With the prize drawing...I wonder if I'm entered three times or just once. I ordered all three, but they're in the same order. So do I have three chances to win, or one? Hmm...hopefully three. lol

It says: "purchase at least one"
So if you ordered in one order you only have one chance.
That´s why I always order seperate when buying multiple versions of an album (mostly also on different sites) to have more chances

IC Sticker?

And...why they wrote: *microSD music and movies are currently compatible only with cellular phones sold in Japan with the capability to play them back. ?

here: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=AVCD-38104

that shows up on EVERY item page on CDJapan

they do write the same thing on every singles or album
i guess they put there to remind their customers that the songs in microSD format is valid in japan only

Ahhh thank you!

But...what is IC stickers? °_°
IC?

IC sticker is a sticker to put on one's train pass card.

they did it with rule/sparkle single too, if i remember correctly.

at least that what i think it is...

2 weeks?! Such a long time to wait! :(

just look at it this way, there are 34 days till the album. Everyday is another day down :D

Next week it'll be in the 20's <3<3<3~~

YES!! :D

Yeah honestly things are gonna be pretty quick... if you're busy in RL that is lol

That's a really good way of thinking about it!! :D

It's like My Bday (16th~6 days to go!)

Don't think about how long it is, just think that it's one day down everytime

The only thing keeping me from going insane with anticipation is that I'm going on vacation for 10 days, and the day I get back...The album will be released~~~~! Two awesome things in a row :D Although I might lose it on the trip lol >____>

I still think it's odd that the album gets released after the tour has started, really wonder what the feeling/vibe is gonna be at the first 2 concerts

^ It's not that big of a deal, really. Dir en grey went on a tour of the US in 2008 a week or so before their new album dropped. Granted, that tour wasn't in support of the album - but I still don't find it that odd. Since when was there a rule that tours had to follow albums, y'know? :)

I agree with what someone said earlier, about getting a MY STORY vibe from this album. NEXT LEVEL made me think of LOVEppears (in a good way!) so I think it's interesting to draw another comparison from a recent album to an earlier one... I wonder if GUILTY could be compared to ASFXX.

For me this album has the MY STORY vibe too!!

GUILTY n A Song For XX!? Now you say... it could be, the both has the same kind of atmosfere... very personal!

GUILTY is TOTALLY related to Duty, not A Song for xx. Even the PHOTOSHOOTS have similarities.

Actually, tbh, I've always thought that Duty, Memorial address and GUILTY are kinda a trilogy of sorts :D

The Photos are, but this is because Ayu is a fashion person and animals things done great on this too... but the songs... I don't feel Duty in GUILTY... For me GUILTY has the depressive/personal atmosphere that's ASFXX shows

Prior to releasing GUILTY she herself said that she has sang about similar things before and pointed out that she downloaded Duty some time ago and that it reminded her of GUILTY. I don't think the cover with the animal print dress was an accident (plus the nails ^^) nor the disc print, she prolly had Duty on her mind.

You /= Ayu.

I really don't remmember this xD

I totally feel Duty on GUILTY. Her first real rockish song, End of the World was on Duty, and GUILTY had an emphasis on Rock, they each had distinctive pop songs (AUDIENCE vogue / glitter MY ALL) one of which is an audience song. They have a good number of ballads each, and each one has an emotional ballad that's extremely personal (teddy bear and untitled~for her~)...

It's hard NOT to see Duty on GUILTY.

I don't disagree with you xD

I've always thought that Duty and GUILTY were somewhat related to each other; I think each really reflected on her career also.

In that way most albums have that pattern. Take (miss)understood: Rock (Is This LOVE? alterna), pop songs (STEP you, fairyland, Beautiful Day), many ballads and a personal one (HEAVEN).

I personally never even thought of comparing GUILTY to Duty, other than the photoshoot. But I can see why some people do though :) I'm not saying either way is wrong.

I don't think that every album has an intensely personal song. imo, all her songs are in some way personal, but the ones that are truely intensely personal are A Song for xx, teddy bear, Memorial address, untitled, and Who...

Though (miss)understood's main theme was ecouraging women. Duty and GUILTY dealt a bit more with her career. The songs on both albums were also generally darker than songs on something like (miss)understood, which was generally positive.

same for me... GUILTY had a strong Duty feeling and not only because of duTY, guilTY and the cover theme, but for the reasons GRACE and AngelSenshi said ^^

well I can't see them relating, but when people say it like above, it seems like GUILTY is the evolved version of Duty. makes the cover seem very befitting =]

i KNOW that there INS'T a rule that a tour HAS to follow the album, but it's more usual for things to go in that order ... and i was just wondering how it might go, i didn't really mean a whole lot with it ...
Besides i was only talking about the first 2 concerts NOT the entire tour, because i actually do imagine Ayu playing songs from her new album... and since the tour has the SAME name as the album, i kinda get the impression that they are related to each other.
I don't like to go to a concert and not know half of the songs that are getting played, but that's just my opinion

That's understandable; I know what you mean. Kinda like you feel like you're missing something. I'm sure things will go well though.

