That's usually pretty normal for a track that wasn't focused on as much. Plus it never really got much attention other than one live or so.

I remember it as the track with the uhh lalalalalalas and a sing song-y melody.

I love Walk so much! The live from CDL 2014~2015 is one of my favorites too. So emotional <3 I was pretty upset that she didn't perform Walk during the AT 2015 (the one I attended).

My favorite winter song of her is no way to say and JEWEL. Everytime I hear JEWEL I feel like I'm the middle of a desert of snow wearing white faux fur and diamonds lol

I found Walk to be pretty memorable with it's soft wintry piano and swelling orchestra like arrangement.:thumbsup
Zutto was my least favorite, the only thing that comes to mind when I think about that song is that she says Zutto so many times.:laugh
I did start to like it more when Ayu performed it live sitting on the crescent moon. I loved that.:heart

All I can say about Walk is that it will eventually grow on you... like a rash, as Bianca del Rio would tell you.

This performance is so powerful.

^ That performance right there was my very first live introduction to ayu. After watching that I became her fan right away.

Do you think she has it in her to make any more hit-quality songs in the future?

I'm starting to think the production value and unwillingness to use people with different visions than what she's used to is holding her back.

I mean I'm listening to alterna, which certainly wasn't a "hit" song, but the quality is so good. And it's not even a super experimental song.

Same with is this LOVE?
Not a ground breaking song, but it's still made so well.

I'm not expecting a hit song, per se, just something that has the quality to be one. Longevity as a fan favorite as well. I feel like for the past 6 years, she's released only a handful of songs with such quality and possible longevity and general overall likability.

Of course everyone's tastes are different.


For PVs however I've pretty much given up. Again, I think this goes back to possible unwillingness to film over a course of a few days. Really limits ideas.

I think it's possible if she shakes up her composition staff a bit. alterna was created by a duo that only really worked with her for that and then half of that group worked on another song later on (fated). With tasuku back, I think it's only a matter of time... however the mixing is kind of holding tracks back but it is getting better.

And PVs are always gonna be a bit iffy since they don't do more than one day shoots anymore possibly due to lack of funds for PVs? I think the money she's been getting has been invested back into the tours more than videos since probably... 2011? 2010 was the last year she took 2-3 days to shoot IIRC. IMO her tours after 2012/2013 were a bit grander than usual with more attention paid to some sets or fancy costumes for others aside from Ayu.

The surface of the Earth still hasn't recovered from the impact is this LOVE? had on it. That shit is A-MAAAAAAAZ-ING!! Seriously though, the energy that song has is unparalleled. The pain, the heartache, the irony, the chaos. I mean it really captures the essence of a VERY particular emotion EXTREMELY well, so much so you feel that you're standing in the middle of it! Everything about it is just worship-worthy. I feel like if you took ayu's heart, and literally twisted it, that's the sound - the song - that would drain out of it.

Miki Watanabe, please make a new track one day~ So far they have only made is this LOVE? and Rule for Ayu, but at least they are still active doing stuff with the new Macross Delta idol group.

I was mostly talking in terms of her discography, it wasn't veering too far from what her sound already was.

I agree that it's a fantastic song haha.



In terms of money towards videos...I mean yes that's certainly a factor, but some of my favorite videos are on the cheaper side. I think Daybreak is a fantastic video. Along with Hanabi II. Both very simple in setting and rely mostly on camera work.

Also, Miliyah is an example of someone who doesn't have expensive videos but still manages to make something artful and fun to watch.

Ayu doesn't take advantage of the immense amount of talent and inspiration that youth designers, creators and directors have. Perhaps this is a commentary on japanese society and the idea that career length = talent lol.

To be honest, I don't think production quality is tied to hit potential. I was listening to _genic at the gym the other day and was really shocked by the poor mixing on some songs...very noisy.

I don't think that Ayumi is super motivated to release something the Japanese public would consider "cool."

But I totally agree about the 1-day video shoot.

I think it helps a bit. If some of those older tracks were not mixed as well as they were, I don't think we would have appreciated them as much.

And she could probably do more with her video staff but it's possible she isn't trying to push them hard enough there. Or rather, perhaps this is an issue that's affecting all aspects of her career where she isn't demanding as much as she used to from her staff.

