[Delirium-Zer0]

Okay, guys, seriously, cut it out with the whole "Secret is full of SECRETS omg!!11!" thing. The title "Secret" has nothing to do with ANYTHING but the content of the album. Just like how "Memorial address" had nothing to do with ayu ending her career like you all suspected. Stop talking about the secrecy of the album like it's deliberate on ayu's part. She's been nothing but open with us about the album's progress. Typically, ayu does promo photo shoots & the album design AFTER the music has all come together. She designs it based on that, she doesn't just pick some arbitrary theme.

It's this simple... ayu has NO ALBUM YET. There's nothing to promote! How can she reveal a cover she hasn't shot yet?? Jeez.

Besides, we do know almost enough about the album to determine whether or not we'd buy it; we know how a good number of the tracks sound. With most US albums, we get ONE track to judge before the CD comes out. The cover MIGHT POSSIBLY get released/announced a week or so before release when the CD goes up for preorder, but that's really it. Jpop fans, you are spoiled by a record industry that knows what they're actually doing. I'll admit, the US record industry consists mostly of lawyers & idiots, but the jpop industry is NOT the standard worldwide. You should consider yourselves blessed that you hear as much of the album as you do before it's released.

The packaging should not be a determining factor on whether or not you buy an album. The music should.

immel mentioned that ayu would do less & less if her albums sold less. Again, I wouldn't care. If her concert budget went down drastically, I don't think I'd mind. Tori Amos concerts are a religious experience and there are no sets, no wardrobe changes, no dancing. Just a woman playing really incredible music on a piano (or several keyed instruments ) really well. And that makes it amazing.

Ayumi Hamasaki's pop star image of a multi seller is tainting our view of her. We see her as this goddess of the stage, all sparkles and, I'll be honest, few of us see the substance that's really there. Alot of pop princesses all around the world, who ARE all sparkles and very little substance, would never come out with a PV like "alterna", songs with messages like "Endless sorrow", or album covers like "RAINBOW". Ayu has depth and thought and poetry to her pictures & words that many of even the biggest fans seem to entirely fail to see.

Should ayu not sell as well, she will make beautiful music and yes, she'll still make videos with great effects & stories if she feels the song has that sort of message that it needs one. Bjork, Massive attack, and Sneaker Pimps are very underground, and don't sell nearly as well as the huge pop stars out there, but their videos are awesome, because they are musicians with messages who are doing things their way. Someone with Bjork's album sales should not be able to afford a PV like "All Is Full Of Love", but she & director Chris Cunningham did it, didn't they?

As for ayu not performing as much on TV, I think she'd perform more but in different areas; she wouldn't cost as much to hire for performances if her value went down. I also think finding talented mixers & musicians wouldn't be a problem; she'd find MORE talented people, which is to say those who do it out of a love for music and not for a paying job. On top of it, she does have quite a few loyal collaborators who I think would stick with her no matter how much she paid them.