WoW....
 

:thud

The covers are surprising, I never thought she do a cover like that. After the shock wore off, it's not terrible, just waaay sexier (raunchier) than I expected. It looks fun. I'm getting the CD only and I actually like that cover the most.

Maybe it's a photo reply to Super Manuel?

does the HOTEL Love songs come with the limited editions too ?

In the other thread, there was an hypothesis consistiing of a slipcase around the album, hiding the real covers. But, look at the picture of the boxset :

You can clearly see that on the left of the CD case, there's a caracteristical shadow of an Obi.
Then i'm afraid that there won't be any slipcase, nor any other cover to see :(

luckily i didn't bought the limited edition...it was a good idea to buy the album separately...and i got all of the versions ;)

Then again it doesn't have to be a hidden cover, it might also be the pictures inside the booklet.
I think we should just stop making assumptions for now and wait until we get our copies. :laugh

I don't think they have a slipcase but...i want one ayu pan with the album!!!

An Ayupan in bra would be fun haha :laugh

I'm glad I went for the CD + 2 DVD version rather than CD + DVD as that cover is the only one I don't like. (It's just so boring) And a part of me is kinda loving the trashiness now.

mi|kshake~

I check CDJapan just now, it stated that ;

" special case, transparent sleeved special DVD package "

maybe, the CDL is the one with the special case, not the album.

the covers are amazing! I don't think they're porn related and I'm not gonna hide them! she's OUR queen :) and everything she does it'll be awesome for me :love

^ absolutely.

There's nothing to worry about. I'm sure the booklet will be well done and the covers will make more sense and mean more once we hear the album. Not to mention the fact that you don't really look at the album art all that much when you're listening to her music. Everything will work out in the end. :yes

With her comments about the covers I wonder if she is lonely?

She's wearing a red bracelet (from what I can see) on the album covers. A red bracelet is a symbol of anorexia, worn by people who are "pro-ana" and want other pro-ana people to recognize them. I wonder if she did that on purpose or if it was purely accidental. Not trying to say she has an eating disorder, just saying it might add to the "sad party queen" image she is trying to convey.

this made me laugh.
it's the same bracelet that represents TeamAyu i think? i think it's the same one one that she wears all the time. i could be wrong though.

Yeah, the bracelet has nothing to do with anorexia.

Yeah lol, it's just her TeamAyu bracelet she wears all the time. :laugh

There has been releases (not by Ayu) where there was an obi for the slipcase. Who knows. Even if it was in a slipcase, the "real" cover might just reveal an even trashier Ayu haha

Kinda disappointed with the covers, the only version i like is the cd only version. Hmm lol

I think you're right.





Even if there is a message behind the covers, they are still no fun to look at. Ayu could have conveyed the message, even in a trashy way, that were still fun to look at. I want something visually simulating, even if its "trashy". And the message/parody thing doesn't make them any more fun to look at, either. It justified the trashiness, but that's not the part that bothers me. I don't hate the covers, but I don't love them.

Ha, I feel like an idiot now.

Nah, we all say stupid things and make mistakes, online and otherwise. No need to fret :)

^Thanks, happiholic :yatta

I was in class when I first saw the covers and my initial reaction was pure shock and disbelief. After seeing them, I could hardly concentrate and the only thought that came to my mind was "WTH is she thinking?!". Although I still feel like the covers are uncharacteristic of Ayu and it doesn't suit my personal tastes, I am taking her tweets regarding the cover into consideration as well as trying not to jump to conclusions until I have the album in hand. Between the cover of the CD+2DVD version (the one I'm getting) and Capsule's "Sugarless GiRL" cover, I do think that people who see them are gonna think that I'm starting to acquire a porn collection, lol.

I actually saw that too. However, I wonder if they're the real deal and not mockups inside of the set in the photos.

And if there is no slipcase, then what happened to the shoot in London? It wasn't just for how beautiful you are, right?

I guess she's using her body to sell the record again this time? I think it's an improvement from Love Song to Party Queen and honestly I don't really ilke the cover either. she looks too skinny and her lips !@#$%^&*

I enjoy the DVD covers, but the CD's are all...not my thing. I guess I'm sticking with ordering the CD+DVD. It's not like I was expecting anything sophisticated with the title "Party Queen", and the most important thing is still the music, so I look forward to that still! :)

According to Ayu herself, that's not the message behind the covers.

Though I'm a bit puzzled about why the CD+2DVD pose had to be like that and not... well... anything else?

