I'd love for Ayu to find new songwriters. Like, totally new. Ever since Hidetomo Yoneda became Ayu's A&R person she's defaulted to the same people over and over, and as they retire or leave avex her pool of musical collaborators just seems to get smaller and smaller... the only "new" people to come on board are seasoned professionals like TK & GEO (and Makihara Noriyuki, who turned out to not be a great fit) or friends like Timmy. Where's the inspiration???

I miss when avex were daring enough to give ayu unknown and indie talent based on how their work sounded rather than their name or reputation. :(

Wish that Ayu would stop working with Tetsuya Komuro and go with someone else. -_-

yoyogi arena will closed at 2017 until 2020 so CDL16-17 is the last CDL ? may be or change another arena ?

http://www.nikkansports.com/general/news/1596397.html

Wow three years?!

I hope she could shift to a different venue. But she's been very lucky. She picked up Yoyogi at her peak and has been able to keep it. For three years I hope she can get Yokohama? Or Saitama?? Tokyo Dome is Johnny's. But not sure about the other smaller venues in Tokyo. Budokan is probably not possible either.



I'd be interested to see what Giorgio Cancemi could do for Ayu. But he's mostly done stuff for Nishino Kana I think?

2016 is going to be a difficult year for artists having concerts in the Tokyo area (Yokohama Arena is closed until July, Saitama Super Arena will close in February for approximately three months, Yoyogi is closed beginning 2017 for two years, Nippon Budokan is closed for an unspecified time and Tokyo Dome is closed as well).

Maybe more concerts will be taking place in other cities in Japan to make up for the closure of so many concert venues in Tokyo or possibly an Asia Tour?

^why are they closing them down?o_O It's kind of odd to close down all the main venues in a capital city of the country, even for that.

Are they temporary closing down for major renovation for the Olympic 2020?

Yes it's for the Olympics.

I guess that's why they're staggering the closings. But three years for Yoyogi is really long...

she may tour in Zepps again =)

Yes so much !! It's the reason why her music was really apart and different from others J-Pop singers which nearly all jumped on the bandwagon of R&B or radio friendly pop-rock in early 00's !!! I'm still amazed by songs like SURREAL, M, Naturally etc... I mean these kind of arrangement were very bold for a mainstream singer like her ! Could you imagine at that time Britney Spears in the US having this kind of boldness ?? No way !!

Yeah It's strange in the Ayu case it's like she is only allowed to work with Avex related producers which is very strange I just can't believe that she don't receive offers from other japanese producers !!! Album after album I pray for it but it just won't happen ...

They actually still produce for Konami under HAL on occasion. If Ayu contacts them both, I'm sure they'd return for at least a couple songs. You think?

Yeah that´s rly long. And all at the same time... I mean we have 2016, that´s 4 more years to go till the Olympics, why not take more time o.o

^Is Tuesday already and no news xD

Still 5 more days to go...

Damn, when she first mentioned she's working on the next album I was ready to patiently wait for announcements that I thought would take a long time to come, and then she goes and says there would be lots of news news coming up and now I'm so excited because I feel that announcements could pop up at any minute.
She's successfully managed to get me hyped for the new album's announcement, so I hope it's not just some vague news and I got excited too early...

Ayu could do a hall tour instead of a arena tour. Or maybe there will be no tour at all this year or maybe she'll do a couple of stadium lives in summer as a mini tour or something. After all, we don't know when the new album will be released.

^ I think she's fine this year... Yoyogi's open, and when it closes next year the Yokohama Arena and Saitama Super Arena should be already open I think? I assume other cities' arenas will be open as normal as well, so it shouldn't be much a big of a problem...
But now that you mentioned it, I would LOVE some stadium concerts :D

Yea. I still wonder why they didn't come up with a couple of interludes for "Colours" back then. A few electronical anthemes would have easily fit into the album's tracklist. Moreover, to me 13 tracks appears a tad richer than just 10.

So is next week because she was in Monday in Japan local time, ok xD anyway the early album release date will be like March or April so we don't have to get all the info now.

Maybe in February we get a new valentines single or Classical Album again xD

Are they still releasing new stuff? I thought the last thing they did for Konami was still before the start of the decade...

I'd love for ayu to get SOME combination of Toshiharu Umesaki, Takehito Shimizu, and Atsushi Sato together.... MAYBE with Yuta Nakano in there too so he can re-learn the HAL production style, lol... I doubt she'd have the power to do that but I'd LOVE to see it happen.

where's winter video?

I need the new tour announcement soon because I'm going to Japan this summer. My holidays are on Ayu's hands... XD

Well, in fact my pocket is in Ayu's hands because the sooner the tour is announced the cheaper the flight will be.

