She didn't look scared to me. She looked like she is trying to kiss the camera :-*

Well, I guess we are waiting for previews and leaks now.

I want to know what a certain devout troll thinks of the covers and if he'll start praying for her anew... :innocent

@everlastingRAINBOW
IMO she already has worst covers... Rock n Roll Circus and A Best 2 coming to mind :P

And I don't think she was lonely on RAINBOW cover, just worried that someone could wish for some fugu :P

No you didn't call me that, but I was wondering since you wrote out very clearly that isthisLOL can comfirm that you guysgot the whole idea before Ayu even said something on twitter. You also added the whole rocket sience thingy that just made your statement look like "OMG we got it and YOU didn't?! It's not hard AT ALL to understand."

And yes I get what you say about the music and all. But really. The thing I was talking about was the covers only and why I don't enjoy them as you do. I don't have any music to compare the whole album with. My main statement was not "I don't like the covers, they are crappy and empty and doesn't say anything". My statement was more like "when so many people don't get the idea before Ayu need to tell us on twitter what she meant, maybe it's not just fans going crazy and stupid, maybe it is because of the simple reason - the executuion failed." I'm not saying that you should agree with me or whatever. I'm just saying that I think it might be some truth behind people not getting the covers concept. (At least for the moment until they hear the songs).

I wonder if Timmy went on rampage after reading Jpopcentral's reactions..

I've sent him and I've got some other people to PM him there to join AHS.

Was it any worse than here? lol

Actually, it was to go more on the lines of "I'm not making it up to look smart, I was talking with someone who can confirm this" :P

But sorry for making u feel dumb anyway :P

^No I don't feel dumb after your comment. It just felt a bit like a rule technique to make people agree with you more. But yeah thanks anyways.

Also you didn't answer if you got what I said about the covers (since that was the main reason of us discussing) but I guess you maybe got what I said since you're leaving your answer blank.

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

I feel like this cover would be pretty nice if the font placement was better. :/

agree..I could have been expecting all but not a cover with a 33 years old ayu in lingerie.
I don't mean she's old, she's still young and sexy with a 33 years old consciousness,so I don't see any need to get naked...What's next?

P.S: I've never noticed her breast was so prominent..congrats!!

I got what you said, and that's why I made that long post, to say that we can't know how well the concept was executed without listening to the music. I know we only have got the covers right now, but as I said before, IMO, having another obvious cover, or even being too obvious on those ones would make the whole project seens like a "dumbed" version of what it can be. It's exactly for my disbelief that people over here are dumb that I'm against more obvious covers... If things are well done, most people will get it once they listen to the album and know lyrics (that are the main aspect of ayu's music anyway)

If even with the music it fails, I will not defend it anymore (what I doubt, she even pic two tracks we already know to begin and end the album)

Yes I also think the music (probably) and the whole concept together will make sense. I do. But that was not what I was talking about so.

I'm just saying that when so many fans didn't get the concept from the cover - there might be some truth with the whole "the execution of the cover wasn't good enough". That's not rocket science either.

I got it, it's clear that we will judge this album only after having listened carefully to the music and lyrics.
Then probably the concept would be developed,well clear and sorta meaningful.
The covers themselves are nice, I don't dislike them for what they are, but , thinking of her whole career and what she showed us about herself in many years, it's a style fall.

Before seeing the covers, i wanted to buy CD+2DVD edition but i can't even imagine having this picture at home lol
Getting CD+DVD instead~

Thanks for the updates!

What IS this concept anyway? Anybody close to figuring out? I just got that line from that song... "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to" in my head now. That might not be too far from the truth.

According to her tweets:

1. She's lonely and the covers are meant to be sad.

2. They're supposed to be like a gossip magazine.

3. We'll get the concept when the album is released.


xD

There's never a NEED to get naked.

There's no NEED to wash your hair. Or eat meat. Or chocolate. Or mint n chip ice cream.

This is how she wants to do it. Let's let her.

Luckily, it doesn't seem like there's any weird photoshop crap or...whatever. Even though the boob cover is weird.

hahaha on facebook I said she reminded me of lindsay lohan. No particular reason.

I bet you could do it with clothes on :think

Sad? I don't get it. Ok she's alone in the shoots and in real life, but what is the relationship between being lonely and being a party queen?

wait till you guys see the latest cover for Scawaii then you know what's bad...

the album covers are divine!

lol yes the cover of Scawai could be cool but her lips lol

Think about people who are really popular, like actresses/actors, musicians, even popular girls/guys in high school, they always seem to be happy, smiling and surrounded by people. But deep inside, they are lonely and sad. You never know who your real friends are, people use you for your popularity to get ahead and you can never really show your vulnerable side to others.