I'm sure it'll go wel, i just wonderd if there might be a different vibe, i can imagine there being a bigger anticipation because (hopefully) no one has heard the entire album yet

I suppose it would be a somewhat pleasant surprise; since probably by then people would've heard little previews, then the first time they hear the full songs would be at the concert, which would be a cool way to get into the album. There are some songs I never appreciated on an album until I saw the live performance so maybe things will be like that with the show.

Exactly :yes

it happened to me with the Asia Tour 2008: i didn't never really appreciate HANABI, but when i heard it during the concert, i was almost crying :thud

there are only two shows before the album comes out, so it's really not that big a deal

I agree with GRACE. No big deal actually.

I wonder...Is she waiting, because she wants to record some live versions of her songs for the album? Very un-Ayu-ish, but I can't help but wonder...

^and include them only within 2 days before it goes on sale? no... xD

I'm not trying to make a big deal out of someting i was just wondering about,
But now it just feels like i have to start defending myself for my own opinion :S
i myself already said that i was just reffering to the 2 first concerts anyway... and i didn't mean it as a bad thing either...

Hm, nah...maybe not : P : P

When wishful thinking and not enough sleep takes over...lol:thud

^I know, I know hahaha ayu-fans and our theories XD

do not take that so seriously! You only said that doing 2 concerts before the release date is strange, and it is; and they were only saying you not to worry about this cause probably they will be selling the album the first day of the tour and we will have previews available in chaku uta days before ^^

don't see it like they are arguing with you ^^

both the tour and the album have the title "Rock'n'Roll Circus".

2 weeks...possibly. It'll go by fast guys :).

I want time to slow down LOL I still need to get 70 bucks for my limited box set!

thats a really nice way to think about it. For me, when I saw the GUILTY cover, i was thinking of "The leopard has finally come out". It felt like GUILTY shows Ayu's evolution and reflection of her life in that album. I had strong feelings for GUILTY (especially its title..GUILTY for a title, in caps, is just BAM!)

This album, I'm especially hyped for its music content. hahah. Hopefully the titles BAM me too. currently, im so into FFXIII that the hype has died down for me...2 more weeks to the tracklist :(

GUILTY is related to Duty indeed, but in one way, it is only related (partly) to a song from A Song for XX - which is For my dear...Ayu said this album was for her friend who passed away and this person was in the PV of For my dear...

It was confirmed that the person who appeared in For My Dear... did NOT pass away and that Ayumi Ogata was the one who passed away and not "ANEKI aka Natsuki"...

Ditto. Costumes, concept, everything was just blah. Boring for a "Next Level" tour.

On the other hand I thought AT2009 made up for the let down AT08 was (for me).

I totally agree. I expected more out of a 10th anniversary tour.

oh no how could you guys not like AT08... that was like the best ever!:thud

Really? Do you just mean from her vocals? I don't know how you could expect a more visually appealing show than that.. it was just amazing.

AT09 and AT08 are different beings imo.

AT08 sought to be visually stunning, and AT09 attempting to bring back her "performance/simple sets" aspect. Both were good. Neither was better than the other imo.

i agree with u.. i kinda expect more from AT2008. basically, the WOW performances were (don't) Leave me alone, Marionette, Mirrorcle World. The rest were mediocre or simply not that fascinating.

AT2009 included a lot of colours on stage and it was definitely a WOW factor for me. :) furthermore, songs like identity and rollin' were performed in a much better way i expected it to be!

i still haven't watched AT09 (waiting for the DVD release) and i haven't watched every single one of her other concerts, but AT08 was a very good concert performance in general.

yes.i agree.i enjoy AT09 more than AT08.i fall in love with the TV broadcast of AT09.i believe i'll love more when the dvd is released

album title sucks tbh... way too cheesey. i hope she doesn't try to do the circus theme, too many people have done that in the past 2 years. :thud

i do like the sound of microphone though. i hope the music and covers are good!

rollin' - Sparkle is like one of the best Ayu concert performances I've ever watched lol

Honestly, I don't think it really matters who did it first or who is going to do it next... It's like saying "Oh, this is off limits for people because someone else did it..." but that's not really how the music industry works, unfortunately for a lot of people who feel that a circus theme is overdone. Judging by the PVs and the photoshoots, it seems as though the circus aspect is only there in name, and that's it.

Album title is yet to be explained so, eh.

^ i don't think they were saying anything about only one person being able to do something, it's just that there's been an overwhelming amount of people with the same theme for the past few years.

and circus theme's don't get any newer. they all contain the same aspects and it gets old.

