BRILLANTE thoughts/opinions
 

Ayu literally saved the album with this song. It is absolutely amazing in every way. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say I think this has the potential to be her best song ever. Also, just my opinion: it's okay if people don't like the song, but if you can't at least recognize how epic the arrangement is - especially compared to the other songs on the album - then you shouldn't be listening to music.

The only thing I don't like is how it ends - cut off like monochrome. I thought it was my wireless at first. But that gives it a charm somehow too...

The Why remix isn't bad either. It made the original tolerable for me.

Amazing, beautiful and flawless. I just wish she had saved it for a full album...imagine it as an opening on the same scale as I Am... or Duty.

Soothing, mythic, refreshing, flawless, powerful.

Among the best songs she's ever had, top 10 best songs I dare to say.


I'm not even overreacting, this song is just... something I always wanted from ayu.




It makes me think of rurutia, so. much.

SHE NEEDS TO GRAB THIS GUY AND MAKE HIM COMPOSE ALL HER FUTURE SONGS, FROM NOW ON I JUST WANT HIM. I'M SERIOUS.

OMG OMG !! the opening is so epic as well !!!!!

BRILLIANTE becomes my favourite track replacing Progress from FIVE. yeah I agree BRILLIANTE really saves FIVE IMO, this is something different and mysterious. epic song

Everyone tweet @timwellard to let him know what you think, I'm sure he'll appreciate everyones thoughts and maybe pass them onto Ayu.

I love this song! It has a bit of "forgiveness" feeling, but it's much better. I love that she's trying something new.

I'm a bit dissappointed of a hidden track, but I don't care that much, since BRILLANTE is truly beautiful.

*******it...I would buy it in a heartbeat if she just have a recut single of it :thud

I don't want the other songs on FIVE! This song alone makes up the album for me! I can just leave on this song...! BAH! I am so close to buying this album just for this masterpiece alone!

Hm, the music and the chant in the background is nice, but overall it's pretty boring imo.
I will probably be shot for this, but Ayu singing in it totally destroys the nice beginning for me actually. XD
For me it lacks some climax.

For me the climax is all the way through lol I know I make no sense, but that's what I feel, from the very start to the very end, I get goosebumps and all... :thud

OMG!!! I LOVE IT!!! BEST SONG EVER!!! :heart :heart :heart

Ok, I haven't finished to listening to it, but I can already say that song is *******ing good!
That is how you make music! I can't believe that BRILLANTE and ANother song are from the same artist really... and on the same album!
It's fresh, very well produced, interesting, amazing arrangements, amazing vocals etc... and it's EPIC! I'm glad I'm not buying this album for collection purposes only.

I don't know why but this song remind me a little Hanabi ^^
I like it !!! it's very originale and ayu's voice is beautiful O_O

Haven't listened to it yet, but loving all this positivity :heart I can't even imagine what it sounds like from all these different reactions! :laugh

Agree with YUKARI!
OMG this song is amazing! When I heard the gregorian choir+oriental sounds I was O.O omg!!!!!
BRILLANTE totally stole the #1 of progress in my FIVE top!!!!

Can not say anything. It's beyond any words in this world!
I think she should make this song full in 10 minutes! Cut that hidden track out!!!!

Nice song. :D
Though I think Ayu could have more improvised some parts. The singing doesn't reach climax imo. The music and the chant gave me goosebumps though. :)

****ing AMAZING. It's beautiful and gorgeous and freaky and crazy, and nothing at all like what I was expecting.

I LOVE her voice with this instrumentation...god, after the ANother song disaster...I'm sorry, Ayu's voice is just incredibly unique, and it just does not go with everything.

But this is perfect. It blends with the song like one entity and I can't imagine the song without her.

The composition is fantastic. I love the ending phrase of the chorus, and I love how simple it is, without being overdone...it's just, the way compositions are supposed to be.

I love that there is very little vibrato...cause it's not needed to supplement the composition in any way. It's all fabulous with her just...singing like...she's not thinking about it...

