I feel like we've had the 'ballad' argument a million times now :laugh I think historically, a 'ballad' is a song about love, so nearly all of her songs would be ballads. But in modern pop music it's usually used to indicate a track is a slowie, I think. So it depends on which definition you wanna use if GAME is a ballad or not.

Historically, a ballad is a song telling a story(lovestories, too, but not always). Quite frankly. Ayumi has very few of those since most of her songs talk about feelings in a way that is not directly attached to a story.
In pop-culture, a ballad is a down-tempo(so "upbeat ballads" don't exist) song with a sentimental sound to some extent, sometimes but not always with a continuos build-up.

GAME fits neither definitions.

^ Well, all of ayumi's song tells a story, so game could be ballad.

BUT, in the end it doesn't really matter how people categorize their music, because its how THEY want it, not anyone else "spitting" out facts on music theory or crap like that.

^Not really... Most of her songs talk about feelings... On a ballad usually you have a narrative, characters, a begining and an ending, etc...^^ I guess appears and Teddy Bear fits this...

(Traditional) ballads(which is a fixed lyrical and musical term btw) tell NARRATIVE stories, the vast majority of Ayumi's songs don't. Singing "oh I feel bad because the world is evil"(half of ayu's discography) is no narrative story. Singing "on the first day we did this, on the second we did that..."(appears) is one.

^ i guess its subjective then, because I think her singing about her feelings does tell a story about her relationship.
which is what she does.

LOL I KNOW RIGHT :roflmao

"upbeat ballad" gtfo please.

lol reading all these comments makes me think "how did I ever come up with calling Game a rock-ballad"

If I could say something about traditional ballads: meanings and definitions change over time, sometimes even more so for many people. So when Ayu is all angsty and sad, some people might see it as a ballad since most ballads these days are balls of angsty emotion.

But that's too much info for so early in the day (just woke up), so it's better to classify Ayu's music in 2 very easy categories: angsty pop and happy pop. That was easy XD

Narative structure is not something subjective and a ballad on the traditional definition is straight-foward narative storytelling. Hinting a story on a song about your feelings is different from telling a story.

And by today standarts, a ballad is a slow (or mid-tempo sometimes) emotional song, AKA almost her whole discography, but not the up beat tracks like GAME.

^ whatever.
I dont think you understand that im not going to change my definition of what a ballad is or if Ayumi is telling a story or not.
I think she is and I think it is a rock ballad.
end of story.

It's like saying the sky green because you think so... xD but whatever makes you happier

I think you don't quite understand what a definition is :innocent

Ok.. Let's end this argument once and for all! GAME is a Pop/Rock song. Nothing more, nothing less. It's not a traditional ballad, it's a pop/rock song.

The simplest way to look at it is this:

What type of songs appear on A BALLADS?? There's your answer.

^But how about those that were released after A Ballads? xD

What I'm saying is up until that point in time. You don't see songs like "Free & Easy" / "evolution" just because they have slower/ballad-y parts just as GAME does. GAME is very heavy on guitars. It may be "pop"rock but it is a very badass song and gives off that feeling. It is very "angry"

oh dear. guys, how are you going to enjoy music if you overanalyze it that much? it's the same as destroying any piece of art by going to much deep into it, music for me is a part of art too, just enjoy it

^We aren't overnalyzing it... just discussing about it fitting or not fitting a genre... and IMO analyzing a piece of art only destroys it if it's already bad... :P

What genre is M ??? Since it's also story telling, slow BUT also rockish, upbeat and omg awesome

(OT I tag all the genres for ayu's songs like this: "J-POP" or "REMIX".) asdfghjkl

^Well... M doesn't really goes on straight-foward storytelling... She describes some situations but don't narates what happens on them, so, not a traditional ballad...

But it is a mid-tempo song about love with a big chorus... I would say it's a pop ballad inspired by power ballads with hints of the basic Ayu song (a mix of rock, dance and orquestral music). :P

If a song is slow, then is a ballad FOR ME.
Simple :)

^Well, its a ballad is... slow song :P

I disagree, but it's not an art discussion topic, so I'll pass ;)

There was new news about Tales of Xilla the other day!
Did anyone get to see it?

The game itself seems to be a completely different game (i called it!) So i don't think a progress part 2 would fit it...
I hope she does something just as epic.

I'm really sad when i heard that it would be like a new game.
I loved all characters from first episode, i expected to see some of them again in Xillia2.

