The Last Ai

The Last Ai
Studio album by
Ai
ReleasedDecember 1, 2010 (2010-12-01)
Recorded2009–2010
Studio
Genre
Length41:36
Language
Label
Producer
Ai chronology
Best Ai
(2009) 		The Last Ai
(2010) 		Independent
(2012)
Singles from The Last Ai
  1. "Fake"
    Released: March 31, 2010
  2. "Still..."
    Released: June 30, 2010
  3. "Nemurenai Machi"
    Released: August 25, 2010
  4. "Stronger"
    Released: October 27, 2010

The Last Ai (stylized THE LAST A.I.) is the eighth studio album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released on December 1, 2010, by Island Records and Universal Sigma. The album features guest appearances and collaborations from Namie Amuro, Snoop Dogg, Kato Miliyah, AK-69, Judith Hill, Boyz II Men, K'naan and Chaka Khan.

Four singles were released from The Last Ai.[2][3][4][5] The lead single, "Fake" was certified gold by the RIAJ, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 while "Still..." and "Stronger" charted within the top 30 of the Japan Hot 100.[6][7]

Background

The reason for giving the meaningful title "Last Ai" is that "I can't say yet"...Would you like [me] to stop singing? That's not the case! I want to aim for the Grammy Awards, and I want to send music to the world including Japan, so I'm relieved for the future.[8]

— Ai reflecting on the future of her career

Ai previously released her 2009 compilation album, Best Ai which became her first album to chart number one on the Oricon Japanese Albums chart.[9] Her 2009 studio album, Viva Ai, also performed well commercially.

In September 2010, the title of the album was revealed and was slated for release in December later that year.[5] With the release of "Stronger" featuring Miliyah as the fourth single and its B-side track featuring American rapper Snoop Dogg, Ai revealed multiple artists from the west coast would be featured on the album.[5] In November 2010, the track listing and album cover was revealed.[10]

Track listing

The Last Ai – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Fake" (featuring Namie Amuro)
4:15
2."Let It Go" (featuring Snoop Dogg)
  • Uemura
  • Cordell Broadus
  • DJ2High
  • Uta
  • Tynice Hinton
3:36
3."Stronger" (featuring Miliyah)
  • Uemura
  • Miliyah
  • T.kura
5:02
4."Still..." (featuring AK-69)
  • Uemura
  • AK-69
4:10
5."For My Sister" (English Version, featuring Judith Hill)
  • Uemura
  • Judith Hill
  • Uta
4:08
6."Incomplete" (featuring Boyz II Men)
  • Uemura
  • Jeff Miyahara
5:14
7."One More Try" (featuring Chaka Khan)
  • A.Coley
  • C. Mortimer
  • Suamana "Swoop" Brown
3:49
8."Family"
3:58
9."Nemurenai Machi" (眠れない街, Sleepless Town)
  • Uemura
  • Uta
3:41
10."Wavin' Flag Coca-Cola Celebration Mix" (K'naan featuring Ai)
3:38
The Last Ai – Limited edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Through the Fire" (with Chaka Khan)
4:52
The Last Ai – Limited edition bonus DVD
No.TitleDirector(s)Length
1."Fake" (featuring Namie Amuro) (music video)Ugichin 
2."Still..." (featuring AK-69) (music video)Masaki Bamba 
3."Let It Go" (featuring Snoop Dogg) (music video)Tanaka Taro 
4."Behind the Scenes"
  • Masaki Matsuda
  • Takashi Mukainakano
 

Personnel

Credits adapted from album's liner notes.[11]

