Ok.. I think its guaranteed to hit a million, only slower..

I really really really hope it hits 1 Million >.<

I agree with everything you said. It's not a bad album, but I do think it is one of her worst. However, I think it is more Avex's fault than Ayu's. If she had been given more time to finish the album properly, it probably would have been better. This album and My Story seemed like they were in a race to the finish line in terms of the filler songs whereas in the past, like with I AM, the album was delayed by a few months because it wasn't ready yet.

Also, I DO think it deserves to sell a million even though it is not one of her best simply because there are several album way worse than this that have sold more.

But wasn't it delayed due to the scrapping of the overall design ideas? :\

Yes, that was part of it, but I don't think it would have taken them that long to shoot a new cover. I've always been suprised that year after year Ayu has been able to release quality albums. For most people, a year is no where near enough time to come up with a really well thought out and written album - so in that regard Ayu has been really amazing. But the last couple of years it seems to be slipping a bit and its just frustrating to me to see how good her albums are in such a short amount of time, and then thinking about how AMAZING they would be if her release schedule wasn't so hectic and the albums could come out naturally instead of always having to be like, "oh my god, I have to put an album out in a few months time!"

Well, she's pretty much expected to work like that. If she didn't work the way she did, she'd probably end up slowly losing fans or something and this place would be dead with almost no news! Haha! Anyways, I think that the quality's been pretty high for the past couple albums.. but I don't really get why Memorial Address had to be a minialbum and not an album itself. What I'm extremely thankful for, is that Avex isn't using her like they are using Koda Kumi.. as that would probably result in a bunch of awkward Ayu songs..

or maybe...

her next masterpieces?

Yeah, I know it is what is expected of her. I'm just voicing my frustration about it. :) I hate to see someone w/ great talents such as herself, rushed.

Yeah I agree. avex has been trying to get money off her the easy way round which is pretty much not sustainable. Those covers were simply awful and if I was Ayu I'd probably refuse to release those covers especially the monkey face one. Honestly the booklet wasn't the best and there was no apparent concept which showed how rushed up the album was.

Actually, I think that Ayu was sort of keen on making the album solely in New York to start a new 'venture' for this album. It was to be an album that would define 'change', and that it did. I guess that Ayu was the one who wanted all that was on the album though.. like the fact that her friend Mika Noguchi did all the photography for the booklet and that most songs were recorded in New York.. I don't think that Avex could force Ayu to do such things, so perhaps this album is just one of those creative-adventures that Ayu tends to go on but this time it just isn't as well received.

[I think that the booklet was meant to be sort of 'one central theme' as in 'This is my every day life, and this is how I am outside of 'Ayu'. This is ayumi hamasaki." or something]

Yeah but the concept wasn't exactly clear or original then. I preferred the concepts of Memorial Address or I Am.. for example. They were more typically Ayu and more conceptual than a bunch of photos from NY put together in a messy way.

And no I don't think it was creative. More like it was the opposite.

I guess you could replace the word creative with 'daring'. Not that this was too creative, but it was definitely different from the usual, right? :\

Well yes it was daring but it came out looking really rushed and thrown in at the last moment just to have a booklet. Compare it to the past booklets. Even MY STORY had a better booklet imo. Even the font is ugly and unoriginal. Now if they took some photos from the photobook and used them for the booklet it would have been a different story.

Yes, but I guess Ayu wanted to give it a sense of.. 'this is her. being real.' I wonder if it was Ayu's vision for it to be like this, rather than the glamorous booklets that we've seen before..

Unless she explains it, we'll never know. [Photobook pictures may not have fit the NY-ness though, since they were in Hawaii.] Many things seem to circulate when she goes abroad... She went to the U.S. for two calendar shoots [2005 and 2006], 4+ PVs in the US, 2 photobooks, and one in Taiwan or HK[?] , CD covers and songs being recorded in the U.S...

Perhaps things are left better when Ayu DOESN'T travel the world for inspiration and fun :p XD

We already got enough of NY from Bold & Delicious. Most of us expected something more than the real Ayu in NY and a rushed booklet. Her previous calendars and her photobook in HK were carefully made and really artistic. This booklet wasn't. Especially the cover. It was just awful work done at the last minute sorry to say.

Maybe it was her idea to show us her real self however it didn't impress me much since it didn't look carefully planned.

Personally I don't think the album was rushed at all. The ONLY reason we think that is because of the sudden release of B&D.

Why's that? I have a strong feeling that B&D wasn't meant to be released as a single but ratherwas meant as the main promotion track for the album, kind of like how About You was like for MY STORY. Hence the New York theme used for B&D pv coincides with (miss)understood theme. But knowing Avex they probably decided they could make some quick buck by releasing it as a single beforehand.

Just think about it, B&D's cover (unlike missunderstood's cover) has nothing to do with the pv at all and how Pride's pv was obviously 'rushed' that it hardly felt like a different pv than B&D's.

The result? Fans feel like (miss)understood's theme is recycled, there are less 'new' tracks and then possibly lower sales.

Though I am new to the Ayu-scene, I think this album will reach a million.

I mean, it hasn't even been a month since the release yet, and she's already sold this much? I find that quite impressive. She will reach it I'm sure.

Her sales might seem slow to most people considering how fast she's sold in the past, but I wasn't here for that, and I find all this talk of Ayu retiring kind of depressive since it seems some fans are giving up on her.

That's all just my opinion of course.

come to think of it, yea, i think B&D/Pride wasnt meant to be a single, but rather part of the 'album songs'. just look at the album schedule during nov/dec:

nov 23: ken hirai BEST
nov 30: B'z BEST
dec 07: mika BEST
dec 14: ai's LOVE COOK
dec 21: kobukuro's NAMELESS WORLD

usually, her album would have been released during these 5wks, but w/so much competition being released, avex probably wanted to delay the album release to 01/01 to guarantee the #1 spot for her. the single was just released to keep ayu into the spotlite. if B&D/Pride wasnt released, then there wouldve been like a 3month+ waiting period btwn HEAVEN (09/14) and (m)u (01/01)

And to me it didn't look like her "real self" either, so I don't think that was the intent. Ayu in tons of makeup and a gawdy fur coat does not strike me as "real."

Well, in terms of being 'real' in the way we perceive being real, A song for XX was her most 'realistic' CD cover/booklet. But from what I gather in her many interviews involving New York, it seems that she was trying to make a girl-power focused album.. but I really do not know why she decided to use such covers / photos from NY.. Perhaps because of that thing.. 'Hey, while we here[or if we're going to go to NY..].. why not?'

You know, when you go somewhere and you don't PLAN on doing something, but you do it anyway? :p Maybe.

Then she never is in her real self and (miss)understood/B&D aren't the one to blamed. Look at all the Tu-ka pictures, she wears fur coats and tons of make-up. Bold & delicious wasn't the first time she appeared in layers of make up and using dresses like that. Most of her career has ayu wearing weird dresses and tons of make-up, it's not really anything new at all.

Maybe the theme was being casual and the casual for ayu is showing she's rich and glamorous? And that she can scream Bold & Delicious and irritate the heck out of ppl in new york just because she has money and fame for that LOL :laugh