|
TA Blog: 春よ、来い。| Haru yo koi
EDIT: The translation has been replaced with a full one by remove-mom at the AHS Discord. Full credit goes to her and her efforts!
I feel this is one of the most important blogs we have had from her in a long time, so I hope everyone can read it. Previous post: Spoiler:
Quote:
Original text: Spoiler:
|
thank you so much for translating, koumori!
I feel like this would be an interesting thing as some kind of making-of documentary interview in the DVD. I always love her talking about the creative process behind her musical decisions. |
Quote:
Maybe we're actually entering a new era in Ayu's career and exciting things will be happening again :D Anyway, looking forward to Haru yo koi! |
Thank you! I had a feeling this entry would be important. It’s interesting how she takes responsibility for not living “ayumi hamasaki” to its full extent in recent years. Curious to see if there will be a shift from here on out, as she seems to be promising.
|
sounds like she lost herself in the past few years and she's realized that now. This album is a wake-up call for her to bring "ayumi hamasaki" back to us.
|
Everything sounds super promising so far. Loving the preview and her voice in it
|
Wow, that was deep.
" I have to return to Ayumi Hamasaki properly." I hope it means that we're gonna have anual releases again. Thank you for the translation. |
Thank you so much for posting this translation of Ayu's message!
I'm very excited about this. Ayu is always at her best when she's fully devoted in heart, mind and soul to a project, and it seems like the weight of covering such an important song in Japanese culture made her feel committed to the highest creative standard. I found the original song (or a version of it) on Youtube and the lyrics translation and I really love the vibe of the song. I just watched the preview of Ayu's cover at the end of the A BALLADS 2 promo and the arrangement sounds downright royal, fit for a queen taking on a traditional song. And she looks spectacular in the video. I can't wait for the final version to come out!! |
Wow! First, thank you for the translation!
This was deep. Ayu is inspired after all these "lost" years. I think we are about to witness a new Ayu. So exciting! |
Thank you so much for sharing! I love everything she said :yes Would it be ok if I translate this to spanish? please let me know!
|
Quote:
|
Wow, thank you so much for the translation koumori. Reading this really put a smile on my face!
|
looks like she put a lot of efford into this
|
Quote:
|
Thanks so much for the translation!!
Exciting times ahead if Ayu is ready to properly come back and create magic again! :) This should be an interesting year! |
Quote:
Some of us are always attacked when we dare to criticise that 浜崎あゆみ is somehow gone and that her spirit is missing. People get crazy over stating this, because they say she would put her all into it. But I can't say I feel she put her everything into much the last few years. Now she acknowledged that she didn't, but that she wants to go back to that 浜崎あゆみ and I really really hope she comes back. |
^Im on the same boat as you both. I’m glad she acknowledged it, and that she feels like returning the lost essence to Hamasaki Ayumi. Really hoping it is true and not another reason to hype us for this release tho. But knowing pray for you is done and not included on AB2, something seems to be on the works for sure. And if damn pandemics come to an end somewhere in the next months (year (?)) hope she can fulfill her desires performing wise, which she loves the most. Her 25th it’s not so far...hopefully the Hamasaki Ayumi we all want will be back to properly celebrate. Or maybe we’re reading too much into it and she’s referring to coming back to performing as she has always done until it became impossible lol
|
Quote:
|
OMG I got shivers reading this! I think I can totally understand her feelings, so relatable!
|
Thanks for translating this!
I'm thrilled to see Ayu so happy to be working on something. I've only recently discovered Yumi Matsutoya, and she seems very cool--very creative and interesting, much like Ayu herself. I'm not at all surprised that Ayu found inspiration in her. Recently albums are making much less money than singles in the music business. A single is released with lots of pomp, tied into products and video and whatever, and serves as a project in itself. I think that style suits Ayu very well. She can put so much into crafting each song/lyrics/video/product she works on without filler. My hope is that she'll start doing interesting projects with each single. Her albums don't sell as well anymore, but each digital single can become a small piece of art on its own and give her the time and space to maybe start writing her own music again, even! :love |
Quote:
Ayu's post is wonderful and so insightful. I love when she does that. The way she is referring to Yumi is also admirable and so full of respect. I am super excited what she is concocting for us and what might become of her awakening. I enjoyed her Trouble material and her recent adventures with Ohia and Dreamed a Dream gave me fantastic vibes and for a good reason as I can see :D I'm so looking forward to everything now :D |
Quote:
|
^^no, I'm attacked because you like drama and like to come at me whenever possible. I NEVER refer to posts of people who like something, I NEVER criticise people for liking something. My criticism is only ever directed at the work itself. If you can't stand someone criticising something you like and then start making this about their "tone", even though nothing they said was directed at you, maybe you should learn how to deal with opposing views in a more constructive way.