If you squint at the covers, you'll see Koda Kumi.

^^

Really? HAHAHAHA....what will koda-kun say when she say the cover? HEHEHEHE

The cover of scawaii is indeed a bit weird because of her facial expression, but overall... it's not awful. I really like Ayu's new style - or appearance -

Ok, clear..I still don't get the relationship with Party Queen.
Altough you're popular or famous, it's not automatic you frolic or party everytime.

^you are missing the point.
FAMOUS people, whether musicians (AYU), actresses, or "party queens", are always surrounded by people because they are famous and popular. whether it's friends or fans. on the outside it looks like everything is wonderful and they're happy, but they're actually really lonely and sad.

i think that's what Ayu means by the meaning will become clear after the album is released. i'm sure the photobook and music will tell us alot more.

I'm so disappointed with these covers, especially the CD+3DVD one. The others are nice, especially her smile.

I think that they could have done SO MUCH with the concept "Party Queen" (even thought I hate the name of the album!), but they decided to go for cheap.

Okay, their decision, but the woman on these covers is not the Ayu I love!

my thoughts exactly? i hate how everyone's like "stop being a hater love these covers" but honestly... opinions aside, anyone who can tell me that these are not her least creative covers and mean it will surprise me LOL

they basically didn't have a photoshoot for the covers...

still don't getting PartyQueen + naked cover + sadness and loneliness altogether anyway speculations are a loss of time so we will see.

^ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I almost forgot about him xD

Fingers crossed for a last minute cover change - I didn't buy Super Manuel so I can't say I'd like Ayu's version of the poses on my Ayu shelf... :(

First reaction to those covers: holy crap

I like them, although the execution could have probably been a bit better. I certainly don't get the "sad famous person" vibe the photographer was aiming for, if that's what the goal was. Just looks like what timmy said - Ayu bent over in her panties like a dog. Don't think anyone is going to be able to look past that to get the cryptic underlying meaning which isn't plain to see.

These are shock-factor images - no doubt they will work.

Yes, I also hate how everybody in this thread is treating people, who don't go like: "WAAAAHHHH~~ awesome covers" like a hater! :no (but hasn't it always been like this on AHS?).

I have been a fan of Ayu since nine years and I always loved what see did (I even thought that "FIVE" was an okay-album, even though I was very disappointed with the lyrics of the songs and the PVs!), but since some time I just don't feel Ayu anymore.


I'm NOT a hater! I LOVE Ayu, but I don't have to be okay with everything she does and I don't see anything wrong with voicing my opinion.

CD+2DVD cover is so porn! I don't like it

I doubt that I will get an answer here 'cause of the craziness over the covers, but I'll try to ask will CD+2DVD version have "special case, transparent sleeved special DVD package" in that special box, basically will be first press? THANKS

^
Special box? The first press of the CD+DVD+DVD version is the "special case, transparent sleeved special DVD package". ^^

No fishlips? Omg, this can't be happening! This is awesome :D The covers are great!

But this is about the covers, not the tracklist or what the eventual content of the album might be. All people are going to see at the store is the cover and most people are not going to care enough to analyze anything else. The cover does not seem to convey any deeper message; even fans did not see anything other than what it appears to be until after discussion + tweets from Ayu and you can expect a whole lot less thought from the average consumer. If Ayu's intent was to make the covers have a deeper message (which apparently it was) and to have that message conveyed to the people seeing it, then no, it simply does not convey that effectively.

edit: Yeah, what MissEllin said. :)

Party Queen covers:*

http://scandalmakers.wordpress.com/2...11-03-430x584/

+

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o4PZ-GjHVx...upreme_002.jpg

Given the fact that Ryan is a huge Little Monster I wouldnt be suprised about him using this as inspiration

^At least those were executed good. I see her point with being controlled by someone else (music industry/music companies) and how she's like (how to put this nice?) "one" with the piano. + Gaga have always had that kind of rebell-fashion-lightly-dressed style so those pictures fits her like a glowe.

Those were all the songs I considered worst on RnRC except for Sunset. :(

no-no I meant that blu-ray/dvd box is coming with CD+DVD+DVD version of the album so will this edition of the album have this "special transparent package" in box or copy in the album won't have this "special package"? THANKS

Yes. You can see it in the picture. ^^

The covers are bold, original and without duck face. I have to love them!

