Well, my tastes have officially changed. I can't even sit through a whole new Ayu album anymore; I can only be arsed to listen to the new songs that haven't already been released to the public on a single or in a PV. And even then, I'm extremely bored.
Yup, I loved Colours, but found A ONE an absolute snorefest.
/waves bai bai to the Ayu fandom amongst sticks and stones and runs like hell >_>;
Seriously though, I guess at least for me, you could compare this to Kim Junsu's first two studio albums. His first album was absolutely on point. It had the perfect mix of upbeat dance tracks, sexy slow songs, and ballads, which are all Junsu's forte. Not to mention, the MV for Tarantallegra was stunning, as well as the album art. It was something new and different than his previous work in DBSK/JYJ, and interesting. For me, this was Colours. Even though it was mostly dance tracks, it was Ayu stepping out of her comfort zone and working with new people, right down to the album art with Alvin Goh.
Then you had Junsu's second album, Incredible. Junsu had since found his love and success in musicals, and this album reflected that. 80% of it was ballads, and therefore felt like one big track. This is A ONE for me. Ayu's going back to her comfort zone: ballads. Not only do the songs sound the same (the rock songs sound the same, the ballads sound the same), but they don't stand out and sound like everything else in her discography. Even the PVs remind me of something else she had already done. But I guess it was already established that this was going to be A ONE's approach from the get-go, with the album being released on her anniversary and Ayu finding her roots again recording in Tokyo. That being said, I do like The Show Must Go On however, even though it bares a striking resemblance to snowy kiss - but then I liked that song as well.
Also, it didn't help with avex uploading literally EVERYTHING sans the makings of beforehand. Some could argue that I didn't have to listen to the previews - which I didn't - or watch the PVs, but it's kinda hard when everybody else does and rants about how good or bad it is and then it messes up your expectations going in. I guess for the next release I'll just unfriend everybody.
(Just kidding!
)