^ I was thinking the same thing... At this point it just looks like a completely different game (but set in the same world)..
it seems like they are just reusing the name because the game did so well!

I like progress, but I hope for something better than just progress ~episode II~ imo.

If it really is progress the 2nd, I'm just gonna listen to ASfXX (album) 10 times in a row. Then anything she drops will be good.

^^LOL that's mean :P

if it IS progress part two, it better have a better PV than progress!!! lol

LOL but I'm not a fan of the album... poker face is okay.

^^I like a few of the tracks! FRIEND II, Present, As if..., A Song for XX, POWDER SNOW, and Depend on you. Anyway...progress IS the second best track on FIVE, next to BRILLANTE. haha the other three I don't really care for.

I liked every track but ANother song (who writes these weird titles? I thought Ayu had BETTER english than this...) Oh and before you ask, I don't like this song because of its quality, not because of the name :P

But...but...but...progress PV was amazing :( She managed to make a grande anison debut without making a tacky, to be expected video for it. Which is quite rare. IMO progress PV > every Party Queen PV and every FIVE PV but BRILLANTE.

^^ the name is because they did another song together... it was a play on words.

I really dont care for the album a Song for XX either, but I have come to enjoy the remix album a lot.

maybe a new mini-album and not a single will come along with this song..

No more mini albums!!!
I want a single! I miss them, i love them!
My ayu year is not complete with out a single...

i miss them too =\ ...but how many copies it would sell... nearly 50k?! =((

its sad about her sales, yes, but she cant be on top forever!

They must be planning something big... I dont know what other reason why they wouldnt do a single.

I'm getting horribly impatiant of not hearing any (big) news.....

^
its always been like this in the past 6 years..

I don't mind a mini-album if she's going to promote it properly... She really needs promotion on tv, so it will sell at least 150k

Tomorrow (27/06) the price and release date details for Tales of Xillia 2 will be announced on a Bandai Namco Live TV Game Wednesday webcast from 10:00PM JST (GMT+0900 hours).

Let's see if we'll get new trailer with new ayu song, or not ^^;;

Am I the only one here who doesn't mind going for 3 months without a new single or album? We just got the most new material Ayu ever put out at once in March(not counting remixes as new material since Ayumi isn't as directly involved there) xD

lookin forward to it *-*

My fingers are crossed :-))

^^^ Yeah but i don't know, i always crave for new ayu material, haha.

Don't want to get my hopes up for nothing though, so i'm not expecting anything from this annoucement.

That's a nice birthday present for me! : laugh I hope the trailer will be released.

Ok, Tales of Xillia2 will be released on November 1st according to a leak...
Will we get a new single / another*cough*mini*cough*album*cough* on October 31st / November 7th?

It's confirmed, the game will be released on November 1st!
And we'll get the CM next week on July 6th.
http://blog.esuteru.com/archives/6351160.html

a CM with new song, I hope

CM please! :thud

any chance of 'You & Me' be the theme song?!

Im hoping for a new song by ayumi...
If its you and me that would be kinda early compared to the game release... but it wouldn't surprise me.

^I don't think, because Ayu wrote in twitter about a "godly summer song", what she made just now, these weeks. The theme song was already done when the ToX article comed up..

YES YES YES YES YES YES

I don't think You & Me will be used for the theme-song (opening) for Tales of Xillia, maybe as credit or epilogue song. I really don't want a ballad to be an opening for such an epic video game.

i want something like 'no more words', like she did for inu yasha.

I hope the godly summer song isn't a slow song which i think you and I will be...

I can't wait for the cm and a preview!!!

As long as it's a good summer song. It has to have summer-y instruments...

maybe by godly summer song she meant gospel choirs. b&d part 2 hahaha :lech

^oh please NO !

^ agreed.

why is everyone so rude on b&d? it has very nice covers. :/

I think they are commenting on the song. I personally have grown to like Bold & Delicious but it was a little annoying to listen to the first time.

yay! progress was awesome! ^^

Bold & Delicious is one of my absolute favorite Ayumi songs, **** the haters!

Yeah, I was talking about the song. I have grown to like it too, but I dont want to have to grow to like ayumi songs.
I want to like them as soon as i hear them, lol.

So..... Does anyone know when the trailer (with song) will arise? And is it really true that the game will be released in November 1st?