I love how emotional the song is. It goes to that deep place, even though I have no idea what she's singing about. I think the song IS a little anti-climactic...it's very...um "one place"...lol ok thats nonsense...hmm have you guys ever seen "New World"...the live action movie about John Smith and Pocahontas? It reminds me of that movie. Cause that movie is sooo slllooooowwww, and it has all this very slow music and sometimes just silence, a lot of, looking around at the scenery...looking at the people....not a whole lot happening, but just instances where you're taking everything in, and it's very dramatic.

For me, thats almost how this song is, but to me, it's very relaxing, and the drama keeps it from being boring.

And the drama is all in the composition and her singing...even though, yes, the arrangement is all crazy...

but idk imo she and the british guy create an atmosphere that goes beyond all the exotic instruments.

I don't know if I like the piano...it's a little "bright" for the song...but I think it gives it an interesting twist.

I love it, I don't even mind all the male chorus, I think the ending would have been better off with her singing a last line...but that wouldn't be as jolting I think.

I will add it to my pile of evidence saying that she needs to work with more people outside of her "yes" circle.

wow. gorgeous. Why can't we do this all the time!!!! omg Ayu.

long post...sorry lol and go go yukari! :heart

It's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard in my life. There's no more words I can use, it's just... amazingly beautiful.

i'm somehow not bitting in that song... I must say the intro is amazing but over all from the first listen I'm not amazed. But all the songs so far grew on me so it might be the same with this one.

I did NOT expect it so sound even a bit like this! Really I expected anything but this!
And now I'm at the edge of tears because it is such a wonderfull song. It feels kinda dark and lonely and totally captures me.
The best track from FIVE for me, I hope Timmy will work more often with ayu now!

Far better than i expected but not the best song to me!

This is so... EPIC. I mean, it's a song that actually gives an epic feeling, this word is perfect to describe it. Such a great song! FIVE is really a great release, all awesome tracks, and BRILLANTE just closes it perfectly.

WOW.

I´m in shock!
Brillante is amazing, is a mix of feelings n so different to the others songs
I really love it!

That excites me very much! I love Rurutia, and always wanted Ayu to make more ethereal sounding songs like Ever Free & Rainbow.

Sounds like Five is shaping up to be a good mix of tunes!

mi|kshake~

This is the music I was expecting to hear from her. Very her, but very diffrent.
The choirs are just too amazing

I'm freaking cryin' T_T

it's awesome! i like it very much. love the ~epic~ feel to it. :)

I just can say... BRILLANTE is BRILLANTE

:p

Brillante is totally out of ayu's style but in a nice way.

Seriously, I don't have twitter, and I cannot follow ayu.

If you guys have twitter and think ayu should work with Timmy, then write her messages on twitter and tell her. I am sure ayu would read it like how we made ayu-mi-x 7 out.

I seriously felt something profound in my soul while listening to this for the first time. I can just picture her opening a tour with this song.
It's so beautiful, so incredible. I can't believe that, after so many years of listening to Ayu, she can still move me like she did the first time I ever heard her sing.

One of her most well produced songs up until now, imo.

For her next tour, instead of having a grand opening, she should have a grand closing, with this song. haha

but yeah, it's really fantastic. i got goosebumps.

Also, since it's connected...the Why remix is nice. haha

Wow. Even I'm blown away by this, and she easily pleases me. But wow. It's so different from anything she's done and yet at the same time is seamless in her other works.

Not crazy bout the tacked on remix at the end tho, lol.

It's wonderful. It surprised me and was just so epic. It's nothing short of amazing.

I immediately fell in love with the song. Lovely arrangement and perfect vocals for the song. I hope Timmy and Ayu will work together again.

oh ayu ;_; :heart so flawless i can't

Ahh! I'm waiting till i receive my copy before i listen to it, but I'm so relieved to hear such enthusiastic opinions. Can't wait to hear it!=D

just one word: WOW!

so, the Hidden track is a remix of Why... ?

I thought it would be another brand new song.. =.=

i didn't expect something like that at all. it made me a surprise when i listened to for the first time. i love the choir <3

^ it's actually not a choir~! Timmy (the composer of BRILLANTE) sang the 'choir parts' :D I asked him on Twitter~

When I first finished listening to BRILLANTE, I got the same kind of feeling that I got back when I first heard Microphone. The feeling that THIS(!) is something so incredibly epic, something so strong it makes me cry. And then the video made me love it even more. Sure, the song got its flaws but it's as amazing as can be in my opinion. This song redeemed the album of FIVE so much for me! But I do feel sorry for the Why... remix that had to be put right after this masterpiece...
I tweeted Tim W on Twitter, complimenting him on his work and asking if he will be working with Ayu again. If his future work with Ayu would be even a fraction as good as BRILLANTE, I would be in heaven. ♥

I love the main track. The hidden track is nice but not as good as BRILLIANTE.

