thank you for this! "æterna" sounds perfect—hope there's no hidden letter there. and haha I'm almost certain from the positioning that track 4 is just called "W". oh ayuyu you funny little kween.

I did not attack a member here personally for their opinion. I am here to discuss stuff related to Ayu and I take no offence in other people here not finding this release overpriced and even buying it. This member did attack me personally. There is a difference between this person being not able to tolerate an opinion of someone who thinks this release is overpriced and me being upset about being personally attacked.
This is not about me "not liking what someone said", they didn't liked what I said and therefore decided to attack me personally. This is simply mean and most of the time I'm ignoring people calling me names and whatelse, what happens a lot. But I'm honestly done with this shit.

Could be “The Way xxxxxxxx” 🤔

Looks like she’s playing with the letters again, this time with song title start with W.

The Title must be shorter that "We are the QUEENS" for sure

Was thinking that too, maybe "The way I AM"

If its only 3 new songs then its basically a fancy $200 ish single with the tours :P 7 would be better as in 5 new and 2 as WATQ and Words. That would feel more like an album. Throw in 3 interludes and you have a decent number but that doesn't seem how avex thinks :P either way we will love it after a month after its release lol

Maybe We?

title "æterna" sounds like an interlude for me =)

Don´t think so, the song titles are centered under the track number, and the W is exactly under the "04". That´s also why I think it´s æternal and not æterna, and why the last track title is shorter then the 1st (WatQ)

I like the individual covers, especially the Jacket A Cd Only but I'm not a fan of the box ad or the pink pouch thing.
Hoping for at least one Rock track on this Single/Mini/Album

My bet:
Aeterna is the ballad sung at PoM
W is the only unknown song, it's a rockish track that echoes M
The last song is the Spotify demo, and the title the The wind... something

Let´s make a game for guessing the last track title^^
http://ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3279397

I'd guess "æternum" for that track title, I remember some math books in college saying "ad æternum" a couple of times, meaning "eternally doing this step" or something like that

Edit: oops nevermind, I hadn't seen the HQ crop where you can see the last "a" :P

On another note, I'm kinda glad she deactivated Instagram comments, I'm pretty sure that second cover would have caused a lot of... Trouble

When the only the pre-order links were live and upon the reveal of the first cover:

http://thumbs2.imagebam.com/d9/b2/8d...0927495884.jpg

And then 12 hours later the further details were revealed via Arama and posted here by Machiko:

http://thumbs2.imagebam.com/f4/ce/f0...c927495924.jpg

I demand an apology! :cool

ohhh the way i am sounds nice! And would fitting if it's the girls power song that she mentioned recording.

I think aeternal makes more sense than aeterna, but i guess people want it to be the title because it's similar to alterna haha

I vote it's a cover of The Band classic, The Weight.

Totally.
:trolleyes

The waifu.

Is there any information about the first press cd only version?

Drag her lmao

I love the deluxe box tho still bummed out no new MV's or more songs. Oh well it'll end up on Spotify (hopefully) so I'll just support her there (unless the DVD lives are good). Kinda wonder what other plans they have tho for Ayu's 20th.

I don't get why everyone is upset that two olds songs ended up on this. its unfortunate that these are two out of five yes, yet this is J-Pop and every song will end up somewhere and all of you should know that by now. I'm glad I did not listen to both much because of that reason. More freshness for me.

I just hope they put this on Spotify asap, like Koda's. I'm definitely not paying more than Spotify's fee for 5 songs.

I said that’s out loud too “those has to be a fucking joke.” Like really with the label like that?? Ridiculous.

That looks like titled We , or W because it sounds like DOUBLE.
That can't be a title more than 3 letters, and short words starting W are not many.

^ Considering the tracklist is centred and W is right underneath number "4", I think the title is acctually just "W"

Another thing I want to mention: yes, WATQ was a digital single, but technically WORDS was only officially available to people who went to the concert. And not everyone is into piracy. I've heard that Japan is quite strict with piracy, so I think including WORDS is good for the fans who didn't have a chance to attend the concert.

That is highly possible. When you think about that W sounds like double and this album is titled TROUBLE. DOUBLE TROUBLE? lol

I am thinking too much.

Also the song titled aeternus sounds like a song expressing in a female perspective. When you look at aeternus meaning, it is a "nominative feminine singular" word.

