Self Portrait

Self Portrait (stylized as SELF PORTRAIT) is the second greatest hits album by Japanese singer and songwriter Hitomi. It was released through Avex Trax on September 4, 2002, coinciding with the video album Hitomi Live Tour 2002 Huma-Rhythm. The two-disc compilation spanned Hitomi's eight-year career at that point; viewing it as the beginning of a fresh start, she devised a release "atypical" of the traditional greatest hits format. The first half of Self Portrait showcases material released after her previous compilation, H (1999), whereas the second half features new renditions of her earlier work, as well as one new song: "Vibes". It includes the single "Understanding", released merely weeks after her last album earlier that year, and a live recording of "Flow". Self Portrait debuted at number one on the Oricon Weekly Charts. It went on to become Hitomi's longest-charting album at twenty weeks, selling 636,000 copies in total and becoming the twenty-first highest selling album of 2002. Self Portrait received generally positive reviews from music critics, who commented on her artistic growth. At the 17th Japan Gold Disc Awards, the release received an accolade for Rock & Pop Album of the Year. Background and development In February 1999, Avex Trax released Hitomi's first greatest hits album, H. It chronicled her work with music producer Tetsuya Komuro, whose managerial role dissolved the year prior as Hitomi sought greater creative control over her career. Hitomi subsequently began working with Zentaro Watanabe and Dai Nagano; her next album Thermo Plastic (1999), matched the prior success she attained under Komuro, which "[laid] to rest fears that she would struggle without her onetime mentor."