Don't worry! I should've specified :laugh I agree with everything you said :D

Actually this line "春よ来い、早く来い (haru yo koi hayaku koi)" exists in the original version, but it's very subtle. When you see some live perfomances of Yumi, they put them with more prominence. :heart

I have absolutely no complaint. the song is perfect, and the video is gorgeous. Shimoco really delivered this time!

Now you've said it I can't not hear it in the original!

I really liked the background dancers in this video. No shade but I often find her dancers to be... clunky? for some reason whenever they're featured :laugh but here they were very graceful and elegant.

I've noticed a change in this in her last couple of shows as well. IMO the choreography has gotten significantly better.

Her voice is definitely different and IMO weaker than when she did it in 2003, but that's to be expected. This sounds great for her now.

She is very, very pregnant. It's gotta be any day now. So people saying her face looks fat....like what? She's in her 40s and she is at least 8 months pregnant in this video.

oh my goodness you're right! like you said, it's much less noticeable, while in ayu's version they become such a spectacle. gorgeous.

:yes You can hear this line in the original especially from minute 3:23 onwards. Even though this line is very subtle in the original, it is very popular and often referenced in pop culture. For example, you can often hear a person/a character sing this exact line in dorama/anime. One example would be Ran in Conan in this episode at 23:40. Ayu just decided to change the arrangement and changed this subtle line into a choir, which works very beautifuly, imo.

her vocals are SO GOOD in this song
please give us an album with this vibe PLEASE

Thanks, I'll have to re-listen to the original!

I'm still gobsmacked, the PV is so pretty! I'm not even too stressed about Pray for you now that there's a power ballad on this release already!

I tend to find Ayu's covers amazing, Many classic moments is still a bop for me and Moving on without you was great.

I also like all of those covers! on Arama Japan someone said "Not a secret but when a j-pop artist starts covering songs, it means it's over." so technically she's over since 2003 I guess :laugh

omg the MV is so pretty and she looks so awesome!!! the song is PERFECT, I'm so thankful for this!

50:50 on the video. Kinda boring. Just wish there’s one more scene with new set or costume. Love the song :love

I find that ayu’s voice is weak in this new cover. Especially for those words with “A” vowels. Maybe because she’s pregnant and can’t use much strength from her diaphragm to sing.

I like the song and the video... but I can't help thinking, I have the same carpet in my apartment.

Everything about "Haru yo, Koi" is beautiful. I found her voice to be a bit strange in the first few verses, but after listening to the song a couple of times I'm completely used to it. It's probably because my ears are too used to her original cover from 2003.

It still feels surreal that we actually got this as an official release. :heart Now I need to the song to be available on Spotify!

yeah I know, but I'm not looking for "it sounds like 2003" which I did not say nor "she does sound good for her current condition". She sounds good. but I don't know if I like that tone she uses here and it has nothing to do with either of the mentioned situations.

Overall, at the moment I think the whole thing is just mediocre and people look at it from a weird angle and making more out of it than there is. It's mostly saved by the fact that it is a great song to begin with.

As I said, for me currently it is neither bad nor as good as people make it out to be. That might change tho.


As for "being" fat - Japanese people also said it around BLUE BIRD era and on other occasions - its something I don't understand till today (the whole body-shaming part). A wird trait of Japanese society. As you said - she is 40 and she has every right to look like 40 too.

I love the song, the video is pure perfection and I love her mature gestures.

Before this...which was her last good PV??
Brillate? How Beautiful You Are ,maybe?

Ah, you put it into words. That's what's happening here, isn't it?

My first response is that the comparative weakness of her voice is underwhelming against the sweeping orchestration, but I haven't had a chance to listen closely yet. I am still very grateful to her. The PV is also gorgeous, and I love that her male dancers are waltzing together.

As for her face, other than the obvious changes in appearance due to pregnancy (why can't people leave her alone about this? :rolleyes), I think her hairstyle on the main set frames her forehead in a way that we aren't used to seeing. The whole look is beautiful.

Don’t crucify me y’all, but I think The GIFT was a great video (though simple) haha. Step by step and Sayonara were good too. I really like the elegance in this one though.

While you might be right, I think it’s a good thing there’s hype and that people are making it better than it is, as quite frankly we all want things to start happening as not much has been going on in recent years and hopefully this is the beginning of a new chapter whatever it is.

She does sound different and while I am still undecided if I love it or just like it, I think that vocally this is an improvement in terms of her being able to control her voice and not scream through the song.

Also everything about the song is very nicely done including the PV which is very well executed.