^ omg I did know about W being pronounced as double in japanese, but i didn't make a connection with double trouble haha

Well, I don't have a problem with two "old" songs on it, I have one with it being an "album" with just 5 songs and a strange way to release them.
Why is she rushing again and not waiting to make a proper album and release it at the end of this/ the beginning of next year?
Just like she was rushing this 20th Anniversary Tour.
I've asked myself back then already, why she didn't decide to only do an anniversary concert on her anniversary date and instead make full tour later in the year, when she has more time to prepare?
Then she could have concentrated to make music for it first as well.
But I also thought she had a plan already for this year, when she announced the JTB Tour, lol.

W is not only used as "double" in Japanese, on the internet it is also used at the end of a sentence to show somebody is laughing.

I’d just like to say that back in February I had a dream that Ayu would release an EP called ægle

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showpo...&postcount=335

Lol

I’m in love with the photo for the JTB Osaka tour cover. Amazing!

Overall this photo shoot is marvelous, like top quality. Can you imagine the hype though if it actually was a FULL ALBUM of say 12-14 songs?? It just kinda sucks that the thing that matters most, the music, is the only thing missing from this effort. You can tell they packaged it all together very nicely but it just really brings down the “awe” of it all when you realize we’re gettin the 3 new songs out of it and that the mood the photons conveys is nothing like the mood of the songs we know to be on the album (minus QUEENS).

The watch of Max
LOL

Yes. There is not any first press bonus

I'm as disappointed as everyone else that we're only getting 3 new songs...but honestly, who cares WTF they call the release? Does it really impact your life if they call it a single vs. mini-album vs. album? CD only version is NOT priced like a full album.

I'm more mad we're getting JTB concerts (and out of order!), instead of TA 2016 (yet to be seen how much airs on WOWOW).

I don't see why the ck brand exposed became such a huge deal lol

Honestly. It's one of those things people are making out to be a bigger deal than it really is :rolleyes

I missed those release induced meltdowns <3

W-what? :tired

71 euros for a whole month is like 2,30 euros for like three meals a day. I spend at least 200 to 250 euros for food and that without buying "luxury" food... I'm still a student but I don't eat at my university's canteen nor am I too fond of convenience foods from supermarkets. Impossible to make it through a whole month with about 70 euros o.o

Lol I have so many different feelings about that being Max on the cover with Ayu. Mostly negative ones. Does anyone know about Max's personal life? Wife, kids, etc.

^ The song End roll is about her and Max.

I really like all the covers, but the first is my favourite, it's so classic Ayu.
Is it really Max on the deluxe, or just his watch? Because if it Max then wooooow.

Not sure about End roll, but at the ntv interview she said Trust is about her and Max

Just took a quick look at the Japanese Wikipedia article.
He's married to former model Aki Hadata since 2003 and has 3 kids with her - a boy and two girls.

Also judging by his IG, he looks like he would be a messy drunk and those are the best kinds of people in my eyes lol

I agree. If I remember right though, Versace featured pretty prominently on her My Story cover (the duvet cover).

Although I have mixed feelings about the deluxe cover - I love how fierce and in control Ayu looks in the shot - don't know if it really fits with the rest of the release (yes it fits the title but doesn't seem to tie in with the rest of the pics and the previewed song - yes there are two other songs yet to be heard and WATQ is fierce).

What I love is that she's finally manifesting her 'street' or 'trendy urban' style on a release! No more princess glamour! (which she pulls of well but this is fresh!)

And while others might call it tacky, I would LOVE if she had an endorsement deal with CK. I think it would be a sign of a resurgence for her.

^ there's only one song yet to be heard

Thanks for the info.

Lyrics from Trust:

Our lips start to get closer
Even though I have never seen forever
I can believe in the two of us now.

I didn’t know she had a thing with Max. :shakehead

If I recall correctly, there are actually photos of them kissing from the 90s that were leaked by a Chinese? tabloid a long time ago? There was an Ayu blog that actually had a post (including the images) on it, but I'm not sure if that blog exists anymore.

If it's the photo I'm thinking of, isn't it in a social setting, and they're both laughing? It's not a scandalous photo of them alone.

That was definitely one of them, but I'm also sure there was another where their faces are close together (enough for a kiss) and her hand is obscuring their lips, making it seem as if she didn't want the camera to explicitly show them kissing.

