A Song for ××

A Song for ×× (the "××" is silent) is the debut studio album by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki, released on January 1, 1999, by Avex Trax. Written by Hamasaki, it was produced by Japanese musician Max Matsuura. Primarily a pop rock album, it features musical composition and arrangements by Yasuhiko Hoshino, Mitsuru Igarashi of Every Little Thing fame, and others. In this album, Hamasaki wrote about the loneliness, confusion and uncertainty about life, expressed her hopes and expectations for the future, and her gratitude to the fans who love her. Upon its release, A Song for ×× garnered mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics, with some praising Hamasaki's commercial appeal but others deeming the record cautious and childish. The album became a commercial success, debuting atop the Oricon Albums Chart with first-week sales of over half a million copies; it topped the chart for five weeks. The album was certified Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments exceeding one million copies in the country. To date, the album is one of the best-selling LPs in Japanese music history and remains one of Hamasaki's highest-selling works. To promote the album, Hamasaki released five singles, beginning with "Poker Face" as the album's lead single on April 8, 1998. Entering the Oricon Singles Chart at number twenty, it became her first charting single ever. Four further singles were released: "You," "Trust," "For My Dear...," and "Depend on You." All of them were top-20 hits in Japan, with the latter three reaching the top 10. Hamasaki promoted the album with several public appearances throughout 1998 and 1999.