One-shot music videos, or music videos with very little shots made to look like one shots are an aesthetic trend and several artists released them lately. It only looks like Ayu is "stuck" on it because during the trend people released one or two albums and she released 4 or 5, and so, many more pvs.

I don't think she stopped doing experimental fan favorite songs... She always liked to play with her experimental side. We had BRILLANTE that is really experimental and different, even FLOWER is kinda different, and she really shake things up with Colors working with different producers. I love what she did with NEXT LEVEL with the electro sounds and then switching to "rock and crazy" during RnR Circus. I just wish she hold to her experimental side more often and get a bit crazy with the sounds and production.

Her older songs weren't always perfectly mixed and mastered but were still much much better than the last few years. I know I would enjoy We Are the Queens a lot more if it didn't have a terrible dynamic range and so LOUD.
The Loudness War still continues even in 2016 sadly.:(
I also am feeling down about her recent videos. But I think music videos have been declining everywhere. I always have felt like music videos aren't as big of a deal as they once were. They used be a big part of culture but now they just upload them online and that's it. They really just use them as promo. They aren't really the big art production like they were in the 20th century and 2000's. I also second that most of the Ayu cash is invested in the concerts above all else, not videos. At this point Ayu seems to be releasing albums to support her tours. Usually artists go on tour to promote their new album and to please fans or make new fans. But Ayu's albums have been almost like introductions to what is to come. She uses the album to expand on it's concept later on in the tour.
As for experimentation in her songs, I think she still does. Who was expecting You are the only one on Made In Japan to sound like it did? Or Survivor? Which I don't like but still was not expecting. Maybe she doesn't do it quite as often anymore, most likely because Avex tells her she needs at least a few songs that are mainstream enough to be commercially successful.
I think Ayu needs to take a break after this year's Countdown. During this time she should take time to rest and relax and also prepare for her 20th anniversary. I thought the 15th anniversary was disappointing. If she takes two years off she could rest her voice for the first time in like 20 years?:laugh Taking time off did both Gackt and Utada well, I think Ayu could do the same. It would be so nice if she could do something big for the 20th.
Perhaps two years is extreme to some but that's my suggestion. I think it would help fix or make better a lot of the issues going on with Ayu personally and within her career

^ 2018 is her 20th anniversary so that would mean only 2017 would be spent on hiatus, i agree with you, i wouldn't mind Ayu not touring/releasing something for a year, it would be weird and i would miss her of course, but if it's for the better i'm fine with it.
Not gonna happen tho lol

Can someone tell me the name of the male dancer in this performance?

I mean...if there IS gonna be a CDL :/
They are quite late announcing it this year.

^^ Maroka Uchiyama (Maro), her ex-boyfriend, dancer, model, porn actor, politician and loves to eat grass.

Omg :roflmao:laugh

also farmer and yoga teacher

I don't know why I was thinking 2 years. I meant 1 year.:laugh:dumbfound
I would miss her too but I'm sure she would continue posting on social media and possibly doing magazines still. She could revive Ayuready? for a year. That would be so cool.:luv2

She. Did. That.

^One of my favorites song and PV from her. Definitely 2010 was awesome.
I've realized that I don't feel as appealed to Ayu's recent music as I used to be 3 or 4 years ago. I started to feel less satisfied with her music gradually but I think the crucial time was the feel the love era. Since then, all the music released was fine but I couldn't feel the same as with her previous one, not a solid concept in albums for example. I've also noticed that Ayu's voice has changed so much since I discovered her and it doesn't sound to appealing for me anymore :no I think I can now understand the comments I read when I discovered her in 2008-09 from people saying she changed, she wasn't the same and such. I felt in love with that time Ayu, not the actual one, and i think is the same for people who discovered her music in the early 2000s and then were "disappointed" on her 10th anniversary.
Maybe is because I have gotten older and I'm over the "mega fan stan" period already (is the same with others artists as well).
All being said, she's still my favorite and probably always be. she doesn't fail to deliver good lyrics and emotion, and i admire her as a person so much. She has been a huge influence in me and that can't be changed. I'll be listening to whatever she release in the future and can't wait to see her live in japan in her 20th anniversary (and my 10th as a fan, time does really fly...). Nevertheless I wish her deep voice from 2008 would come back again :weep

This week spoted Ayu twice (well, kinda) on TV randomly, first I turned on my TV and was tunned on FOX Dragon Boll Evolution (*throws up*) was ending so Rule was playing, I just stay there watching the credits and jamming to Ayu, and a couple of days ago it was really late, about 1 a.m, I had just finished an essay so I turned on the TV to watch someting while eating (yeah I know, my time management sucks) and Zutto...'s PV was just playing at a local channel lol ayu is haunting me but I don't complain.

