Thoughts on NEXT LEVEL (FX40 CM Version)
 

Panasonic LUMIX FX40 CM is out, BGM: NEXT LEVEL

What do you think of NEXT LEVEL?

In my opinion, it is peaceful and sounds like GREEN.

Since this song with the same title as the album, I believe the new album will be quite different from previous albums.

sometimes i think it might be easier to add a poll with this discussion thread cause someone else probably will, then a bunch of random threads, but anyways

i liked it, it was refreshing! and sounded very asian to me~ though it might live up to par with her other title tracks~ but i'll have to wait and see

Totally not what I was expecting! But it sounds so pretty!
It's going to be a very diverse album
maybe with Rock, electronica, and oriental pieces!
Can't wait!

NEXT LEVEL = GREEN (take 2 version)

You can do much better than that Ayu.

I've been having the commercial on repeat...

I really really like NEXT LEVEL! I didn't expect it to sound like this... as I said in the original thread, NEXT LEVEL sounds like a mellower and calmer version of GREEN, which is like totally cool.

I can see NEXT LEVEL going in many new and different musical directions. Whoa, I'm really looking forward to it now.

Right now, we have

Oriental/Asian - GREEN & NEXT LEVEL
J-Pop Ballad - Days
Rock - Rule
Electronica/Trance/Dance music - Sparkle

I'm really looking forward to the new album. :yes

i love it. i was expecting something different (more faster) but it sounds slow and soothing and great :) this is seriously going to be an awesome album, i'm so excited

Wow you guys make threads fast!

I love how none of us expected NEXT LEVEL to sound anything like this! I think that alone is what makes it really great hahaha.

I don't think it's like GREEN at all...

It doesn't even sound like it has Asian twists to me...I guess because I'm not Asian?

I personally hope it isn't...but it probably will be since it would help the flow...and other people think so lol

it sounds a little bit like beautiful fighters but prettier and softer.

What I wrote on the CM's thread - Sounds like a great up-beat song and not of the ones that get on the nerves.
It's really mellow and easy to listen to (from the preview of course). ^__^
Looking forward for the full song!

It sounds like a happy version of GREEN.
Thus far, I do not like it. Usually, my initial reaction to the preview is the same as what I will think of the full song. -.-

She should've left NEXT LEVEL a concept like MY STORY, imo.

It doesn't remind me of GREEN at all ._.... GREEN did sound darker and more sullen in the CM, this one doesn't. GREEN made me think of autumn, and NEXT LEVEL is making me think of spring :3

Good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that! On my first listen I thought that it sounded like a soft version of Beautiful Fighters.

^lol...I thought I was the only one...XD

I thought so too
haha

NEXT LEVEL wasn't exactly what I was waiting for that song to be, but it seems to be a nice song with a more mature style. I'm sure that when we'll get the full version it will grow on me

hey now that you mention it, I hear it too <3

it sounds awesome!! :D

really cuteee and softy pop kinda thing ;)



haha the commercial is really random xD



and she looks awesome!!!!

Very underwhelming so far, let's hope the full thing surprises me.

Dang. I like it - it sounds nice, but I was expecting a sexy electro trance sound like Sparkle. Ha ha.

Cute and I think I'll like it. Very different. Although I can see the similarities with GREEN - GREEN just never made me :luv2 though. Kinda dull. Lol. This one I like though.

I'm wondering if this is only one part of the song...kinda like Dr. in the VS CM. Because I have a hard time believing that this song would be the "NEXT LEVEL" as it were. It's so underwhelming for me. But hopefully the full track will surprise me for the better.

Lol, I don't get how people can say "it could get repetitive" - how so?
We've heard 30 seconds of it...

I absolutely love the preview! Its like ear candy x3

I expected NEXT LEVEL to sound like rock or pop...
but it sounds good enough, I need to hear more.

It's really sweet. It's like a happy song.:P Anyway it's much much much better than GUILTY(I mean the song, not the album.:D).

I think it's nice. It's been a while since she's done something along the same lines. I welcome anything she does. If she wants to, and it works for her, I like it. At least it's honest that way.

What is it with people comparing it to GREEN? It doesn't sound anything like GREEN...>.> Anyhow, so far it sounds good. I cannot wait for this album! :D

Because even in just 30 seconds it was already kinda sounding repetitive to me. :) It would be great though if it ended up being something crazy like Dr. though - that would definitely suit the title Next Level more.

The music reminds me of ANGEL'S SONG which isn't really a good thing in my book. Hopefully the full song will sound different.

I find the song sounding very chinese... and peaceful.. Something towards nature??Hmms, kinda like it.... At least it's something different. Yup. :)

haha, yup, there are other parts of the songs not out yet so we definitely can't judge any thing yet....