It happens. It's like how electropoppy music got in all of a sudden, haha.

Still no word about the lottery on YesAsia... I am gonna send them an email and see if they have a different/better response this time. I know it usually takes YA forever to update, though. The only reason I ordered from YesAsia is because they show if you won a prize in your order, but I hate how effing long their shipping takes! If they don't have a lottery, or if I don't win anything, I am definitely ordering from CD Japan. I'll get my order at least 6 days earlier :yes

wish it was another gender and not electro pop :irked :roflmao

Who cares if this has been "done before"? none of the other artists invented the circus or own the concept. i love the name to death, and the saddest part is the fact that we don't even know the album titles and people is already making prejudices about how this "concept" (that we don't fully know yet) it's been used before. I mean, it's ridiculous. :rolleyes

the name makes me think, for some reason, of Criss angel's "Believe". Hopefully it's gonna be that awesome :D

honestly, i would get annoyed if it was an actual circus? LOL why can't we

some people get tired of seeing things, especially since we're so anxious for the album, it would suck to see something we're so exposed to be done again

It's not like a circus is only about playing with clowns and lions :rolleyes I'm pretty sure Ayu knows how to "Ayu-fy" whatever she's doing... we don't even know anything about the concert or the album and everyone's making it sound like she copied Kuu or Britney LOL.

^ that's true! if ayu can make a circus something Amazing (har har pun) then i'll give it two thumbs up regardless

Did you mean A-mazing? If so, that makes sense.

Just as a bit of a heads up about stuff..
CMJK keeps tweeting and blogging about recording and going to the studio... is Ayu STILL not done with the album?

O_O

...

EPIC ALBUM, FOR THE WIN? :D

CMJK has his own projects to worry about, but he primarily works with Ayu in the studio which makes me wonder...

IS SHE DONE YET!?#?!@?!@!?@!?

If the answer is no, then... oh my gooooooooooooooooooooooooood.

:yes that's exactly what i'm thinking. the whole circus thing has been repeated over and over again for the past several years, it's rarely been fresh and exciting. i'm not saying ayu can't do it because she's not allowed to, just that there are soooo many other original concepts she could come up with.

There is a new message on TeamAyu.
I dont get it all but I think she is done with the album.

She will probably do it this once and rock the hell out of it before moving on to the next concept, haha. It's not like she's doing to stay in circus mode beyond the tour/promotion for the album... and also it's not as though she hasn't been itching to use circus-related materials since her debut, haha. Soooooooooooooo many clowns and references to the circus over the years and she finally gets to use it for real in her Rock'n'Roll Circus...

google:
Recording the album All yesterday's close, PV also


It seems they have finished all recording only yesterday

Wow, looks like it. We should rejoice now! I told you all that she was going to tell us when she was done, and look! Haha.

-hides in corner-

Yeah, the first few lines says she's finished all the recording AND PV filming for the album now.

Magazine shootings and tv performances, promotion for the album! :D She says there's still some left that needs to be done, so more promotion.

And she just basically tells us to look forward to it and how it's an awesome album.

Also, Ayu mentioned that this album took longer to work on than usual.

I just wanna say that I trust Ayu's judgment, as she hasn't let me down in 10 years, and I love and appreciate what she does. I know it's gonna be good. :)

Hey truehappiness, could you please share CMJK's twitter name? :D

His twitter name is principalCMJK. Don't bombard him with too much, haha. He answered me after my first tweet to him, and he's fluent in English, I believe.

BTW, I am yet again SOOOOO EXCITED. I better be able to sleep tonight after this.

great!ya.she took longer time to produce this album.

i still hope avex can confirm what is the first press item for cd only version :p

Finally done with the album!!

Now...let's get to releasing it, shall we?! ...Okay maybe that's a little too eager -_-' I can't help myself! She's making me so curious now!

tethevo's take on the entry. Seems like they let her work on it for longer than usual.

Ohohoh~

She's really out to make this album incredible. I'm convinced she'll succeed. :yes

Maybe because it had more songs than usual http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/standart/yes2.gif

This is probably the longest amount of time she's worked on an album since .... EVER?!

I dunno, (miss)understood was worked on when she did Bold&Delicious some time in September/October, and at the time she also did Startin'/Born To Be... too...

-shakes head-

What is she gonna do?! 17/18/19 tracks!?

I'm pretty sure this album is going to make my head explode when I listen to it.

i'm getting nervous now especially after i've pre-ordered the JP press :P

Thanks for the info truehappiness! :) Now if I can only learn to read Japanese... :D

I really really really want 17 tracks. (miss)understood had 16, MY STORY had 17, ASFXX had 16, LOVEppears had 16; other than that albums have been anywhere from 12 tracks to 15. It's not like she won't manage 17 tracks, and by the amount of time she's spent in the studio, she probably has the material for it! :D

My hunch about the initial album thing [14 tracks planned] was that she had the singles from before, which was four tracks...