Oh hawt covers! XDD
But the CD+DVD is kinda simple :((

Exactly what i feel =|
I am Speechless ..
She is way higher than this
I really love Ayu .. But
I will pretend that i didnt saw the "CD+2DVD first press" cover so i will keep seeing her my ideal :yes
by the way the rest of the covers are very nice :)

Exactly my thoughts.

that's because many users here want ayu to be a nun forever... she's grown, she's free, she's beautiful, she's hot, she's confident and she has the control. This was a surprise for all of us, a good surprise, she showed us another aspect of herself and it is very bold. I'm happy for ayu.

^Lol, not even Ayu is happy about it. I thought she said so pretty clearly. According to her, the covers are supposed to not reflect a happy grown woman. Quite the opposite.

PLAYBUTTON cover

I dont see party queen as just surrounded with people, it's just she's the star of the show. party as her constant expectation she has to deliver. she has to always be smiling, always ready to put on a show, always full of inspiration for next album, never (good) enough. she can't just leave her job and do whatever she wants cause with her job and her status there's responsibility. about naked part she can't age, she has to remain looking youthful and hot?

Oh, I thought when you wear it people will see Ayu's face pin into your clothes but it's actually just a symbol / flag etc.

It's interesting but I kind of thought Ayu's face would attract more attention. When we listen to our mp4 ppl don't know what music is there, with this pin having Ayu's face it could attract attention and let Ayu fans meet in the street. It somehow lost the point to me, not to mention other flaws, but well :)

omg the Playbutton covers make me wanna buy them!

Edit: the 0630 is highlighted to represent Memorial Address. but i forgot the meaning behind it...

The PLAYBUTTONs are so cuuuute!

OMg Party Queen cover for 2DVDs... why?! That's so KK
The other versions look ok but the AT cover looks dull. I like the colors of the CDL cover!

When/where did she say this? On TA, or Twitter, or somewhere else?

^Yes on twitter. She said that the pictures are sad. She also made hints to being caged like the Duty cover.

I don't want Ayu to be a nun, and I don't like these covers. They are 2 separate things.

For Mirrorcle World covers she was topless and they are my favorite covers of all time. For that magazine photoshoot (ViVi I think?) she was topless with just jeans and those pictures were gorgeous.

I don't like these covers because I don't see the beauty of them.

I find that her neck and chin on CD+DVD just looks weird. When I look at it, the only things I like are her nails and the leopard print. That hair looks awesome and her smile looks forced.

I don't think they are trashy or tacky. I just think they are ugly. Plain and simple.

I hated FIVE as an album, but I think the covers look great. I loved Sunrise/Sunset single, but the covers are horrible.

I think RnRC covers looked very pretty. And I LOVED Love Songs album, THAT for me was Ayu. Smiling, light, calm, free, beautiful Ayu.

As a few others have said, if you need to explain the concept, then it just means it wasn't executed well. It sure does look like a magazine cover, and a bad tabloid cover at that.

After a night of sleep, I actually like the covers. I think my shock came from the fact that it was not what I expected. I imagined a cover with bright colors and lights. As for the playbuttons, I want them all!

NEXT LEVEL and RAINBOW covers are epic. :thud Maybe its just me, but in a multiracial city like Perth, I can see the "BLACK" and "WHITE" buttons not being taken so well by others who don't know that its an Ayu album, not just a random slogan on a button...

OMG the cover is soooooo cute..
really tempting to buy one...
very clever strategy...at least people will buy one...

AYU, Y U BE SO MYSTERIOUS?

^ Perhaps the photobook is another kind of Super Ayu? Haha.

^Yeah that's what I was thinking too while reading that tweet.

Yeah, I thought that too and I for one wouldn't wear a button with the text WHITE on it. Especially not in Germany.

I'd make my (black) boyfriend wear WHITE and I'd wear BLACK, could confuse the Nazis xD

so just realized.. there is still only 4 PV's listen on the DVD.. sad.. i wonder what she has been doing all this filming for!

Ayu is being VERY mysterious now. It's getting me intrigued and i dont really care about the covers now. But whenever i see them, I think Ayu's gorgeousness with that slick back hair, smile and even that bod just...doesnt make me see the title and stuff...yea call me a stan or whatever but the fact that she isnt having that ViVi cover face on these covers are already a win... :)

she cant be doing HOTEL Love songs tour videos since those should have been done a year ago and nothing much was shown during the CDL.
I wonder if...she has a maxi single coming? oh gosh...this is really exasperating lol! 3 more weeks...if she has awesome photos in the photobook, i really want it..

omg the playbuttons r soo cute. i'm spoilt for choices. love the MY STORY one!!