Anyway, the cm is very refreshing, though her dancers are kinder ordinary looking. haha.... How old is peco?? she looks so old.

from the background , it sounds nice & calm although I can't help but LOL at the CM a bit :laugh

I hope the full length of the song will be good :)

It's soft and warm... Kind of like Life! :)

its repitive coz they repeated and looped two chorus?...like when GREEN came out? two choruses were placed back to back...

Its only the ORIENTAL feeling that resembles GREEN but like someone mentioned, GREEN is more autumn and exotic...NEXT LEVEL is more spring..(something Shimatani will sing..TOTALLY)

actually...i too wasnt expcting this and im not very thrilled by it. of coz its just a preview. Though im a chinese, i m never thrilled by chinese-oriental songs...

but this has gotta be Ayu's first happy title track after RAINBOW (which wasnt even on the album...) so this IS Ayu's first happy pop title track. (i wonder if NEXT LEVEL might get a PV)

I hope the full song shines..

I like it, I didn't expect that NEXT LEVEL would became such grandiose soothing song, I think the NEXT LEVEL title doesn't fit the image of the song (Yea, I would expect it like a Rock or Techno Track)

I wanna hear the full version!

same! i thought it was going to sound naughty-dark-electronicaish lol


but i like how it sounds so far :P not many name of the album's songs sound like this!! maybe Secret a little bit :P


at least i guess that people will like this song more than GUILTY the song. ^^

Love it!

(Kinda sick of all the analytical and critical posts about this song. Dunno why.)

it sounds very relaxing and nice to the ears~and it DOESNT sound like GREEN to me...at least to me not =)

I like it so far! It reminds me of Yumi Matsutoya.

I really like NEXT LEVEL, it sounds very nice and peaceful...

Waiting for the entire album to come!:luv2:luv2:luv2

Only listened to it a few times, but yeah it's completely different from what I expected. From the title alone I thought it would be rock or dance. Something fast and powerful.
But "NEXT LEVEL" sounds indeed very peaceful. A nice mid-tempo pop song. I get a bittersweet vibe from it (similar to "MY ALL").

At first I was quite surprised, but now I'm looking forward to the full version. Specially the lyrics. ^^

It's simple, nothing special, but sounds smooth and relaxing, it depends on the whole song, of cuz. If Next Level is not a techno album, it better be as diversified as I am... or (miss)understood. Anyway, I'm buying it.

NEXT LEVEL reminds me about Life......both released in spring, and they're much softer compared with other hard rock songs

The CM version sounds a bit like Ayu's usual pop songs, it's not really interesting. I think I'll wait and see what the full version is like.

I hate the preview... Hope the full song will be better =D

Yeah.. its quite underwhelming for me as well. I hope that the full version will fire up my mood. :P We do have hopes for that, because Sparkle was quite mellow in the cm, but the full version shines :D

I like it, it sounds relaxing and cheerfull:)

i love it

the only i dislike is the title
wth ayu used such two hidebound letters to name a pretty, refreshing and a little bit cheerful song like that?!

i was just thinking that NEXT LEVEL should be used as a concept but a exact song.

its wonderful ! the title gives the feeling that the song might be techno or rock
and like someone mentioned, most of the title tracks weren't cheerful
it gives me such a spring like feeling ~

The song is nice n sweet in team of Usual Pop Song!
It's really nothing NEXT LEVEL to me =_=

From the chorus part translated by maikaru it seems like ayu has forgiven her past. She doesn't ask herself if she will forgive or if she will be forgiven anymore, yet she states that the scar from the past has become dear to her. Maybe she feels that she can finally move on now, so she titled the song as "NEXT LEVEL".

I like it! As many people said I was expecting rock or trance sounds (or a song similar to sparkle), but this is totally refreshing, relaxing, and brings a spring feel! I want to hear more of it! :yes

i think you're right!!
next level is not about music but her life??
it's gonna be very interesting to listen to this album :)

The part I heard.. I really like.
I hope, the rest of the song also sounds good.
I prefer such songs that Rock-Songs. (^.^) So.. I think, I will love it.

it's so goood

yea thats wad i feel also. She seems to be saying about some elevation

i have repeat the Cm for 40x....
i love that song~
ahah~ like spiring flow music~ ahha~ so fresh! its like HONEY but little bit slowly

Like I said in the CM thread, I thought that NEXT LEVEL would be rock or something faster. It was a great surprise, when I clicked play and a soft song was playing! To be honest, I'm not really feeling the oriental vibe. The beat isn't oriental, it's more the way she sings. It sounds almost enka-ish? Anyway, it's only a 30s preview. So we'll see!

yeah.. NEXT LEVEL sounds pretty peaceful. and from the music of this song, i can predict it's gonna be the last song of the album.

since GUILTY wasnt really a fantastic title track, i hope this will be good.

I think this may be one of her better album titled tracks! My other favorites are GUILTY, (miss)understood, and RAINBOW.

it's not a soft song ..it's a bit poppish...a ;happier' version of so-called GREEN

NEXT LEVEL it was unexpected!
I like it *_* is so cute and sweet!
The song sounds more chinese than GREEN (that is more japanese), maybe NL will be an ethnic/electro album.
Maybe she return to experiment different kind of music like in RAINBOW era :yes

I can't wait to listen this album.