Throughout the first listen my stomach felt all fluttery - I think this song is going to rack up more than a few listens in the next weeks....the Georgian choir is so unusual but oddly fits Ayu so well...not sure about the ending, but maybe like monochrome I'll just have to look for songs to "join" it to myself in playlists!

Can't wait to see the PV - this is an amazing song, for sure :3

I have been waiting for E G G as a hidden song for a while. ._.

Songs like BRILLANTE remind me of Ayu's versatility and depth as a musician. I love it. It's like an enriched version of BALLAD with the epicness of Duty or do it again.

The video, to say the least, seems quite... pompous. I enjoyed it though.

I've had it on repeat since I downloaded it<3
It's PURE EPIC. Doesn't really beat progress imo, but I love it for sure.
And the Pv.. ;~~~; My GOD, made me order the CD+DVD immediately after watching it~

i really can't wait to hear it!

best song on FIVE for me still is ANother song, but BRILLANTE is nice, it reminded me on i am era somehow. I understand why people call this epic, but my ranking would be totally different, like this: ANother song>>beloved>progress>Why...>BRILLANTE. Im very happy 'bout this mini album, every track is amazing imo. to be OT lol Im glad BRILLANTE is different in its own right.

The first 45 seconds had me really excited. But in the end, it didn't blow me away like it's blowing away everyone else lol

I think this song is just further proof that fans worry about her musical creativity for no reason. I'm happy Ayu doesn't churn out epic music every single time because it makes songs like this that much more breath-taking. It's what makes her signature music signature, if her entire discography were full of BRILLANTE's or Microphone's or Do it again's then the songs wouldn't stand out as much and they wouldn't be able to showcase how truly magnificent they are. Ayu always has one mind-blowing, orgasm-inducing song on each album, FIVE is no exception with BRILLANTE. Bravo Ayu, you did it again ;)

holy christ what an amazing song.

Hahahaha... She should just make it happen. Seriously. It's been a running joke for years now :P

I think BRILLANTE is THE best song on FIVE. I got goosebumps the first time I listened to it!

it reminds mi of "forgiveness" but a darker version of it. love the arrangement. and how it's different from the rest of the tracks in FIVE. great way to end the album =)

Oh.. I really love that song.
I really didn't thought, Brilliante would be like this.

I'M VERY DISSAPOINTED with her latest PV , it's different with RNRC album that she was make new hits. PROGRESS is great song but the PV seems like low-budget video clip.. BRILLANTE --- she's using hot man but i don't know what the concept.....
why.... pretty nice
another song... pretty nice

The INTRO!!! AHHH!!!! It literally froze me in place when I heard it! this is probably going to be my favorite track on FIVE. I hope Wellard can compose more songs for ayu in the future :)

Holy ****ing **** I LIKE IT!!!! :weep
This is the first ayu song I've liked since talkin' 2 myself!!

I think it's a really beautiful song, her voice sounds a lot better than it has in anything else I've recently heard, and it's just overall a really great song! :heart

who's singing in Why... remix song, is it JUNO or Nao?!

*OMG, he totally ruined the song!!:eviltongu:eviltongu:eviltongu

Epic. I'm blown away!

I could just imagine Ayu standing at a cliff in her Daybreak PV costume looking solemnly into the distance alone. So beautiful.

^ME TOO! I seriously had the same exact image hahaha :laugh

2nd-ed I agree with what everyone is saying who loves the song 10/10 one of her best songs ever, deff top 5 out of all she's done.

What are they saying in the chanting in the background? What does it mean?

I love the song is just amazing amazing.

Part of the chanting, they are saying "burianza" - brilliance, I'm assuming. I'm not sure what the second word is.

agreed. this song left me

SPEECHLESS

I adore this. It's sweeping, epic, emotional, and unlike the rest of the album, it's just HUGE.