EDIT: Found it, it's on the first page of 'ayumi hamasaki max matsuura' search on Google Images hahahahaha.

I would have preferred this to be the box set cover, oh well!

https://scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram...48993792_n.jpg

I would too.
CK wouldn't though.

^^^The official story about how they met and she got signed is pretty... strange. :P

^ I think there is room for storytime. What do you know?

My mistake. I've only heard the snippet released on spotify.

Ok, well, I have high hopes for that one last song then. :yes I would love something that matches the mood of the CK photo.

I think i have watched my PoM DVD over 30 times til now. I really really watch her concerts very often.

That's why i'm a little mad about this realease. I don't need the goodies and boxes and 2 versions of the mini. I just want the concerts!!! XD

The official story is the one he mer her by chance, saw potential in her and tryied over and over again to convince her to sign in. After that she started skipping her vocal lessons because she found them boring and instead of scolding her or something he sent her do New York. After that he noticed from the letters she sent him she had a talent for writing and convinced her she should write her own lyrics.

I mean, you pick this random girl who already is a failed pop star and a gravure idol, invest time and money on her while she keeps on fucking things up on purpose and them you reward her fuck ups by sending her to live abroad for free. :B

No audition. No back catalogue. Just a lot of money invested on someone with nothing to back it up based on a hunch.

Doesn't sound very plausible.

I believe they met when she was full on living her night life, started dating, maybe even out of the fact he was rich, and he saw the potential as they grew closer. On Ayu's older interviews she always sugest she had done some questionable stuff she never really elaborated about.

There's another snippet on AWA (AX_YUKU_0592 NKN_arr#2.5), has it not been posted on Spotify?

It does sound murky but if I recall, she met him at a club owned or somehow tied to Avex? And that they had gone to karaoke a couple of times after clubbing?

I agree there could have been some questionable actions. I also like to picture a situation where Max was just really good at spotting raw, unpolished talent.

I also like the interpretation that Max understood that Ayu was skipping her vocal lessons because she was too strong-willed and creative for the rigid training that is the norm for Japanese training (constant repetition, copying other artists etc.) In a word, Ayu was different. :yes:yes:yes

I need to go back and check. I thought it was a slightly more-finalized version of the original mystery demo. Thanks for the info!

^ the finalised version of that demo has "WAT" and "rough mix" in the title, it was the 3rd mysterious track, I'm talking about the 4th one, although I'm not sure if it was released on Spotify ^^

I am grateful for Max. If it weren't for him, there would be no Ayu.

He saw potential in Ayu and invested in her and it succeeded for both him and Ayu.

I see why some might not like the cover of the box set but imo it's the only one that fits "Trouble" the best. And it's something new from her. Er never got á cover like that befor.

Yeap, this is a fact. And how they met or if they dated pales compared to what they did together.

:roflmao:roflmao

At this point, everything is possible. :D

Well, if we have Who... and Why..., why not What... Where... and When...? those are good options imo :laugh

yeah, we have k-pop artists releasing "albums" with only 1 song so I don't see why everybody is so mad at it lol. who cares how it's labelled.

right? she's probably getting money for it too.

and she was probably the one who had the idea of having the man (max?) with his hand on her boob so idk why people are so mad at it and finding it so "disturbing" like... it was her choice?

Coming back to the price issue...


http://shop.mu-mo.net/avx/sv/item1?j...ateg_id=662501
http://img-shop.mu-mo.net/images/0/A...=280&sr.dh=280

One full album + PV DVD + 1 DVD concert + 2DVDs concert + crazy goodies:
cheaper than the Trouble 2 jackets DVD. (Also the Blu-ray version is cheaper too).

That's why i'm really mad. The PQ ultra limited edition was better, with more songs, PVs and cheaper. And of course, without the necessity of getting 2 of the same CD.

EDIT: And of course, we could always buy the concerts separate. Actually i bought my PQ first, then i bought PoM a few months later.

I wouldn't buy the physical copies tho. Why? I don't have CD/ DVD / Blu-ray players.

Nowadays we all watch stuff online and listen music online. I hope they have online subscription for these releases.

buy it on iTunes like I'll do (if it's going to be there) and call it a day :P

Even if it was her choice it doesn't make it less weird 😝

But didn't Ayu and Tomoya start dating back when she was still acting? Which was before meeting with Max?