I expected it to be like what she was singing in 2003 so when I first hear it I don't like the tone that she is using. It sounds a little bit too high for me. But after listen for couple of times and forget about that 2003 version. This one is also very good. I love both song and PV. Well done, Ayu. ;)

give Ayu or whomever who gave the idea to cover Haru Yo, Koi officially. I haven't felt so hyped about this legend for so long.

the video was everything ;__; and she sounded better than 2012-2018. so...

This is what I was thinking too. Her shaping of the vowels is a little weird, but I think a few people pointed out that Yumi shapes the tones that way and maybe Ayu was trying to match it. She sounds good, just different.

Okay WOW. I listened to it more closely (better audio quality), only for a second time.

I'm too scrambled by my day-to-day to articulate this very well, but there's something intensely moving about hearing her sing this, now, as we try to push through the pandemic. Her voice doesn't have the raw power that it used to have like in the 2003 performance, but now there's a gentleness that wasn't there before.

I think Ayu was singing a bit differently on purpose too. There was a bit of that old style in the singing and it felt deliberate.

I got that vibe as well. Some parts are very similar to Yuming’s style which is much more nasal.

Overall I am in love with the song. When the background singers come in during the second to last chorus I get all the goosebumps. I am very happy with this.

I love how everything turned out!

The ending of the song and the way it's visually depicted really gave me chills. I was worried the dancers and choreo would make things tacky but it's done well and is a great addition to the video, especially towards the end.

I really love this. So gentle and delicate, but incredibly beautiful. I don't think the mv needs anything else otherwise it would be too much.

Kudos to ayu and team. I can see why she was excited.
I'm not as big on the song or the old performance as most of the fandom, but was looking forward to the new content. Did not disappoint. :)

I LOVE the arrangement. It's so beautiful. I also love how the song builds up.
Her vocals aren't my favorite, but they're still pretty and fit the song. She kept a gentleness to it and didn't sound harsh or strained which I appreciate. I still prefer her vocals from her older performance of the song, but I just prefer her voice in general back then and wouldn't expect her to sing exactly like that nowadays.

PV is beautiful. She is beautiful. Anyone who makes negative comments on her weight need to re-evaluate their lives. They're literally criticizing the weight of a beautiful pregnant woman. Just let that sink in. I knew people disrespected ayu but to be that immature is ridiculous to me.

^Agree!

I'm not sure but they way she's singing reminds me to how she sang a couple of songs last year (vogue and SEASONS at a-nation, POWDER SNOW at LAST TROUBLE, maybe I missed some more) and yeah it's a pretty different sound from her but somehow imo it suits her very well, it sounds gentlier and not too pushy or strained (I don't know anything about vocal techniques but that's how I see it lol)

I really liked the video, everything looks good and I have no complaints.

Can't say about the song tho. Her voice is lovely but the way she sounds, it's like she's trying that cute/high pitched voice again and it's just... no. What happened to that beautiful thing that came out of her mouth during JEWEL at saigo no trouble?

The arrangements are beautiful, but apart from the things that make it sound Haru yo, koi, there's also the same things Nakano has been using for the last 5 or 6 years in most of his works that I'm just sick of (chimes and those particular drums).

I'm glad most of you are enjoying it, I just don't think it will be the same for me. It might change over time, but for now I'll just skip this one.

?? the rock garden?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_rock_garden

I understand what you mean, but I prefer her singing like this instead of shouting.
Her tone colour is inconsistent throughout the song. The beginning is semi-cutesy, but the second part sounds more mature.
I'm not in love with the cover, but it's nicely done.

^ I actually don't mind the inconsistency in tone as you pointed out. I imagine the song as a young girl waiting for her lover throughout the years.

I don't think she's really doing it too heavily, it's more voice control over high pitched cute. She has used that voice before in studio material before and it's rather different from that!

I agree. I think she did that on purpose.

Her hand movements throughout the video is magnificent and is complete perfection. That's why i like this director. He brings out Ayu's best moves.

Same!!! Y’all I feel like I have been on a JOURNEY. From the first time I saw this live performance and watched it on repeat as a 13 year old girl to today, about to turn 32. It’s so awesome we get a recording and video of this! I am just so thankful I still get to enjoy Ayu’s magic. Like, she delivered 1000%.

And I feel like because her 10/10 tracks are a bit more rare for me these days, when she does hit it out of the park with visual/production/sound quality and it all comes together like it used to it’s all the more magical!

