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"Blue Bird" is the 40th single released by Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on June 21, 2006. This is Hamasaki's 15th consecutive number one single and 27th #1 single in total. Initially planned to be a triple A-side single, it features two new songs, "Blue Bird" and "Beautiful Fighters". "Blue Bird" is the CM song for Zespri Gold Kiwi beverages while "Beautiful Fighters" is featured on her Panasonic D-snap and D-dock commercial. A rearrangement of "Ladies Night" (featured in her (miss)understood album), called "Ladies Night ~another night~" (which was featured in an earlier Panasonic Lumix commercial) is also featured on this single. On her official website , she describes Blue Bird as being a summer song, and Beautiful Fighters as being a song praising women. The remix to Blue Bird is a trance tune. Blue Bird also reunites Hamasaki with the composer Dai. This is the first time he's composed a song for her since Fall 2005's Will (which she co-composed under the name Crea), a track found on the Heaven single. This is Hamasaki's first single to be certified platinum since 2005's HEAVEN and currently her last single to achieve platinum status until 2008's Mirrorcle World.

CD (Jacket C) track listing

1. "Blue Bird" – 4:09
   Mixed by Koji Morimoto
   Arranged by HΛL
   Composed by Dai
2. "Beautiful Fighters" – 5:17
   Mixed by Koji Morimoto
   Arranged by CMJK
   Composed by Kazuhito Kikuchi
3. "Ladies Night ~another night~" – 4:04
   Re-arranged by tasuku
4. "Blue Bird" (Harderground remix) – 6:24
   Remixed by Nish
5. "Blue Bird" (Instrumental) – 4:09
6. "Beautiful Fighters" (Instrumental) – 5:17

DVD (Jacket A) track listing

1. "Blue Bird" (PV)
2. "Beautiful Fighters" (PV)
3. "Blue Bird" (Making Clip)

DVD (Jacket B) track listing

1. "Blue Bird" (PV)
2. "Beautiful Fighters" (PV)
3. "Beautiful Fighters" (Making Clip)

PVs

The "Blue Bird" PV (music video) officially aired on SpaceShower TV on June 9, 2006. In the first scene, she is singing on an empty beach. She is then seen on a boat with friends (many of whom are featured in her fairyland PV, while they are in fact her dance team members). Throughout the video, it switches between the first setting, the second setting, and a third setting in which she is feasting and having fun with the same friends. There is also a fourth setting where she sings on a cliff. The PV was filmed in Guam.

The "Beautiful Fighters" PV officially aired on SpaceShower TV on June 12, 2006. In the first scene, fans anticipate entering what looks to be an arena, while three dancers stand outside the door. The fans rush in to watch Ayumi and a group of dancers atop a stage dancing and standing on multi-colored cars. The video switches between scenes of the five female dancers' stories of misfortune at different jobs. The dancers are shown as a delivery person, a waitress, a pool-cleaner, and a painter; Ayumi plays as a cashier at a mart. At the end, each person involved in the dancers' mess-up is shown dancing in the crowd and then each of the dancers, along with Ayumi, circles the stage in their own car.

Live performances

• June 11, 2006 – Domoto Kyodai – "Blue Bird"
• June 16, 2006 – Music Station – "Blue Bird"
• June 23, 2006 – Music Fighter – "Blue Bird"
• June 23, 2006 – Music Station – "Blue Bird"
• June 24, 2006 – CDTV – "Blue Bird"
• June 25, 2006 – Avex Shareholders Meeting – "Blue Bird"

Charts

The single debuted at #1 on the Japanese "Oricon" chart. It outsold the #2 single by 104,268 copies. The first track "BLUE BIRD" debuted at #1 on iTunes Japan and the second track "Beautiful Fighters" debuted at #10. The single also debuted at #2 on the United World Charts. The single recorded the third highest first-week sales for a single by a Japanese female artist in 2006. In 2007 Avex reported that BLUE BIRD have sold 322,000 copies. BLUE BIRD have been downloaded over 1,040,000 times to date.

Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

• Total Sales: 258,566 (Japan)
• Total Sales: 322,000 (Avex)

References

• Ayumi Hamasaki songs
• 2006 singles
• Number-one singles in Japan