Wow, your local TV channel air some Japanese (evenmore, Ayu stuff) songs while whole world seems infected by K-pop? Respect.

Yes! they rarely put some k-pop usually I see j-pop/j-rock I've seen Ayu before, also GACKT, L'arc, Hikki, AKF and many others bands or artist that I really don't know, some visual bands and stuff like that, it's pretty cool, it's a channel that only airs anime and j-dramas, and music as well :yes

^That's cool af. I wish I had channel that aired that kinda stuff! You are lucky. : D

I really like this song and PV. <3

The messy world theme surely pretty cool. It was like a new height of 1 LOVE video. I like those kinda deep meaningful theme than some pretty pony stuffs or models in latex clad and all the drama.

Both song and PV are both masterpieces. It reminds me of how good and solid Love songs is.

Gosh it's weird to see people say they enjoy Love songs lol

That album was hated by so many people at the time lol

In 2010, I remember people liking it a lot. Rock'n'Roll Circus was also liked at the time of release but eventually that all changed to hate, lol.

However, a lot of people have swapped opinions on NEXT LEVEL the most out of anything she's released after her 10th anniversary. What used to be 'trash' is now 'amazing'.

Yeah i don't really remember people saying Love Songs was bad when it came out either! But i do remember people saying it aged badly over the years.
I don't see why R'n'r Circus is hated now, i still love it haha

YOOOOOOO I was never a fan of blossom and totally even forgot it existed but today while I walked home from work it played on shuffle and I was just like DAYUUMM this song is GOOD. Idk why I never realized before, or what about today made me totally fall in love with the song but it's awesome, lol. It made me listen to the whole album since forever and I gotta say I do enjoy it a lot

For me Love Songs and possibly Five were the last time I was deeply impacted by a new Ayu album.:yes
My opinions haven't changed too much on each album. The biggest change was from Party Queen being the worst thing to happen to having hidden gems.:laugh

I just remember everyone hating the covers, the way the songs felt so similar, the singles weren't really blowing anyone away, Thank U's existence...

Maybe I've got selective memory lol

Thank U is basically the only song I dislike in that album still, lol. Always did always will xD

Yeeeeeeeeeessss!!! Thank god you saw the light. Lol, blossom is amazing. It's so different from the type of summer songs she released for the 4 summers prior, yet feels so genuinely summer-pop (well, more like late spring - or even early autumn) ayu. I never could understand why people disliked it. Every time I listen to it I feel completely swept away and enamored by it's unique aura. Especially if you listen to it in the right context, it can totally do that to you; when it's slightly brisk, but not too cold, and the sun is shining between scattered cumulus clouds. Maybe today was the first time you listened it while standing in the middle of the aura it represents. After all, music is always that much better when you feel a part of it.

I was always confused at why they decided to go for the Jaejoong route with blossom's music video and that it got moved from MOON/blossom to crossroad. Like, come on, I wanted Ayu for that video!

As a lover of Thank U, that part happened for sure, but across the board the album was well liked and the secret slipcase covers were a nice surprise too. Been a long time since that happened with Ayu.

Love songs is my favourite album along with Colours :love it has such a many gems, it is the most nostalgic album in my world. that was the time i adored ayu most, god i miss that time

You're totally right 'cause that's kind of how it was outside while I walked home. I live right by the beach and I decided to take the boardwalk home, it wasn't too cold but you could feel that brisk ocean breeze and there was nobody out and about. It was just me, the ocean and Ayu's amazing music xD Her music truly is magical when you're in the right setting, that's why I always love to walk around listening to her music. Last year I went out for a walk during a snowstorm just so I could listen to all her winter ballads in the middle of the snowfall, especially momentum. That was like a religious experience for me, lmao

Also, totally unrelated note but can I just say how much I LOVE Ayu's look in the Lady Dynamite music video?? Especially the little Flintstones outfit, she looked adorable and sexy at the same time!

