No problem! Thanks once again for translating!! :)

For some reason this song just screams "GREEN" at me and the chorus sounds like a more upbeat and "upside-down" version of GREEN's chorus xD

I think I would have preferred Ayu to be a voice in the game than this song, it's kind of underwhelming. Hoping it will grow on me instead :3

;)


I liken this song to her past 3 single releases. Not very memorable. :no

time for me to buy PS3. lol...

That sounds not too good =(

I hope it will grow on me again^^

I actually really like it. There's a sound about it that reminds me of her older works. And there certainly is a distinct quality in her voice that's different... I wonder if she's taken different measures to improve. I'm curious and excited. :) Thank you for sharing!

Haven't been much into Ayu and when I hear a new song that sounds exactly like songs from a few years ago... well, let's just say that it is disappointing.

Can't even peoples here...omg

I SWARE you're never happy or??
It's even better than the previous one I really like it.

You are all boring.

thanks misa-chan for the translation!!

i can't wait for the full version. have been repeating the chorus part whole day lol.

i think the opening sounds abit like Duty.

This is really an "Ayu-ish" song. Some parts of the chorus (melody) remind me of "GREEN" and some "Blossom".

I love the last part of the song which gives me goosebumps. The piano and melody part reminds me of Koda's 1000 no kotoba.

This is good. Can't wait for the full version.

Not overly impressed..gona wait for the full song

That's what I thought too. It sounds too much like they just copied and pasted blossom with sending mail. I hope the full version is better than this.

I really don't get the sending mail comparisons. I mean, sending mail's chorus is very repetitive - not much change in melody. Repeat, repeat, repeat. I love sending mail, don't get me wrong (2nd fav on Love songs next to November) - but I am not hearing the comparison.

love the song but do not the like "cute" voice in the verse, but i loveee this song, very promising!

OMG!!! I REALLY LOVE ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Exactly like what songs from a few years ago? Don't tell me it reminds you of HEAVEN or part of Me? :innocent

While the first few seconds of the verse do remind me of blossom all the similarities with the other songs end there for me.

same here LOL

If Ayu can have songs, such as ANGEL'S SONG and fairyland, which apparently sound similar (I never heard the similarities), then progress can sound like blossom. :P

I like the song, but my first thought after finish watching it was, I WANT THE GAME XD

for what console was it again???

the only similarity i found are only glitter and BLUE BIRD, which are mixed in the mashed up mega mix (not sure the name).

i do hear a little bit of blossom in the verses of progress.

The way the beat is and the progression of the song in the verses really is similar to blossom though.

i love this song
i cant wait to have

The only reason that it sounds like sending mail that I can think of is maybe how low or soft the verses are and then it leads into this fierce chorus but unlike sending mail, progress doesn't seem to have that bridge that let's you know it's coming. The chorus comes out of nowhere.

But on another note, what is this "cute" voice everyone is talking about? It doesn't really sound very cute to me, just... soft.

I know.

I feel like if anyone else tried singing the song to it normally, they wouldn't necessarily be labeled as cute. I think that's just how Ayu sounds when she's not in her crazy is this-About-You-Mirrorcle mode.

Can't wait for a lyric translation!

Ayu tweeted about a new cm/song for s-cup.. She said the melody is amazing and she should be writing lyrics for it.

Possible double a side? Hm

I actually think the new CM is for something else :) The photoshoot for S Cup was done awhile ago, when Ayu had long hair, so I think the CM was probably shot around the same time. And S Cup commercials tend to have their own theme song / jingle music. :D

i want that game too !!
it looks awesome

and i hope she can write the lyrics for that song

I like the song, but really interested in the game as well. I really like the settings in the beginning. Such a pretty place to be in. Ahaha. Man... I need to get a PS3 soon...

i don't know but when the song was about to start, I first thought the song was somewhat similar to sending mail. :shrug

You know I didn't even think of a new promo song for s-cup!!! I'm so excited!!!!

WOOTS DOUBLE PROMO! It feels like a long time since we've had that

The song sounds epic, but it makes me want to play this game. I'm a huge tales of... games. Hopes it comes to the US.

Otherwise, can't wait for the full version of the song.

hmm... nothing new...

But AGAIN the song is very AYU!

this song sounds nice! can't wait for the full song!!!! :DDD

this song sounds nice and catchy! can't wait for the full song !!! :DD

the video is now on her official youtube channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/ayu
http://www.avexnet.or.jp/ayu/jp/news/1106031.html

I know I read somewhere someone asking what platform this game is on! I cant find you again!
But it is a PS3 only... so im sure if it comes to the states it will be Xbox 360 and PS3.
But the company will most likely see how well Tales of Graces F sells and Tales of Abyss before they even think about bringing over this once (lord I hope they do! The way that Final Fantasy is going this series is turning out to be 1000x better!)