Honestly I think it'd be a great ending song for Xillia if progress is the opening. It just has that epic JRPG emotional ending feel.

I was listening to the album and thought, Such a BORING thing, then BRILLANTE was played, it totally saved me from the bad humor the previous songs had caused in me,

This song is now in my Fave-ayu song list, love it start to end.

In the end the choir spells "Goodbye" in some languages. I can hear in german and russian.

In the ending of the song it's "Auf Wiedersehen" (german) and "Dazwidania" (don't know how to spell the russian word).

Both means "Good bye".

The rest in the ending most likely means "Good bye" in various other languages as well.

See this from another thread:
At 5:04-5:06 I also hear "adiós". So the last chanting consists of "goodbye" in several different languages, I guess. Hopefully someone/some people will be able to translate all the chanting,

BRILLANTE to me right now, sounds like it should have been the ending theme to 2012 or a similar movie......

wow! that is awesome!

Yeah, we definitely need more of him every now and then.

yes:yes
the only song I liked. epic. maybe it was better because she used a foreign composer or smth, I mean a different composer. hope she will use him too. and CREA get back too please.:yes

During the beginning he's singing burianza. I also hear negra (black in spanish) somewhere. But the rest I don't quite understand. maybe someone should ask him on twitter.

I was checking out some threads in other places (http://www.ayumi-hamasaki.net/forumv...p?f=3&p=266101) where the ending chant includes such things as adios, al final, auf wiedersehen, among other things meaning goodbye.

It's different, but in a good way. It's so dark! I didn't expected something like this and I don't understand the PV at all... but it's really intresting, amazing, good... if she continues like that... there might be some more intresting things coming in future :)

Wow! Everybody loves BRILLIANTE!

I like the song because it's a different genre. Gregorian chants/mysterious melody etc make it an outstanding song but it ruined my mood for this when I saw the PV. Too scary. I know I like horror movies and it's not something new with Ayu's PVs but I dunno. I just don't like the PV. Creepy.

what about the meaning of the PV?

Btw I'm too addicted to it!!
I love the song, I love the rhythm, the melody, the way Ayu sings it, I love that it's a "ballad".. different from all the others.
Tim Wellard did a great job, FIVE stars for his first song!
She is a goddess in the video, spectacularly beautiful wonderful çAAAAAç

I would like to know which is the language of the background vocal!
I think it's latin, but I'm not sure!

I'm with the rest ... masterpiece.

The chorus at the end is like the cherry on top...and it's so meaningful.

after a first listen while watching the PV... the way it all ended just made me burst into tears. this song is so beautiful, i don't even have a song to compare it to. it's unique, it's beautiful, it provokes a lot of emotions. it's just... it's perfect. i'm going to need to review this properly once i get my thoughts in gear.

seriously, ayumi. you never cease to amaze me.

I think it's nice sounding. It's sort of your standard, long epic-ish ballad type song. Nothing outstanding but not bad. Namie Amuro (as a non-fan of hers) did it better with Tempest though IMO.

The PV is absolutely out of place and really tacky. It's sort of like a faux-Gaga, wannabe but without all the nasty :P

You want meaning? Here's mine ideas...

A girl did something reaaaaly worthy regrets or something happened that was so cruel so it took her last breath. With the "sex" symbols as sweaty bodies and lots of handsome meat, I assumed it's something about the interraction with some male. Once she is craving for so many mens touch (their hand into her, want to "steal" her from her "powerful throne") but then she is crying and in despair - about what she've done or about something that man/men did to her (it could be coercion, molestation but in the other way, she could been nymphomaniac...) Her regrets or her pain is so powerful, so she dies within bloody tear. The chanting Timmy could be a symbol of Sin, someone urging her to do evil or sth.

