| Concentration 20 | ||||
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| Released | July 24, 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1996–1997 | |||
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| Length | 56:17 | |||
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| Label | Avex Trax | |||
| Producer | Tetsuya Komuro | |||
| Namie Amuro chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Concentration 20 | ||||
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Concentration 20 is the third studio album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. It was released on July 24, 1997, by Avex Trax. The album's musical style is a fusion of genres including pop, dance, rock, reggae and ska. Unlike Amuro's previous effort, Sweet 19 Blues (1996), which primarily had lyrics written by Tetsuya Komuro, Concentration 20's lyrics were mostly written by Marc Panther. Komuro did, however, compose and arrange most of the album's songs and wrote the lyrics to three of them. It was Amuro's second solo album since splitting up with Super Monkey's.
"A Walk in the Park" was released as the album's lead single on November 27, 1996. The single was very successful, becoming Amuro's fourth number one single on the Oricon Singles Chart and fourth million-seller. The second single, "Can You Celebrate?," was released on February 19, 1997. It became an unprecedented smash hit, selling over 2.29 million copies and remains the best-selling physical single by a female soloist in Japanese music history. "Can You Celebrate?" was certified double million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), her first and last single to receive such a certification. The rock-infused third single, "How to Be a Girl," reached number one and sold over 770,000 copies, becoming Amuro's sixth number one single.
The album received positive reviews from music critics upon release, calling it more sophisticated than its predecessor. Concentration 20 was massively successful, premiering at the top of the Oricon Albums Chart with first-week sales of over 824,000 copies. It resided on the charts for 28 weeks, and was the seventh best-selling album of the year, selling nearly two million copies and is the 80th best selling album of all time in Japan. Combined with the sales of its singles, Concentration 20 has sold around 4.5 million copies.