huma-rhythm by hitomi

Huma-rhythm is the sixth studio album by Japanese singer Hitomi. It was released on January 30, 2002, through Avex Trax. Following the highly successful Love Life (2000), Hitomi began to notice a "disconnection" between her perception as a public figure and her true self in private. She sought to pursue the core of her being; articulating "our dissatisfaction with society" yet wanting to "live happily as [herself]". Huma-rhythm is lyrically centered on themes of love and individuality, and Hitomi challenged herself to expand her vocal expression during its recording. Longtime collaborator Zentaro Watanabe returned as the album's predominant arranger, programmer and instrumentalist, while a much more varied cast of composers contributed to Huma-rhythm compared to her previous releases. The album features contributions from indie rock band Cune and Dai Nagano from Do As Infinity. The album was preceded by four singles: "Inner Child", "Is it You?", "I Am/Innocence" and "Samurai Drive", with the latter three reaching the top ten of the Oricon chart. "Samurai Drive", promoted as Huma-rhythm's lead single, became Hitomi's highest peaking entry at number three and is considered to be one of her signature songs. She later performed it at the 52nd Kōhaku Uta Gassen. At the 43rd Japan Record Awards, Hitomi received an Excellent Work accolade for "Is it You?".Huma-rhythm was a commercial success, peaking at the top of the Oricon charts and charting for eight consecutive weeks, selling over 521,000 copies in total. The album was supported by the nationwide Hitomi Live Tour 2002 Huma-Rhythm, which visited twenty-one cities and closed out at the Nippon Budokan. At the time of the album's release, Hitomi viewed it as a "culminative work" which would allow her to pursue "different possibilities", a sentiment she would repeat in developing her second greatest hits album Self Portrait released later that year.