[Misa-chan]

Currently translating the article, thanks to truehappiness for requesting. ^_^

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18 years since her debut, Hamasaki Ayumi has reached a state where she is "satisfied with life". "In fact, there isn't really anything I desire anymore. When I did the fanclub tour and performed on a concert staged to resemble a show, I suddenly realized how much I loved to sing. Of course, I still have a wish to grow as a singer and entertainer. That would all come together on stage. That is where I belong. But aside from that, there is nothing else I want."

Because my job requires me to stand before people, I don't have the chance to show my feelings to others. I have to smile, have to act tough. I know I wasn't required to do that, but I also didn't want to share my thoughts with anyone, nor was I foolish enough to do so. So it means that the self I was at the beginning, during the "A Song for XX" era, is still basically the same self I am now, 18 years later... In this time, the things which I can't tell anyone about have increased, so that darkness still remains... And I have no intention of telling these things to anyone in the future as well.

But songs are my way of finding a balance in order to continue living strong, so singing about things actually fulfills me. And when I bring that song to a concert in the form of a show, I'll get to see it from another perspective because I take on a self different from the me I was when I composed the song. However, the song is still written by me, so I'm still able to deliver its punchline. Through that, I'm able to have an output, and maybe that cleanses me and helps me to regain some balance.