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/20...ey-d52ikk6.gif

I'm really not sure why so many people were disappointed with that video, I'm still in love with it, haha. Sometimes I really miss Ayu's older stuff. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy her music a lot but it's definitely missing SOMETHING that old Ayu used to have (and I'm not even talking early 2000s Ayu, even 2010 Ayu had something that current Ayu seems to be missing. For me, at least)

Love Songs also rings a nostalgic bell in me because 2010 was the year i started to become obsessed with Ayu lol My love for her hasn't changed since that year tho, it's just more mature and less "new", i hope that love never fades away :love

I think it was just very different from any other video from Rock'n'Roll Circus, lol.

IMO you could sense a change in whether or not Ayu had "it" starting with FIVE or Party Queen (which is also the period that she got married / divorced btw) and then from there things never really recovered even though she was still releasing often. That vibe started to come back a little bit with A ONE though so there is still hope.

I want new mysterious / surrealistic sounding songs from Ayu. She rarely makes those nowadays.

I think CMJK tended to helm those kinds of tracks. Sadly, he went on to produce an idol group or something not too long ago.

I really like blossom as well. It isn't even necessarily a song I listen to a lot, but I think it has this happy energy to it. It's the right kind of upbeat for me.

And the best part is that her voice sounds so natural and totally not forced. I love it. <3

Omg, SHIT YES! Actually momentum was just playing in my head and I have somewhat of an urge to listen to it outside but the context is not right yet. I prohibit myself from listening to No way to say, momentum, and Days from the time the snow melts until the very first snowfall, just to really enhance that magical experience of feeling "at one" with those songs. This also keeps them feeling "fresh" for me, because there I always look at them with a sense of wonder and anticipate hearing them again.

They each are perfect for different occasions/contexts:

No way to say - Cool, winter night; THICK snowflakes falling (not that super wet, yucky stuff); somewhat windy but there are also calm breaks [really cool when the wind picks up during the chorus and settles down again for the verses]

momentum - Daytime (but can also work at night); grey skies; snowing or not snowing; better for days that feel "harsh" or "unforgiving"

Days - Day of course, cheery (sun feels shining even though it's winter); snowing or not snowing but super great if it's snowing thick flakes like what is appropriate for listening to No way to say at night; good for strolling on the streets past shops and such

I take this seriously, lmao.

I keep waiting for more songs like ever free or Dolls.:luv2
I'd also love to see DAI listed as a producer on an Ayu track again.:luv2
But I think Ayu is going in the right direction, just slowly for some reason. Maybe it just seems that way since she releases annually.:think

Was looking at RAINBOW's track list and thought "the song titles for this album have a lot of e's in them"

:laugh :laugh You do take this seriously! That's awesome though because I totally agree her music is just the best when in the right setting, I just haven't gone out to really experience it in the best setting possible, haha. So I hope you don't mind I'm totally stealing those and gonna do my best to listen to those songs in those exact occasions/contexts :P

I'm gonna try to stop myself from listening to them till the perfect time comes so I can have that total Zeke experience :laugh

blossom is so underrated.

I love the strings in Thank U—the song's got some nice moments, but I think it's the standout dud on Love songs.

I love reading about your own Ayu listening experiences Louass and Zeke!

Haha, yes! Also, CAROLS is good for a really calm snowy night, when there's almost no wind at all and the snow is freshly blanketed causing the sheets to twinkle in the moonlight. Even better if the snow is falling lightly, giving the effect of suspended animation. If it's in the daytime and the same effect is happening, JEWEL works great (especially if you slow your pace of walking). And if it's not snowing, yet the snow remains (say like the day afterwards), BALLAD is a good one (I always end up listening to this later in the winter when it seems winter is dragging on, and that sense of death and emptiness aparent in the bare trees remains ever present).

^ It never snows where I live, so many Ayu experiences i'm missing out :(

No way to say and CAROLS are my fave winter songs.

