Moriagaro

Moriagaro
Moriagaro
Studio album by Ai
Released	July 17, 2013
Recorded	2012–2013
Studio	Studio MSR (Tokyo); Studioforesta (Tokyo); The Studio (West Hollywood); Wink2 Studio (Tokyo); Da Co-op Studios (Atlanta); Platinum Sound Recording Studio (New York City); Area 51 (NYC);
Genre	Dance-pop; R&B; hip hop;
Length	46:26
Language	Japanese; English;
Label	EMI Japan; Universal;
Producer	De-Capo; Uta; Michico; D.Clax; C3prod; Jerry Duplessis; Fifty1 Fifty; Ai Uemura;
Ai chronology
Singles from Moriagaro
	"Voice"; Released: February 13, 2013; "Dear Mama"; Released: April 12, 2013;

Moriagaro (stylized as MORIAGARO) (Japanese pronunciation: [moɾiaɡaɾoː], "Let's Get Down") is the tenth studio album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released on July 17, 2013, by EMI Records Japan.^[1] Musically, Moriagaro expands on the dance-pop sound found on Ai's previous studio album, Independent (2012), with R&B and hip hop sensibilities. Alongside long-time collaborator Uta, Ai worked with various American producers. On November 20, 2013, the album was reissued as Motto Moriagaro.

Writing and production

The album was written by Ai, collaborating with American and Japanese producers. Ai collaborated with four singers: American R&B singers Jeremih, Lloyd and Bridget Kelly, as well as Malaysian Australian R&B singer Che'Nelle, who has based her career in Japan since 2011. Five of the songs are sung in Japanese, and three entirely in English. "Moriagaro," "Don't Turn Me Off" and "Gotta Get Mine" are sung in a mix of English and Japanese.

Album recording took place mostly in Tokyo, as well as in West Hollywood, Atlanta and New York City.^[2]

Ai worked mostly with Japanese producer Uta (who she has worked with since Viva Ai (2009)) on the songs "Hanabi," "My Place," "Sogood" and "Voice." This is the first time that Ai only worked with a single Japanese producer on an album. Ai worked with five American producers on the remaining songs. Fifty 1 Fifty produced three songs, "For You," "Top of the World" and "After the Storm." De-Capo Music Group worked on "Moriagaro," C3prod on "Dear Mama" and Wonda Music on "Gotta Get Mine." Ai worked together with producer D.Clax and The Exclusives on the song "My Baby."^[2]

Promotion and release

The first single released from the album was "Voice" in February 2013. The song was used as the theme song for the drama Yakō Kanransha, starring Kyōka Suzuki and Yuriko Ishida.^[3] The single became a big hit, being certified by the RIAJ as a gold single a month after release.^[4] It is currently her fourth most sold physical single since her debut.^[5] It is also her last release under the then-independent EMI Music Japan.

Ai followed up the single with two digital singles. The first was "Mama e," used in a Lotte chocolate commercial campaign for Mother's Day, and "After the Storm," used as the theme for the Japanese release of the Hong Kong martial arts film The Grandmaster.^[3] Three other songs were used for TV commercials. "Sogood" was used for KFC Japan commercials, "For You" for Kubota commercials, and "My Place" for Japan Rail in promotion of the Kyushu Shinkansen.^[3] "Gotta Get Mine" was also used as the July opening theme for the TV Tokyo R&B/dance program Chōryūha.^[3]^[6] "Top of the World" was later used as the opening theme for the TBS drama Higanjima in October 2013.^[6]

Music videos were produced for the album songs "Gotta Get Mine," "Hanabi," "My Place," and "Sogood."^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]

Tours

Ai's Moriagaro Tour began in October in Kanagawa, Japan, and included 33 dates. The final concert was held on December 18, 2013, at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.^[3]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Moriagaro and Tidal.^[2]^[11]

*Moriagaro* track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Moriagaro" (featuring Jeremih)	Ai Uemura Jeremy Phillip Felton	Uemura De-Capo	3:22
2.	"Don't Turn Me Off"	Michico Scoopbop	Michico Uta	3:46
3.	"Voice"	Uemura	Uta Uemura	5:13
4.	"Hanabi"	Uemura	Uta Uemura	4:01
5.	"My Baby" (featuring Lloyd)	Victoria Mwangi Asia Bryant Lloyd Polite Jr. Sean "Pen" McMillion Ralph "Vintage" Jeanty	D.Clax	3:36
6.	"Dear Mama" (ママへ "Mama e")	Uemura	C3prod Uemura	4:00
7.	"Sogood"	Uemura	Uta Uemura	3:18
8.	"Gotta Get Mine" (featuring Bridget Kelly)	Uemura Bianca Atterberry Akene Dunkley Arden Altino Jerry Duplessis	Duplessis	3:29
9.	"After the Storm" (featuring Che'Nelle)	Matthew "Damario" Quinney Joseph Macklin Carlos "Los" Jenkins, David "Davix" Foreman Dashawn "Happie" White Thomas "Tom Jack" Jackson	Fifty1 Fifty	3:40
10.	"For You" (Piano Version)	Uemura	Fifty1 Fifty	4:28
11.	"My Place"	Uemura	Uta Uemura	4:00
12.	"Top of the World"	Quinney Macklin Derrick Curtis Vines Jenkins Foreman White	Fifty1 Fifty	3:33
Total length:				46:26

Notes

Tracks 1, 3–4, 8, and 10–12 are stylized in all capitals.
Track 6 is titled in Japanese
Track 7 is stylized in all lower case.