I agree her voice sounds a bit different but I don’t dislike it! It’s just a new sound. I mean her voice has been ever changing from the beginning so I just roll with it. 😂

Been replaying this on repeat :luv2

Is this the first time she premiered full version of her PV officially on youtube without prior audio release?

My only complaint about the song is that I wish they'd inserted an extra 1 second of silence in the beginning XD

This really is so good!

and the end could have been extended a bit more.
after the climax and ayu's signature hahaha woowoo thing, I felt that the slope towards the end went down too fast. The song isn't that long anyway, I wondered why they didn't extend the bars for a calming closure.

I agree! it started a little too abruptly :laugh plus an extra second to let the piano sound fade before she launches into the HAAAARUUUU YOOOOOOO. the silencing of the piano sounded rather abrupt as well.

other than these, I have no complaint.

I Missed this AYU!!! LOVE HARU YO SONG AND PV!!! MY LOVE FOR AYU BACK!!!

Does anyone have any rankings? The song is released in Japan already.

The only ranking I see is on Baidu.
https://tieba.baidu.com/p/7257376318?pn=2

Someone took a screenshot of the song ranked at 30th of some kind of chart.

Short behind the scenes video from Ayu's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMTmsvah...=199yr1ivl2rh1

I’m not gonna lie, I preferred her vocal back in 2003. I will need time to get used to this version.

The video is gorgeous <3 I'm not a big fan of her vocals, too enka-esque, but that's my personal taste. It's nice to see something with a big production again.

Her pronunciation is kinda weird in the first verse to me, like she's trying too hard to sound 'classic' and ends up sounding like a foreigner :laugh

The video is trending at #9 on YouTube in Japan :) *just kidding now it’s #11 lol

^That's awesome! :)

I didn't like the sound of the vocals in the preview but I love them in the full song. I love the instrumentation too and can't wait to see how it would be performed live- epic traditional performance hopefully!

I love this song so much and the PV is absolutely perfect!!!

I was so inspired by the Red and White Plum Blossoms gold painting that I purchased a duplicate to put in my living room in my new house and will design around that stunning artwork!!!

The red kimono killed me! I wish there were more scenes with it!!

I'm getting chills with the chorus part at the end... And the video is stunning.
The song has been added to a couple of Spotify playlists, so hopefully it'll get the boost it needs to trend worldwide :)

https://i.imgur.com/pxEyfSj.jpg

I love it ! I really like how her voice is gentle this time. The arrangement are top notch. The views on YouTube are really good for her 300k in 24 hours and they are growing really fast ! It will hit 1 million quickly for sure!

It's iTunes Japan.
Right now it's on #22, that's nice!
But for streaming sites it's neither charting on Line Music nor Apple Music.

I can't buy it at iTunes, it keeps showing me error message

Thank you for the update. What about SPOTIFY JAPAN?

I've been playing it non stop on SPOTIFY. I hope that helps.

Love the video - you can really see Kazuyoshi Shimomura's imprint as a photographer. Lots of beauty shots and dramatic still scenes fit for a photo. But at the same time, lacking story and shots of more than 5 seconds (compared to something like Part of Me).

Didn't like the dancers at all - felt they were distracting. The part where they mouth the vocals feels awkward.

Ayu beauty = 10/10.

I completely forgot about the whole video! Just listened to it today. There's something odd about the way she's singing it. The more controlled parts sound strange, but i haven't figured out yet if i like it or not. It's very breathy, which we had before (merry go round i think but it was different), but there's also this nasally feel to it, which kind of throws me off, but when she's not using that she sounds great! The video, i love the colours the only thing that bothers me are the dancers, i sort of wish it was just her alone, they're everywhere all the time, i'm just sort of tired of them by now and that lip-synching of them was weird and totally unnecessary... If they needed them there so bad, they least they could have dressed them in white instead and not made them lip-synch, so it wouldn't make such a drastic contrast...in general i just found them very out of place. But other than that there were numerous parts where i just wanted to screenshot it, it's full of beauty shots for sure, it is beautiful!

2003 version >>> 2021 version but 2021 version is also very good, it's just sooo different, I didn't expect it to be like this

I hope it grows on me

I think they were going for some color contrast and double meaning.

Wearing all black with a white dress shirt is the preferred attire to attend Japanese funerals (although the bowties throw me off) so maybe the dancers represent death in the past and are waiting desperately waiting for spring to come (hence, they sing "Spring, please hurry")

Very relevant as the world is hopefully at the tail end of COVID

I'm absolute loving the video of Haru-yo, Koi and the new arrangement is beautiful. Gorgeous (^.^)

The poor girl has been losing her hearing for over a decade...it's not her fault...The fact she can sing this well with everything she's been through is remarkable.

