xD I didn't know about that... it's ok then~~ :D

I still don't see how both of these can get number one. Like I mean. People will be expecting L the next week. Why not just buy that. I mean she's gonna need a lot of fan support for crossroad. Or flipping the situation, L
Maybe well have an ayu miracle and they'll both just easily get number one and maybe there will be tons of promo

Its definitely gonna be interesting

I don't think avex will let her 50th single slide out of the public's notice. I just hope the ads are effective.

^
^crossroad and it's b-side aren't on L, so I don't know why someone would logically conclude to buy one over the other since they're two seperate releases.

^Because L represents a more iconic moment in Ayumi's career?

Maybe some fans who have stopped listening to Ayumi will listen to or buy L because of Avex's promotion. I also think they mean that crossroad will maybe be in the shadow of L.

Not to mention L has more content and will go for around the same price (whether or not the content is different).

People who would buy based on those reasons wouldn't buy crossroad anyway

^and that is why she is saying that maybe ayumi wont be getting #1.... due potentially to those reasons.

I think Avex has got to go aggressive...

LOL soon everyone will be hoping for mirrorcles

I think some of you are under-estimating avex and Ayu's management team. If they knew there were slight chances Ayu woudn't be getting a #1 the single would be rescheduled. The only Kumi single that did better than an Ayu single since 2007 was Ai no uta, as it sold a few thousands more than talkin' 2 myself, even though it was a bigger hit, the same's happening with Lollipop and MOON and with all the promo one had and the other one didn't. Not to mention that avex can actually control the sales of both releases.

^I agree...I wouldn't worry so much about the #1 streak...but maybe the sales for crossroad. I think it will sell less than m/b...but hopefully with promotions, it will sell more.

I'm actually more worried for the streak than the actual sales xd as long as it gets 1 for the first day and week... i dont care :P

L is gonna come on top of it anyway, so I think crossroad isn't gonna sell as much as MOON/blossom... maybe the same or less

Both are under Avex. I wouldn't be surprised if Avex did something drastic to ensure good sales for Koda Kumi AND for Ayu to keep her streak.

It'd be very, very disturbing if they let something happen to her streak when her competition is on the same label XD

During the second day of the week, when Koda is beginning to outsell Ayu : WE'VE DECIDED THIS IS A LIMITED SINGLE OF 50.000 COPIES KTHXBYE

Breakdown for the last five singles for BOTH Ayu and Kuu:

Ayu's last five singles sales


Kuu's last five singles sales


Just by looking at the spoilers, I'm estimating somewhere in the low-to-mid-30,000s for Kuu's single. She does well with her younger sister misono as well as summer singles, but at other times, she does not sell as high as Ayu does. Even with the misono collaboration, the sales numbers are below Ayu at the particular time (late winter/early spring).

So I'm estimating that Ayu's going to take #1 in the 49th single situation, despite Kuu's 48th single release. (Kuu's one back, soon to be two by the time the next week comes!)

Among other releases in the 22nd other than Ayu and Kuu, there isn't anything special except for album releases by Yui Aragaki, Maki Goto and Anna Tsuchiya (not focusing on any of those). And even Seiko Matsuda in her second-tier career, releasing another set of greatest hits (B-sides) for the now-48-year-old girl that still holds the record but could be tied during that week and could be broken next week. The Gazette is quite popular among singles, but not as popular as Ayu's AWESOMENESS!

In the 29th, nothing special either. JUJU (sings Beautiful Woman) and MEG are about to release their albums, and so does globe (grobe 15th Anniversary Greatest Hits, including a 45,000-yen limited edition!). flumpool is quite good, but along with The Gazette, not as popular as the power of Ayu!

Let's go Ayu! We can do it!!! Let's break the barriers and prove that Ayu's the best Japanese pop female soloist in history!