Personnel

Personnel details were sourced from Moriagaro's liner notes booklet.^[2]

Performance credits

Ai – vocals, background vocals
Che'nelle – vocals (#9)
Jeremih – vocals (#1)

Bridget Kelly – vocals (#8)
Lloyd – vocals (#5)
Swiss Chris – drums (#8)

Visuals and imagery

Ambush – costume cooperation
Justin Davis – costume cooperation
Noriko Goto – stylist
Ayako Hishinuma – prop creator ('Moriagaro Bling Bling')
Manabu Honchu – design
Justin & Valley – logo design
Akio Kawabata – package coordination
Yasunari Kikuma – photographer

Akemi Ono – hair, make-up
Toshiya Ono – art direction
Shuma Saito – package coordination
Silver Face – prop creator ('Moriagaro Knuckle Rings')
Shigeaki Watanabe – prop creator ('Moriagaro Cap')
Wut Berlin – costume cooperation
X-Closet – costume cooperation
Eiji Yoshimura – design

Technical and production

Ai – producer (#1, #3–4, #6–7, #9–10)
Arden 'Keys' Altino – co-producer (#8)
Ben-E – producer (#6)
Jo Blaq – mixing, vocal recording (#12)
C3prod – producer (#6)
Tom Coyne – album mastering
D.Clax – producer (#5)
De-Capo Music Group – producer (#1)
DOI – mixing (#1–7, #9–11)
Akene 'The Champ' Dunkley – co-producer (#8)
Jerry 'Wonda' Duplessis – producer (#8)
Fifty 1 Fifty – producer (#9–10, #12)
Keisuke Fujimaki – vocal recording (#4)
Seiji Itabashi – assisting (#8, #11)
Carlos 'Los' Jenkins – vocal recording (#12)

Neeraj Khajanchi – additional vocal recording (#8), vocal recording (#11)
T. Kura – vocal editing (#2)
Sean 'Pen' McMillion – engineering (#5), vocal producer for Lloyd (#5)
Michico – vocal producer (#2)
Yoshinori Morita – vocal recording (#1, #6–7, #9)
Taiji Okuda – Japanese production (#5), recording (#2–3, #10)
Mario Parra – Che'nelle's vocal recording (#9)
Lance Powell – assisting (#8)
Andrew Robertson – assisting (#8)
Mark Roger – vocal recording (#1)
Serge 'Sergical' Tsai – recording (#8)
Uta – producer (#2–4, #7, #11)
Satoshi Yoneda – vocal editing (#2)

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *Moriagaro*
Chart (2013)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[12]	5

Monthly charts

Monthly chart performance for *Moriagaro*
Chart (2013)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[13]	18

Sales

Sales figures for *Moriagaro*
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan Physical	—	49,010^[14]

Release history

Release history and formats for *Moriagaro*
Region	Date	Format(s)	Version	Label	Ref.
Japan	July 17, 2013	Digital download streaming CD	Standard	EMI Japan Universal Japan	^[1]
Japan	July 17, 2013	CD	Limited	EMI Japan Universal Japan	^[15]
Taiwan	August 9, 2023	CD	Standard	Universal Taiwan	^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "MORIAGARO (初回生産限定盤:もりあがろうプライス) [Limited Edition]". Amazon Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved July 4, 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Moriagaro (Media notes) (in Japanese). Ai. Tokyo, Japan: EMI Music Japan. 2013.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "AI 、新作アルバム『MORIAGARO』7/17発売、初回限定 "もりあがろうプライス"2,500円！全国ツアーでAIと一緒にステージに立てる券など豪華抽選特典も封入！" [Ai, new album Moriagaro 7/17 release, first press "Get Down Price" of 2,500 yen! Featuring lottery ticket to go onstage with Ai on her all Japan tour!]. PR Times (in Japanese). Barks. July 4, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
^ レコード協会調べ 3月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: March Digital Music Download Certifications]. RIAJ (in Japanese). April 19, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
^ ＡＩのシングル売り上げランキング [Ai's single sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
^ ^a ^b "最新アルバム「MORIAGARO」が更に盛り上がる豪華2枚組となって「MOTTO MORIAGARO」発売決定!!" [Ai's new album Moriagaro to be released again as a super moriagaru 2CD set Motto Moriagaro] (in Japanese). Ai Music. September 26, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
^ "GOTTA GET MINE feat.BRIDGET KELLY（JP/Short Ver.）" (in Japanese). Space Shower. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
^ "HANABI" (in Japanese). Space Shower. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
^ "MY PLACE（Short Ver.）" (in Japanese). Space Shower. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
^ "sogood（AI Ver.）" (in Japanese). Space Shower. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
^ "Moriagaro / AI – TIDAL (US)". listen.tidal.com. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
^ "Moriagaro". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved October 14, 2023.
^ "CDアルバム月間ランキング" [CD albums Monthly Ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on September 3, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
^ "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 November 26, 2013. (subscription only)
^ "MORIAGARO(初回限定盤)" [Moriagaro (Limited Edition)]. Oricon. Retrieved October 14, 2023.