I also think that it isn't like GREEN
regarding my ears NEXT LEVEL is absolutely J-POP song
I really really like this song,it's different form previous songs for Ayu

This album makes me excited more than previous album which always in the old style!!

GO!AYU

i love it. she truly on another "level" now! it surely doesn't sound generic like her last few songs and not "recycled". she's also back into that experimental sound again too. i have a really good feeling about this album, which hasn't occurred to me since My Story! i'm so excited!!!!

and i honestly don't know how people could bend it's tune to sound like something else when i think it's very original.

I love the preview!!! It sounds beautiful!!!

I have been putting this preview on repeat a lot!! I really like it! its very pretty ^_^

I really don't hear anything oriental about it at all, it sounds more Beautiful Fighters ANGEL'S SONG love child than anything else.

I don't understand how everyone is comparing it to "GREEN" just bc it has a softer sound but whatever. I think it sounds nice and I can't wait to hear the full version.

:yes

Can I get an Amen to that anyone...?

jajaja now i've read thast it sounds like BF... you're right!! jajaja But really... I don't thing it's similar to GREEN only because it seems really oriental... I don't see common thign between them about rithm, tempo, instruments, the notes.. Idk... XDD

And, as all of you, I didn't expected NEXT LEVEL to soudn this way... first of all I expect another song to be used in a CM... Apart from RAINBOW, in the other albums the song which gave the name to them wasn't used in a CM, it hasn't PV and no a lot of promotion... a song for xx and Duty maybe... but I am, memorial, secret, (m)u, GUILTY... So NEXT LEVEL will be the second one.. and also it's different because RAINBOW wasn't included in the main album... so... it's a change ^^

I liek it... for what we can listen, this song give me good feelings, is smooth, peaceful... easy to listen.. And I think that the rest of the song won't have the oriental feelng... maybe i'm wrong...

I like it. I doubt it'll be my favourite song on NEXT LEVEL, but it's a little refreshing breath of air, in a way. It's nothing like I expected it to be :P

I love the way NEXT LEVEL is sounding at the moment. There already seems to be a wide variety of styles (if the singles are anything to go by). I'm very excited now :)

Not the kind of song I was expecting. NEXT LEVEL gave me the impression of a rock song but I guess not. It sounds very relaxing contrary to what I was expecting. Then again, we only heard part of the song and not the full thing.

I don't think that would be an issue since it doesn't sound like GREEN nor does it have an Asian feel at all.

I like it, sounds like its going to be a much better title track unlikes GUILTY

To all Kuu fans:

Does anyone think NEXT LEVEL sounds like Dear Family? Or at least has that very very very serene vibe to it?

I thought NEXT LEVEL sounded like GREEN, but now it sounds more like Dear Family. Hahaha.

I think it does sound a bit like GREEN. N I love it!! Potential great song for the new album :)

i agree 100%. i'm just loving how it sounds so different that i can't even come up with a comparison to any song in her discography that it sounds like. :luv2 the only thing i can say is that it sounds nothing like GREEN but will probably relate to it in being epic and different :yes i can't even describe how excited i am for this ALBUM, i can tell it's going to be much better than GUILTY already.

I think we're kind of interpreting Ayu's idea of a NEXT LEVEL erroneously. Since she wrote this song as a dedication to her fans, she probably intends for it to be a MY ALL kind of song. I would think she meant to say "Please move onto the next level with me" rather than what we all had in mind, which is like "THE NEXT LEVEL!". I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed ESPECIALLY after SPARKLE, which gave me the impression that "NEXT LEVEL" is in the vein of trance/electronica and dynamism but doesn't seem to be the case.

That was boring. It sounds just like another Beautiful Day.

I think the song is quite in a peaceful pace, and the voice of AYU is so sweet to hear~~
Since NEXT LEVEL is the title of the new album, I think this time there might be lots of different kind of songs which AYU didn't tried before in it, looking forward to it^^

After hearing the sample in the CM i find NEXT LEVEL a nice, light song. If the whole would be in that style, i will adore it ^^ And Peco looks nice... but scarry at the same time ^^

Like it ! Soft tempo and catchy beat. =D

I don't think it sounds anything like GREEN.

The way I see it, those two songs sound oriental for different reasons. GREEN has more oriental-esque music, while NEXT LEVEL seems to have a more oriental melody but the music is strictly pop. Overall, I think they both sound completley different from each other.

Does anyone think they will have time to tweak the song before the release? Like how GREEN, 1 LOVE and Sparkle are slightly different from the CM? I'm not saying the song needs tweaking, it just seems to be the pattern...

^ I certainly hope it won't be tweaked...

I like the sounds and the rhythm also... Hope it will be a great song...