Party Queen is 3 years old today...

[mi|kshake]

I actually enjoyed the NaNaNa and Shake It PVs more than Return Road and How Beautiful You Are, which I didn't expect!

[TeddyGrahams]

Originally Posted by js_surrealism

But NaNaNa and Shake It were both excellent songs for me. I would much rather see her perform those live than anything off Love songs to be honest. I cannot name a single song from her discography pre-PQ that sound anything like those songs. Perhaps you can name some for us to compare.

It has a slight urban to it which she has done via lady dynamite, Startin, & ladies night. This type song is pretty much one of her album staple.

@Andrenekoi: It's the structure of the composition. I find them more akin to a lot of western releases. It's basically a heavy focus on beats instead of lyrics and melody. Ayu have quite a few songs like this.

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by js_surrealism

But NaNaNa and Shake It were both excellent songs for me. I would much rather see her perform those live than anything off Love songs to be honest. I cannot name a single song from her discography pre-PQ that sound anything like those songs. Perhaps you can name some for us to compare. I also think that the PVs off this album were Way Way Way better than anything off A One. I understand that most of the fans here like seeing ayu repeat herself but that doesn't mean u should dismiss anything different as bad. Nor do I believe that different = good by default. Love songs is a good example of an album with a slightly different sound (on the TK album tracks) that was bad.

The PQ PVs were kind of a nightmare honestly, but still, so have been most of the PVs she's put out the past couple of years. NaNaNa's PV is a hilarious guilty pleasure though. It's so bad it's like the best thing ever lmao.

ANYWAY, I agree with you, lol. The thing about PQ for me is, it doesn't sound very different from albums like (miss)understood or Secret, but it certainly isn't a rehash of anything she's done before. IMO, it strikes a very good balance between retaining Ayu's distinct, trademark sound, and also trying out new things (even the title track sounds nothing like any song that came before it, despite being a genre she's dabbled in). The middle "rock" section of the album isn't really anything cutting-edge, but that's whatever.

I don't personally understand not liking this album if you're a fan of her poppier albums anyway, but I can totally get behind disliking it for its technical flaws (mastering on Tell me why, sub-par mixing, etc.) or if you're more a fan of her Love songs/I am.../less poppy stuff. If I weren't so nitpicky about mixing (she set the bar REALLY high for herself) it'd probably be one of my top favorites. I eat Ayu pop up lmao.

[Benikari47]

I appreciate Party Queen cause it got me out of my ayu-biased period. I discovered her around the time of Rock 'N Roll Circus/Love Songs and my love only grew from there, probably peaking around the release of FIVE.
When Party Queen leaked i found myself lying and defending the album purely because of how much i loved Ayu and her material at the time, i couldn't find faults anywhere cause i didn't want too.

Over time i started listening to it less and less until i found myself leaving it alone all together, with the exception of NaNaNa and Shake It. It left me more critical of her work, but in a good way imo! I know when she really strikes gold now, and i consider myself a big fan instead of biased now cause it seems more natural to me. It's fine to be critical of your fav, it only shows how much you appreciate their work in the end.

As an album and judging the songs individually, i'm not a fan of Party Queen. But conceptionally it's brilliant and one of her most refined albums so far.