|
^We are the toxic part of the fandom apparently lol People need to stop taking things so seriously~
I think we all have a different understanding of what this "ayumi hamasaki" is, as well as Ayu herself. And i think it's always going to be that way. For her to feel fresh would be reinventing herself. But i don't think that's what anyone needs, her included. What "hamasaki ayumi" is for me, it's how much thought seemed to be put into her earlier stuff. It had meaning, a soul a story...? I don't know, but it felt more wholesome. And while she had an odd ball here and there that felt this way, they were far and few between for me.. |
Quote:
Spoiler:
|
Quote:
|
Thank you for the translation!
|
Quote:
It's not much a traditional song... More of a mid 90's jpop track. It's Matsutoya Yumi most iconic track, even if it was released in the 4th decade of her career. Yuming is a pop icon in Japan and a strong influence on her career both as a musician and as a performer. Here it's a live performance from Yuming herself. It totally feels like something Ayu would do. And as it seens like you are not aware, Ayu actually covered this track during A Ballads promotion. It's probably one of her best live performances of all time. I dare say it's even better than Yuming's rendition of it. --- On a side note, I think people are thaking the whole "being Hamasaki Ayumi again" a lot more deeper than she meant. Thing is, Ayu's last full album was released almost 5 years ago. She is probably talking about her lack of new music, instead of shitting on her more recent projects. Also, people get offended when the same people 3 or 4 people complain about the newer stuff because they never come as "I don't like this release", or even "this is crap", instead coming as "why is this lazy bitch releasing this shit? Why can't she just retire and stop destroying her legacy like that?" and this obviously doesn't come very nice to everybody else. And I say that as someone who is following Ayu since the peak of her relevance among the western fandom, and who actually thinks her best stuff was released during the 2010's. |
Quote:
|
I think her "returning to Ayumi Hamasaki form" is directed to her lack of releasing songs. Guess she was not inspired to do that and now it's time to start over. It's a totally different thing about saying she was "lost" or making things she didn't like. I mean, she made several concerts, with very different purposes and concepts in a short period of time, during a pandemic while pregnant. If she was kinda lost and not wanting to dedicate herself to the career, she could use pregnancies and pandemic situation as excuses to avoid everything. It's nonsense people using her words to shit over her work like that.
|
Lovely blog post from her. Let's see.
|
^^it's what she said, this has nothing to do with "shitting over her work". She specifically refers to her entire work, like covers, music videos and songs. This has nothing to do with not releasing as much. She talks about how Shimoko said on social media how she (Ayu) was putting her everything into this work (Haru yo, koi) and that she felt the same way. Then she goes on about how she was putting her everything into her covers, her songs, her videos and how this time, when recreating Haru yo, koi, it wasn't important if she had fun doing what she was doing but that she felt she was putting her soul into it. She then asks, and this is important, "after finishing this work, I immediately wondered how many years it has been that I was that focused, exhausted, concentrated and possessed by something". Then she continues, saying that she sadly had forgotten that feeling, but that frankly speaking, she really woke up. She finishes that paragraph with "私は ね。" (this is me, right?), which touched me the most about that entry. Also, she says no matter how Haru yo, koi will turn out, she has to return to this Hamasaki Ayumi.
So yes, she talks about how she was not putting her everything into her work during the last few years. And honestly, I respect her a lot for saying this. She is not perfect and her work neither. If she had some years when her priorities shifted and she felt "having fun" was more important, that's fine. She indirectly says that having fun with her work was more important to her for some time than the dedication for the entire outcome of a project like she used to have in the past. But working on a song that important brought back for her how it felt to dedicate herself to her work and that this is Hamasaki Ayumi and she needs to return to that Ayu and won't stop. It's a very brave thing to admit that and if anything, I love her even more for this. |
I want to say that regardless of how you interpret her words, it's still okay to be a fan of the work she has done in the last few years. Those are moments that she was having fun with, or expressing herself in the most honest way she could, finding those moments of freedom and happiness in what has seemed to be a long time of strife and hardship personally behind the scenes. I don't look at the long gap between music releases and think she was just having fun, I see it as Ayu struggling to connect with "Ayumi Hamasaki", and the few pieces of music we have had (in comparison to her typical release schedule) are even more remarkable to me in retrospect, in acknowledging how hard it has likely been to write and record things in that sort of headspace.