I really love the genderfuck-dancers.

That's it, another cover another slay. I keep saying that I would love if she ever release something like A COVERS, she always adds so much to her versions.

Loved everything about Haru yo, koi <3

LOL wearing black is in every culture however i don't think people chose actual tailcoats for that... that's what you wear at a high end super royal balls, a white tie type of stuff, literally the whole set is that sort of, not exactly "death" like, i'd say...I think you're just reading into it a bit too much, imo. They are just dancing around. Technically "the spring" is already there (ayu, colours bla bla) so i'm not sure it works for the agenda you're talking about...lol

Song is number 8 on Recochoku daily, and number 2 on Hi-res chart

https://recochoku.jp/ranking/single/daily
https://recochoku.jp/ranking/hires_single/daily

Chinese wear white :)

I didn't even notice they were wearing tailcoats until I watched it for the 5th time (most of my attention is on ayu...after all)

Oh my god, this makes my chest ache.

It's so beautiful in every way, visually and vocally. I feel her longing so powerfully it makes me long to hold my loved ones. She has knocked me out.

There will be another video reveal tomorrow related to A BALLADS 2. I guess it's just the real order of the tracks (the site has an indicator that's still undecided) and/or more content to the second video disc.

Or...
Pray for you? haha

Shimoko mentioned the black costume represents the black stone tho in his Instagram

Added Hi-Res Lossless in download session.

Just watched the music video. The very ending got me: had goosebumps and teared up a little. That part felt epic and beautiful.

Hi, guys, I tried a mix between Haru yo koi 2020 & Vocal from 2003. I made this for fun but actually I love this version too.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g08...ew?usp=sharing

^ Now THAT would have been epic.

Oh, I love it.

BTW, I'm kinda disappointed that A BALLADS 2 forgot to include these songs:
Missing
crossroad
HANABI ~episode II~
Sunset ~Love is all~
FLOWER
Last minute
WHY
BRILLANTE
Mad World
Winter diary
blossom
Sweet Season
do it again
Walk
Will
ANother song
The GIFT

Flower best ballad ever, no doubt

Yep. Avex had no plans to release it as a single before the album. But FLOWER is my most favorite song in M(A)DE IN JAPAN album.

I really can't call Flower a ballad.

^Same.

Well, we have to call it a ballad. But with more rock and traditional themes. There's no dance beat in the song.

The first time I listened to Haru yo koi on my way home from work and I was like "what is that?" just because it was so different from what I expected it to be after watching the preview last week. So I listened a lot more times to it and watched the music video and I am just happy with it :) Ayu looks beautiful and I personally really like the dancers and their dancing.
Everytime I listen or watch I have to smile and enjoy the song :love

Exactly. Her kimono costume in the music video was so beautiful. It reminds me of her wearing a beautiful red kimono costume in the Panasonic Lumix FX9 commercial.

Just saw this funny behind the scenes clip on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kyoko_6221/statu...233370629?s=19

Sorry for the double post but Haru Yo, Koi is at #9 on the Oricon daily digital songs chart. :) For reference, the song at #3 sold 1,538 downloads.

So, I don't know if you guys remember, but back when I was in high-school there was an artist called "edwardgan" I think, who did Ayumi Collections in Anime/Manga-style. This is like 15 years ago and I don't know if he is still around, but even back then I wanted to do something like that and used his art as reference.

That said, I never really pursued the Anime style so I lack both confidence and knowledge when it comes to digital art. However, i thought A BALLADS 2 is a good starting point. The style is probably very similar, but not nearly as good. I did not look up his art again but you will probably still find it on deviantart.

The plan is to do one for every song on the album someday and to get in more practice. I "finished" the first one today, after I started it yesterday late. It has a lot of flaws, but I rather want to get in more practice before I revisit it and clean it up.

Feel free to critic me in any way. I'm more of a color-block artist, so my style is not as defined as some may like it when it comes to shading - but as said, I hope they get better.