Musicians

  • Ai Carina Uemura – lead vocals, songwriting
  • George Tashiro – songwriting
  • Uta – arrangement, production, songwriting, composition
  • Namie Amuro – featured artist, vocals
  • Cordell Broadus – songwriting
  • DJ2High – composition
  • Snoop Dogg – featured artist
  • Miliyah Kato – featured artist, songwriting, vocals
  • T. Kura – production
  • AK-69 – featured artist, vocals, songwriting
  • Jin – composition
  • DJ Watarai – production, composition
  • Masa Kohama – guitar
  • Judith Hill – featured artist, vocals, songwriting
  • Jeff Miyahara – production, songwriting
  • Yuichi Hayashida – composition
  • Boyz II Men – featured artist
  • Nathan Morris – vocals
  • Shawn Stockman – vocals
  • Wanya Morris – vocals
  • Suamana "Swoop" Brown – production, songwriting, instruments
  • C. Mortimer – songwriting
  • Alia Coley – songwriting, background vocals
  • Erik Hammer – guitar
  • Tim Lou – cello
  • Geott Osika – bass
  • Lisa Liu – violin
  • Mark Robertson – violin
  • Chaka Khan – featured artist, vocals
  • Jeremey Soule – composition
  • Andrew Bloch – songwriting
  • Bruno Mars – songwriting
  • Edmond Dunne – songwriting
  • Jean Duval – songwriting
  • Keinan Abdi Warsame – songwriting
  • Phillip Lawrence – songwriting
  • The Smeezingtons – production
  • David Foster – songwriting
  • Tom Keane – songwriting
  • Cynthia Weil – songwriting

Technical

  • Ai Carina Uemura – executive production
  • Ryosuke Kataoka – vocal engineering
  • D.O.I – mixing
  • DJ2High – coordination
  • Okuda Supa – vocal engineering
  • Travis "Shaggy" Marshal – vocal engineering
  • Yasuaki Sakuma – vocal engineering
  • Neeraj Khajanchi – vocal engineering
  • Hiroaki Okuda – recording engineering
  • Hiroki Soshi – recording engineering assistant
  • Satoshi Hosoi – mixing
  • Suamana "Swoop" Brown – vocal arrangement
  • Masashi Kubo – mixing
  • Masato Kamata – vocal editing
  • Phil Tan – mixing
  • Dave McNair – mastering
  • Tremaine "Six 7" Williams – vocal engineering
  • Tiger – vocal direction

Visuals and imagery

  • Toshiya Ohno – art direction
  • Kenjiro Harigai – designer
  • Kyosuke Ochiai – coordination
  • Yasunari Kikuma – photography
  • Noriko Goto – styling
  • Akemi Ono – hair, makeup
  • Akilla – tattoo designer
  • Hitomi Miyamoto – artwork coordination

Chart performance

The Last Ai debuted and peaked at number 14 on the Japanese Oricon Albums chart, charting for eight weeks.

Chart performance for The Last AiChart performance for The Last Ai
Chart (2010) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12] 14

Release history

Release history and formats for The Last Ai
Region Date Format(s) Version Label Ref.
Japan December 1, 2010
Original
[13]
Limited [14]
Various December 5, 2012
  • CD
  • digital download
  • streaming
 Original USM Japan [15]

References

  1. ^ "THE LAST A.I.[CD] - AI - UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN". AI (in Japanese). Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "AIデビュー10周年第2弾シングルは豪華トリプルコラボ". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Natalie Music. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  3. ^ "AI、デビュー10周年シングルで安室奈美恵と再びコラボ". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Natalie Music. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  4. ^ "AI、今年3枚目のシングルは未解決事件ドラマ主題歌". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Natalie Music. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "AI新シングルで加藤ミリヤ、スヌープ・ドッグと強力コラボ". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Natalie Music. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  6. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100: Week of 2010/04/07". Billboard Japan. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  7. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100: Week of 2010/11/03". Billboard Japan. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  8. ^ Inc, Natasha. "AI新作「THE LAST A.I.」に国内外VIPアーティスト8組参加". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved June 15, 2021. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ 嵐、ミスチル超え！09年アルバムセールスのトップに立つ. Nippon Television (in Japanese). September 22, 2009. Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  10. ^ "AI新作「THE LAST A.I.」に国内外VIPアーティスト8組参加". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Natalie Music. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  11. ^ The Last Ai (CD). Ai. Island Records/Universal Sigma. 2010. UPCI-9038.
  12. ^ "THE LAST A.I.(初回限定盤) | AI". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  13. ^ "THE LAST A.I. | AI". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  14. ^ "THE LAST A.I.(初回限定盤) | AI". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  15. ^ "THE LAST A.I. | AI". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved June 14, 2021.