Wow, people are really surprised by this.... so I guess I'm the only one that got mid-tempo ballad vibes from the preview? lol

I've never got custom charges either, no matter where/who I order from... I got the feeling it's just something that doesn't happen with our customs office. :P

I love CDJ now... because they ship so early, I can probably get my Perfume CD as early as tomorrow morning. I'll be have it in my hands when Japan does. :luv2 The points system is pretty cool too, I wanna save a lot up and treat myself before they expire. ^^

^^True. Wish I had a CDJ coupon to use for these new singles...lol

same lol T_T i only have like 54 points lol
Oh well :P Ayumi~! <3

So crossroad will have strings, it sounds interesting :yes
May I will like it lol.

You should have 354. They give you 300 just for creating a account. :P And also, if you haven't, give them your birthdate and they'll send you 300 pts on your birth month every year. My birthday's next week so I just got my points last week. ^_^

Just saw that post!!

Thank you! Wow I can't wait :thud

this..

As long as it's better than MOON...

But I really liked MOON, midtempo rock ballads are amazing cos Ayu can bring out the emotion of the song. I'm still a little worried about the release being so close to L though, I hope Ayu can keep her #1 streak to at least tie in with Seiko.

^Would me ordering another 10,000 copies help?:P
Seriously, i hope so too. Well, I did my part with what I could...

Also, bit off this topic, but I've honestly never heard so much as one Ayu song I didn't like. I even liked the few off a couple singles that were never on albums like theme of a-nation '03, ever free etc. There's just been a few remixes I didn't care for.

Girl is really putting work into this. Sounds like she is trying to get her 50th single out the way before her birthday.

With this pace I am getting vibes...that she might go on a little vacation/break after the 50th single.

Lol. Ikr? I thought we could already hear all this

------

Man every time I think of this I just get more excited!

nah i say no vacation before next album/mini album and cdl

I already used those 300 points a while ago :P
lmfao oh wow....
My b irthday wasa week ago T_T and i havent marked it on Jpopasia
lol i guess i'll have to wait now :P
or ill just putmy birthdayis in september
lol.

No vacation for Ayu until 2020?

I hope she can take a break (6 months perhaps), she is like a singing machine
(tours, singles, albums, tv performances, radio, magazines, CMs and much more)

@truehappiness: LOL I hope she'd be thinking about retirement by then tbph. I doubt she'll do it, but she should at least be toying with the idea. XD

@AyumiAi: OIC I thought you were a first time customer lol. My mistake. Yeah, you could lie about your birthday if you want the points sooner. XD

By vacation I do not mean hiatus :p

The way Ayu has been working, she's been constantly working all year for the last 3-4 years.

Tour -> a-nation -> CDL -> tour and so on... with CD releases inbetween. Aie.

I hope she does a tour for her upcoming album
because it will be the first one i would be able to attend ever >.<
Then she can take a break ;)
im selfish :S
but XP

I can only see her taking a break if something really horrible goes wrong, like she loses her hearing in her right ear or dies.

there's still the chance of her voice completely failing after another couple of tours.

oh god please no

ROFL. :roflmao

Knowing avex, after she's dead they'll still probably make her sing.

^LOL I'm pretty sure they'll just release a bunch of "unreleased" material, remastered albums, A BEST PV , remix albums, A BEST TOUR, The So-So Mass Choir present Ayumi Hamasaki, etc, etc. There's tons of ways for them to continue milking the Ayu train.

LOL! Amazing!

That makes no sense whatsoever, but somehow it's true.

I can already see the legions of posthumous Ayu albums. :dead2

hahaha Memorial address ~take from inside~.

^ :roflmao

A la Michael Jackson.

*squick*

But no, I'm sure avex will charge admission to visit her grave. :shakehead

So Komuro did BOTH songs on crossroad?

I'm so excited :l... got I hate Komuro...

My bet is they'll clone her so they'd have Ayu...forever!!!!

Lol u guys ARE really crazy. I kinda wanna see ayus reaction if she read this. Priceless

Ummm I'd hate for ayu to have to join the deaf population. Learning sign language and etc. Just recently trying to communicate with a deaf man. Was so hard.
Ill hope ayu doesn't die soon either :laugh
It will just be another michael thing. Except without the random haters claiming some sort of liking for him
Ayu haters will just have mass parties when she dies or something

I wish she doesn't take some haitus after this or I might shoot myself. Its just devestating for my current situation if she did that
Well see what may happen when the singles are done with and the tour. A nice vacation ofr her to be refreshed I hope :D

Naahhhh, they'll just harvest her eggs, inject them with sperm, and raise her kid so they can use the "child of a music legend" angle to sell more.