^That's actually a very interesting style. I am not familiar with it, but the whole point of art is not similarity to an original, but emotion. I kind of like your depiction of Ayu's face expression, and the fluidity of the piece is lovely. Looking forward to see more in the future.

tracklist

No way to say
CAROLS
HEAVEN
Together When...
You were...
momentum
fated
BALLAD
Secret
MOON
Zutto...
forgiveness
Virgin Road
JEWEL
how beautiful you are
Ohia no ki
Days
beloved
Moments
walking proud
rainy day
Curtain call
Memorial address
Love song
aeternal
HOPE or PAIN
Life
untitled ~for her~
SAKURA
TODAY
Haruyo koi

thanks! I will do the other HyK outfit next :)




Disc 4 now has all PVs btw

DVD（DISC-4）
01 No way to say (video clip)
02 CAROLS (video clip)
03 HEAVEN (video clip)
04 Together When... (video clip)
05 You were... (video clip)
06 momentum (video clip)
07 fated (video clip)
08 BALLAD (video clip)
09 MOON (video clip)
10 Zutto... (video clip)
11 forgiveness (video clip)
12 Virgin Road (video clip)
13 JEWEL (video clip)
14 how beautiful you are (video clip)
15 オヒアの木 (video clip)
16 Days (video clip)
17 beloved (video clip)
18 Moments (video clip)
19 walking proud (video clip)
20 rainy day (video clip)
21 Curtain call (video clip)
22 Love song (video clip)
23 春よ、来い (video clip)
24 momentum (ayumi hamasaki Special SHOWCASE ～Xmas Eve 2020～)
25 Together When... (ayumi hamasaki COUNTDOWN LIVE 2018-2019 A(ロゴ) -TROUBLE-)
26 TODAY (TA LIMITED LIVE TOUR 2016)
27 Love song (ayumi hamasaki COUNTDOWN LIVE 2018-2019 A(ロゴ) -TROUBLE-)
28 Moments (第55回NHK紅白歌合戦)
29 JEWEL (第57回NHK紅白歌合戦)
30 Virgin Road (第61回NHK紅白歌合戦)

So everything with a PV got one in the rare disc and Love song from CDL TROUBLE is on there along with Virgin Road Kouhaku perf?

Very nice tracklists so far!

I hope they put some making stuff on for Haru at least!

two videos with making from the news
https://yadi.sk/i/jQGFiOQ1zpNl7A
https://yadi.sk/i/r8Kbg9D2R-6obQ

^Thank you so much for sharing those! :love

I like it! It is not what I expected when you said anime/manga style, which is a good thing. I already feared it might be to cliché, like eyes way too big and cute. The only criticism I have would be that something is bothering me about the shape of her face, but maybe that's me. ;) But other thab that, good work!

I’m late to the party but just listened to Haru yo koi. It’s simply amazing. I loved everything about the song and PV, it’s just pure perfection. I also love the singing technique she uses now, screaming finally went away (specially on i sounds that were painful to the ears). I don’t think A BALLADS 2 represents the idea she shared with us on TA at all (returning to Ayumi Hamasaki) but Haru yo koi definitely does. I really hope this marks the beginning of a new spring in Ayu’s career and we get to see more of it in the (not so far) future.

Track list wise, I think it flows pretty well, even though listening from beginning to end would be very tiresome for me, don’t think will ever happen. Also as much as I wanted to purchase the limited edition, the content is not worth it at all for me. Haru yo koi is awesome but not even a making of on the DVD is a shame... if only the content for the extra DVD would have been different it would make a purchase really worth it, she has tons of unreleased concerts, even a nations, that could have made the video content for the release really attractive. But PVs again... I already own all of them, and more than once lol So yeah, saving my $$$ and hopefully the next album comes sooner than expected.

It's possible they'll still announce it since we know that the footage exists. They're like piecemeal revealing new stuff every week, next week could be LE goods stuff?

okay, so no rearrangements confirmed! disappointed but oh well, they were never promised anyway.

I'm kind of glad that they decided to stuff the second BluRay/DVD with the corresponding video clips because that's definitely much better than just six clips of so-called ~rARe~ performances that everybody on this forum have seen before.

also I agree that the making-of for 春よ、来い should have been included. (in a future NEW ALBUM perhaps?)

Maybe! I though so too, since there are a few weeks left until the release.

don’t know if there’s is any Spanish fan who will recognize this, but this is literally me after watching the new PV https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iOE91sYIdG0

They also confirmed that the 30 older songs were remastered by Randy Merrill who had mastered Adele's 25 among a lot of other big name releases.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Merrill

the tracklist makes so much sense now. The mood really flows :D
Though i would think HOPE or PAIN fits in part 1 better

thank you for this. I hope the remastering is good, especially for songs like forgiveness and æternal. the noise at the beginning is so annoying.

I just checked the old thread for the LOVEppears/appears 20th Anniversary and turns out it's not the same person: