Party Queen in retrospect
 

Almost 6 months later, have you changed your opinion on the album? The most frustrating thing about the whole thing for me is the missed opportunity that is the Return Road PV...so badly paced and directed.

Not really.

Although I remember feeling that it was much more listenable then than it is now.

Maybe I just got over it. I don't know. None of it is on my playlist.

I still think it is an excellent album with an recognizable/understandable concept. The only thing that has changed for me is that, when in first came out, I listened to it so much that now I can't listen to it at all, haha.

I used to only listen to reminds me, Return Road, and Tell me why

Now it's just reminds me and Return Road. The rest of the album...I've never cared much about and looks like I still don't.

:yes Now my mind is clear

I like the album, but now i think is just OK, now call and Letter sounds boring, the cabaresque songs are horrible and hbya is generic as hell.
The only good interlude is taskebab, the other 2 interludes, now for me are bad IMO

I still have my favorites that I listen to... Like "Tell me why" and "Letter". :) But I hardly listen to the album itself nowadays.

NaNaNa, Tell me why and Return Road can stay. Shake It and Party Queen should have never been restored from Ayu's Next Level demo recycle bin. Call and Letter are pretty inoffensive but I can't really remember how they go and don't care to listen to them. The next love and Eyes, Smoke, Magic...not cute..don't know what Ayu was thinking. How Beautiful You Are though very corny is nice.

Only songs I listen to regularly from PQ are Party Queen, NaNaNa, Tell me why, the next LOVE, and how beautiful you are. I honestly forget how the other songs go tbh lmao

And I STILL hate Shake It♥ with a passion

Right after the album leaked, I listened to it nonstop. Day and night, it was... well, impressive, I guess. I listened to the album so many times in a very short period of time. It's the only album that I've ever listened to so... well, 'obsessively'. After a month or so, I stopped 'obsessing' over it and now I play it casually.
It's an alright album. It's NOT her best. Not her worst either. It doesn't deserve the hate that it gets. Neither does it deserve glowing praise. But I'm glad that I bought it.

It'll be remembered for the ****y covers, though. And an iffy ballad *sniff* (HBYA).

Still among my favorite^^

i only like a couple tracks, but that's it. i don't really listen to the whole album, lol.

I used to listen to a few songs off the album when it first came out. Now I only listen to Return Road. The album is really, really weak.

I still like.
still loath. ESM and the next love.

"how beautiful you are" and "Letter" are the only two songs from that album I'm listening to.

Thrashed it when it came out, listened to it a couple of times before/after seeing her live in July, now I don't listen to it all. Perfectly natural for me - no indication that I now hate the album, I'm just over the songs.

If you listened to the album constantly when it came out, and now you don't, how does that mean you hate it? Clearly there was some level of enjoyment when the songs were new and fresh to you.

I still do my best in trying to pretend that it doesn't exist.

No, I'm still don't like this album until today

But the main reason is her voice getting worse :grumpy

Still a solid 7/10 in my book, I constantly going back to the first 6 tracks.

I mostly listen to reminds me. Sometimes RR, but Timmy's moaning ruins it. Sometimes Tell me why. Idk, it's not very strong album.. And the covers really don't help it

second this, I've completely stopped listening to it, I've gone back to love songs and FIVE (and that's hilarious I'd rather listen to FIVE than Party Queen).
Like NEXT LEVEL, Party Queen hasn't left anything.

I still love it. A lot. :yes

Well for me the only song(s) i tend to remove from the album are ALL interludes although taskebab is cool i am kinda mad why THAT isn't a full song,and the next Love gets ditched
The rest are totally listen-able now i really like Party Queen and NaNaNa,Shake It<3 more or less i can live with out it.My interest is in the songs from call to Eyes,Smoke,Magic and i am glad that i bought Party Queen album,and PQ is my FIRST album that i bought from Ayu which makes it kinda special to me because it was released on March and I am born on March.13 and PQ is Ayu's 13 album by order so i kinda have special feelings towards it

I liked it very much at first. Now I don't listen to it often.

I was all over it when it came out, but my interest in it completely died after 2 months. I rarely listen to it now, i tend to give NaNaNa & Party Queen a listen here and there but overall the album hasn't stood the test of time at all. It's actually one of my least favorite Ayu albums now and i actually fail to see what i found so appealing about it at first. While it has it's moments i find most of the songs very bland and forgettable (Like Call & Letter.. i can hardly remember how they go, neither tell them apart)

I LOVE NaNaNa, Party Queen & Shake It (Return Road is great too, but after all the rambling about Timmy's part on here i've grown to dislike it too). I wish she had taken the whole "Party Queen" concept a little further cause the mediocre ballads ruin it for me. Overall i'll give it a 5/10.

After the novelty factor, I'm listening to PQ less than before. But it doesn't mean I hate it nor I dislike it.
I still think it's a good album, although not amazing like Love songs imo. I just changed my mind on two songs though:

- Return Road is more weak than I thought. I think it's trying.. too much. Timmy's voice is unnecessary and it sounds like an awkward attempt to make a Microphone -episode II-.
- I didn't paid too much attention to Letter at first, but now I think it's really good.