For those who pointed it out, the bracelet isn't the TA one; in fact, it's not even the red bracelet that people are thinking of. That one looks like this:



And THAT bracelet wasn't originally even for TA. It was a friendship bracelet between Ayu and two of her other friends, and it wasn't until one of them died around the time of RnRC that Ayu made it a TA thing, hence RED LINE ~for TA~.

Anyway, my first initial thought upon seeing the covers was "Oh, wtf? That pic was supposed to be used for the LIFE STYLE book." The gaudiness aside, I felt completely cheated. I then saw Timmy's little outburst. I know he was just sticking up for her but I think this post summed it up pretty nicely:

I have a feeling that what started out as a simple pet nickname by Timmy or someone (Party Queen) ended up going to her head. For instance, calling Timmy a lesbian was pretty surprising to me; not in the sense that I didn't think she should've said it, but just that she said it at all. Seeing her converse with him period in the way that she does is something I find strange. Maybe because her English needs polishing, but still. Look at that, the lyrics for Party Queen themselves, and finally these covers that were shot over a year ago. It doesn't seem like Ayu to me, but rather Timmy influencing her.

The bracelet IS the TeamAyu one, but it's the one that was given away to people who purchased CDL10-11 from the TeamAyu shop. She even has photos of putting it on while in New York!

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



The one that you're talking about is the one that she made a promise on with her friends but it came off a while back, I think.

I think there's probably a lot more to the album than a lot of people are letting on and while it may seem like Timmy is 'controlling' Ayu, I highly doubt that is what's going on.

Over a year ago? It was September of 2011 when these were shot, and a lot of fans even got to see Ayu at the time.

TIMMY, YOU ARE A COMPOSER AND NOT HER MEDIA ADVISER. STOP ACTING LIKE YOU ARE!

If all this whackiness is coming from him, I want him gone yesterday. His condescending nature in his tweets should Eff Off - it's not like there's an obvious meaning in these covers to the majority of fans. Saying stuff like "Does NE1 have any fxxxxxg idea what a PARTY QUEEN is? The irony? The tragedy? The coruscating truth? The lie? The aftermath? The ideal?" just makes him look like a total ass. Go away, Timmy.

with the cover HOT <3 ....I reminded of this LOL LOL ---->

lol I didn't know that

and now the hate begins until the hate can begin when the songs are heard :P, I love the covers, their different cant wait to it comes out but I'm glad I didn't get the limited edition though because of the box

This looks way better than the CD+2DVD one.....lol

They're labelmates - Kuu should've given Ayu tips! :innocent

Still only 4 PV's to the album, I thought they would of added the ones she did unless they are going to do a fly high and kanariya single type of thing

Oh yeah, I forgot about that bracelet too! Doh, you're right, my apologies. I do believe that one I mentioned was the basis for the red bracelet now though ;)

Where the heck did I read that these were shot a year ago then? Somebody said it. Oh well, lol

<- taskinidiot, carry on

It's really weird too since she said she was working on PVs UNLESS somehow she's already got new material planned for after Party Queen.

perhaps she's already working on a new single or something

What is this about a friend of Ayu's passing away? Were we ever given any info on that?

(I love those pics of Kuu. In a heterosexual way :laugh)

another ayus friends died :yconfused

I feel like getting the CD only version as it has my favorite cover :P

She had a huge TeamAyu entry about him while he was still sick in 2009 and she updated TA again when he passed on in 2010.

http://www.jpopjrock.com/main-page/2...7-10-2009.html
http://ayusstory.blogspot.com/2010/1...h-october.html

You can read them at these links.

Around the time of RnRC I think, one of Ayu's friends passed away. He apparently listened to one of the singles before doing so, or perhaps even the album, I forget which. But they all wore this red string as a friendship bracelet, hence RED LINE ~for TA~. She wrote a whole diary entry on it which Deli translated. I'll have to go and dig it up. It was really sad.

EDIT: th beat me to it lol

I was busy quoting stuff on the other thread and it has reached the limit so..

I think Party Queen opening the album to fit this sentiment would then be very important because then the mood of the album would develop. And it really does seem like the mid section of the album feels slightly more angsty in terms of title-ing as compared to the first 3 songs. That said, after seeing what she had to say on tweeter, my interest in the album has gone up many many times. :P

That would be really awesome :)

Is this official???

REALLY?!

I am glad that I pre-ordered the CD+DVD one since that one looks the best.
The Power of Music Cover looks nice! It has been a while since I liked any of her concert DVDs covers. The last one I liked before Power of Music was CDL-09-10.