I think they just met back them, not actually dated. They were together for 7 years when they broke up already in 2007/8.

And there are those leaked photos of Max ans Ayu kissing.

I really like the covers. The boob grab made me laugh. I’ve seen Japanese haters bitch about her bust, and she’s like “**** you, I’m gonna flaunt them” :laugh

I forgot how much fun it is to look forward to a new release~

thats my plan! haha

the "boob grab" cover fits the title, i really like it. Too bad she doesnt do "vibrant/crazy" photoshoots. Another monographic cover, meh. But I do really like them photos. They are very pretty and sexy at the same time. There wasnt "sexy" cover since Colours amiright?

That's how I feel. I enjoy the title, covers, and the potential of this concept, but it's not so exciting because of what it's being used for. Smh. I hope something comes out later to tie it together.

Ayu and Max officially never dated. This is just a rumour mostly found in tabloids. If Ayu and Max dated after they first met, this would have been abuse of a minor, since Ayu was just 17 years old and Max is 14 years her senior.
The photo that circulated in tabloids shows them "kissing" while blocking their faces. If they really kissed or if this was just them fooling around, we will never know.
But since I don't want to speculate that Max was abusing a teenage girl while being over 30 himself and actually the one her income depended on, I rather go with the "they never dated" version, as long as Ayu never says otherwise.

I don't think the guy on the cover is Max, I mean the dude in the picture looks way bigger and muscular, have you seen max? he's about the same height as Ayu and has the muscular complexion of a 8 years old.

^ ikr? From what we see from his body that's not max at all, not to mention if you look at the guy's arm and skin it surely is from someone much younger (or it was heavily photoshoped)

He is either Max or wearing Max's watch.

^I think is the second option, why put only the watch emoji on the description if the guy was actually him, she could have just tag him in the picture itself or write "here with my long time friend Max on the cover of my new album #RealFriendsGrabEachOthersBoobs #TROUBLE" :laugh

The hand doesn´t look like Max' hand, unless it´s massive photoshoped xD
I guess it´s just a random Model, or maybe one of her dancers.

Though you also think, why mention him at all? It would be a bit too scandalous for Ayu for it to be him but then again this release IS called TROUBLE.

I mean, the IG tag had the emoji for both hand and watch...to me that seems pretty clear he's the guy. If it was just his watch, why not have just the watch emoji? But who knows.

Ayu could use the Sphinx concept for future releases, she's being so mysterious these times.

Maybe this mean she will retire? Or that she still isn't ovee Nagase?

:yes
It is confirmed, the limited box will contain a glass of Nagase's blood.

Sorry for being late to the party but...

Only 5 songs (2 of them we already have) and y'all only talk about a damn watch?

WTF ayu, you're really in TROUBLE.

What's next? That one of the three new songs will be an interlude?

I don't like the way Chibi-Chan was bullied honestly. Nothing she said was even offensive. Then others came to encourage it all.:no
I am also hoping that it is not Max on the cover and that he did not have a relationship with Ayu during those times. That would be so upsetting to me. It would be so wrong. I know the photo that is being talked about and it looked like they were just drinking or partying and took a silly in the moment picture. They didn't actually kiss behind the hand covering their faces.
But I am honestly not sure if it is Max in the album cover, maybe. The model looks taller and more masculine than Max does and younger.:shrug

We have already moved on after a zillion of pages.

And the watch... is more like whos watch it is... and why Max was tagged. Was it only his watch or is there more? I mean, that is juicy and also a little disturbing.

Soooooo..... yas. We all now talk about the watch now I guess. We have discovered that today, so it's relevant!

^^Actually, this guy's hand doesn't look so young.

Yes this is pretty sad... People should really think twice before attacking other members... It is a forum. Freedom of opinion as long as it's not obvious trolling or disrespect... Expect negative comments and get over it.

PEACE

I was going to speak about the fact that the CD only covers were boring and a bit tacky (I understand the 90's feeling some talked about but I'm not sur it's done on purpose... Like a lot of things with ayu. I don't like the perfect curve of her hair on the "main" cover... Unnatural, a bit too much IMO.
Then I saw the deluxe version cover... I really like the picture in itself. It is a great change!!! She is not alone, not ANOTHER close-up, she wears unusal clothes, the composition is great. It is sexy and classy at the same time... Just don't like the fish lips and the obvious CK product placement... Looks a bit cheap.
Then I saw her last Instagram post. To me there is only one way to understand it, The watch AND the hand belong to Max (emojis of both the watch AND the hand). Max is on the cover too... That is some serious TROUBLE. This should have been the main cover!! I love it.