Avex can always ship fewer Koda Kumi singles to stores than Ayu if in doubt because Ayu's streak is worth more than Kumi getting a random number one. I like Kuu but she can go for number one another week if they are that bothered.
Three years ago we would have all had panic attacks about Ayu and Kuu going head to head, but as long as Avex plan it right, I think it will be fine :)

imo it'd be reli cheap & disgusting if avex tweaks anything to let Ayu win cos I want to see like a real battle between them but Kuu's singles can't sell well yada yada & what not... oh well Ayu's streak is more important at this point of time anyways

uhm what battle?? I mean there's not battle. We are the ones that think it is one but it really isn't... Both girls do their own thing, regardless of what others do.
I don't think they're too worried of what other female singers do.

The only real battle is against themselves, I mean ayu is obviously "fighting", if we can put it that way, with herself and her own works.

Kuu is also doing her own thing and worrying about her own stuff... why would she even care going against ayu or any other female artist and beating them in what, one day or a week of sales? That is just ridiculous and in the mind of the people that worry too much about charts (eg. people in this forum)

True about how much they ship to stores. Still if people want it they'll order it online or request it from the store before release date etc. I do that whenever an Asian artist releases an album here since our HMV don't get that much supply in. You can't go telling customers "Oh, I'm sorry, but you can't have this item."

Also, @whoever said it last page, but I want an Ayu tattoo as well. Just I think I'd rather get a real one done than have one of the temporary things.

But they don't have to ship the orders right away. However I am sure there will be no need for any of those tricks.

Now I've ordered crossroad (both CD versions) and L (Both CD versions) from CDJ separately so they'll count to first week sales in their respective weeks, lol.

I also want to see the real battle between Ayu and Kuu..
I don't want either of their singles get moved forward or pushed backward from the actual release date..
oh well, let's wait n see~~~

Obviously there's no big loss for Kuu; or rather the "battle" honestly doesn't apply to her cos I don't think she has much to lose. But why underestimate her single? Suki de x3 is a 3-ballad single... and ballads are obviously more popular with the general Japanese. Moreover it comes with her remake of walk which supposedly should help with the hype of the single.

Most of the previous posts that say stuff like "Kuu's no competition; Gossip Candy sold less than MOON/blossom despite the former having lots of promotion & the latter having none." But

1) GC had 2 versions, while M/b had 3 versions & more if u count the ones at concert venues.
2) GC is a single from Kuu with no ballad as a lead; her singles without A-Side ballads tend to not sell so well (TABOO, 3 SPLASH, etc)

I'm NOT trying to spark some war here, I'm just trying to make a point that Kuu's Suki de x3 could very well be a threat to crossroad. I love Ayu & Kuu both to death thank you very much, and I would also really want Ayu to keep her streak, and I don't think Kuu has much to lose either.

My point in my previous post, in any case, was:
I just don't want avex to do any tweaking, so it'd be all be fair. And I placed quotation marks in battle for reasons... I don't mean a real battle like it was in 2006 or something... I just mean that Kuu's single definitely has a chance to sell, but so does Ayu. If it's so, then just let it be, so that the Oricon charts would be more exciting than its current mundane & predictable state?...

I disagree so much about the ballad thing. Kuu's summer singles with her upbeat songs are usually her highest single sales all year. Anyway, Kuu hasn't had a high selling ballad single since 2006. Her new version of "walk" is probably the only thing that would make the single sell slightly more than it normally would but I still don't see her as much of a threat. Also keep in mind crossroad has 3 versions again this time and Kumi has two.

yeah I understand what u mean... I want Ayu to get #1 weekly tbh so it's good that the odds appear to be against Kuu :yes

^ you forgot that GC had 3 PVs and live performances including Music Station, while MOON/blossom had 2.5 minute long clip with to be continued aired and no lives :P

I am still not sure why are people worried about crossroad, it can't do worse than MOON/blossom as this time there will actually be some promo to it!