The London thing was for real, but the "London Love songs" thing... I don't remember seeing that anywhere.

Here's what Ayu had to say about the shots back in September. (translated by Misa-chan)

I'm really confused now :yconfused

What are you confused about?

Ah, thanks guys! So, he was an old friend of Ayu's? And the two of them, plus one other woman were best friends? Does she ever talk about their relationship beyond these posts?

Party Queen covers are terrible. I'm sure she's being honest in her intention to show a "sad" tabloid party queen, but no one would pick that up from looking at those covers. There's not a single sad looking element to be found.

Big LOLs and GTFOs to Timmy for his tweet about "why can't anyone understand the DEEP, SOUL-CRUSHINGLY ARTISTIC value of Ayu bent over like a dog in her panties? WHYYYYY???!! You're all soooOOOoooOOooo superficial!" Maybe if her face looked a little pained, or her makeup was runny, or she had tears in her eyes, or SOMETHING, we could believe the story. But Ayu just looks like any other tabloid chick having fun. Nothin' sad about it.

she needs a good designer... that's all. That tabloid idea can look better with a good design... sorry, I won't get the CD+3DVD sorry, I just... can't... (and no, is not for the picture)

This made my night. Laughed a little too hard.

I wanted to marry Timmy, but he can GTFO. He's the Trolliane Gibson to Ayu's Lady Gaga.

Is there any update on composers / arrangers? Timmy seems to be great at composing dance music. BRILLANTE was mediocre to me. I hope he composed more dance tracks for this album.

Nope, we just know that the people working on the album were CMJK, tasuku, Yuta Nakano, and Timmy.

Also it appears that Ayu tweeted that Leslie did not shoot these covers... his assistant Ryan Chan aka nootak on Twitter did. However, Leslie Kee is credited for the shot that was used for ViVi. I wonder if Ryan's shots are being used under Leslie's name?

http://i.imgur.com/Y77wH.jpg

I thought she shoot the covers out of the studio, and i thought we could get at least 1 more pv ToT. I like the photos, but they are good for a magazine, not for an album cover.And ayu can show her body, but honestly, it looks cheap and not epic like Koda and her JAPONESQUE.

Anyway, the most important thing is the music :)

http://i.imgur.com/CZKuD.png

I don't know how, but 24 hours ago I absolutely HATED this, and now I LOVE it! o m g freaky brainwash :mshock

(offtopic, I hate my current initiate .....). ^ lol get koda out of this thread prease!

Off-topic but I hate the GTFO, DIAF, ABCD, LMNOP's poppin' up left and right almost as much as I hate talklikethisokthxbye.

As if it wasn't complicated enough already. :laugh

i didn't want to buy the album at first but now that the covers are out i want them so badly! i agree the magazine tabloid idea needs better execution but she still looks gorgeous.

thank god she didn't pull a pink hair cover or i will puke!

Yuta Nakano? Well, this can only mean good things. (I'm being optimistic.)
I'm bummed Tetsuya Yukimi is not participating, however.

There's a possibility he did a song and didn't go on the trip to London with everyone else as last time he wasn't in London (I think) and he did meaning of Love/Last Links/count down.

Ohhhh so... maybe... the reason the separate photobook is being released is because the cover in fact only represents the outside of the album. and really, there's a cover from the London shoot underneath and within the lyric booklet, so there aren't any of the Party Queen shots in the album...

Meh. Over thinking.

I actually love the covers. But I'll avoid my reasons. :laugh

RE: to the previous topic and feminism vs. objectification - there are perfectly good arguments for either side in this case (Although I believe Ayu is quite knowledgeable in this area and knows what she's doing) but regardless, when words like "****ty" and "trashy" and "w****" and any other word commonly used to bring women and their sexuality down is used, you (general) pretty much lose most if not all your credibility. Sadly it's something I'm really used to in this forum after all my years of being here.

My fave cover is the CD only one, but of course that's the one I WON'T get :laugh I was thinking of just getting CD+DVD to save money but now I may just splurge for the CDL one since I like that cover more.

now I notice obi at the picture =(
but maybe cover on booklet will be different?

I literally almost fell off of my bed reading this. Too funny! :yes



I feel bad for ayu. Like I mentioned in the other thread, according to a few Japanese friends of mine, folks over in Japan are not thrilled with the covers and are bashing her relentlessly. For her sake I hope the "Sad Party Queen" underlying theme works in her favor because not many people are catching on apparently. :innocent

That darn OBI! I still wonder if those are actual samples in the box or if they're just mockups made as placeholders.

