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You Were...

2009 single by Ayumi Hamasaki

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 3, 2026
Entity authorityQ2268198
Source-derived summary

"You Were..." (capitalized as "You were...") is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki, taken from her tenth studio album, Rock 'n' Roll Circus (2010). It was written by Hamasaki with production being done by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. The song premiered on December 29, 2009 as the album's second a-side single with the album track, "Ballad". Four formats were released for the single; a CD format, a CD and DVD bundle, a limited edition box set, and a digital download. The first three artworks feature Hamasaki laying in snow, whilst the limited edition box set has a long-shot of Hamasaki in a dress.

Musically, "You Were..." has been described as a pop ballad that borrows numerous musical elements such as pop rock. Including several instruments like electric guitars, acoustic guitars, and drums, the lyrics to "You Were..." describes Hamasaki's reflection of love. "You Were..." received mixed to favourable reviews from most music critics. Many critics commended Hamasaki's vocal performance and commended the single's composition and production. However, some critics felt the song was inferior in compared to other ballad tracks on the album.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “You Were...” as 2009 single by Ayumi Hamasaki. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around single, Ayumi and Hamasaki.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2010, 2009—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 2009-12-29. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with single, Ayumi and Hamasaki providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “You Were...”, the useful work is to connect “2009 single by Ayumi Hamasaki” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2268198. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2010 and 2009.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from You Were...” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.