THIS is exactly my opinion, even down to the individual song opinions!

Few of the songs are okay, but I don't listen to it at all these days.

I still love it. I have a new found love for NaNaNa. But my favorites this time around are the easy-listeners: call and Letter. Sometimes I don't need the drama of her better songs lol.

Well, I hated it at first, and it was until like two weeks ago that I saw its brilliance. So, currently, I love the album. I like all songs in varying degrees, but reminds me is still my favorite <3

I think I feel about the same, which is pretty "meh" and slightly confused. I adore a few of the songs like "Tell Me Why", but the jazz numbers and HBYA don't cut it. I also hate the cover and booklet photos. In fact, I hate the whole concept because it was totally half-baked.

This.

My opinion hasn't really changed. Party Queen is still one of my least favorite Ayu albums. As a whole, the album was just a disappointment and I still regret paying money for it.

After listening to the album once in its entirety (well almost, I still can't get through The Next Love or Eyes, Smoke, Magic once to save my life), I was listening to NaNaNa, Shake It, Call, Letter, Reminds Me, and HBYA.

Now I just listen to NaNaNa, Call, and Reminds Me.

I can't really sway either way with PQ. So, I guess I'll just write my thoughts out about the album listening to it tonight all over again:

01. Party Queen - Timmy's production is too thin, but I've always had an issue with it. Ayu's singing is really... well, it sounds like Ayumi was being too much of a party queen during the recording session and didn't practice the song a few times. I've never liked this song.

02. NaNaNa - I actually love this song now even if it is so weirdly different from other Ayumi tracks (except on RnRC). I even think Timmy adds something neat to the song. I just think his raps are on par with listening to a kindergartener recite their ABCs; wait, scratch that: Reciting your ABCs actually takes talent. I like this song more now.

03. ShakeIt♥ - I can't even shake shake'n'bake to this. It's still just too plain and out of place. It sounds like a demo. I've never really liked this song.

04. taskebab - Really happy about a new task- interlude. I'm glad that we got a new one after so many records without one. I still don't like the title. I like this interlude.

05. call - Again, a very plain song. I like that it's very reminiscent of Sweet Season, but it's still very boring to me now. Just like blossom. I've never liked this song.

06. Letter - She sounds too much like Koda Kumi in the chorus. This is again a very boring song to me now. I like this song less now.

07. reminds me - I didn't really listen to reminds me until another AHS user said this was the only other song that sounded like an honest Ayu track apart from Return Road. It's now in my tops from Ayu's recent years after being a song I largely overlooked because it was next to call and Letter. I love this song now.

08. Return Road - I won't ever change my mind about this song. This not being a single was a miserable failure by Ayu. I could easily have seen this become the 27th #1 single, and I would have probably cried in happiness too. This is one of Ayu's finest points since GUILTY. I will always love this song.

09. Tell me why - I don't like the too simple R&B sound now. I heard the original version of the song another AHS user posted, and I really thought, after hearing that, that the production on Ayu's version is too minimal for the emotion of the song. I like this song less now.

10. a cup of tea - I've loved this interlude since I first heard it. It's sooo like older interludes in the creativeness of it. I still love this interlude.

11. the next LOVE - I hate it. Always have. Always will. It's the red-headed stepchild of Party Queen.

12. Eyes Smoke Magic - I actually sing this song sometimes, even though I hate it. It's the other red-headed stepchild you shackled in the attic but still seems to find its way out of the chains at times. No matter how hard you try to starve it, it just keeps kicking! :(

13. Serenade in A Minor - This interlude could have been better. I like the sound, but I wanted something to happen with the strings like in a cup of tea. Idk. I can't say I hate it, but I don't love it. In general, I just don't like this interlude much anymore.

14. how beautiful you are - I do know how beautiful I are. What I don't understand is how plain the production and lyrics are. It just doesn't have the same fullness as JEWEL or CAROLS. I want another ballad like those. I don't like this song anymore.

In general, I do not like Party Queen very much anymore. My favorite recent album is Ls, and that will probably not change for quite a few years unless Ayumi comes out with another Ayu album and not some awkward drunk-woman-with-a-shoe-on-her-head-makes-music kind of album. Idk. I generally do not like this album.

I think I recall still liking call somewhat, chorus is cute. Serenade in A Minor is still amazing though.

A solid album until it gets to the cabaret section, then it goes downhill fast.

Still easily her best album for me. I don't listen to it as much as I did initially anymore though.

I can't even fork out the money to buy it. I wanted to like it but everytime I start to hear the album and the random people shouting and ruining the song I just cringe and can't listen anymore. Other than Tell me why, I have a problem with every song on the album. If she had made a Pv for Tell me Why buying the album would've been easier

It comes up in my shuffle. The only songs I go find on my own are Return Road, Shake It♥, and the next LOVE.

still one of her worst and most disappointing album. every song was forgettable and bland... i only listen to Party queen, NaNaNa and Shake It :heart cos they're catchy and fun. the rest of the songs are a snorefest (call, Letter, Return Road, etc). Eyes, Smoke, Magic and the other jazz song are not my cup of tea either. how beautiful you are is just "okay"... Tell me why is slightly better.

in retrospect, still a disappointment.

It's her second album (with FIVE) that I listened for 2 weeks and then stopped completely. It really lacks originality and soul. The last time I forced myself to listen to the whole thing, I couldn't help but think the majority of the songs were boring and uninteresting.
So yeah, nothing has changed, it's her worst album IMO.

Like it or not, she's got something great with the "jazz" segment, but it is lost in a bland mix of everything.

no.

COmpletely forgotten about most of the songs. The only song I kept on repeat for a little while is Return Road. I still listen more to progress and songs off Love SOngs than songs from PQ. I wasn't really taken by the album when it was released and I guess in that way my opinion hasn't changed. Her worst album release still IMO.

I loved it when it was release & I love it again now. I even put Eyes, Smoke, Magic as my ringtone. ^^
It's one of her most varied album & one of her best. I'm eager to see all the songs in concert. ♥

I always like this album and I listen to several tracks like Na Na Na Na/Shake it/return road/reminds me/tell me why. Overall I think this album was pretty varied and was realised especially for her concerts so I understand why people don't like it !

I skip all the songs if they come up on shuffle, and even when it came out only 2 made it onto my mp3. They lasted about a week.

The album just left no impression on me, at all, it sways between bland and ridiculously over dramatic. I don't really like either.

I still like some of the tracks I liked when it was first released, and listen to it from time to time whenever I feel like it.
It's definitly not her best but it's pretty solid all in all.. I like too many songs to say it's terrible, but I don't love everything, which is rare for an ayumi album -at least for me-

++ NaNaNa, Letter, reminds me, Return Road, Tell Me Why, how beautiful you are
OK - Party Queen (used to hate this song, but I guess with time it sounds okay-ish), Shake it♥, call, the next LOVE
-- ESM + all interludes minor Serenade in A mirror

minus tell me why and sounds right

At first I really loved Party Queen, but I haven't listened only once to it for the last 4 month or so.

No, my opinion is still the same: it's the worst album from Ayu to date.

I have really tried to love it, but not one of the songs made a lasting impression on me. It's also the first Ayu album I haven't bought yet and will never buy. :no

^ Agree'd

idk what it is, but I just CANNOT get into this album. I thought I'd be that type of Ayu fan where I would hate the release at first then love it later (did that with NEXT LEVEL -> Love song); but Party Queen is just...idk :/

I still love Party Queen from the bottom of my heart. That will probably never change. It's a album that really fits my personal music taste a lot, and that really impresses me. I was really surprised at how amazing it was. Rock'n'Roll Circus was the other album that made me feel this way. Party Queen and RnRC are both in my Top 5 personal favorite Ayu albums list so they must mean a lot to me. :D

The album kinda depresses me, how can someone so right make something so wrong. Oh well, glad Ayu moves on quick from albums so no big loss.

I love this album! One of my favourites.

I've recently grown fonder of it. I wasn't in the mood for it when it was released, but now I'm not bothered by it as much. It is by no means on the top of my list, but it has some good qualities.

Because I listened to it everyday in march, the album somehow gives me nostalgia.
Not an 'inuyasha My will' type of nostalgia, but it's up there. Tell me why REAKS of nostalgia.

I went from hating to loving it one month after it's release since about two months after it's release I haven't listened to it at all because I have been busy with other musicians. I have been madly in love with Chihiro Onitsuka the past 3 months, pretty much all I have been listening to since two months after Party Queen's release. My opinion has not changed

The only thing worth going back to PQ for me is Return Road.

Not a bad album overall, although kind of a mess.

First section is really cool electro-pop that gets annoying after a while. Middle section is typical Ayu rock stuff. It's nice, very polished. The cabaret section at the end is a failed experiment.

I still love the ****ty album artwork.

I don't think Party Queen is one of Ayu's worse albums. Every album got its own ups and downs. Perhaps one factor why Party Queen didn't left too much impression on me is its lack of promotion compared to her other albums. But like everyone else say, I still love a number of tracks from it. Party Queen for me is an okay album. Not best, not worst, not my favorite.

Letter, Call, Reminds Me and Return Road are the strongest tracks of this album In my opinion. I just can't stand her vocals in some. And Timmy's... oh well.... I won't just continue this statement. LOL

NaNaNa, Tell me why, reminds me and Return Road are some of my favourite Ayu songs ever but the rest of the stuff on the album would be Recycle Bin worthy if it wasn't by Ayu. I feel conflicted.

I just can't get into it no matter how many times I try.
I like the next LOVE, and I can do with Return Road, call, and the track which follows it but sounds like "call," but nothing left a lasting impression on me.

I don't think I've ever really disliked an album, but this may just be the first one.
Personally, it wasn't the lack of promotion, it's just the content...

It's not that the songs are bad, there a handful of really good songs on there
It's just that there are so many other songs that are better that they completely over shadow these ones