It's true it has been revealed last week and you can see it on TOX 2 official site.
http://tox2.tales-ch.jp/

CM will be revealed on July 6th-July 7th maybe there will be Ayu's song in it?

November 1st?
Then I don't need to spend money on A SUMMER BEST, only the new single/mini LP.

WAIT A MINUTE! Has it not dawned on anybody that the new song may be You & Me? I'd melt like the wicked witch of the west.

If NOBODY called that^^, then I'm calling it first. I hope I'm wrong, actually. But you never know.

^ Thats what I thought too. But at the same time I don't think a summer-feel song would fit on a game like Xillia.. So I'm hoping its two different songs.

edit: A new song You & Me, written just for this summer song compilation, makes up a grand total of 26 songs! (planned)

So there should be two songs

I hope this will be another song composed by Yuta Nakano.

I agree! He should team up with DAI and release a masterpiece. Though he is capable of doing that on his own. I cannot wait to hear this song!

Yuck I hate those covers - the outfit is just hideous and her hair looks like it's slicked back with gel.

i like the covers used in B&D, but i don't like the song.
Pride is so different, is epic !!!
Half of the single is bad IMO, XD.

even B&D covers now seem better than the new photoshop summa monstaa Ayu, =/

^ I read that quiet often now and I guess people are simply getting older and aiming for the "real thing" but that's not what you are going to get because it has to be overly edited and enhanced to give the illusion Avex wants to sell.

If you look at the single covers from "A Song for XX" (Depend on you, For My Dear... etc) and compare them to newer ones, it's almost ridiculous how bad they've gone with photo editing and with every release it's getting worse.

I think in these tough times, people forgotten what really matters.








And I'll tell you what really matters....











The font and placement.............





And do you know how we celebrate covers?








With tokens from our past.








Memories...

So we could have the trailer in few hours??

The CM will be available on July 6th for Tales Channel members only.
It will also be broadcast in a special show on July 7th.
Maybe some "Tales Members" will leak the CM tomorrow or just the song's title if Ayu's song is in it?
http://i48.tinypic.com/2i0dyc0.jpg

^ How many hours left??

hoping for a song by ayu!!
hope it is epic!

^ it'll be 7 hours left. I'll update it later if ayu's song in it.

^ you can record it?

Hope they reveal her song...

^ If they don't i'm going to commit :P

^^I really want that too.

Not complaining right now... I'm still waiting, and hopefully this song could be the 51st single, first since September 2010...

(We want a new single already!!!)

ok, namco bandai is trolling, they just release a 15s CM with no ayu's sound in there =="

Well it's kind of makes sense we won't hear the song soon... You & Me should be promoted soon somehow and it's not the ToXII song (apparentely).

We should get something on September, maybe.

aww. i was hoping for a clip of a new song.
sadness

This just in from Japan Expo in Paris: Tales of Series producer Hideo Baba has just announced that Tales of Xillia for the PlayStation 3 will be coming to North America and Europe!

The announcement started out with playing the Tales of Xillia opening movie for everyone (with the theme song "Progress" by Ayumi Hamasaki, too)... and Hideo Baba confirming it after. @TalesofU also confirms it via this Tweet. Though the announcement was made in the EU territory, the Tweet mentions "West", so it's safe to say that the US will get it, too.

source : http://www.abyssalchronicles.com/?fn...ents&fn_id=923


--------------
So there's possibility that progress / progress instrumental will come to US?

^ Don't know if excite or not. I want the instrumental if anything.

I don't have a PS3, so this is a missed chance for me. I actually don't really care that much for the game XD. I'm just bummed that they didn't include ayu's song in the 15sec CM...

Late but I think if You & Me were the theme song to TOX2, it would have been announced already!

SOOOO hoping for a fall single then!

YAY!!! its coming to the US!!!!
I think I peed a little!

this is great!ive been waiting for the release,cant wait to play this game! if they will include Progress in the US and Europe version that would be really cool for Ayu :yes

isnt it too early for new theme song,i guess,so we'll just have to wait some more

please don't say you want a single, when you said you want a summer single, we get a best album, XD. Now we can get A WINTER BEST with the new song, j/k

I wonder in which format this will be released; Digital single, psychical single on an EP or just with the game OST.

Kinda glad that the cm didn't have the new song in it. Now I don't have to hear a lot of you *****ing or saying it's ever best song ever in her discography based on a 15 second clip. Lol I'll be patient.