I still love the song and cant wait to hear a full version...

I think it's pretty epic. Its chorus will really get stuck in my head once I get to listen to the full a few times :P

Okay, don't want to make anyone jealous....just excited.
I'm sitting in the studio right now listening to the mix I did of "Progress".
It's awesome!!
Believe me when I say that "you ain't heard nothin' yet".
The preview only presents a small taste of a very dynamic powerful song and Ayumi delivers yet another amazing passionate vocal performance from the first note to the last! Plus, Mr. Yuta does his genius arrangement again.
Gives me chills every time I hear it!
Dare I say again that it's epic?
Well anyway, hope you don't have to wait too long.

Best,
Dave Reitzas
www.reitzas.com

Can't wait to hear the full version, trusting your opinion Dave~ <3

Yuta Nakano????
After the MAGIC he made with kanariya on a-yu-mix 7.... I can't waitttt!!

Not necessarily. Namco Bandai has seemingly learned from their mistakes. Tales of sold the best when the series were a PlayStation regular. Vesperia didn't do so well on XBOX360 and Graces F is a PS3 exclusive as well (in US/EU) (and both games sold better on PS3 than on Wii/XBOX360). Considering they originally announced Xillia as a PS3 game I think it will remain exclusive giving they didn't bother porting Graces F to XBOX360 when they could've as easily done it. (you'll also notice that even when the games were originally announced for other consoles they would always return to PS3, so it seems to me this time they've pretty much chosen the console right away, but we'll see).

Oh I'm glad Yuta Nakano arranged the song <3 I wonder if TK composed it.

all your previous works with Ayu was awesome!
I believe this one will be epic too )

OMG!!I can't wait,thank u :love

I love you for taking the time to update us on ayu songs before they're released. Your mixing is awesome - I seriously can't wait to hear the final song! Yuta Nakano is a genius and I'm confident this song will be amazing having known about him working on it. Thanks so much for updating us :D

are u the real Dave Reitzas??
or that troll guy?

I am jealous now :P Mind to share? :lech

OMG it sounds great!! can't wait for its release!!

I'm even more excited now. Nakano is my favorite of Ayu's regular arrangers. I can't wait!!

I'm jealous now.....
can't wait to hear the song:lech

Well Dave's comments on Ayu's songs never let me down before, can't wait to hear progress!!!!!

This part really made me laugh though, because it's so true for most ayu song previews but people still are so quick to judge a full song by them. I'd say about 90% of the time the people who complain about hating a preview wind up praising the full song and eating their words :laugh Ayu's songs are usually so complex you can't judge them by short previews. You need the whole thing for the full effect.

omg....Its Dave doing the mix again!!! I sense EPICNESS COMING! November and do it again WOOOOW

wow...Dave mixing Progress..that's cool

i hope it's true! omg cant wait!!

Agreed. As I've said before I've learned my lesson. I wasn't impressed with the R'nRC previews, but dang that album was fierce and to me, even the preview of progress sounds amazing at the least.

It sounds very remixable too. Nice!

oh wow! that is so exciting to hear. now i want the full version! :tipsy

He's the real deal. 8D

i really appreciate Mr. Reitzas share with us the new update every time.
when can we listen to the full version? T___T really can't wait after reading the description...

Thanks so much for this update! Every song that you've helped mix for Ayu has been fantastic and this one sounds like it's no exception! Can't wait.

okay~ its just surprising to see one of ayu's mixer came to our forum to share stuff about ayu's new song..
awesome!

can't wait to hear the full song!

yea! i was suprised to see one of Ayu's mixer is a member here! and so maybe Ayu is a member here too??? watch out everyone Ayu is here watching us! LOOL

Yeah, he came here last year before Virgin Road and Last angel came out~

^ wow that's cool i never noticed it before haha..
i wonder how he knew about this forum ~

I like it. :) It sounds good.

OMG... i have no idea if one of ayu's songs' mixers is a member here!! :D

(well, at least I can expect the best, the full song will absolutely leaked here first, LOL! :D :D)

Googling "Ayumi Hamasaki" in some cases can get you here from the first page of results I think :innocent

But is really is amazing to see Dave Reitzas here, thanks a lot for these news updates and for your AMAZING work(with Ayumi and other artists, I got some recordings you worked on right next to me here :)) and the mixing work you did for some songs on the Love Songs album was simply beautiful. Amongst the best I have heard on Ayumi albums definitely, if not the best.

