Okok, oldddddd fan here. I haven't listened to any of the previews but I am usually pleasantly surprised...
The very first song I heard was way back in 2000 and that was "Trauma". I remember seeing this artist - ayumi hamasaki - topple the charts with ayu-mi-x II Non-stop Mega Mix, ayu-mi-x II US+EU, ayu-mi-x II JPN, LOVEppears, AND a single (don't remember which one) while more poor Amuro-san was getting whipped out with GENIUS 2000 (it barely lasted long...)
And what did I think? I *HATED* Trauma. YUCK. Too high, weird music, and all in all - strange.
It wouldn't be until SURREAL, which totally captured me. I was hooked. I could play it *ALL* day long. It was like a roller coaster, ups, downs, highs, lows, fast, slow, turns, twists, the whole she bang. It was really innovative, interesting and *cool*. It's funny because this was Ayu's high point. I was spoiled with evolution's rush, Endless sorrow's sorrow, Dearest's love, I am...'s completeness, Free & Easy's drama, H was fun, RAINBOW was ethereal, Memorial address was short and sweet.
So does that put me as an "old" fan? It seems the old fans like pre-Memorial address era...MY STORY was all right. I really LOVED miss(understood), Secret was so exciting that I kicked myself to Tokyo just to see it in concert. Guilty, I'm not so sure about. Whereas I loved some of the songs (Marionette, Mirror, untitled ~for her~, (don't)Leave me alone, I barely play Guilty, MY ALL, fated, glitter. I do agree that there were a bit too many interludes (that I never really played more than a few times). Although I was a little disappointed to see 4 interludes on the most interesting titles (Load of the SHUGYO sounds like such a rockin' track, and disco-mmunication sounds awesome), I think Ayu still has an excellent taste level. Part of me inside thinks that Ayu was pushed to pump out an album before 3/31, which is the end of the fiscal year for businesses. Hence, she was whisked away to LA so she can really try to focus and pump out something quick.
I guess I will have to wait until the album comes out, but I feel like Ayu has always has had an electronic "vibe". No, it was never like "womanizer", "just dance", "when I grow up", but it had that "vibe". too late had a vocoder, tons of electricness, but it still had that stamp of "Ayu" that made it distinctive and unique. So I don't think Ayu is making songs to fit a trend, she is just making songs she enjoys and hopes you will like. Ayu is one of the few artists that will do what she likes!
Unfortunately, I have a hunch that a big part of Ayu's music went out when DAI/Ayu had that disagreement and stopped working together. I really wonder what was going on. Her best selling single in the past few years is BLUE BIRD - a DAI composition (although I don't think it's anything special...).
-edit: now I sort of remember what I was going at. I have to be honest and say that Ayu has a lost a little bit of her trademark. The Ayu "rock" -evolution, NEVER EVER, UNITE!, July 1st was really refreshing. Now it seems to have big bass, guitar riff, etc. Memorial address and Because of You were great when they came out because it was different at first. But then you hear GAME, talkin' 2 myself, Rule, decision, Life, 1LOVE (which I really adore), About You and they all kind of jumble up together...
Then you have the Ayu
pop: glitter, BLUE BIRD, fairyland, MY ALL, HONEY, when before it was vogue, UNITE!, monochrome.
And ballads have been split into soft ballads (CAROLS, Days, Jewel, Together When...) , power winter ballad (No way to say, Days), when before you had something SEASONS and Dearest, romantic like Voyage, butterfly-in-your-stomach Who... She was really good at mixing a ballad melody with a contempory electronic, like in appears, PS II, M which REALLY set her apart from your typical Jpop female.
So has ayu overstreched and covered every genre? No, there's a way to keep a genre and make it fresh and anew, she's done it before. But now she seems to be stuck. I felt like this past year was her "break" but I think she needs to refocus by listening to music in the past and formulating something on her own. Namie did that with 60s70s80s and look at her now. (NOT saying that Ayu should take that route, though.)