Ayu in various newspaper scans

[ruixiong89]

Hey, that's from today's Zao Bao! Haha, anyway, I'll translate it for you guys.

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Title: Ayumi talks about her bitterness and reveals the moment when she wanted to leave the music industry.

(Arrow pointing at Ayumi says: Ayumi reveals the painstaking efforts she took to become successful)

Since 1999, a Japan TV channel (NTV) started an intimate interview with the Queen of Trends, Ayumi Hamasaki. They even went down to Ayumi's hometown, Fukuoka, unearthing different interesting stories about her childhood.

This special programme (Ayumi Hamasaki's Lights and Shadows - 25 years of despair and decisions) features the difficulties she faced backstage, and even revealed about her decision to retire from the music scene. The show was screened on the previous day and was well received by her fans.

Ayumi reveals that around March 2001, her compilation album "A Best" clashed with Utada Hikaru's album "Distance" release, generating a lot of different arguments and contention, and that was when she intended to retire from the music scene. She says that at the moment, she really had a strong urge to leave her music career, as she didn't felt like doing anything anymore.

The show features the glamourous moments of her past concerts, including her concert during June 2000, when suddenly she had hearing problems, resulting in the cancellation of the concert. Ayumi admits that even though the hearing problem doesn't affect her concerts, she cannot hear clearly still at times.

Ayumi's relationship with TOKIO's Nagase, after being exposed by the media, has been under speculation. The media predicts that the two will tie the knot this year. But will he fulfill Ayumi's wish of marriage? Well, that's currently still unknown.

- Lian He Zao Bao