It doesn't mean I don't agree that there was definitely a shift... but she's human. I don't think she could help it. She needed this time to do whatever she needed to do. For anyone who has been just as much a fan for years (whether you were enjoying all of her output or not), you have still been supporting the same Ayu. Here it is Ayu finding that she has refound a spark that she had lost, but it doesn't mean her recent work is any less special. It was just Ayu coping in a different way and this marks a new era. That's my interpretation, and I'm sure there will be many more that people will have. Everyone here is such an invested fan that they come back after all these years, and still care for her well-being most of all. Let's try to remember that even if we may have different opinions on her work, past or present. |
Thank you for the translation! I’m so excited that she’s trying a return to the ayu we knew. The Ayu that put her heart and soul into everything. Even though I liked most of her recent releases, there was a feeling of a lack of energy, kind of like she was only doing it because she felt like she had to, not because she was truly excited about what she was doing. I’m so excited to see that she’s excited again and has her sense of creativity back.
Quote:
|
The first post has now been updated with a more accurate, thorough translation. Credit goes to remove-mom at the AHS Discord :heart
Quote:
|
I thought we were stopping posting TA blogs on here to non TA members?
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Personally, I think her essentially taking things on all by herself for the past decade could have really done a lot for her mental health.
When Max was involved with her releases, I truly believe he had a huge influence on what she did and didn’t do. That and the team that he would have brought to the table. I do think that when his finesse of her releases was pulled back is when her release pattern and quality really started to get... iffy. That’s not to say that she -can’t- do it by herself, but it’s certainly more mentally draining. Plus, failure (whether perceived or real) reflects directly back at you, so then it all becomes very personal. In any case, I do hope she feels inspired again. If anything, I want her to know who she is. She’s a legend, no matter what. |
Thank you so much remove-mom for your time on translating the post. It's so well-done.
|
I thought the TA posts weren't shared anymore because TA went global and the cost went down, plus we get English entries anyway now.
|
Quote:
As for the EN versions of the blogs, sometimes they're super late or not a properly accurate translation, so I still appreciate fan translations the most for blogs like this one. |
Quote:
Yuming is an interesting artist and she was one of who shaped japanese music now we have today! :love I mean... she's so iconic even still today! She wrote many songs to japanese artists in 80's, one of them, being Seiko Matsuda. Also, Yuming released an album last year and I recommend so much to listen! Probably, Yumi Matsutoya is the greatest artist alive. |
Interesting, especially the last bit, because it can be interpreted in so many ways.
Although it makes me a bit sad I don't really like her current voice that much anymore even though she is obviously putting so much effort into the whole thing. But I haven't heard the full song yet, of course. Thanks for posting, koumori! |
Quote:
Big THANK YOU to Koumori and remove-mom for putting in the effort of translating this. I loved reading through it. Such a personal post. I'm so glad Ayu decided to share these thoughts and feeling with us :heart |
Yumi is an outstanding artist. I highly recommend checking out her Time Machine tour. Such a great show filled with beautiful music.
|
^It also features this gorgeous performance of Haru Yo, Koi. :)
|
Quote:
Quote:
The only thing i wish is for people here to stop calling everything that's not to their agreement "toxic". We are allowed to dislike something just as much as people are allowed to like something and state that. It's really not that hard to grasp that. At the end of the day we cling to different things that Ayu has done, and it's awesome. It means she's a rather diverse artist that has a bit of everything, rather than being a one trick pony. It means that more people can enjoy her stuff and the experience. |
Quote:
|
Thank you very much Koumori and remove-mom for sharing this!
I really hope she will find the right balance for her. The perfect recipe. I don't see any changes with A BALLADS 2 (or Haru Yo Koi will be something else). Maybe next time. Or it may even never shows in her work. I'm still not hoping for anything more than we've been having for the last few years. I've been disappointed so many times. My dream would be more quality on several levels. Just hard work and creativity on arrangements could do WONDERS. Let's see what the future holds. Just hope she will be more at peace with her career. |
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
thank you for the updated translation - really gives me the chills reading it again!
|
Quote:
And it was probably even harder for her who actually could produce way more than the average artist in a very short time spam. |
She did so much for so long, it's only natural for her to have been running in fumes alongside other issues going on. It's nice to see she realized some stuff was going on. I enjoyed her work up till the last album/EP so it just goes to show how powerful she is still even when she may not be at 100%.
|
Quote:
|
Thank you for posting! I got very emotional reading this, especially this part:
Quote:
But reading that Ayu is discovering herself again gives me so much hope. She's an incredible artist and I'm sure there's still so much more for her to tell us through her art. :heart |
I really love how honest this post is from her. It's beautiful to see that she is excited about her work and putting so much of herself into it, and also beautiful that she is coming to certain realizations about herself.