Actually, I would really like this. Didn't team ayu members get an acapella pack of A best? what it sounds like before and after mixing? If she released stuff like unreleased songs, demos, mess ups (which would be funny), and alternate compositions, I'd definitely buy the album. Someone said a while ago that she comes to them with an idea for a song and some lyrics, and they give her a bunch of compositions to choose from. I would love to hear some of the ones she decided to not use. I think it would make for a pretty awesome album.

I think her retirement is coming close. I have high expectations of "L"!
I wonder who will be the "next Ayumi Hamasaki"? I consider Ayumi to be Seiko's successor. Most new young female artist are R&B singers, however...

Sorry this isn't the Hikki thread, even though she isn't really retiring either. Ayu will probably die before she decides to retire, as this is actually what she loves doing and she has said it again and again so many times.

I still don't understand what gives a legitimate for people to think she even wants to retire anytime soon? :laugh

No what it was, was like the chorus of most of the songs that were on a best but before each one she did a spoken word of the chorus.

I don't know :shakehead I guess some people think 50th single = time to retire? Anyone who pays attention to what ayu says about how much music and singing mean to her would know that retirement is far, far off. The girl is obsessed with her work and fans.

Well, the title "crossroad" seems to be a title copy from YUI's song "crossroad", part of the single LIFE, which Ayu copied that title (though it's "Life") for Mirrorcle World B-side. Don't know why...

(YUI is also based out of Fukuoka, along with Ayu, and never in the history of her career she has used Japanese hiragana/kanji in her song titles, along with Ayu (except for "Sotsgyou Shashin" cover, made by Yumi Arai)...)

she is tired and you can tell. no, not just physical fatigue but emotional and creative exhaustion as well. the only reason she's going on is for all the people that've become dependent on her. she's not doing this for herself.

^ When it comes to the things she writes about I could agree that she is running out of ideas, as too many (but not all) of the latest singles were just plain love songs and it's been like that for a while, the album tracks were refreshing, but there was nothing that really stood out for me, lyrically. I think that she just needs to start finding inspiration in new things.

You're a pure genius! And I didn't know someone with YUI's English skills could actually ADD some NEW words to the English language that became so extremely popular. Could it be that YUI is a Britney fan girl and that she loved the movie Crossroads?

Let's see what Wiki says about crossroad in Music:

As for LIFE, you really have to be dumb to even think that YUI was the first one ever to name a song that way. There are so many LIFE(s) in jpop that I don't even know where to start ^^ Why would someone like Ayu "copy" or imitate someone like YUI when there are so many famous people to copy~

Why do people constantly have to post nonsense about song titles and copying. It's not as if YUI titled song Goodbye my hair ~ LIFE is NOT COOL ~ and then someone else gave their own song exactly the same title. We're talking about very common words here. Do you realize how stupid it seems to even suggest something like that?

I keep thinking about what she said in that one interview (can't remember the exact time, around RAINBOW, maybe) that she was angsty that if she'd go on continuing this way of life that she would someday be forced to create something out of nothing. I think she's arrived there and tries to hold up as good as she can.

@njanjayrp
Utada said she wanted to retire early but save that for another topic. Don't you think any singer love what they do? It is just my thoughts. You said probably. That means you aren't sure either and you shouldn't be, anyway.

One more studio album and a last BEST album is my prediction.

Nothing is certain, she can get hit by a car or go completely deaf. Your prediction is based on pure guessing :yes If you've ever read a word Ayu has said about her career you'd know better.

I did say prediction, didn't I? :rolleyes

Yeah, but ayu goes to the extreme to say she is nothing without music/singing. Since she seems to be so emotionally attached to music/singing I don't see her giving up on it so soon.

where is your prediction coming from? There's not a single thing indicating that she wants to retire. I think you're just stupid :l

Ayumi works more than any other singer but it doesn't mean she is more devoted than them. Some singers choose to compose and arrange themselves. Some singers want to take time off to find new inspiration. You can't see that other singers are emotionally attached to their work?

Leave the insults out. Grow up.
She is over-worked and tired. I don't know any other singer who does as much as her. Her voice is damaged. I can't see her going on for much longer. Believe me, I want her to sing for 30 more years but this is just the matter of fact. The release schedule is a little odd at this time. I really think avex is preparing for her grand finale.

The project was announced AS a project, the release schedule makes a little more sense if you take that into consideration. Plenty of singers work just as hard as she does. There are people who release way more than she does (Koda Kumi anyone?), and even western artists work just as hard (always touring and recording as well, even if their release schedules are different). Ten years in the business is amazing, but seriously? People have had longer careers than that. Maybe she'll slow down a bit, but retire? Come on now. You're pulling stuff out of your ass and have no factual basis to fall back on.

Evryone have their own opinion and we should respect them, but i don´t think Ayu will retire soon (No, please!)