Then she did Don't look back / Microphone / Sexy little things in Japan before leaving for Europe, which brings the total to seven and then finished seven more songs in London. (Total = fourteen at this point)

And since she came back to Japan to finish three to four more new tracks, with a grand total of 17-18 tracks?! I will be so surprised if this comes out to be correct. For the most part, my hunches have been right about this album so far.

Mini photobook due to the London hopping, ND CHOW coming back, Ayu shooting four PVs and having 17 video clips, the album title possibly being Rock'n'Roll Circus. It's crazy! It's like Ayu information is coming to me in my dreams! -falls over-

I'm dying for you to be right about this; I really want 17 or 18 tracks, it would be incredible if she did that. Maybe the truth is coming out that her circus is just a load of great surprises.

I want more info! I want to see the covers and I really want to see the tracklist, just to ease the pain of the wait! How long would it be now, 33 days? :( I can't wait that long! I've become desperate!

That would be great if it would be 17 tracks!

It really seems there were a lot of recording messages that just 14 tracks doesn't make sense even though it just might end up with 14.

Well the covers (or cover) and tracklist should be here in 12-13 days. ^^

I want to be right about it too. Also so that the people who say "lol, this album will only be fourteen tracks, truehappyloser, so suck on that." will eat their words. Then again, I'll have to eat my words if it does end up being 14 tracks, but given all the time that she's had to make this album, I don't think that's the case!

All I really wanted was confirmation was that the album was done, and finally it is done, as I had thought her to tell us way back when people were like "HELLO YOU ARE CRAZY OF COURSE THE ALBUM IS DONE RECORDING" and I was like "I was saying that the album might not be done recording yet, you know..."...

Ugh, it just feels so good for my theories to be proven correct by the one and only Ayu, haha.

To quote myself from about 3 weeks ago in late February:

I don't usually doubt a person; or rather, I don't just go say 'that's not true' or 'you've got to be wrong' because then I'll be stuck eating my words. Rather, I wait and let time tell. In the end, not that I doubted it, you were right; she would tell us the moment she finished the album, and she wouldn't leave us to assume when it was done.

Now having so much faith in your psychic skills, I hope you're right about 17/18 tracks! It does make sense for there to be that many tracks on the album, considering the time spent recording and such.

So we have to wait about 12 days for the tracklist?! ...I'll manage, I'll manage...I hope.

I can't wait to get the full setlist .... but I hope that I won't spoil myself with covers or songs or PVs

Yes, most of the time, I formulate my theories and hypotheses about Ayu from previously gathered data/information that she has given us via her blog and other sources. It's like... she's told us when she was done for the last few albums... why should she stop now?! You know? She follows a rather strict pattern when it comes to stuff like this, and she doesn't really let go of it. Though recently, her release pattern has been anything but a pattern. It's been so all over the place, I can't even estimate when new singles are coming out anymore, haha. For some reason though, when it comes to stuff like this, people seem to think I'm just talking out of my ~~~~~ or that I'm trying to simply prove them wrong because I disagree when I'm really basing what I think on factual evidence from the past... hello, people, it's called research, you know?

I sort of wonder about whether or not Ayu will follow what happened with NEXT LEVEL in terms of cover releasing/PVs/etc... since all of that finished rather early compared to the actual album finishing... but who knows! Maybe this is another hunch that the covers will be out sooner than 2 weeks from now~~~

[20,888! LUCKY! Fat fat fat! It's a Chinese thing, haha.]

I have ordered the album CD+DVD on YA at a time where the LTD. BOX was still available

do you guys think I will get a 1st press of the album ?

I'm not sure because it wasn't mentioned at YA

I don't really get pessimistic people it's like you can't hope or even dream when you're with them.

I want to see the covers now. I'm imagining some weirds things on my mind.

hmm,do you think is it possible if she will postpone the release date again?most of her recent works has been postponed for weeks like calendar and also the you were single release

Most of the time, anyone who preorders will be guaranteed a first press. At least with Ayu, that's the case because they print so many.

As we all know, the calendars are ALWAYS postponed by at least a month every year~ (It's very common and has happened every year since I became a fan.)

And You were... was special in that Hatsukoi [a HUGE single] got released on the same day, so somehow avex got to switch it to a safer date at 12/29 for the #1. Shifty, I know, but it happened and I don't really care, haha.

^ thanks for the answer

Woah... I wish she'll push the release for like a week xD

i see.i didn't know that the calendars are ALWAYS postponed :shakehead
lol.please forgive me :D
haha.then i hope that she will not postpone the release of this album .and thanks to ojisan for the blog post translation,it seems like she's very confident that this is the greatest album she ever release,something like that.