The more I listen to this preview, the more it brings me back to the days when Hitomi Shimatani produced songs so epic like this like Shinku, Falco, Destiny
but Im not surprised because now Ayu has Yuta Nakano :3

omg omg omg now I'm even more excited to listen to full preview :thud

The song made me think of blossom meets Nana Mizuki's SCARLET KNIGHT(because of the specific use of instruments, not the genre itself) but now that you mention it it does sound like something Shimatani would sing :)

Wow, this forum has eally become something after so many years. We've done so many things for ayu, and now I find that a person who remixes ayu's music is a member here, amazing! :thud

yea i know..
but it's really quite rare to see someone who got connection with ayu actually coming by to our forum quite often

oh, I love hitomi shimatani too, until today!!!! :yes

i save intro and chorus.

Thanks for sharing!

How I miss those times :(

haha, I'm glad other people were making the Hitomi Shimatani connections as well :) I certainly miss those songs and the crossover-style. It'd be nice to hear bits and pieces of that style from Ayu!

Your numbers are questionable.

For this me, in that "10%", I feel that she continues to release the same style without anything fresh. For years I've seen most people just absolutely love every single 10 seconds of a preview they get and know that its going to be a super amazing song. Yet this forum continues to promote such a biased opinion that chases out those who differ.

At any rate. She still makes the majority of you happy and that's great. Unfortunately, for me, she continues to go flat. I'll always be a fan of her for what she did give and that shouldn't discredit my fandom for her simply because stans can't handled a difference of opinion.

Definitely a true statement. For me I see where you are coming from, but thankfully, over time, I always come to appreciate each era of music as it passes. Well, I guess the NEXT LEVEL > R'n'R era wasn't my favorite as I grew tired of most of the stuff before it even fully grew on me - but sometimes I really fall in love with stuff I wasn't "in love" with over time. GUILTY definitely (grew to love fated, Together When..., untitled which at first I felt was lackluster). Same with the Love songs era. Hated MOON for so long (lackluster), crossroad and the entire L single I thought was very bland at first, but soon I came to love them - the album as well.

Sure, I always miss the days when Ayu's music was so fierce and epic from first listen onwards, but I have learned to go into everything with little to no expectations or hopes and that way I am usually satisfied or pleasantly surprised.

^^That's what fans are, right? Being biased to their favorite artist :shrug

So when we like everything Ayu does and don't think the same way you do we're stans? Why would you even care about what someone else thinks about your opinion? It's quite normal that people who are members of an Ayumi Hamasaki forum get biased towards her work. :thud Heck I didn't come her to read how everything she does is terribly bad all the time especially when there are so many places you can read that kind of **** at...

I'm biased when I feel like it, and no one should gaf about it.

But lately I just cbf... The preview is alright though.

i don't get the sending mail comparition, maybe verses a little, but chorus oO

it seems for me like a kiss'o'kill song (not exactly the same, but slow verse + strong dramatic chorus type)

i love chorus, because ive only listened to it twice, and I still remember how it goes~ so it got stucked in my head.

but verses (or this verse) is just out of the song. It's really blossom-like, but blossom was better still :P they were not that cutesy.

and about that "ayu goes flat"... I am happy to be that kind of fan that don't like big changes. Tomb Raider goes survival, and I'm like "uhm.bring me back the typical tomb raider!"

I like when Ayu sounds like 10 years back then. I think her most experimental songs sounds like raw meat. They don't have THIS magic.

I still don't get why people keep listening and complaining about an artist they never like the material after a certain era... It's not like Ayu should be pleasing any and everyone personally....

I liked the preview, imo its sounds really strong...

Can anyone else imagine after the huge woohhh woooooooo her repeating the chorus but really softly and with only a piano melody? I dunno it just seems like it would flow nicely

Well yes I suppose but you don't "blindly" go on loving material - I hate when people refuse to admit her work is anything short of perfection when it isn't and then they attack the fans who have an opinion.

Same here. I joined this forum in 2008 and still notice the exact same people since then post in every "thoughts on -new song of the moment-" thread saying they don't like it. Everyone has a right to their opinion and by all means fans/former fans can continue for years and years posting in threads about her new songs complaining and then going on about how everyone else who likes it is a stan but it seems like a waste of time. I'd rather focus on artists who do a good job pleasing me.

People have the right to refuse agreeing with your opinion of her music... VERY few members over here really love everything she does, I would say i never read complains from 2 or 3 people only...

But there's always someone to say how much better she was in the past, how much he/her hates everything she does now and how much people who love this or that song is biased and blind... If an artist releases only stuff i dislike for 3 albums in a row, maybe it's just time to move on...

By your standards it might not be, by someone else's it just might be. You want people to accept your opinion when you're seemingly not ready to accept theirs. It seemingly goes both ways ^^ There is really no point in discussing opinions and trying to see which one is more legit. If you can't stand reading that people like something you don't, you're not any better than they are when they tell you off.

