I just don't see people going "oh new mini-album 2 NEW SONGS!!! I'm sooooo excited!!!" Especially if a single has a b-side like red line. Just more space
Does a mini album have to be eight tracks. It just feels like a waste of time.
I really don't want to see ayu promoting a mini album after all this other stuff especially if people want it in december or something. She should chill.

Ma was released at the time when she was still at the peak. Also, Ma was the first mini album selling over million copies, hinting that mini album does not perform as good as full album. I dunno if people walked away from ayu or they just didn't like mini album, but it's a fact that her album sales went from ~ 2 million copies (RAINBOW) to ~1 million copies (Ma) in just a year. I guess both reasons applied to that.

Then again, nowadays ayu's physical sales are mostly by hardcore fans, so whether a mini or a full album will not really affect her current sales. As long as avex's picking the right time again (i.e., no major competitors on the release day), she will get no. 1 for sure.

The Japanese Music market had a "break down" in 2003. It wasn't just Ayu's sales that went down.

Because MY STORY sold more than Memorial address it gives more legitimacy to think that it was mainly because it was a mini album.
(Well it fell from 1,850,000 to around 1,050,000) though usually artists that sell the amount of RAINBOW usually fall later to around the amount of Memorial address or less in most cases. (Like kuu - ~second session~ to Black Cherry, namie 181920 to GENIOUS 2000 and hikki SC to ULTRA BLUE where their sales just went down at those specific points) just that ayu could survive the fall with just a mini album.

Ayu's album sales isn't going up or down a lot so it doesn't matter for me if we either have one or another.

For people who wants a mini album, it doesn't really matter which one we get try take this in consideration:

If you subtract all the interludes from Guilty and Next level album, it almost looks like an mini album. Also the time length for both of these albums are not as long as most of her full length album. Who knows if ayu might release an album similar like these two again.

Although I wouldn't mind a mini album, I don't know why people are expecting one. She seems extremely inspired this year so I think we'll be getting a full album at the end of the year or in January. Since people are mentioning interludes, I just have to say I really don't like them most of the time. She has some amazing ones, but they'd still be better off as full songs. For an album 3 interludes is the maximum amount I'd be fine with, so I hope she'll only have that many (or less!) in her next album release too.

Kuu and Namie were up against some pretty tough competitors. BoA is a flop so that was expected. But yeah you can't compare it since M/b was released on a pretty quiet week. While Kuu was up against ARASHI and EXILE I think. Then Namie was up against that one Johnny guy.

That guy is Tomohisa Yamashita of NEWS, sorry :) Also add Yusuke, too - also a strong guy, by a bit...

I hate how some people assume that just because a mini-album will have fewer songs and no interludes that means each and every track will be OMGZAMAZING because Ayu will have magically put so much more effort into each track. The songs will be whatever they will be. If you took each of her albums and took out all the interludes and turned them into mini albums, the songs will still be what they are. So if you don't enjoy them on a full album, your chances of enjoying them on a mini-album will not increase. If you don't enjoy the musical direction she is heading towards now, a mini-album will not change that. The songs are what they are and they're going to be what Ayu wants them to be ALWAYS. ;D

But no competition will only mean a higher ranking, not more sales, right?

I think... What matters about positions are sales numbers, but if you pit against other very good artists (this extends to other charts ALL AROUND THE WORLD, not just Japan itself but also the U.S. and U.K.), then there sure is going to be some serious competition...

So, why isn't there any info in the first post? This just seems to be a discussion thread instead of an information thread.
Well, anyway, that aside...I don't care if Ayu releases another mini-album, it would be great. I love Memorial address, but I'm sure nothing can beat the songs on that album. OK maybe MOON can, because it's just a great song.

The main problem with mini-album is that if it will hapen' we will get M/b/c that we know + song/s from 49/50th single so there will be maybe ONE new song and with our luck (XD) a super-duper intro with tralalala. I really want MINI-album but i would LOVE if she record that after singles, 5 whole new tracks and she really rests before that. AND AFTER THAT.

anyways, i still dislike the crossroad "preview". when i heard 10 second of blossom in cm i already knew "omg, i will love that song" and i love IT freaking much (its like fairyland but better...) when i heard MOON i was like "ehm it's ok, but sounds like no way to say.. so nvm, i will listen to it once but it's boring within a listening..." I don't really think that crossroad will surprise me. Maybe the second/third track? Maybe 50single?

I just know my feelings already even from 10seconds preview. The one i remember i was really dissapointed, was "Identity". I was like "OMG" when i heard the preview from the chorus. When I heard full ver, i was very dissapointed (like with whole NL, lols)

Because there is no info yet and this is supposed to be a random useless speculation discussion thread.

Still, I said the same thing. The first post should state that we have no info yet.

agree on both of these :yes

now, i've been out of date on my uberfan stalking of ayu for the last few weeks, would someone mind telling me what the hell this whole mini album rampage is??

when did we get any clue/info that she'll be releasing a mini album??!!! she's releasing 3 singles in a row to celebrate and walk into her 50th single in 2010!

if this whole mumbo jumbo rampage about a mini album has no standing ground and was stared on a random fan's post wishing she should release a mini album next, a mod should just close this thread or delete all the unnecessary posts made.

this is a thread for discussing the next single in line and information about it =.='

People have been ranting about a hopeful mini album since the project was announced.

Basically, since she'll be releasing three consecutive singles in what was thought to be a relatively short amount of time and right after RnRC, some have thought that maybe she would do a mini-album at the end since the album would already have the typical amount of singles per album lately and it being right after this last album, it's a short amount of time and all. That's it.

Yea that is true, but still Ayu out sold all their singles, so both chart and sales ayu won, im not bashing any of the artists, im just saying.

I’m back*haha*

I have to admit, I like the Idea of a new Mini-Album BUT only with Epic Songs.
And that’s the Problem with Ayus latest Songs.
They don’t have that Epic-Factor! ( for me )
Memorial Address is one of my Alltime Favorites from Ayu.
The Songs are amazing and I love to listen to them again and again and again, a thing that doesn’t happen with her latest works NEXT LEVEL, Rock’n’Roll Circus and her new Songs MOON and blossom are also just medicore...
The Epic Arrangements are lost...
On Memorial Address every Song is different ( even though 4 from 8 Songs were done by HAL ) but they fit together so well!
But all her latest Stuff, especially RnRC and M/b, just sound all the same

So when she really wants to release a new Mini-Album she needs to step it up because there are already two Spots taken from medicore Songs...and what I hear from crossroad... there is soon another medicore Song coming to us...

It’s sad to say but since she decided to push HAL as arrangers aside ( I just realized that RnRC only had You were... ) she slowly loses her sparkling for me...
She needs more HAL ( not only in her winter ballads ), the best Arrangements were done by them ( all her great Rocksongs like 1LOVE, Because of You, is this LOVE?, GAME, talikin’ to myself, Rule and her great cute Songs like ANGELS SONG, replace, HONEY and Summersongs like fairyland, BLUE BIRD, INSPIRE, glitter were done by them! )
All the Songs I love the most from her...

And when she gets them back, THEN she can make a new Mini-Album!

Ok, it's official. We NEED news like now. :laugh

I couldn't disagree more about HAL. I wouldn't mind if she never had a song arranged by them again. In my opinion, THEY are the ones who make same-sounding songs, not who she's using now like Yuta Nakano who is very versatile and can make things sound different and unique (just imagine if Sexy little things was arranged by HAL, ew.)