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I like Timmy... When he helped her with specific songs, I thought it sounded better some of the stuff she's done since.

By the way, I am so on board with And Then. It is still one my absolute favorites.

The point of Party queen the song though was that it was immature though, wasn't it?

The lyrics definitely have immature themes in them but I still feel that the covers are her worst executed of all her albums.

I think the same pictures would have come off a lot better on an instagram or facebook-styled cover instead of the psuedo-magazine cover they wound up with. The whole Timmy rant just ended up putting me off the album even more. I've come to like a few of the individual songs but the album is just a bad memory for my fandom xD

The original concept for PQ was the Leslie Kee shoot with the horses and crown. I think she probably scrapped it after someone suggested the paparazzi angle.

The NaNaNa PV aside, I really have very little complaint about the PQ era. I even like the concept used way more than the scrapped one

I would love another party queen 2.0 , honestly. Not only was the album fresh and different but the tour was lit.

^ i know that the forum loves that album but I just don’t happen to like it. The problem with it and other albums like Colours and Made in Japan is that Ayu seems hesitant to commit to a new sound, or only does it for the first 4 songs of the album. Even with Colours where she stuck closer to concept we still had songs like Hello New Me/Now & Forever/Pray that just didn’t fit.

I was not a fan of Colours back in the day and still isn't today. There are just a few albums from ayu I changed my opinion about them over time, and those are Love songs and NEXT LEVEL, which I found "meh" at the time but now praise them so much :laugh

Also yey for the And then love, that song is everything :heart

i have this problem with a good part of her discographie from MY STORY to RNRC, but I blame it on the way the music market works, with several singles being released before the album. Those most likely were produced way before she was even thinking about an album.

PQ seens to pick its sound from the lyrics themes, so it doesn't bother me. MIJ follows a recent trend of releasing mixtapeish albums (Lemonade and Anti being notorious examples).

Colours IMO suffers from the "too many singles before the album" problem. Or in this case, promotional tracks that were tie-ins.

Tbh her only albums that sound cohesive for me are Loveppears, RAINBOW, Love songs ans A One

Colours is just a fun time to me imo. It's not quite typical from Ayu but I like to listen to it when I just wanna chill.

A nice visual (PVs and Covers) have become a mere bonus for me. I'm confused by PQ-visulas, but I can't say I despise them nor that i really love them.

That said, sonically I really liked it a lot and still listen to it. It's not her best, but it's not the same boring stuff over again and as part of such a huge song-collection like Ayus, i think it is a good thing to have once a while.
I always preferred the live version of Party Queen 8song) a bit more. although the "I'm a lonely Queen' part is tacky as hell and in your face, it adds some dimension to the song. Maybe something in that direction would have completed the song a bit more.

^I believe that part wouldn't be there if the fans didn't go berseker about the album before listening to it. :P

And I like even the visuals of the era, my only problem is with the NaNaNa PV. From times to times Ayu release those videos centered on some aesthetic experiement (Progress and do it again come to mind). I like the other two, but it wasn't enough to make NaNaNa interesting

IMO, Colours was her having fun.

A ONE was a restart on things and M(A)DE IN JAPAN is her "LOVEppears" or "Duty" of that era. Her next album should be more groundbreaking imo.

Speaking of And Then, I'd love a 20 Anniversary version!

I remember people saying this, A ONE is a restart. has she ever mentioned this? I'd love her to surprise us with a different direction for her next album tbh

^ I think the branding/marketing for the album is that it's the return of the old/original J-Pop sound or something like that iirc.

I believe in an interview around A ONE's release she said that the album was a bit of a return to things before to aid in expressing that maybe she hasn't changed all that much.

http://109news.jp/entertainment/20150408/23109/?detail

I remember another interview though...

I wish she'd release something, I find myself forgetting about her in favour of other artists lately.

thanks y'all! the album really has this classic j-pop feeling so I can see why she said that.

I'd never forget about her because she has so many iconic songs, but yeah, I really wish she would do something rn. but I guess next year will be packed. well, I hope