I'm so UNhappy to see WATQ once again il her discography. This song better have new arrangements, like professional ones you know... I can't believe she will release it on a CD without changing it. This would be like having no shame at all haha.

We wanted something to speak about, some news, well... Here we are haha!

Am I the only one who's mind wasn't thinking so "scandalous" when I saw the text and tag on instagram :D ? To me that hand emoji means "stop/wait", and the watch meant time. So what I thought was, it meant more "thanks for waiting, max", meaning, she got the time she wanted until releasing something (yes, I know, 3 songs, 2 years, really, but only time will tell I guess). And yes, Avex isn't probably controlling her that much nowadays. But, that's how I took it, sue me haha.

On the other hand, if it is Max's hand, well that at least gives some meaning to the photo I guess, so I'm not mad about that. There must be a meaning behind it then, wether it's only to shock or something else.

BUT WHAT I'M NOT AGREEING ON IS, that she would need to "borrow" that watch from Max. She is filthy rich. Buying a Richard Mille watch, for only a one photo even, or borrowing it from the brand itself, isn't a problem for her. Richard Mille watch can easily be worth almost a million US dollars or even more. She could afford that if she wanted to. So no, I don't believe she needs to borrow it from anyone, girl can get one whenever herself. If it is Max in the photo, he's there for different reasons, not to borrow a watch.

ps. girl isn't dumb, that Calvin Klein ad gave her a good paycheck. Or, she just thought it looked cool, and did it for free, big whoop.

I’m also disappointed in this release but at least i think the marketing strategy kinda make sense.

For non-hardcore fans, paying 1900yen for an “album” is not an issue , it’s just the price of 3-4 bento at family mart. Hopefully, this would increase the sales to non-hardcore ayu and that bit of money wont matter that much to them anyway, and for non-hardcore fans might not even heard/known for WATQ and WORDS, they might think this is an “album” with 5 brand new songs.

For HARDCORE FANS (like all of us here) and wants both dvd for JTB Chap 1 & Chap 3 would still pay for that very ridiculous price.

I just wonder how much does it actually cost to produce 1 song, is the budget that that tight and can’t even afford to have at least 8 songs? Deep down, i’m hoping all these money grabbing release is to fund her future big plans.

She gotta build that pile of money first for a high quality PV or big scale with good concepts and costumes concerts. Well...

^^They are over there, in the mid of the shot, they feel the male model needs a watch, Max is in the room with a nice watch. It makes no sense to stop the whole thing and maybe even postponing it just so she can buy a watch. :P

And I also don't get what would be so scandalous about Max being on the photo. It's almost like people don't get the concept of playing a character for a photoshoot.

I love all the pictures and can't wait to see the high-res pics from the booklet but tbh I didn't notice the boob grab at first, but when I did I thought it was her ex-husband...He was a big, muscular looking guy like the guy on the cover looks..And wasn't there some rumors that their divorce technically wasn't finalized? If it's not him then maybe it's her new fling or a dancer?

I still want to have faith that her and her team plan details for the shoot a little bit better :D :D :D

Eh, it happens a lot in photoshoots - they're in the middle of the shoot and just fee like they're missing something.

Haven't you ever watched America's Next Top Model? :twink

Yeah, borrowing stuff on set is pretty standart for photoshots, as there's no way to fully preview how the photo will look like before taking it.

Hey guys!

It’s really nice that this thread has been getting so many posts—after all, it’s been such a long time since Ayu caused us so much trouble :P

However, I would like to remind you all that everyone here has the right to share their opinions as long as they do so in a polite manner. It’s natural to disagree with other people’s points of view, but no one deserves to be personally attacked. Remember to be respectful.

If you have a problem that needs a moderator or Helper’s attention, inform staff.

Thank you, and let’s keep talking about TROUBLE. :thumbsup

That hand on Ayu's breast is an old man hand.... = MAX :D

500 posts in 2 days... must be a new record :P