She explained why she isn't composing more, you do know she only has basic music knowledge and at times she doesn't think that her compositions will satisfy the listener and that's better than blindly thinking everything you create is the best. No one said others aren't attached to their work in fact no one has even mentioned others and compared them to Ayu.

But the thing is that you can't say that she is over-worked or tired as she has never said she is and please don't pretend to know how she feels like those people who constantly say BoA is not happy.

Did you by any chance think Kumi was retiring when she had the 12 singles project just because she was releasing at a faster pace than usual? Do you know that Matsuda Seiko and Matsutoya Yumi still haven't retired, Seiko still releases singles and albums and has concerts.

But oh well, time will prove you wrong :)

I'm not saying other singers aren't. I'm just saying Ayu makes it so obvious how much singing means to her, it would be extremely odd/shocking to me if she decided to retire anytime soon.

Not meaning to sound rude though I probably will anyway, but having a damaged/bad voice has never stopped her from releasing music before.

Since when does celebrating a 50th single with extra fast releases warrant the discussion over a retirement? It is what it is. Celebrating a 50th single.

Perhaps, but a new single after a week is special. Especially this late in her career. It is more than 10 years, by the way.
Koda Kumi does not tour as much as Ayumi. Western artists take a lot of time off. They could be reinventing their image, or reconsidering their career, or finding new inspiration somewhere. Whatever it is, they take a lot of time off. Touring is not too frequent, actually. You should know this already.

I can not give you any factual support because it is simply a prediction. Learn the word prediction, both you and njanjayrp. You can not give me any factual support for your own belief either. Try it! You will look like a hypocrite and foolish.
You sensitive fans are over-reacting to my words!

^ it's alright. You can think what you want, I just think that your prediction makes no sense :)

Yes, I know all that. I'm a big fan of her.
I am not blaming her for the lack self-composing or arranging. Actually, some of her best songs are self-composed. My point was other singers like Utada (I know she writes everything, including arrangement) are devoted to their musical career. They may express it differently.

She doesn't need to say anything. She tours three times a year. She is always writing and recording. She still gets big endorsements. If you need everything told to you, I am scared for your future.

To answer your questions, no and no. I don't see the relation. Why are you asking me those questions? They were not in the same position as Ayumi.
Anyway, consider the differences between Ayumi and Seiko / Yumi. They took care of themselves. Seiko still has a GREAT voice.

Yes, I didn't think you could give me anything.. :mischief

A? It's not that you can give us anything :tipsy I already said why I think the way I do.

I don't guess nor read people's mind, if she didn't feel comfortable doing what she is, she'd quit a long time ago. No one is making her do anything, if she was tired she'd rest, like she did when she should've been promoting MOON. She might not get plenty of rest, but I am sure she knows how to take care of herself. Ayu's voice is alright, I think that after a couple of years she learned how to control it as her 2010 and lives were quite good. And please don't be worried about me :rolleyes I simply can't understand people who believe they know what's best for everyone else, let her do whatever and whenever she wants, if she wants to retire than by all means she should, but considering how close she is to TA fans I'd say we'd know if she had any intentions of doing so in near future, as that's a big decision that will affect her team and avex greatly ^^

I wish I could find that TA entry that she made not too long ago, probably just last year, where she said she wouldn't be retiring. It was the one where people were questioning what her "announcement" was and she was answering their questions. I wonder if that would be enough for you, microphone?

No, because I already said it was my prediction. You still didn't learn that word?

I never said she felt uncomfortable and avex has control over her schedule. At this point, you are typing bias trash because you have nothing else to say. :eviltongu

Sure. You can message me. I won't argue anymore in this thread.

edit: Oh well.

Found it! It's in the third quote :) http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91911

Well actually she said herself that she didn't enjoy singing until "Dearest." There were also lots of times she was gonna quit, examples: A was supposed to be her last single and she was gonna quit after M was released.

At this point I doubt retirement is in the card. She's even said that when she's not working she doesn't know what to do with herself. She's also always going on about how much she loves her fans and I'd doubt she'd wanna give that up.

Yup! I agree!
I don't want to pay $10 for shipping fee for each single! That's killing my wallet! xD

You should read the lyrics translation of the song you use as user name~ I think she leaves pretty clear what she thinks about her career and that even if she has moments qhen she wants to leave everything, she knows she's NOTHING without music~ =)

Yeah but that was close to 10 years ago :) Things have changed. As aura~ said, Microphone pretty much tells how she feels about music. And we all saw the CNN Talk Asia interview ^^

But actually, last year she had a song she was considering that she composed herself... She is still composing music, but she doesn't considering it any good to release... unless she is saving for 50 single.

do we need a new thread to discuss about when Ayu will dies,retired etc? i think we already have one bout the retirement :rolleyes

Didn't she say she wants to focus on only being a vocalist and not a composer?