I know that this is very drastic, but the "sexy" symbols and the sweat all over reminds me of something "sexual" xDDDDD

as far as I got it actually she's talking about her road to fame or smth

like she's getting in the first room where she was just beggining so she had to work there and prepare
then the second room where she actually trained even more to promote and get through
then she's walking with the rest and I noticed these champion belts the men wore

it's like she started-trained-tried hard-got to the road of champion

the guys in the gym...is she referring to her fans? she's like a queen walking with her suite???

and then she's like finally on top on the trone but then she falls....like everyone fall from top...

oh I don't know.

from lyrics

A human is much stronger
Than I thought, isn't he?
I've stayed in the darkness a little longer
But it's time to go

so from darkness where she started she made her way to the victory and to the throne...

and this

I came to see nothing
After that, I saw everything
The road ahead is too narrow
And I can no more walk on, side by side with you

she started with nothing then saw everything and to the throne and died after that because "And I can no more walk on, side by side with you"

:P

^ depressing idea, but make sense. But please Ayu, don't end your music career :(

i definitely felt that there was a sense of desperation to the music video... almost like she was begging for help more and more as the song continued. and just when she thought she had a taste of freedom, evil took over her once more, only to kill her.

whatever the real meaning behind it was, it was certainly dark and thought-provoking.


this song actually leaves me feeling incredibly overwhelmed.

A thought of me to the PV: I do not really get much out of the beginning...but it seems like in the end when is is on the throne she wants to leave, but the guys but her back to the top where she finally dies.

The first thing I thought was that she is put on a throne like a queen for her music career and everyone wants to reach her, but she wants to leave. She tries to leave, but the guys (fans maybe?) don't let her go, they force her back to the top of the throne.

And Timmy...well he seemed to kinda be by her side, but not in a way as a friend, but someone who just cmoforts her so that she stops crying/keeps on going/working. Like the company or something, who wants her to keep going to make money and hence tries the best to make comfort her...

Okay...rereading this I think i was reading too much into this PV lol

First song I've enjoyed in sometime. It's a pretty good song, but I don't think it cracks into her top tier of songs. Definitely solid though.

That said, I was disappointed when I saw the track length being 10 minutes long only to be informed that it was because there was a secret track on there!

/requests Ayumi does a song over 10 minutes in length

No, no, no, this is all wrong! I was expecting to not buy FIVE because the four other songs were terrible but now I have to because "BRILLIANTE" just made it all worth it.

I just noticed something, at around 5:18 the parts of Timmy sound like german, it pretty much sounds like he says "Auf Wiedersehen"...I wonder if all of it is in german? I try hard to hear it, but I can't make out any words lol

^
He is saying goodbye in some different languages like german and russian but I don't understand the others. X)

^
Ooooh okay, that makes sense then. Thanks for telling me ;)

on first listen & watch (of the PV) i got a bit taken aback because the song was just so...different. i thought it would be a more "upbeat" song, or more faster paced. but now after just one more listen, i really think the song is AMAZING! i appreciate the pace of the song. it doesn't need to be super fast to be amazing. :yes it's just so different from the rest of FIVE. i'm putting this song as my #1 favorite of the album. :D love-it. :heart

I love this song so much but honestly, it's the first Ayu song I have already listened to more than 50 times and it still doesn't get into my head. As soon as it's over I cannot remember the melody, let alone the lyrics, all I remember are those choirs :p

Haha I know exactly how you felt! When other 4 songs came out, I thought...even if BRILLANTE is good, there's no way it can make up for the mediocrity of the other songs....but oh I was so wrong :thud

It is one thing to be a singer and it's another thing to be an artist. This song (and the album) proves to me that ayu is truly an artist singer she is not afraid to take risks with her music and just about every time she nails it and this song is no acception. This song and pv has the same uniqueness and quality as a utada or bjork song and I hope ayu continues to grow as an artist like this taking risks and doing epic and artistic songs. I hope she works with Timmy again ANother song is my second favorit track on the album, very pretty. Timmy was a bit annoying in the pv he over acted I think. I will write what I think the song + pv combo mean to me later, I am on a mobile at work and can't gather interpreting thoughts together this way.

i just hear a little part of BRILLIANTE
i will save it when i got my own copy...

When I saw the PV, I thought that the guy by her side who she could cry to was Mannie (or just a generic love, whatever), and all the other guys represented the nature of her career. It's sexy and tempting, but in the end it only forces you on the throne, like Bubbly said, and keeps you away from those you love. Taking off a veil in certain cultures is considered indecent, so when one of the men took hers off, perhaps she was corrupted?


Aside from that, the song is amazing.

it has the "ever free" feeling to it which I like.