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Original Ai (stylized in caps) is the second studio album by Japanese–American singer-songwriter Ai. It was released on July 23, 2003 by Def Jam Japan and Universal Music Group. The album features guest appearances and collaborations from Dabo, American rapper Joe Budden and Sphere of Influence.

Original Ai
Standard edition cover[lower-alpha 1]
Studio album by Ai
Released	July 23, 2003 (2003-07-23)
Recorded	2003
Genre	J-pop pop rock hip hop
Length	48:57
Language	Japanese English
Label	Def Jam Japan[1] Universal
Producer	Desert Storm Lofey Skane Ai Uemura 813 Michico George Brown Ryosuke Imai Swing-O Robert Tewlow Stephanie Stokes Fountain Kazunori Fujimoto
Ai chronology
My Name Is Ai (2001) Original Ai (2003) 2004 Ai (2004)
Singles from Original Ai
"Last Words" Released: January 28, 2003 "Thank U" Released: June 25, 2003 "My Friend" Released: October 15, 2003 "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" Released: October 15, 2003

Four singles were released from Original Ai. The lead single "Last Words" became Ai's best performing single on the Oricon singles chart until her 2005 single "365".

Background

Ai previously released her debut studio album, My Name Is Ai in 2001 under BMG Japan. Following its very little commercial success, Ai moved to Def Jam Japan and became the first woman signed to the label.[2] Compared to her previous label, Ai stated she felt more at home with Def Jam Japan.[3] Her first release under the label was the lead single "Last Words", which peaked at number 27 on the Japanese Oricon singles chart.[4] The second single "Thank U" was released in June 2003, peaking at number 37 on the Oricon singles chart.[5]

Track listing

All tracks written by Ai Uemura unless noted.

Notes

• Tracks 1, 9 and 13 are titled in Japanese.
• Track 13 translates in English as "Merry Christmas on the Battlefield" or "Battlefield Merry Christmas".
• Tracks 2, 5, 6, 10, and 12 are stylized in all capitals.

Charts

Chart performance for Original Ai

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[6]	15

Release history

Release history and formats for Original Ai

Region	Date	Format(s)	Version	Label	Ref.
Japan	July 23, 2003	Digital download streaming	Standard	Def Jam Japan Universal	[7]
		CD		Universal Japan
	November 26, 2003	Digital download streaming	Deluxe	Def Jam Japan Universal	[8]
		CD		Universal Japan
Various	December 5, 2012	CD digital download streaming	Standard	USM Japan	[9]

Footnotes

References

External links

• Original Ai at AllMusic

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