I hope we get some nice interviews about the album so she can elaborate further than she did on Twitter.

That's not at all the reaction I've seen on blogs and BBSes. The reaction from what I've looked at is rather positive and much less panicky than what I've seen here. They call the covers 'cool' or 'cute'. They're 'good' to some people, but they're concerned because she's so skinny on the cover. People seem to be saying that the cover is more natural than they were expecting. Japanese fans were sort of expecting more makeup and a super 80s-ish cover.

Can anyone gauge the reaction over at mixi? At ameblo/a mobile BBS, it's pretty much "The covers are good!".

http://www.rankbank.net/amaran/histo...sin=B0073ZX0UM

After the covers released, the CD+2DVD version went up 20 places or so at Amazon.jp.

Because they are!

i dont think there is anything wrong with them...
They are not her best covers, but you really can only have one best... lol
I like them!
(I think the DVD covers and much much better... i love where it looks like she is reading a book!)

Why can't people ever just stop at "not liking something" and just take it to an unnecessary next level of "you suck". :thud Just keep your stupid opinions to yourself if you don't have some nice way of putting it, talking to someone who put work into doing them.

If ayu ends up having some kind of secret covers that explain this albums theme then I might like it. But as it is, if you have to explain your concept on twitter, then obviously your concept was not executed well. I don't appreciate Timmy's post either. It's not the fans fault they can't see it when there is basically nothing in the photos themselves to support it.

I don't get why people are so up in arms about the covers. 1. No need to shame Ayu for expressing her sexuality. 2. The photos are part of a theme. There is a sexual aspect to partying, which is what the album is about for the most part.

There are many sides to Ayu and this is just one of them. I think it's silly (and slightly misogynistic) of people to say she's lost her dignity because she's being sexual in this covers.

I mean, the barcode and bizarre "new album" sticker in the bottom corner still clearly allude to the covers as being a cover of a magazine. It could have been done a whole lot better, though.

That I got right away at first look. It's the supposed SAD party queen aspect that didn't come across.

+32546846546351654

I like the covers, but the execution is crap.

:yes :yes :yes

With no actual proof it's kinda hard to believe a word you're saying... I usually find that Japanese people who don't listen to her/not like her don't really want to talk about her, as far as the people on the internet go...they bash just about everything and it doesn't matter as they are never the ones buying her albums.


I didn't really get that either. She doesn't look happy on the covers, but not particularly sad either. I am hoping this is just these are just the slipcase covers and that there'll be something different inside that will actually make the concept a little more obvious.

THIS. I don't like Timmy "shouting" to fans, at the end of the day she can always kick him out of her life and career but she would be nothing without her fans lol. And I think criticism from fans should be taken seriously and under consideration, but this is Ayu so. :D

I actually don't think fans' opinions should factor into artists' work. It just varies way too much from person to person and it doesn't seem right in my opinion for any artist to not follow their gut just because some fans don't feel the same way. At the end of the day as a fan, you're going to like what you like and dislike what you dislike. Ayu probably listens to and internalizes most criticism handed to her, but I doubt that she ever changes her mind because of it.

I do wonder what caused Timmy to explode like that though... what did he read and where did he go to see the comments?

I really like the covers....although at first, i was against it...after awhile, I love it!!! It's kinda funny too...but as usual, Ayu always have something else in mind~~

So now the covers were released, is there anything we gonna talk about? :)

I just read his tweets, he said he was possibly drinking XD

anyway IA on the fans thing
also IA on the vague concept

even I though I love the concept,I wish the album was just about partying ~*~*~*
and not sad stuff...I hope it doesn't spill into the music too much

also I have a feeling maybe all the pvs will be connected like a storyline in some way

We can look forward to the TeamAyu preview in a little over a week! I hope some of the TeamAyu members here can go.

There's also some filming she's been doing lately that's rather mysterious. Did she film new PVs or what? I'm pretty sure she said something about doing castings for a new PV that was filmed a few days later and Masashi Muto also mentioned doing a new PV with Ayu a week after that.

It's interesting that Ayu brought up Duty when asked about the covers but I wonder if there's actually supposed to be a connection. Is she trapped in some way in these covers?

Oh Timmy. Never change.

I dunno, he was typing awfully coherently for someone who was supposedly drunk. I think he's trying to cover his butt. I'm not even mad at what he said in the first place, I just don't believe him.

I guess in Duty she's in a cage, trying to break out and dressed as a leopard... so in a way she's trapped like an animal maybe? As for Party Queen maybe she feels trapped in the life she's living... or by the media..
I'm not good at these things though, I'd like to read what other people think~

About Timmy... I never liked him, but he must do what he pleases. Doing such thing on twitter though is not a smart move imo.