And I also remember her saying that she stopped composing because it became too much of a chore for her and the only reason she started was to have more control over her music @ a time when she originally had very little (and because she's wasn't satisfied with the music that was given to her for M)

hopefully the mods see all the OT in this thread and delete it in time :)

Hopefully :)

She is always singing and ranting that she can't live without music and singing (Microphone from the last album also suggest it).

She is herself is dependent on making music and singing, as she always suggests herself.

She might be tired from time to time, physically or mentally but she works hard in order to watch over herself and she does take her time off work (as can be seen in a lot of her diary entries) and it's probably enough for her to take stress off.

I wouldn't mind if she wanted to take a break (I think that retiring is already an exaggareation :laugh) for some time or a few years, but she obviously doesn't want and not necessarily need one.

I see though that the retirement trend continues.
It's like that since Memorial address, with each album there were people who said that it's going to be her last :laugh (I can't recall if NL had it in its era though lol).

Honestly, i dont know why everyone's talking about retirement. If she loves music than she may become sorta like Paul McCartney where she'll still be performing at an old age.

At every turning point people think she'll retire... when she let us know she was completely deaf in her ear, throughout her 10th Anniversary, and now at her 50th single.

Kind of like your assumptions on crossroad. 30 seconds of a LQ recording with a desktop microphone pointed at a cellphone after all is the most solid base to judge things upon.

Don't forget the "ayu's retiring?" threads that were made around Memorial address, MY STORY, (miss)understood, Secret and GUILTY (and maybe NL too).

Of course, she clearly said that during the time of I am...,
But I clearly remember that she had said CREA created a composition,
But don't expect it to be released just because it was CREA, because she had a huge amount of other demos with it...
I can't remember if she was talking about it last year, or the year before...
If anything, maybe she is saving it for something special.

Anyways, I think everyone in the thread is speculating nonsense... and it's getting out of hand I think.

She has CLEARLY stated that she will not give up on Music, a la Microphone.
She said in CNN that without music, she will die.
This is the same Ayu you are talking about that said she wanted to try standing and strumming a guitar while singing on the Radio interview for Next Level.

She is far from finished in her music career. I don't think she will take a break, because really, what does she have without music? A house full of shoes, her puppies, and a few friends. Outside of that, she has no business to run except being Ayumi Hamasaki. She has no boyfriend, and no other family to attend to (children, etc.)

Those people who say she is creatively and physically exhausted, maybe you should listen to what she is saying, and watch her carefully in the concerts...

Especially Countdown Live 2009 - 2010, the opening lines. "Listen well, because I'm going to scream until it's all said. I'm always going to be here."

It sounds to me like she wanted to make a point.

LOL this is rich, coming one day after Utada said she is going to withdraw from the music world for a while.

lmao for real.
seriously though, anyone have any trollBGone? The last page and a half is all mindless posts about retirement. stfu

Oh yeah I forgot about that. It was when she was starting work on You were.../BALLAD, she prob threw it out.

umm...

i hope we'll get more info on the single soon?

clearly the only reason ayu releases music, goes on tour and has a cdl is because she wants to retire. not because she loves what she's doing. you're wrong.

Fgs people. Didn't your momma's always tell you not to feed the trolls..?

@Kanzaki88: haha~ I love you :laugh

qft:innocent

pointless discussion with zero factual basis........
This is supposed to be about her 49th and 50th singles not about retirement.
i hope we get more info on the single soon!

Wow, it's 10 pages now. I cant believe I read all the comments about the retirements from the beginning :dead2

I love the spam here.

Btw, I can't wait to listen to crossroad; I was really pleased with the preview... sounded like a mesh of RED LINE & Replace~~~

A prediction is an educated guess. Meaning you need facts to back it up. If it was something that was a belief it would be a guess, not a prediction. A prediction is a hypothesis, and you need facts to back up a hypothesis. Western artists record a lot, why do you think they have backlogs of unreleased tracks that leak out every now and then? Do you think those just magically exist with no creation? Ayu works hard, but singers work just as hard as her. And 10 years is a long time, but lots of people have had longer careers. Madonna's been around since the 80s, Seiko Matsuda still releases music as well. Cher was in the music business from the 60s for christs sake and didn't retire until a few years ago (before unretiring iirc). You have no basis for your prediction, therefore it's nothing more then an uneducated guess.

It seems that ayu recorded a new PV today!

^awesome!! wanna see!

LOL Good job on changing the subject! :laugh

Think the pictures will be in the new ViVi?

I love you.
link please~

not really, I'm more than sure it was right before information about Rule. She said back then that CREA composed a song but probably other melody will be choosen

Well she posted some pics from the shooting place (mainly pics of the director? or staff).

Here's one of them

http://tweetphoto.com/38100055

Right. I still wanna see pics from it. I'm quite. Excited :D

lookin forward to them although i wish crossroad had better remixes....