CAROLS is one of my all time favorite songs. I just love it so much!! The bridge as well as the acoustic section in the end are heavenly!! The way it progresses back into the more grand arrangement is so beautiful!
I have to agree with Zeke though: the right situation makes the song so much more beautiful. I've been listening to it lately, but it's not the right time yet :laugh it's still autumn, leaves are falling and I think CAROLS needs some cold weather with snow preferable xD

It really is grand, isn't it? I used to loathe the song actually, lol. I think it was before I had developed my ear and listening capabilities. Now my heart races when it begins to progress into the chorus, and of course the bridge is just SU-BLIIIIME. It's amazing how one's perspectives on tracks can change entirely when you A) listen beyond the surface and B) listen within a certain context.

But to tokyoxjapanxfan's point, No way to say is definitely my favorite winter ballad of hers. Ironically I also used to despise that track too! When Days was released I was obsessed with that track off the bat, and for a while considered it to be my favorite, but overtime No way to say took the crown. I wrote a speech for my Japanese class and speech contest that spoke about my habit of analyzing the weather and my surrounding from the moment I step foot outside and looking into my heart and mind to see which song is expressive of that kind of atmosphere, which lead into talking about my routine of anticipating the first snow fall all year long so that I may allow myself to listen to No way to say. I think I mentioned this once before but even in summer (sometimes as early as late Spring) I begin having dreams about the first snowfall and in them I am always rushing to get a hold of my ipod/headphones and struggling to search for this track so that I may dive into it before the snow stops falling and it all melts away. Usually by the snow melts before I am able to accomplish the goal.

For me the Blossom PV thing was obvious..at the time TVXQ (particularly Jaejoong as the favourite member by the public in Japan) was Avex's golden goose and they were barely holding on to them what with the lawsuit/break up. I imagine a lot of the DVD sales for Crossroad were from BigEast.

It really is!! The context and just one's own surrounding can change the whole view of a song! I also didn't like CAROLS as much in the beginning, but I was lucky and had a snowy day and CAROLS at the same time ;)
SURREAL is one of my all time favorite songs, if not the one favorite, and I didn't even like it much in the beginning. To me it was an overperformed classic. And then I was just lucky and saw underneath the surface. It's unique progression, lack of real chorus and just the slight weirdness/difference to other pop songs that makes Ayu's songs special :)

I just rediscovered HAPPY ENDING and Jesus Christ I love this song so much :luv2:luv2:luv2 And that AT05 performance of it is just perfection imo

Got COLOURS in the mail today. I'm listening to it now. It makes being sick a little better.

Feel the Love is just so darn exciting. XD

btw, I can't get over how Pray always makes me think of "I will go the distance" by Michael Bolton. I don't even know if this comparison has any true reason behind it or not.

The perfect time of the year.

^ How I love all the lives of JEWEL <3

My dream is to see a HUGE performance of JEWEL where the stage/runway is just covered in trees and flowers made out of crystals, same way as the MV. With beautiful white/light blue lighting reflecting off every crystal on stage, onto her and the audience. And she just slowly makes her way down the runway and around the trees with this beautiful gown covered in diamonds too, with a super long train. And just HER on stage, no crazy dramatic dancers, no overly dramatic acting from her, just her singing in this incredibly beautiful stage and looking like a dang angel that was dipped in diamonds, lol.

I mean I love every performance of that song too, but I want her to bring the MV to the stage sooooo bad D:

Has anyone ever discussed the significance of the momentum PV, regarding it's plotline? I think I was always confused by it, and today I finally made sense of it. The conclusion I came to isn't revolutionary by any means, but I never understood who the old man was supposed to be. It's certain that ayu is singing as a ghost, but I never realized that the man in the PV is supposed to be her former lover - the last person she loved before she passed on. In the lyrics, she speaks of her "last" and her "firsts" that this person represents, and I only just now put it together that she isn't singing in the context of having separated from her lover, she is singing in the context of having died while loving him. It was literally her last miracle she experienced in life, and he's continued to age, while she waits to be reunited in death with him ("Until the day our hands reach white snow..."). I'm thinking the line "I wonder if I'm so stupid, just waiting for the time passage - believing that I'll surely be forgiven some day" signifies that she senses her lover harbors some sort of resentment on her for departing from him so early on (that's why ayu is young, while he old), and he never directly faced her death, leaving her to feel that way. But in the end, when he brings the flowers (which I read "symbolize that the soul of the departed has received restored innocence after death") she feels she has finally been forgiven, and is finally able to rest peacefully.