I know. I already booked my Japan trip for May with no tour announcement! C'est la vie if I go to Japan again and there is no tour :grumpy

first big announcement is tomorrow

http://i.imgur.com/juN7hIVl.jpg

1st, ha! It will be tour i suppose. Then at some point will come 2nd announcement meaning album xD

You are lucky to go in May. I can only go in July or August, so... if there isn't a long tour I'm afraid I won't see Ayu... :(

I always wait for the announcement first xD and then book everything. The only time I didn't, I ended up attending Bon Voyage and yawned during half of the show.

Well there's a-nation, which I heard is super fun!

I know, but tickets were sooooooo cheap in May! (550 r/t from Florida). I'm also going to Hakodate, Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Kyoto so it might be a little difficult to catch her. The Fukuoka arena still doesn't have an event scheduled for the weekend I'm there *fingers crossed*. BUMP OF CHICKEN will be at Fukuoka Dome that weekend.

Are we having A best this year? Her profile picture change suggests me that...

A BEST 3 is comming

IT REALLY IS OMGGGGG

ASIA TOUR FOR A BEST 3 PLEASE!!!

^ Are you serious?

omg I hope not, save it for your 20th anniv pls

Sounds kinda harsh but i hope she's not touring in Asia this year since i'm planning to go to Tokyo especially for her lmao, unless she keeps the Tokyo dates in June
Not excited for A BEST 3 unless they remaster the songs or something, as YukiUsagi said i'm not sure if it'll sell very well either

I'm happy partially but unless it's handled properly i see it will sell max 100k (optimistic, right? sad :( ) and another not album-driven tour. So A best 3 first, then tour, then in december new album?

Ohhh wow :)
I'm excited for the news

This is the perfect time for A Best 3 IMO. A ONE and six were well received and I think she's in a good position right now. I could see A Best 3 selling 250k+ with the right promo :)

I wonder if it's going to be A BEST 3 with a new album, lol.

She changed her FB profile photo to A BEST era photo. I wouldn't be surprised if she did announce A BEST III. I hope its (prefer it to be) an original album though.

I would really love Ayu to release more of rock influenced edgy album. I feel like that's the one album she has yet to do. One with her awesome rock/pop sounds like Microphone, Rule, GAME, ourselves, talkin' 2 myself, etc. It could be epic with the right producers and team... That is something I could really get excited about.

Ayu really love to tickle us.

cool! I also think it'a a hint.

9 years since A BEST 2, she has too many good songs for new compilation.

At the same time this year that's the 15th anniversary of A BEST so maybe there will be some celebration considering how this album does well digitally !
No matter what she is due for A BEST III since some time now she has a lot of material to cover since Bold & Delicious ... I would prefer she saves it for her 20th anniversary but yeah !

Facebook, instagram, weibo, twitter she changed it everywhere except on youtube there is still A7. Please no A BEST 3 it's so unnecessary...

Also first announcement? Did she say she was going to make multiple ones?

I have the suspicion they're going to re-release A BEST and I'm not having any of it

The 20th anni probably will be followed by an A Complete II

Lol wut?

Dearest sweater/outfit!

I just saw the profile picture change on Facebook and I am freaking the fuck out. She really does love to tease. I would love to see A BEST 3, so many songs since her last one! This could be a triple album which, if she cared at all, could sell really well. I'm really hoping ayu would get a Namie-like revival in the music industry.

oh I would not set my expectation so high... 40-50k is more plausible

btw, asia tour is good option while arenas closed

I'd like A Best 3, especially if they're remastered with a blu-ray to go along with it. :)

“A BEST 3” is coming soon!!!!!
*Taken from Ayu's Facebook, not fan page.*

yeiiiiiiiiii

I'm so ready for A BEST 3 <3

what makes you think Timmy writing "something" has anything to do with "A BEST 3" smh

It is going to be a tribute version of A BEST.

All songs resung by Timmy.

*grabs popcorn*

THIS.:D

She could release A BEST 3 this year, but she did mention "new album", so I'm no so sure... Maybe it's both?


LOL

It could be, let's wait and see. I'm not trolling, the one who is actually Ayu troling with fans since she uploaded the “A BEST” in every social networking as a profile picture, so she's just probably going to release “A BEST 3”. Timmy is also hinting us as well.

That'd be one way to save on the autotune work.

^ lol I can't haha.

So, can anyone explain me why people are hoping for A BEST 3? I read this every time she is about to release something new. I just do not understand why people want it so badly.

A BEST was released March 28th, 2001. SO tomorrow January 28th, will be announced that we get A BEST 3 on March 28th, 15th Anniversary :) seems likely.

Hyped for the announcement even if I most likely won't be buying A Best 3. I'd be up for buying it if it was done in the style of A Ballads or Namie's Love Enhanced and Ballada. A selection of the best songs some of which will be resung or remixed and a couple of new tunes.

This makes so sense, and again... It's not on Wednesday though. And, it will be 18th Anniversary this year.

