She hasnt really used him in a lot of projects though.
She used him before they were dating, but after the fact we have seen just 1..
the cover.

before that its nothing but speculation.

Well... People using significant others on their videos/concerts/songs is not that rare... Madonna, Britney, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, Ai Otsuka, Koda Kumi, all of them did that recently.

Kylie Minogue had her boyfriend nearly naked on her tour video in 2011, too. And it was hot.

But Ayu's significant other - his job is to be with Ayu, regardless of if they are dating. So he will ALWAYS be there. It's like his paying job now to play that part on, and OFF, stage. A collaboration between lovers is different.

And do not use Britney as a credible source on this - that was the clear start of her tragic story / era and proves how much of a terrible decision that was for her.

You can even look at Maro collaborating with Ayumi via his danceing...
He's been in her You and Me PV and now the covers...
hes not really everywhere.
I think after these 5 release we can get a better judgement of how its going to be...
but its nothing really new... Ayumi gets someone that she likes and STAYS with it till she finds something new...
the only difference this time is that its her boy-toy. :lech

exactlyy! =O

Let me introduce you to Britney's actual fiance, her manager:




Madonna and J-Lo are also dating her dancers:




And really, it's even "worst" (as I don't really see anything wrong on doing that) to have your lover collab with you if he doesn't work for you.

I just hate her hair like this. Omg.

I was still expecting something different. But oh well, they're some pretty covers. Reminds H

Except Ayu has explicitly repeatedly stated her private life and working life are two different things yet continues to contradict herself.

We know nothing about their relationship aside it's existance... You guys are talking as if she was using honeymoon photos as album booklets and bloging/twitting about their sex lifes.

And really, her personal life is the main fuel of her creative outputs since day one... Remember the song rumoured to be about the death of her beloved grandma ended all of her concerts (either by her performing it or playing the recorded version) for most of her career.

yep.
She still has her personal life.. all she did was tell us that she is dating..
We dont know anything else about it.

What this person said:
I know of Britney's man, and I know of the other celebrities dating dancers. But it isn't as "in-your-face" as Ayu and her man. I mean, a freaking album cover. The whole way things came about is what looks so strange here. To the general public, you have to understand how bad this looks. For people saying Japan is just "tired" of Ayu, this really won't change their minds and will probably bring accusations of "stunts" to light in Japan if it already is bringing such accusations by FANS here on AHS. Tamoya was in no way a part of the "Hamasaki Ayumi" image when they were dating (correct me if I'm wrong)...

Just thinking about watching Ayu videos with friends:
*watch Love Songs PVs*
"You know, that became her real life husband in real life"
*watch Return Road PV*
"You know, that became her real life ex-husband in real life"
*watch You & Me PV*
"You know, that dancer became her real life boyfriend in real life"
*looks at again covers*
"You know, that man is her dancer and boyfriend from the You & Me music video"

there is nothing wrong with dating dancer/model etc lol it's not the point
and also ayumi is not madonna/britney/j.lo~~ just because they puts their relationships onto carrier, it doesn't mean it's a good thing. (mixing private with showbiz, NOT dating dancer)

i meant after NEXT LEVEL :) I don't consider RnRC as fancy photoshoot, (only her clothes were fancy)

Am I the only human being along with ayu who constantly changes his opinion and vision of life constantly?? Everything ayu has told the oublic about her private life has been through the art: lyrics, PVs, album and single covers, photobooks...

We only know it's Maro on the cover because we are a bunch of obsessive freaks that recognize her dancers by their hair xD His face is is covered either by the light or by Ayu on both photos... For someone who doesn't care enough about her to know who her dancers are or look like, this cover goes easily unoticed as a stunt.

And really... She is a celebrity whose money comes from the capacity people have to relate to her personal feelings or the image they make of her personal life, so, using her love life (on the same way she used her career delusions, her relationship with her parents, the death of beloved people, her deafness, etc) as a creative fuel to her projects is just natural. And it's also natural to all the other ladies I pointed, whose relationships we also know nothing about aside the fact they exist. It's not like ANY of them makes more money by appearing on tabloids than they do by releasing music and performing.

Pretty much this... How do people expect her to release personal music and videos (that is what brought a good part of her fanbase to her) without puting a little (almost nothing actually) of her personal life on it?

I thought, she would choose a more winter-looking cover.
But they are ok. I don't care, who is there with her.

I think there's a difference between basing your lyrics on personal experiences (loads of artists do this) and putting your partner on an album cover and revealing you're dating a few days before.

Aside from the Love Songs era, I can't think of any PVs that explicitly cite her real life relationships. Some covers have had a message, but this is the only one where it's, again, explicit.

There's definitely a difference between making an allegory using actors and using your boyfriend.

i wonder when she break up with him how this covers will look to her...

Yeah, someone said it doesn't show his face, so it won't be that big a deal if and when it happens... but Ayu will remember the time and feelings from when they were shot. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

^ She'll stick a photo of them at the end of a PV and wear black...

WAIT.