Digging a little deeper, it could be that the candles she sits amongst, represents every winter that has come and passed in which she clings to the living world, and remains waiting (notice she lights another one for the current year).

All artists for Kouhaku uta Gassen was announced. Ayu will not come this year again =( Still hope that she'll attend Music Station Super Live

^ Didn't she announced in 2014 that she would not attend Kouhaku anymore or something like that?

https://www.japantoday.com/category/...me-in-15-years

__

I love everything about the A BEST II so much <3 From the Best of CDL to the TV lives, the vibratos, the hair.

I've been falling in love more and more with someone this month and this song is just perfect for that, the tension and explosion of the final chorus really captures that feeling of europhia.

really? I miss this info

It was a very iffy time so I think it got overshadowed by other news. No more Ayu at Kouhaku though from now on unless there's some special thing she wants to do there.

Ayu always busy with CDL preparation at this day. Maybe she doesn't want to force herself and make everything without hurry

^ Yes... I think her last Kouhaku performances were a bit lame so I support her decision on focusing on CDL.

Well, the only kouhaku performance I really love is the Virgin Road one... I'm not very found of her tv lives most of the time.

I love this performance! It's one of my favorites for July 1st <3

It's a shame she's not going back to kouhaku. I actually really liked many of her performances, and it's a tv performance. Not that may of them otherwise. Her progress performance was great I think.

BTW on the topic of bests, actually, this recent gaga interview really reminded me of some of the things ayu expressed when she released a best regarding doing what you like and doing what you have to do. I guess all artists face the same issues at some point, but it was interesting nonetheless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNic2PH1Wmg

Wow, that interview was really sad towards the end. :( Thank you for sharing. I definitely have always felt like Ayu and Gaga would have similar thoughts on that subject, especially the line between the person and the performer

Secret album was released 10 years ago. Can you believe it?

it's my 10th year too. My first conscious memory is how Ayu performed BLUE BIRD by request at the AT2006

I found ayu's phone cases at aliexpress %) for 3-5$

http://i.imgur.com/RUS8y6Dl.jpg

https://ru.aliexpress.com/item/2016-...3e820e02&tpp=1

https://ru.aliexpress.com/item/New-C...3e820e02&tpp=1

https://ru.aliexpress.com/item/Cute-...3e820e02&tpp=1

https://ru.aliexpress.com/item/Hamas...e-10e0d530daa9

^ LOL! Huge phone cases are really popular in Alexpress haha

OMG! 10 years of Secret! That's crazy! I remember when the album was released and I was crazy about Not yet and dreaming with a full version of this. <3

10 years, time sure flies haha I met ayu back in 2000 I think, my older brother had this VHS with random j-pop videos and Poker Face, You and Boys & Girls were on it, I fell in love right there, I was about 5 years old tho so I didn't became a "fan" until I grew older and with internet I could find her albums MVs and stuff haha good old days, literally she's been present my whole life :P

Oh wow, I can't believe it's been 10 years since Secret was released lol It was the first album I was "there" for when it was released, so to speak, because I got into Ayu right around the release of (miss)understood :) Secret's still one of my favorite albums by her, wish we'd get some more fierce rock tracks in the future!

I think the first album you are "there" for is really special. I know for me it was really exciting to watch the latest era unfold before after having pieced together various works of hers by random discovery up until that point in time. For me, it was MY STORY. I remember seeing the CM with the snippet for Moments and playing it over and over and over again. I couldn't wait for the single to be released.

I missed out on Secret somewhat. I became a casual fan sometime in the early 2000s. Then I kind of never bothered to look into her further for a while. Especially since I didn't use the computer much until the late 2000s.
The first album I was truly truly "there" for was A Complete. I was partially there for Guilty as well. But A Complete was when I experienced the promo before and the end release and bought the CD.
Secret isn't really a special album to me. It has many amazing songs but I don't really have an emotional attachment to it like some other albums. I tend to forget what the album tracks sound like. Jewel and momentum are always the first songs that come to my mind when Secret is mentioned.

Secret was the last album I received as a "stan"--I use this term for lack of anything better lol. Basically for me, Secret was the last album where I felt Ayu could do no wrong.

