[Translation] S Cawaii! March 2007 (A BEST SONGS)

[truehappiness]

Recently came across this translation again and it probably deserves to be seen more since it has some insights about Ayu that she'd made during A BEST 2.

Translated by ray@Ayumi-Hamasaki-Net.

A BEST SONGS
From her latest album, Ayu chose her “best” songs.

Q. A PV that surprised you the most because its scale was bigger than you expected is…
Dearest
We took the shooting at L.A. We used a location where the movie “SEVEN” was filmed and a set inside Paramount Studio. This little girl was surprised at the fact, in studio next door, there were Hollywood stars shooting their movies (laughs). Oh, and I laughed when I saw the actors in “Star Trek” eating their lunch in their costumes.

Q. A PV that gives you the strangest feeling is…
Endless sorrow
It’s the only PV which I’m not the main character. I had a lot of feelings inside me at that time and chose to do this kind of PV, but the little boy who was the main character did a marvelous acting. When I see this, I recall myself just watching this shooting till the end.

Q. One of your personal favorite songs is…
HANABI ~episode II~
Of course I adore each and every of my songs, but this song is one of my top class songs. This is episode II, so I have a personal feeling for the original HANABI too. I only have the PV for part II, and it’s very simple one which I’m just crying. But it‘s the first time I showed so much emotion into it; I think I really gave out all of the emotions for the 2 songs there. I’m happy that a lot of people like this PV. Even though it’s not really beautiful… I’m just crying out with a rumpled up face (laughs). At first I hesitated if this is okay, but I think it turned out good. I’m not acting in this PV, I’m crying for real.

Q. Your PV which you had a most nervous experience is…
HEAVEN
I still remember the tenseness of that one shot. All of the cast and staff knew that it was only one take, so the atmosphere was really tense. When the cut was over and we were free from the tensions, there was an instant change in the atmosphere. We were like “We did it!” and cried together. I think that was the moment when we all were in the world of HEAVEN and united into one.

Q. A song which you can not write now, your personal masterpiece is…
Because of You
First of all, I love the melody. I also really like the lyric. Even if I look at it now, I think I did a good job writing this. There are other songs similar to this lyric, but Japanese can make a really big change in the meaning with a slight change in words. So I used a slightly different “Because~” wording in each chorus, which turns out to be a totally different meaning. 2 years ago when I sang this song in my countdown live, I thought it’s a lyric that I can’t think up now (laughs).

Q. Out of the songs you made, the song that was new to you and had the fastest melody is…
evolution
Those days I couldn’t make songs at home so I brought all of my instruments to the hotel and made them. Plus, I run out of ideas if I stay in the same hotel, so I changed the hotels at every song I make. I think I made evo at a hotel in Yokohama*6? Back then, I was into guitar too, so after a process of trial and error, even though I made it myself I thought “Wow, it’s a very fast song!” (laughs). Before that I especially had a lot of medium or ballad songs, so it was very new to me, and I think my fans were really surprised too. I don’t think I can make another evo song even if someone tells me too. I think this song was born because I had that kind of particular “feeling” back then. If I was to make another rock song now I think I’ll make something close to “Humming 7/4”.

Q. The first song you used English in the lyrics is…
Real me
This song was a big challenge for me; the song itself, and also the English lyrics and the dance in the PV. It was the first time I danced so much, so I practiced like hell (laughs)! At night I struggled to remember that very fast choreography in the studio, so I was really happy when I got an okay sign at the shooting, and the choreographers CHIHARU and ETSU told me it was good!
I removed the embargo of English from my album “RAINBOW”*7. Those days I got an award from MTV and I got a chance to perform at other Asian countries several times. When I did, I had a feeling that Japanese can’t reach out to those people. So this little girl simply thought English is a global common language. That was the start of it.

Q. The song that brings back the cruelest memory is…
my name’s WOMEN
This PV shooting was sooooooooo hard. How many hours was I awake? I was awake for like about 2 days and 2 nights, and in the last part of the shooting CHIHARU and ETSU, the dancers and I, well everyone were just laughing. There’s always somebody that make some kind of mistakes. But we could forgive them because it was so funny (laughs). I had a concert before the shooting, and I went on to take the shooting without sleep, and the day after that there was the Aichi Expo*8. I don’t remember how I went to Nagoya from the studio (laughs).

Q. On the contrary, the song that brings back the most pleasant memory is…
fairyland
This song brings me back a lot of memories. I also love this song. A few days ago, when I was using my computer, suddenly “fairyland” came on, and I just went on and listened to it. I never listen to my songs at home and even if my songs come up at TV, I change the channel. But I listened to it till the end and thought, “I really love this song”. The shooting for this song’s PV had a really good atmosphere. I went overseas with the dancers and had no rest and no sleep, but I had a really good time there. Even if I was blown off by the helicopter’s wind (laughs).

[visionfactory]

Every piece of this interview was so interesting to read, thank you for sharing!

I never would had think that my name's WOMEN was related to a cruel memory, her schedule was unbelievable at that time! Even with the tiredness she made that awesome performance at Aichi expo and my name's WOMEN have to be one of her finest PVs ever (with no sleep!)

Glad to hear she's recalling how to compose her own music, I like the part also she says "I can't do it anymore" since it may be a reason why she's not using CREA anymore (or I'd like to believe that, I need a reason so I just take that lol)

[truehappiness]

I think the thing about CREA is complicated since she has composed since Will (notably in November 2008 for a song in the running to become the A-side with Rule) but the song did not make it in the end. It's assumed that Sparkle was the winner in the end and Ayu's composition as CREA just never got mentioned again.

Kazuhito Kikuchi also has always given Ayu songs nearly annually to use as demos but she only chose one this year after the last one was 14 years ago.

[Aderianu]

The part about Hanabi makes me sad. She was under so much pressure that just cried for the whole video

[mizuki-7]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

I think the thing about CREA is complicated since she has composed since Will (notably in November 2008 for a song in the running to become the A-side with Rule) but the song did not make it in the end. It's assumed that Sparkle was the winner in the end and Ayu's composition as CREA just never got mentioned again.

Kazuhito Kikuchi also has always given Ayu songs nearly annually to use as demos but she only chose one this year after the last one was 14 years ago.

That’s interesting !! It’s quite humble of her to be that impartial concerning her compositions. I mean a lot of singers would choose their own compositions for the sake of having the credits.

Nonetheless it's a shame, I'd love to hear how a CREA's song would sound now with all the experiences she gained since her last compositions.

[indigochild]

Whew her feelings towards fairyland! She better stan her BEST summer song

[Kuronekomi]

hanabi episode II is one of my favorite song, I totally can relate to the lyrics and love that it is so sad but also so warm.
The feelings she put in this song are so deep and so clear. I cry every single time I listen to it and the pv is heartbreaking.

[Mirrorcle_Star]

Hanabi episode II is also one of my favorite songs and PV, very interesting to read, thank you!!

[DonkeyKongRemix]

In her comments on Evolution, she mentioned her instruments. I'm curious to know what she's dabbled in.

[truehappiness]

I would guess keyboard/guitar for sure. Different kinds of guitar probably as well (acoustic vs. electric) with bass perhaps too? I can't see her on drums but it amuses me to think about.

[JinHamasaki]

I can't believe back in 2001 she would stay at different hotels to get inspiration to write music. That is some crazy dedication!