 The album saw a new direction for Hamasaki, whose first three studio albums were dominated by a pop rock sound, and lyrics based on loneliness, confusion, sadness, relationships and individualism.The result was not generally well received by critics, who found Hamasaki's artistry "unassuming", particularly on her debut release "A Song for ××" (1999).After being affected emotionally by the September 11 attacks, Hamasaki quickly changed the planned music direction for "I Am...", and updated the album cover to support world peace.