:roflmao


I do feel like perhaps the covers, despite having a deeper meaning, maybe aren't supposed to be obvious. Maybe they wanted to stir some controversy? Maybe we need a poll "Who got the deeper meaning of Party Queen covers right away?" because I sure didn't.

well obvioulsly she thinks that fans are psychic or something cuzonly after she explained, i understood, however i see no CLEAR hint in either the title or the covers. I do get the "party queen" = "popular,famous" relation....makes me think it's like Britney's "Lucky" lol

meh! there nice, but I dont think I want to shell out any money for them!
anyone know the meaning behind the numbers for memorial address?

Haha, love this! :D

I supposed '0630' represent the last day of June in which Memorial address 'happened' in a way, then after that sad day come 'July 1st' which she sang about forgetting yesterday's tears.

It's also the number drawn in the mirror by lipstick with ayu's posing to had written it

Someone posted that here somewhere

The PLAYBUTTON album covers are superb! I really love those :yes :heart

Considering that 0630 was used for "Greatful days", it's possible that she was just referring to that crazy day of partying she tends to do before July 1st. (or was July 1st the day of partying?)

From masa's site:
It would make sense since the 0630 was next to Greatful days, which could be considered a psuedo sequel to July 1st now that I think about it.

It's not as memorable as the 'father' explanation though. I personally believe she never got back into contact with her father and neither did her mother, but who knows.

^ Ah I see it now
Thanks truehappiness :yes

that is a much better explanation than the father thing...!
and it fits too!
July 1st and grateful days... ahh. the good old day!

Doesn't sound too partyish to me...

Andrenekoi, that's Memorial address, not Greatful days.



There are so many ways to interpret the numbers, (6th album, containing the 30th single, the date before July 1st, the father theory I just personally don't know if it fits the 'father' thing even though Memorial address (the song) was definitely written about her father much like teddy bear was.

I know that's not Greatful Days... But really, I find it hard to believe that on a EP that is most likelly one of her saddest releases ever, with one of her most sober booklets and with one of her darkest tittle tracks (and considering all of her title tracks, being one of the darkest, if not the darkest, is not small feat) she pics a date based on a party she waits the whole year to go, that makes her happy, as a symbol of such a sad release.

Of course, maybe the ones who MA was written for died on the same day of the party, what would given the whole EP a double meaning...

Edit: Or that she got to know about that death during the party, what would make sense considering she meets a lot of people from her past there...

^ I have no idea what you are talking about.

we are talking about grateful days and July 1...
:no

No one really knows what the truth is, it seems.

It's possible that the set of numbers means everything that we've guessed that it means at once but I think it's better that we don't know what the 'real' meaning is in the long run. (There was a guess that it was her friend NATSUKI's birthday, but her birthday is actually in May, haha)

I think this discussion is probably more fitting in the PLAYBUTTON thread since this one is supposed to be Party Queen-related.

You are talking about the numbers that are on Memorial Address booklet and play button... I'm saying why I disagree they are about Greatful Days :P

@truehappiness
I prefer it that way too... The only thing that really bothered me about PQ covers was Ayu explaining it on twitter...

I have a quick question...

Can my US PS3 play the blu ray COUNTDOWN LIVE 2011-2012 dvd?

COUNTDOWN LIVE 2011-2012 is not being released on Blu-ray (which are usually region free from avex, or if they were, they would be in the same region as the USA) and since it'll be on DVD, you will not be able to play the Region 2 DVDs unless you have a region free/region 2 DVD player. I usually make region free copies of the DVDs so I can play them in my PS3 though.

I wonder if we're going to get announcements all week at around the same time (10pm~ Japan time) this week.

I think 0630 it's a Address for her Memories. It should be the date for sure, something just happen in that day.

Really? My PS3 works just fine with japanese DVDs. For my regular DVD played I had to make it region free to make them work in it. Have they recently changed so Sweden-Japan have the same region code or will it actually work on a PS3?

ohh my goodness, thank you for telling me this, I was about to spend $89 on the CD+DVD+DVD set on yesasia.

I wonder why it is not coming out on blu-ray? do you think it ever will?

Your PS3 is Region 2. Sadly, people in the USA are stuck in Region 1. It's odd that it didn't work in your regular DVD player since it should be the same region.

And I don't think it will ever come out on Blu-ray due to ARENA TOUR 2012 A ~HOTEL Love songs~'s existence. BEST of CDL never got rereleased after being bundled with A BEST 2. There IS an HD .ts/.mkv file floating around of the concert which is your best bet (but it's also 20GB+).

Also just to clear everything up... blu-rays have no region!

