It is something UNIQUE that i never heard from ayu. Its really Electronic. Fantastic combo of Rule (Rock) and Sparkle (Electronica) = One Fantastic Single.

I think the "beat" she is referring to may be a heart beat?? Such as the girls will know when they have found love when their heart starts to beat loudly??
I don't know :)
I like the kawaii boys line :) I don't see what's wrong with it
Actually the lyrics remind me of a lot of her concert performances with the boys and girls dancing together :)

Just popped into my head that it reminds me of Aural Vampire more than anything at the moment I think. More so than any Koda Kumi songs...

Wow, it's so unique of Ayu...

The lyrics might be more "shallow" and sexy, I cannot connect them as much as usual, but still... the music itself is kinda cool. The beat really grows into you. I'm usually very slow on digesting new songs anyway, it was only this autumn I started to love Marionette...

an electro-pop..
n it remind me of britt singles in 'CIRCUS'

I so had a prophecy of this single:

Posted @ 11th August 2008 12:07 PM lol

^ so i guess your psychic lol

can u please tell me the tracklist of NEXT LEVEL?! pleaseeeeeee

Sparkle really reminds me of until that Day... in the structure, music style and the lyric

Now I can imagine how would she perform it on AT09 a la until that Day... AT07 XD

I was personally underwhelmed...it sounded so much better in the preview, Rule is better, but Sparkle is not bad.

I second that request ;)

Most of the comments here have summed up what I feel about the song. This song is so amazing and so refreshing.

Goodness, Ayumi's singles have been so amazing since MW. A year of good singles will hopefully lead to a phenomenal album. :yes

Anybody here want's to see Ayu suck her thumb if there was a PV for this? ^_^

So I've been listening to this for a while and it finally grown to me. It reminds me of something Madonna would do or even Britney Spears. The first line of the lyrics could easily be led into having some kind of sexual atmosphere. But I think that set the wrong mood of the lyrics at the start since after having second thoughts about the lyrics as a whole, I don't think it's about sex, but more about courage. She says "Try to show me your offensive." If I were near her, I'd show her my "offensive." :lech

I'm listening to the song right now and this is probably the first song of hers that I can't come up with an immediate opinion for. I don't think this song is made out of gold like it seems many here do. :) But I've always liked techno, though I prefer the type of techno that she did on love appears. I think this song will take me multiple listens to really get into. So, so far I much prefer Rule, but Sparkle might be a fun club song to dance too (though I think I would tire of it after the first few times.)

My only immediate thought upon hearing this was that it sounds like something Madonna or Britney Spears would put out today. I'm not sure whether that is a good or bad thing really.

I also do like the fact that this song is a pretty new style for her - so at least she is trying some new things. Geeze! I am so conflicted about this song aren't I?!

As for the lyrics, I actually agree with Maikeru. I don't think that Ayu's lyrics need to be deep and meaningful all the time, but I do think that good lyrics are important since they are one of the main things that got me into liking Ayu in the first place. Sure, Koda's lyrics are more explicit, but I can definitely see where these lyrics are "koda like." My grasp of Japanese is far from perfect, but even I can tell that she is speaking in a very slangy and kind of "dirty" way here and that is just something that fans are not used to from her at all. It doesn't mean that it is wrong, I just personally think that style doesn't suit Ayu. So while Ayu may not be saying something bad explicitly, its kind of in the way she says it. Much like Koda's radio comment about women over the age of 35 having bad amniotic fluid - what she said is actually technically correct, but for the Japanese, the WAY that she said it was very offensive since there are so many positive or negative nuances in the Japanese language.

And I really hate the "sexual lyrics just show her maturity and the fact that she has become a full grown women now" argument because to me, those kind of lyrics are usually more about immaturity than anything else.


Maikeru: See, its possible for us to agree on something! :love

It's brilliant. Gosh I wish she would do more electro songs, the song is amazing. CMJK did a great job arranging it, I love it's low, deep beats.

With the album coming in a month, it seems like there's such a slim chance of it getting a PV. PLEASE!! :weep

The lyrics make me feel disconnected from the song. ayu feels disconnected from the song. The overall messege isn't bad, but it seems that the more women encouragement songs she writes, the more she seems to be not included in them. It even shows in the titles. "Real me" and "my name's WOMEN" are about women in general and her as an individual at the same time. While I still feel ayu in "Ladies Night" and "Beautiful Fighters" it's difficult for me to find her in "Sparkle", though certain thoughts were already voiced in other songs (for example, "Catcher In The Light").

!! Sparkle is so awesome! I thought i was listening to Britney Spears at the beginning for some reason lol!

5/5.

I only feel that the music of Sparkle is good. Other than that, the tune is pretty monotonous and low-pitch.

and then when the music gets loud, ayu screeches.. oh gosh!

It kind of reminds me of a song like madonna would do but its still completely ayu, its new and refreshing and better than rule in my opinion, I can't wait to hear Next Level to see what else she's done :P

TOTALLY BRILLIANT!
Come on, I really don't understand how can you NOT love it????

It's absolutely stunning!
I loooooooove Ayu's new direction - it's her best song like in YEARS!
I was s worried she was loosing her touch, but she totally got it back!