^It can do worse. However, as long as it sells 40~45K first week she should be fine. I'm thinking L will be the more heavily promoted one though.

maybe 2.5 minute "preview" was a marketing strategy, we never know :P

As for crossroad, I am very worried lol... simply because L is released just a week later. But I hope my worries are uncalled for ^^

Yeah I agree.
Though for correction's sake, GC also had a live (in the dream stadium concert) version just loike MOON/blossom though even without this she wouldn't sell that far I suppose, last year Sunrise/Sunset sold 110,000 with just 2 versions and not first press while kuu chan's 3 SPLASH had 3 versions and a compilation album promotion. xD So yeah versions are over-rated.

This will be a taugh battle.

Once the previews for L come out, I have a nasty feeling in my brain that if people have a choice to buy L or crossroad that week, they will choose L over crossroad, maybe causing crossroad's sales to falter? Idk, I just think crossroad might be in trouble. :( I sure hope not, I want Ayu to break the record! :cry

i read somewhere that Kuu's ballad singles always sell a lot more than her upbeat singles~ and it could be threat to Ayu's crossroad and L~

It could be a wild wild guess,

But maybe Ayumi doesn't want to break Matsuda Seiko's record?

For example, we know she admires and respects Matsuda Seiko, so maybe she planned this in a way that there's a chance she might lose to Koda Kumi, so that the record is maintained by Matsuda Seiko??

OR, maybe instead of promoting just crossroad or just L, maybe she will promote both in the magazine ones, and then maybe she will be able to perform like on Music Fair where she can perform 2 or even 3 songs.

Anyways, the reason why I said about not wanting to break Matsuda's record, is that for example I was thinking if that was me, and Matsuda Seiko is an inspiration and like someone to look up to, I wouldn't want to break their records and say "I replaced you!"...

That's hardly the case, if avex didn't want her to do it fast, there would prolly be no project ^^ Breaking a record doesn't mean she is replacing Seiko Matsuda in any way. If they didn't care about the streak and beating Seiko, they wouldn't bother pushing the release date of You were... nor would they fight for Mirrorcle World's #1 the way they did. Ayu's streak isn't just hers, it's her marketing team that plays a huge role in it, it's their success too.

@waterballon - L will in no way affect the sales of crossroad, simply because the fans who intended to buy one will most likely buy both. The general public is hardly interested in buying her physical singles. And the fans who are collecting will get both regardless of their release dates. Not all of us buy all the versions of everything and 2000 yen isn't that much for two CD onlys.

^^OOH NO, i really hope that isn't true. I really want her to break that record. I think as an artist as Ayu she deserves it to break it. With all were she is gone true. She almost lost her hearing at one side, for her fans right? She did everything for her fans, now she has to think not only about someone were she is lookin up to. (if that is true). This isn't only personal but she would fail in my eyes for her fans. We, her fans who always supported her in the long road ( to break that record). If she always thinks about her fans she must try to reach this goal. I think she just need to go for that goal with 200% I really hope what you said isn't true.

Definitely, hardcore fans have kept her afloat this far, no reason they'd be picky about speanding their money now. Also, releases come out every week, if they're fans of multiple artists it wouldn't be too much for them to buy one single on week and another on the next.

U have a point... her stuff aren't really bought by the general public anymore, hmm...

@Tal: I know what u mean, but it's interesting how Ayu's Sunrise sold pretty well & MOON/blossom was.. well don't wanna say it, while Kuu's 3 SPLASH was a shock but Gossip Candy improved much in terms of sales :yes

And about her not wanting to "replace" Seiko Matsuda... I doubt her marketing team cares about that :P

^ Gossip Candy actually sold 2k less than 3SPALSH in it's first week xD

^ but weren't the overall sales higher?

NO ! 3 splash sold more than 90k and i don' think Gossip candy can sell that much .