Oh, I see... I would rather thing they are about Grateful days since that picture was next to those lyrics...
I just don't think she would put her father's date of death in there when she never really had a relationship with him and from the lyrics of memorial address I would say she never really wanted one.. she is bitter about what happened yes, but that does not mean she wants that relationship.

on my phone so idk if anyone replied yet, but I think she has far less creative covers than this. The covers for most of her recent singles are just her sitting or standing in froń of a solid color background looking cute or pretty, which IMO falls a little bit below these in the creative department. That doesn't mean they're good covers though lol.

IMO It's hard to be less creative than Secret as a cover... People can find it pretty and whatnot, but really... Fashion shot covered in jewels much...

@TeamAyu2004
Once I was REALLY bored on work and read some ayu lyrics in their album order to see how they connected to each other... IMO, from begining to end, MA really sounds like a big address about how Ayu felt about her father, from the times they were together, to the time he left, how it felt after it, and on the end, the news about his death.

Still... the most Ayu hated her father and never felt like meeting him again, we can't really say he has no importance to her... considering he has at least 2 songs for him on her discography. Songs that turned out to gain some of her most emotional performances...

In the end of the day, u just get angered and sad about what has some importance to you...

About the PQ covers once again.

I think she's smiling on the cover but the whole situation isn't something to be happy about: a woman of an age when you usually already have kids and family is partying and instead of them she's surrounded by shoes and other stuff.

Hearing the title PQ I guess we were expecting a cover like Rule single maybe, with some funky costume, she could as well make a cover she's never done before and put herself among friends / some people, that's the good kind of party.

The covers remind me of parties when you may feel 'happy' at first and do crazy things like nude photos, drink or have sex but then you wake up and feel miserable. Ayu could make a cover with a scene like the end of Sweet Season PV but she didn't want to be so obvious.

Let's just look at our own reaction to these covers, I think anyone who was shocked and disliked them at first somehow got the meaning (if that's really what Ayu had in mind).

I think what disturbs me about the CD+2DVD cover is that you cannot really display it on your shelf or show to people with pride. I also wonder if this album will have the same promotion as always, I can't imagine either CD+DVD or CD+2DVD cover hanging on SHibuya or on that promotion truck, I wonder if they can be banned from promotion.

^ I agree with your ideas :yes...in fact, didn't Ayu mention something about that in one of her songs??? I think it was Last angel...she talked about having merry nights & then waking up the next day & feeling lonely (or maybe she just felt ****** from a massive hangover :laugh)? I feel like it appeared somewhere else in her music too but I can't remember...all I know is those ideas you are mentioning sound so familiar.

But yeah...it is kind of sad when you put it like that. It's like..Ayu is at point in her life where a family would be a great thing to have, but instead she's surrounded by material wealth. I wonder if in this album we are going to see the 'wild' side of Ayu that we all kind of knew about, but never really saw her portray so openly in her music...Or maybe, this is what she is resorting to in order to cover up for the loneliness or possible dissatisfaction in her life. It is possible...

Idk...Ayu is a mystery to me. It seems like in her lyrics she's a deeply emotional individual who values love & companionship above all else, but in the real world she seems so independent. Or like, she can't find someone she's compatible with. It makes you wonder sometimes if we're getting the real thing in these lyrics or if they're fabricated...Of course, it could be possible that she's reminiscing about the past when she felt deep love for another person at some point, but that would seem a little irrelevant to sing about imo. Idk, the more I think about it the more I get baffled...& I guess when it comes right down to it, it's really not any of my business.

Either way, I'm still very curious as to what this album will sound like. I mean, I always am whenever she releases a new album, as no two albums from Ayu are ever the same. That's partly why I enjoy Ayu's music...I know I can always expect to hear something new from her on each album. I am even considering pre-ordering the album now that the covers are out. I'm actually pleased this time around because the cheapest one (CD only) has the best cover imo...which is more of an incentive to buy it. I gotta say though...I feel sorry for the people who pre-ordered the CD+DVD2 & had no idea what the cover would be lol...I hope they're not offended by it in anyway, & it was like SKYia mentioned, it's not something you could totally display to people with pride :laugh.

I've always felt that way about Memorial address and I was worried I was alone in that. Glad to see that's not the case. :D

Some fans in Japan were wondering what cashiers might think when you purchase the album in CD shops, haha~

And today is the day we finally agree on something xD~~

Look at that. Thanks. Didn't know. Strange though it didn't work before. xD

Why? thats the best cover out of the lot.

I agree. Ayu on all fours, in lingerie...I'll take that any day over the boring one with a shoe and the ugly awkward boob one.