From GUILTY onward, I changed, or my view changed, on Ayu. I became far more critical. And GUILTY was my least favorite album until RnRC, which was then replaced by PQ lol. (talkin' 2 myself, decision and fated were and still are awesome though)

So I guess for me Secret reminds me of the last bit of my "super" fan moment. I'm still a super fan, I just know that it's now ok to not like or agree with a career move. Haha


The first album I was there for was MY STORY, btw. I really got into Ayu mid Moments promotion. Ahh the good old days.

I remember when Secret was released I had a razor cell phone and if I used the internet browser you got charged for it by the minute. Sometimes I would use it just to quick check in on the forum announcements when I was at my dad's house for the week because we had no computer or internet. Anyways, I remember reading the announcement that the mini-album would become a full album and I spent so much time on the browser reading what was being said about it that I had a hefty bill that month, lol.

On a side note, I used to use proxy websites at my school in order to be able to visit AHS because it was blocked by our school's network. I remember that's how I downloaded the full version of Mirrorcle World and Life and listened to it while I was working on a graphic design project in my teacher's office during art class, lol!

I wonder if the factory that made the official ones shared the molds or something.

10 years since Secret was released. Secret was the album that got me into the ayu fandom. I was listening to the song preview on iTunes and was amazed at her (deep) voice and how catchy the melodies were. I still put JEWEL and momentum as one of my favourite ballads

10 years already, that is amazing. I became a fan during that time, but only had random songs downloaded all over the web. GAME was the song I was really into. I missed the full release of Secret, but experienced - thanks to AHS - the release of GUILTY. That album holds an extra special place in my heart, because my granddad died during the release - or more like a leak - of Together When... So that song has a special meaning to me. But anyway, Secret. Yeah, the full album was a real discovery. Most of the songs I had already downloaded randomly (I have got 1 LOVE in my name, so I must have gotten it somewhere before I logged on AHS) and other songs I heard over in the car of my ex-friend. BLUE BIRD, 1 LOVE, JEWEL, momentum, Startin', until that day..., It was and the beautiful LABYRINTH interlude became favourites and the songs I consider as very 'nostalgic.' These songs are still very dear to me, and I love them so much. I think Secret got me definetely into Ayu, forever. The day when I first saw JEWEL PV... omygod. Yes. I guess that did it.

there are huge discounts on amazon
like this

NEXT LEVEL (2CD+DVD) (Jacket A)
https://images-fe.ssl-images-amazon...._AC_US160_.jpg
JPY 4,629 JPY 848

Only 5 left in stock

https://www.amazon.co.jp/NEXT-LEVEL%...82%86%E3%81%BF

or

A SUMMER BEST (ALBUM+DVD)
https://images-fe.ssl-images-amazon...._AC_US160_.jpg
JPY 4,536 JPY 2,000

https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%AD%E...82%86%E3%81%BF

Wow, ten years have gone since 'Secret'...that was the reason why I got into Ayu. Looking around randomly about Japanese culture, and then all of a sudden, Ayumi Hamasaki with that right shoulder tattoo...I got a bit more into depth with Ayu in the days, weeks and months following, and all of a sudden, it jump started my experience with J-pop. All because of 'Secret' and Ayumi Hamasaki's tattoo...if it wasn't for that I wouldn't be in the J-pop scene very much, if at all. I wouldn't know much about Ayu. Or Koda Kumi. Or Ai Otsuka. Or Johnny's groups like Arashi or KinKi Kids. Or AKB48! Or Sayuri Sugawara! Or Yanawaraba!

Man... That moment when it would eventually resulted into the J-pop hobby I've been having - for TEN YEARS... I mean, JEWEL and 1 LOVE (from the 'Secret' album) were the first songs I heard from Ayu in my whole life. Wow. First of thousands of songs in my J-pop hobby experience...

I am addicted to that performance. I've been listening to it ten times a day. HELP

I just saw that the Tales of series are doing an orchestral concert with the openings of the serie called "Tales of Songs", and in the preview video where some clips from the games Tales of Xillia 1 and 2, Progress and Song 4 U were the openings for those game, hope they play Ayu's OPs on the concert! :luv2

I love "missing".

My favourite album is My Story. It's a masterpiece.

I had a dream tonight that MSta made additional artist announcement about ayu attending Super Live show )