I think GC is still charting, but in any case I've made a mistake ><" sorry about that

^ yeah it's still charting, not sure if it'll chart long enough to reach 90k though :(

Do we know if crossroad is a single a-side single? or a double a-side single? the other song is still unannounced/unnamed and for all we know, she could end up making it an a-side by the time of it's release.

if it doesn't then maybe it spells more hope for crossroad lol

Maybee kuu releasing that same day might help crossroad?
People would say oh why go to the store and buy crossroad ill wait for L and then buy them both
save myself a go to the store
but kuu's single maybe people will be like oh kuu + ayu il go and buy both together
there's an extra reason to go buy crossroad now on its first week no?
X)
im praying crossroad #1 L no doubt will reach #1 and i have a feeling L will sell very well :)

as far as I understood, crossroad isn't a double a-side single, I guess it's like with HEAVEN.

Some people are WAY too considered with this streak. Do you guys think Ayu will be personally hurt if it's broken? I can't recollect an instance where she even ever spoke of the streak publicly. Anyway, streak or no streak... it's only important that Ayu makes good music and if she's gonna keep the streak, I'd prefer she get it the natural way rather than let avex cheat for her like with You were... / BALLAD.

I don't think she views as a priority or anything, but I personally would hate to see it go to waste when she's so near, you get what I mean? :laugh

anyway, if crossroad's gonna be like HEAVEN, then wow is it her first single since then to have only one a-side?

Mirrorcle World, talkin' 2 myself, Together when..., and BLUE BIRD are all single A-side singles that were released after HEAVEN.

What does single a side mean?
like it has 2 songs but why do ppl say it will only have one title track ? 0_o
im sorry i just became an ayu fan a year ago and im new to this thread so all this a side b side Q sidethings
are confusing.. :S
For example blue bird as single a side right? but it also had Beautiful Fighters >.<

An a-side is what is mainly promoted, it's the "main" or "lead" song on the single. It is what is mainly focused on. A b-side is the second song. It isn't as much promoted, and is like a second/less popular song.

It's really easy to tell what an a-side and a b-side are based on the single title. For example her single "BLUE BIRD". On it, BLUE BIRD is an a-side, and Beautiful Fighters is a b-side. If it was called "BLUE BIRD/Beautiful Fighters" they would both be a-sides

aren't decision & Beautiful Fighters A-Sides? O__O

No. Just because they have PVs does not make them an A-side. The singles aren't called "talkin' 2 myself/decision" or "BLUE BIRD/Beautiful Fighters".

Also, don't let "c/w" trip you up. Like her single "INSPIRE c/w GAME" does not mean that GAME is an A-side. It just simply states that The single "INSPIRE" is including the b-side "GAME".

"fairyland c/w alterna" is very similar. The single fairyland is couple with the b-side alterna. It's a way of promoting a b-side without making it an a-side. Tricky way of promoting.

tricky... :laugh But wow I have always thought decision and Beautiful Fighters were A-Sides... :shakehead

I know. I think it's a very good idea though. The whole "c/w" thing. promoting a b-side on a single without making it an a-side.

To stop any more confusions for anyone else. Here is a complete list of her b-sides.

I would think teens as a cover than a B-Side actually, but so if a single has like 2 songs in it, but its title is only of one of the songs, it means the other is a B-Side?

Yes. Or if the single is a name that isn't a song, it means they are all a-sides because the single is a multi-a-side single. Like ayu's "H" single. She has no song called H, but HANABI, July 1st, and independent are all a-sides. Or her single "A". She has no song called "A" (actually she does but that's a bit different) but all the songs are a-sides on that single. End roll, Trauma, monochrome, and too late.

so L's gonna be a 3 a-side single then, sweettt

Ahhh Thank you! That makes more sense now :)

I'm still really hoping she does on rock song on either or both singles. I feel like not much time has gone by. I can't tolerate all this wait. I want more information. XD

I really wanna see the tracklist soon

She's done rock recently with Microphone, Rule, Mirrorcle World, etc. but I want a sad, love rock song like is this LOVE? and Because of you. If there's any rock, I hope it's like that.

Unless they decide to change it like they did with BLUE BIRD.

