NEW MINI ALBUM『FIVE』 2011.8.31 in stores ~V~

[yamashita.san]

Ayu`s voice sounds so beautiful here!! I love it!

[AyUmIXx]

Love love Why...everything...
the melody, the arrangement..totally awesomeeee <33333
and their vocals blend quite well =))
ayu's vocal is NICE..she sounds softer~~

a week to go..but still no PV previews..and even PVs..
that's kinda weird~~~~~

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

JUNO is gonna be promoted with such a beautiful song

I can't really hear his voice properly, I think it sounds very common, like another tohoshinki person But it blends so well with ayu's in this song.

[AyUmIXx]

^ bless JUNO XDD
hope to see them performing live on TV Shows..

JUNO's vocal is ok..not the best like Tohoshinki5 since he was not trained as singer before, like his twin brother~

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

I can't get over how nice this sounds lol

Makes me wish ayu had more collabs in the past Like this one of course



I want them performing this song live too!

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

I really hope her and JUNO perform this on Music Station or something...

I actually would rather Why... be performed instead of progress or beloved haha. I think it would make for good tv promotion.

[ExodusUK]

Why and Beloved are so bland..so forgettable.

[hidekirby]

Originally Posted by ExodusUK

Why and Beloved are so bland..so forgettable.

This seems to be the direction she took with this album. Something catchy but unoriginal. I feel like I have been listening to those songs a hundred times already.

Yet I'm fine with Why... as I'm fine with beloved I guess. It just doesn't feel new at all. But everyone working on this album didn't seem to have high expectations.

Juno and Ayu's voice sound really good together. Good collab!

[bluegie]

I prefer Why... over beloved. I just listened beloved a few times and the melody still can't be imprinted in my mind. Why... sounds like someone else's melody (something that ayu wouldn't use I guess?), but I like this song much more. It's a pleasant surprise that ayu and Juno's voices blend in quite well.

[njanjayrp]

beloved is deffo forgettable. I heard it over 100 times and I still can't remember what it sounds like. Why isn't as forgettable, but it's far away from progress.

[asmAyumi1992]

Juno sounds so much like his twin brother I love this song !!

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by AyUmIXx

^ bless JUNO XDD
hope to see them performing live on TV Shows..

JUNO's vocal is ok..not the best like Tohoshinki5 since he was not trained as singer before, like his twin brother~

Imo JUNSU sounds annoying as he over-does everything. JUNO might not have his vocal skills, but I find him more pleasant to listen to.

[Kogepan_19]

Originally Posted by bluegie

I prefer Why... over beloved. I just listened beloved a few times and the melody still can't be imprinted in my mind. Why... sounds like someone else's melody (something that ayu wouldn't use I guess?), but I like this song much more. It's a pleasant surprise that ayu and Juno's voices blend in quite well.

In relation to my studies of music in popular culture, the process of creating "Why..." and "beloved" appears to me to have taken more elements from musical genomes such as melodic line/harmonic progression, beat pattern, etc. that would appeal to a general public audience...following a "Middle of the Road" style rather than being more daring in "progress". That's why both of the songs sound like they have been produced before, although of course changes are added in or else it'd be outright plagiarism.

Honestly though, I find it nice to hear Ayu just sing songs that aren't meant to be grand or anything like "Mirrorcle World" or "progress" in recent years...and it's pleasant to have a good blend of everything in one mini-album. Hopefully BRILLANTE will the second track on the mini-album that can offer what "progress" has.

[AyUmIXx]

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

Imo JUNSU sounds annoying as he over-does everything. JUNO might not have his vocal skills, but I find him more pleasant to listen to.

oh, that's probably your preference~ your opinion ~

[pepper]

Both songs are ballads (so they are lower in my taste just becase they are ballads...)
They're just ok. They are just kind of songs I am not listening to.
beloved is more forgetable, Why arragments is more exciting.
But I would like Why more, without Juno (but he's not bad, I just would like it more with Ayu only, because he's getting to the song this "drama song ending" climat, that I am not really into...

When it comes to ASIAN ballads (not only Ayu's) I AM VERY picky. They all sound the same to me, that just got to be special in some way. That's why I love Ayu's HANABI, Happy Ending... they are SOOOOO diffrent than typical "drama ending like" asian ballads.

I know I will end up with liking all of her ballads (I dont like maybe 2 of them? I cant really say that I dont like them, cause I just dont choose them to listen...) but the more rocky/fast/poppy/electronic/weird Ayu song is - I can be sure I will like it more (the only song that dont fit this scheme is Lady Dynamite ;p)

And for the end, I must say, her vocals are GORGEOUS in Why

[lacus]

Originally Posted by ExodusUK

Why and Beloved are so bland..so forgettable.

I agree, though in Why... I think ayu and that guy sound good together.
Progress isn't really working for me either, I can't see it as the masterpiece many people claim it to be.

This mini album could have used some Tetsuya Komuro.

[asmAyumi1992]

Honestly, I love beloved more than the three leaked songs.

[thatstacey]

I haven't listened to "beloved" or "Why..." beyond the short previews, but the more I read about it, the more this seems like a glorified single with a generous number of b-sides. I guess I'm ok with that--even though I wish it didn't cost almost twice as much as a normal single. Oh, well. Maybe if I keep my expectations low enough, I'll be pleasantly surprised?

Originally Posted by AyUmIXx

oh, that's probably your preference~ your opinion ~

My Internet Inflection radar is a little rusty, so in case it wasn't clear, "imo" stands for "in my opinion."

[pepper]

Her tender ballads that are "kind of special" and not bland are JEWEL and a lot of her older work (Key, Wishing, Dearest, end roll) This just sound too typical. Maybe I am too picky... Maybe I am getting older..

[thatstacey]

^I'm the same way with j-pop ballads (though I think "JEWEL" is closer to the "bland" side than not). I'm not sure how much of it is nostalgia and how much of it is the old ballads being genuinely better.