Do not fear: you are not alone. Those are my thoughts exactly.

Like it's a good excuse anyway :laugh

The title really need to be changed to "Drama Queen" because the fans, Ayu, and Timmy are all really emotional right now apparently :laugh

isthisLOL can confirm we pretty much got the sad feeling of the overall release BEFORE she talked about it.
It's not rocket science, the tracklist pretty much goes from partyish (Party queen) to conforting someone with a bad self-esteem (how beautiful you are).

The thing is... this is an music album, not a photobook, and far worst, according to Ayu, a concept album. If the cover on itself give us everything the lyrics will also do, the overall work will pretty much be redundant and we don't need the music at all.

The concept, the "story" she is trying to tell must come into the music, not on the covers... Even because the overall tone of the release gets a lot more powerful if the covers takes u to one direction and after listening to the music, it makes u look at the cover on the opposite way.

People can like or dislike the covers for whatever the reason they do, still, I do believe we should wait and take a look on the whole thing before judging if it's worked or didn't work at all.


I also hopes there isn't another cover... If some people can figure out what is the album talking about just looking at the cover and the tracklist, the concept is well executed enough... no needing to so obvious.

So, will we have only 4 PVs or more??

I don't need to wait for the full album to be released to know that I don't like her hair on the covers. :laugh Concepts, well executed or not, put aside, her hair looks like she used too much hair gel or something. And why is she holding a shoe in one of the shots? Its just small details like that lead me to not love the covers.

I just need something a bit less trashy. They're not terrible, I just wish for something a little more classy and whimsical. Love Songs was kind of boring, and these are too extreme. I need a nice, safe middle xD

lol i can't at people being all "there is so much sexism in the world and someone like ayu goes and does a shoot like this". Ayu has been what people would consider "trashy" all the way since the loveppears shoot when she had her titties hanging out, not to mention the unite! cover, the duty cover, rainbow cover, sparkle pv, my story covers are pretty trashy too, etc. You can't put Ayu just in one box..

The Rainbow cover trashy? Girl, you're smoking some good crack! :laugh

Rainbow is calm, demure, and peaceful, and this looks like Ayu got crunk and ripped a hotel apart. And all of a sudden the Hotel Love Songs theme makes sense...

She's naked on the cover...I mean maybe not trashy but it is kinda tacky...looking back now. Ayu hasn't exactly been a nun up to this point.

Ayu could be like a nun..Ayu could be having fun..in order to upset AHSSSS...

Half-naked or not, the pictures just suck. I don't think they look good. I'd rather have seen her completely nude, if at least the pics has been prettier/nicer/better.

:laugh

I do feel she is trolling us though. Her devout foreign fans are always super opinionated!

@happiholic
Lol. I agree. It's feels a tad random the whole thing.

:yes

Although I get what you mean I think that fans shouldn't be underestimated. There are alot of great ideas within them. Just look at all the fake covers people make in here. They very often have great concepts that are very well executed.

:yes

:yes

It's great for you guys (and some other guys) who got the sad idea without having Ayu explain it. Really lovely for you. I applaud you.

But as you might have noticed alot of people really didn't get that idea from the beginning. And some people (inkluding me) still finds it hard to see that sadness since - to them - the idea is poorly executed. Does that make us more stupid than you guys? Since there is so many people thinking like this, maybe there is some truth behind it? That maybe the idea don't come across as obvious to everyone as it did for you. Hell, not even the marjority saw that.

Now people respect the covers more since Ayu explained them but as Sunshineslayer said - the execution failed a bit leading to alot of people who didn't understand her initial thoughts and concept.

Also, I will never understand that sad/caged/party queen in the CD+DVD+DVD cover. I really can't. And the other two covers are just random and loopy.

I would love RAINBOW's cover if it wasn't for Ayu's scared pufferfish expression :P


No need for all this sarcasm darling, I'm not calling u dumb (you don't know, you don't know, how beautiful you are :P). I'm just saying people are expecting the whole concept to be exposed on the cover, and ignoring this is a music album, so, the music has a bigger role on the execution of the project that the cover or any other photo ever will...

I bet it's because she's lonely xD





Anyway, I know somewhere down the road she'll release worse covers. And we'll all think back to Party Queen and realize the covers weren't so bad :laugh. I am really excited for this album, if she delivers at least one epic rock song (my guess is "Return Road") I'll be happy! I want something like "Microphone" <3