiori Sato • Momoko Shimamine • Yuki Baba | Koichi Tsutaya | 4:10 |
| Total length: | 45:21 | ||||
Charts
edit| Release | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| July 19, 2006 | Oricon Weekly Albums Chart | 18 |
References
edit- ^ "4 / Lead / ORICON NEWS". Oricon. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
- ^ "『バージンブルー』Lead / シングル、アルバム、ハイレゾ". RecoChoku. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
- ^ "Summer Madness : Lead / ローチケHMV - PCCA-2277". HMV. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
- ^ "4 / Lead Official Track List". Lead Official. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
- ^ "MOVIES3 [DVD]". Amazon Japan. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
- ^ "SALLY バージンブルー". YouTube. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
- ^ "第二のチェッカーズ？！【SALLY】を覚えてますか？ (Second Check? Do You Remember 【SALLY】?". Middle Edge. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
- ^ "Lead ／ バージンブルー [CD] [シングル]". CD Journal. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
- ^ "Virgin Blue Lead lyrics information". UtaMap. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
- ^ "Yoshiaki Sagara Discography". Discogs. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
- ^ "Kisaburo Suzuki Discography". Discogs. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
- ^ "チュ～モク番組 いただきマッスル！". CTV WEBChu. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
- ^ "Lead / Summer Madness". disk union. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
- ^ "Lead - バージンブルー (Music Fighter 2006.03.10)". Music Fighter. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
- ^ "Lead - Summer Madness (MF - 2006.06.23)". Music Fighter. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
- ^ "LEAD UPTURN 2006 [4] / Lead / ORICON NEWS". Oricon. Retrieved July 7, 2007.