So much respect for her. |
Thank for the translation. I hope Ayu will continue to be true to herself
|
Quote:
It was later when she started handing off responsibility that things changed. She has said multiple times over the years that she got to a point that she was able to trust others who she deemed experts or skilled in an area, and let them guide things. This may have been a good thing at first, but it has also perhaps led to some stagnation at times because she tends to rely on the same people for everything instead of pushing boundaries. I also think that, at her heart, Ayu is a rebel. So her changing release patterns, etc. is because she hates to do something just because it is expected of her. When she was no longer AVEX's main income source and had some more say in what she did, she pushed back hard. |
I don't know what Ayu could meant in her blog, but i'm just happy for her.
|
I got chills reading this. I'm so, so thankful for ayu and her work. she's a blessing to this world.
thanks koumori and remove-mom! |
Quote:
The rebel appears again everytime she shoves on her public face exactly the stuff they complained the most about, like Bold & Delicious, Shake it, Lelio and XOXO becoming concert staples. |
Wow this was such a meaningful, important post for her. I was in shock towards the end when she admitted she needs to "bring Ayumi Hamasaki back to Ayumi Hamasaki." Even though we all adore her, it was obvious she wasn't feeling as passionate about things the past couple of years. I couldn't blame her as she's been working hard all of her life. A burn out is to be expected. Anyways, really happy to see this and can't wait for the release!
|
I think her bringing Ayumi Hamasaki back to Ayumi Hamasaki is actually represented in A Ballads 2 with thee covers. Back in the early 2000s, Ayu was always talking about Ayu the product and Ayu the person being two different personas. This can be represented in the covers for the first A Ballads. I think with the second album, it is almost as if she is coming to terms that they are one in the same, and they need to be. Her thoughts here strongly convey that.
|
Quote:
|
I'm happy that she's feeling happy again with her music. :heart
Geez, she's in the industry for more than 20 years, it's absolutely normal that she would get tired at some point. Thus, we received less releases, singles, TV lives, magazine shoots and such along the years... but I think I'm part of the fanbase that has the utmost respect for her legacy and even not liking so much of one music or another in the recent years, I'm always pleased to see her back with something new to present. It's like an old friend that I'm always glad to encounter even if we're not talking that much hehe By no means I think she was being lazy or the latest releases were bad. She is a force to be reckoned. She's one of the most workaholic artists that I know and I was really glad that she took some time off to enjoy her life and have a little fun (and babies :love) and now I'm excited to see what's coming next from my colleague. :) I just think some people in this forum need to adjust the level of expectation in everything she announces and remember that she's a human as well as us. The way some critics were thrown to her in recent releases wasn't very gentle. It's always about the form a critique is written, not exactly about its content at all. |
^Yes, so much yes! I completely agree with you :yes
|
A really meaningful and insightful post, thank you for sharing :) Still waiting on that official TA translation haha
There are times that I feelt ayu kind of phoned it in but I don't think that she's ever been creatively bankrupt. In the last few years we got some amazing songs like The way I am, FLOWER, Last minute, TSMGO, W, WORDS, Summer Love...several different concepts in the concerts... If this is passionless then what am I doing with my life? You can't force creativity and if she's actually rediscovered her passion while recording this cover then what's to come is going to be powerful. Sometimes I have to actually remember what year it is, that Ayu experimented with all sorts of genres during the 2010s from country to dubstep and it's probably her most impressive decade creatively. She's also battled a number of health issues with her declining hearing, knee issues if I recall correctly and two pregnancies in recent years! But look at what she's done in that same time!! Just thinking about the albums I'd consider the "strongest" in concept and content of the last two decades you have 2010s: MADE IN JAPAN, TROUBLE, A ONE, FIVE, Love Songs as a romantic concept album vs 2000s: I Am..., RAINBOW, MY STORY, NEXT LEVEL, Memorial address and (miss)understood as a Western concept album. If NEXT LEVEL hadn't came out in 2009 and tipped the scale I think the 2010's would be the strongest release period in her career despite the low output. Some concepts didn't really hit as well as they could like RnRC or Colours but the only time I think she really blundered a concept in her career was the Party Queen covers. The photoshoot hasn't grown on me in 9 years so I don't think it ever will LOL Ayu really increased my expectations for this release though so hopefully it's actually worth all the excitement and we get some good material in the months or year to come. |
Wow, thanks for sharing!!
Been away for so long, this release bought me back, such a great and meaningful process :)! |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:12 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.