BLUE BIRD was changed sadly due to the track not being ready in time or something... (they could have just delayed the date imo)

I still feel like NEXT LEVEL is the track that didn't make it onto BLUE BIRD.

I doubt they would, 3 A-Side is epic.. just right for a 50th single :D

I don't see that happening...it's the 50th single.

I'm missing something, what happened with Blue bird? was beautiful fighters supposed to be an a-side too?

BLUE BIRD was supposed to be a 3A. It is not.

Oh really, why? I think they sound too much alike to have been on the same single but of course if that's true an earlier version would sound much different, maybe in a different key or something.

I could easily see next level being the third a-side on the blue bird single. It definitely doesn't fit in with next level, next to rollin', identity, rule, sparkle, energize, or disco-munication.

Maybe immature "JT CM Version" and WHATEVER -version J-can be included as b-sides too? xD
Maybe teen (acoustic version) as well.

Well I'm happy next level is on well next level. Its a nice start with bridge to the sky. Nice balance to the album.

Anyway I doubt they will change L. I'd be hard to imagine songs not being ready with all the recording she's been doing.

I hated sparkle video... But may be that was because lady dynamite wasn't still up
LOL. :P
Now it just seems like an oversexual vid... And it might be good, but with all due respect is also far from being art.

I hope ayu is preparing something outstanding and beautiful to celebrate these singles though :heart :luv2

I REALLY don't want another rock song. If she does another one to promote the 50th single I'm going to be so angry.

^And Im gonna get to be a really happy bunny. ;P

Actually I would love it if she did a new INSPIRE-ish single with one lovely up-beat pop song, one rock-ish song and then something else like a ballad or mid-temp song or something like that.

But yes, that is way to much to ask. ;)

Wasn't it also supposed to be called "B" or something like that? I remember reading that somewhere but I don't know if it's true or not.

I also wonder what became of that 3rd song. Did it end up on Secret? If so I wonder what song it was.


Well you know they like to announce stuff before she's even done recording or shot the jacket photos and you never know, something could suddenly come up that will cause them to make it a double a-side.

Well, us fans have already established that she can't do another ballad, no more rock, nothing Next Level-ish and no more typical pop!

So Ayu, whatcha gonna do? Jazz? Metal? Country? Not a lot of options left, but remember : SATISFY YOUR FANS OR WE'LL BE VEEEEERY ANGRY.

Please understand that this post is a joke. If you didn't, I fear for your sanity.

"B" is usually what I call the "single that never was" and NEXT LEVEL would be called BREEZE or breeze to fit in with Beautiful Fighters and BLUE BIRD, haha.

I'm with you, avex can make magic with the sales :yes

Thanks 4 the info, now i can understand :)

Woww, interesting, a single called B.
at least we have the pvs of BLUE BIRD, Beautiful Fighters and NEXT LEVEL

LOL

Wait, she can still do something like ourselves or Real Me... one of those R&B sounding songs she does once every blue moon that you can't really classify in a genre. :P Or maybe she can do 'choir in the street' music again... aka Bold & Delicious. XD

Really, I just want something great. Naturally I have my preferences, I loved to see a nice balance like & was... a rock track/a pop track/then the weird one you can't put in a genre. The third one will probably be a ballad though she honestly doesn't need another one as an a-side... like she has two already, save some for the album lol. But as long as the songs are good/great then all that stuff is secondary. :P

^As long as it isn't her singing "AND I I III WILLLL ALWAYS LOVE YOUUUUUUUUU" I'm happy. :P

I will be kinda disappointed if she does another ballad for L, but she does ballads so well that I'd still be happy, as long as all three of the songs aren't ballads, that would kinda suck :P What I'd really like is something like & or }{... Perfect balance of songs (and I loved every one of them :heart), gorgeous covers, but this time with PV's :tipsy Omg that would be the best single ever for me :heart

I would love some typical pop or more ballads.. just anything that isn't rock! The Microphone remix made me realize just how much better she can do than rock songs.. it was a lot better than the original version.