Well, to them, it might be. I think this is like those situations where instead of someone thinking that a song/set of songs is great and thinks that everyone should think they're great, but it's the exact opposite. Just because you don't like the song(s) doesn't mean that they are bad nor does it mean that everyone else has to have the same view that they're terrible and same sounding.

IMO, if you don't have something nice to say at a fan forum, you should expect to see some backlash to what you have to say. It's to be expected after all since this is kind of a forum made for Ayu fans by Ayu fans. Not everyone loves everything Ayu does here (but a lot of people seem to think that for some odd reason) but there are a few who are satisfied with her output overall and I don't think that's a bad thing. It's the case with any artist, really, but with Ayu, her overseas fanbase is pretty large compared to some other artists. Like, I'm a fan of some other artists and I rarely ever see their fans ever get so heated and disappointed over the quality of tracks compared to older works they've done. I think they're just grateful that they're releasing new material at all and taking things as they come.

Sometimes I think of Ayu fans as really spoiled because she's given us so much and more often than not, she's slammed for whatever she does. Like... she'd give fans exactly what they're asking for and then suddenly it's not enough or whatever she ended up releasing wasn't up to their standard or something. It's been bugging me for the last few releases and it makes me wonder sometimes if we as fans are even listening to the same tracks when I hear "She is releasing the same songs over and over and is not fresh." I mean reaaalllly?

^ yeah it seems that many take everything she does for granted.

^I recognise what you say there. It's pretty much what I have heard before. Ayu fans getting a bit more overheated in those questions than other artists fans. Everybody have different taste and also Ayu. She won't keep on having the same taste in music, ways in producing music etc. She evovles, just like the music industry and ppl listening to it.

So...

What I'm trying to figure out is what in her music sounds the same to you? Her singles? They're almost always going to be formulated to appeal to an audience, but her music in general? There aren't many songs like do it again (Love songs), Sexy Little Things (RnRC), Sparkle - which was on a single (Next Level) and there's definitely nothing like Mirrorcle World. I feel like people who are always asking for something different sometimes overlook songs that are actually different. Yeah she doesn't do them in hoards like she use to (in my opinion she never really use to) and it's a well known fact that her music gems are the album tracks and not necessarily the singles. The singles are going to appeal to more than just her fans, BLUE BIRD, Sunrise and Days were hits because they were ~different~. Just my two cents.

i'm not liking her voice on the song and the song sounds to happy and the wow yeah i've heard it so many times on other songs

im quite late...but I must mention that I love the preview so far, so hopefully I will love the whole song <3

Exactly. You are always so good at putting my thoughts into words <3

I'm always like 'what?' when people complain about her never doing anything new at all-because it's just not the case at all. Even if you don't like the actual product, I just can't believe that some people don't recognise songs like Slt and Do It Again as songs unique in her discography....and then act like everything she used to do was so out there and different, when it wasn't.

She has always had a decent mix of new and different, standard and more universally appealing.

Whatever, the current state of J-pop is so terrible that Ayu can release the most basic song and still slay all of her contemporaries.

That being said, I think 'progress' sounds good. Ayu knows good melodies.

I don't know why fans of pop music specifically are so obsessed with artists changing their sound and music style after every album... I blame Madonna.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :roflmao

lol, its true though.

Ayu's career doesn't even mirror Madonna's that much. when Madonna would do a new genre, she would really get deep into it. Ayu never took experimentation to that level imo, so no one should expect it.

I'm not saying people who LOVE it are blind or biased - I am saying when they get so worked up because other people don't love something. None of us hate Ayu or we wouldn't keep coming here. It's natural to feel sad sometimes when you love someone so much and have loved their music and then the releases start hitting you less and less. None of us want that but some of us start to feel that way and then there's the message like "Well too bad for you, I still love it! Heard the first 5 seconds of the new song and it's already the best song of the year!" - stuff like that. :rolleyes
A lot of the time it's not Ayu but its avex and/or the quality of releases now (not the actual songs but the PVs, promotions, covers).

Also, I am satisfied with releases and usually they grow on me and then I love them more because they are different. But it's only natural to think about how fierce it was at a certain point. I still love her releases and all, and after a year passes I usually love the previous release even more! But there is nothing wrong with missing the "spark". It's not like we are ungrateful for what she is releasing, but just can't deny and reminisce about other works and compare.

What I'm trying to get at is I just hate it when fans decide to actually review her music and if it's somewhat negative, even if it is a well written opinion and not just a "AYU SUCKS" - they are looked down on by some. Ayu could release a song of farts and giggles and some fans would still think of it as super amazing.

I believe you! I'm waaaaaaaaaaaay behind when it comes to Madonna and I just saw a performance of hers today and now... Let's just say I see where Ayu gets it hahaha.