I'd rather ayu re-release her first 4 albums in ways similar to GLAY's Anthology releases or Utada Hikaru's special edition of First Love, with bonus material and reprinted flyers and a behind-the-scenes book with rare photos. Maybe include some demos, a DVD of Secret Live at Akasaka Blitz, I dunno man. Just stuff like that. I'd LOVE that.

A BEST 3 + New AL maybe?

THIS SO MUCH OMFG. :luv2

I, personally, am very open to this. Don't know how much of a possibility it is, but I would welcome a release like this.

I would drop dead

to be frankly honest, i couldn't care less for best albums, i really don't, unless she, like, rerecords everything and the songs rearranged. If it's not that, i don't care about it. I need NEW material. I don't care for concert dates, tours, DVDs or any other recycled crap. GIVE ME NEW STUFF. I could look away if she released a best of album and then album of new material together. I'd be fine with that. Anything less, i'm not curious.

I would die. I'd be so excited but sadly I think we all know it's not gonna happen.

i think she should wait for it 'til her 20th anniversary. it will fit the situation better because A BEST is something special to release and not something you throw just in the world.
But i like the idea someones mentioned earlier that a best 3 should be the title of the new album but than i think, a best is a series of best of. it doesnt do what it supposed to do.

long words short attention: Ayu, not yet please :)

Her 20th anni will probably be celebrated with an A Complete II, not with an A Best.

And neither A Bests were released at some special day.

Kinda ironic if you think about how Ayu herself thought it was too early to throw out a best album and Avex just pushed her to it against her will

The reason I always enjoyed best albums was the promotional tours that went along with them. Going on tons of TV shows, magazines, etc.

But I have a feeling this will go unpromoted. So I'm looking forward to the additional songs assuming there are some.

Of course if she surprises us with promotion I'll be overjoyed haha.

Imagine if the A BEST 3 is a best cd + a tribute cd. As it seems to be a trend, it could happen.

I'd be so excite if it were coupled with a tribute album. But with how late Ayu's team seems to be at planning stuff, who knows how far in advance they would've needed to have this concept haha.

If she stayed at home to write new music, I don't think we will see another A BEST. However, she has all these A BEST images posted lately, so I am a little confused...

I would happier if it was a cover album instead of a tribute album. Or maybe a bundle with all three??

her new album going to be called "A-WIDOWED"

I prefer "twice A BRIDE"

with a cover of Tammy Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E"

Praying that this will not be an A BEST. Then again, they do seem to signify the ends of eras, and 2008-2015 does need review and conclusion. It will be good closure for her I think. Here's to the new!

I think that's one of the better cases for an A BEST. Each of her compilation releases have been part of a rebirth-period of sorts artistically for Ayu, where her mindset changed in a noticeable way.

i have a feeling that it'll be A BEST+Full New Album (like Koda kumi did mNy years ago i think). With DVD Bonus/TA TOUR and CDL.

ayumi hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2016 A 〜MADE IN JAPAN〜

14th SATURDAY
MAY'16
@
日本ガイシホール
AICHI, JAPAN

Source: http://iflyer.tv/ja/event/255771/articles/#lang

hohoho looks like we're set

I knew it that this going to be the title sequal to CDL 15-16. I read this in Chinese source too.

You're trolling?

Yay! My hopes are up for more traditional theme then^^
http://i.imgur.com/yseFFri.jpg
(logo is FANMADE, not official^^)

Cool! I can't wait to know more about the tour! :D

Regards to iFlyer, there is also available of Standing ticket at 7,900yen

So those of you who thought of title Made in Japan weeks ago guessed right. Good job:-)

I hope she only keeps GREEN and Marionette performance because the rest of the show is so not tour worthy.

I wonder when we will get an official announcement. I think it is already 4PM Japan time.

I don't mind Nakano or Komuro, but I wish Ayu would work with Dai Nagao for composition again. HAL's arrangements are lovely too.

I wonder if it will be accompanied with an album called "MADE IN JAPAN" or just A BEST 3.

I hope Ayu does something really different this time (yes I have hope). Please no more Nakano (and his bells) Komuro and Yukumi because they are used to the death. I don't want another Rainbow or I Am or anything like she already made.

I want a new color for this album something fresh and new and not a compilation of copy and past with the intention to bring back some kind of nostalgic feeling and please no A Best 3.

I hope the tour will have a different content and not be just an upgraded version of CDL. I can even sacrifice my favorite Marionette for that :'D

As for the album, I hope it'll be a best, 'cause I'll be experiencing the release of a best for the first time since I'm a fan ^^. Though I'm afraid it'll flop in sales just like Ayu's every other recent album :( (and then people will start saying that she's over, again...)
But if it's going to be an original album I hope it'll be something like NEXT LEVEL or Colours. I know most of you would be complaining tho :D