Snap my iPod is jank so it posted twice XD Umm..

I would love another STEP you :heart

@identity: I love her rock singles so I can't agree there but yeah, Microphone remix>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Original.

I love the Microphone remix, but the original is still amazing

Ugh, I couldn't agree more. I really don't want a rock song to be the main feature. But I don't want a ballad either. A nice pop song would be nice--you know, from a J-pop artist. ;P

oh god I hate that nasty Microphone remix. Nothx

I thought the Microphone remix was actually pretty good. I can't wait for crossroad and L.

Yeah.. It's not like the rock songs are bad but I'd love if she released more of the Sparkle/Don't look back/Sexy little things/blossom type pop songs. To me, those are perfection wrapped up in 3-5 minutes and I prefer them to her rock songs.

As much as I like her rock songs, She needs to get away from them for a while. With every album, I feel like she is moving farther away from pop and closer to the rock genre. microphone, rule, talkin' 2 myself, guilty, decision. and then there are other songs that have a rock flare to them but aren't really rock like marionette, identity, and last links.

We need more pop. Also, I liked the microphone remix, not amazed by it, and it's no where near my list of top 10 favorite remix songs, but it is pretty good and does compare to the original.

Hmm justthinking randomly, if she has a lot of ballads as the singles that means she wont put many in the album no? I think tha'd be good too, then we get the balladswe love and then awsome upbeat songs for the album :)

lol, ur not alone :innocent

I wouldn't mind a rock song, as long as it isn't like the main feature... I really want another HONEY or STEP you. Hi Ayu you're Queen of J-Pop, not J-Rock :P

not really. It usually just evens out.

I want for L a rock song, a pop song and a r&b song.
She has already 2 ballads, crossroad and MOON.
r&b is something new for her, but if she does a song like Connected or Sparkle, is ok too

Compared to the original, I have to agree. I can't believe some people prefer the remix. :laugh

How exactly are Last Links and count down ballads?

both songs are powerful, and slow, and the lyrics seem to form a story about something. That's generally how I differentiate what is a ballad or not. Just because they are rock genre's doesn't mean they can't be ballads.

L will have at least one ballad on it...

Kikuchi wrote a ballad for Ayu a month or two ago.

Lol nobody prefers her rock songs? :laugh I would kill for another total rock single like t2m.
Ayu...ayu...our ayu...didn't for an RnRC interiew she mentioned how she is rock. And apparently she really likes the genre.
I don't see why anyone would even think she would step away from the genre for a while considering she had rock on nearly all of her albums starting from early in her career.

At least I'm a fan of rock and have a lot of appreciation for it especially over the typical jpop song so I don't mind her constant rock songs
And often she brings something different with them. She's good with them. And many jpop artists either don't try or can't pull it off. So I really hope for another one
Plus they can bring awesome dark or sometimes encouraging lyrics

Plus the performances of the rock songs are some of her most powerful and emotional to me so I would love for a new one at the RnRC final :)

I'm a sucker for her rock songs. And the past three singles not so much rock exactly. So I hope for one on either of these

^____^ (so much rock negativity in one thread is creepy. But what can I say its a bunch of pop fans)

I love her rock songs. I ADORE ROCK. She needs another rock single, like seriously. When was her last rock single anyway? Rule/Sparkle? Feels like it's such a long time ago already with all the ballads she's been churning out. Maybe another exotic-sounding song would do her good too, like INSPIRE or Don't Look Back. Please, anything but more ballads.

I LOVE her rock songs, and quite frankly I'd love it if the one we know will be a slow song on L turns out like count down!!

I'd also really like something like Microphone, MW, 1 LOVE as b-sides for crossroad, and/or as a song on L. (^_^)

I hope not a ballad... or at least a real slow one like Moon or blossom. We already have those. Still any other genre will be great as all her songs are totally awesome. Still, i would like to hear something more pop-ish that we haven't heard in awhile.

OT: I'm about to murder my ipod....