Exactly what they did with hitomi and she still slayed

You guys watched her latest ig stories? She’s rehearsing it seems. I don’t know if it’s Ayu the one dancing but if she is, it’s really hard to believe she’s pregnant doing that... maybe she gave birth already (?). How the heck can the dancer hold her by the stomach if she is pregnant? Lol

^ I thought maybe that's her double. Wonder what they rehearsing

^didn’t thought of that! Probably that’s the case

Maybe the dancers are rehearsing for a music video or for a tv performance for A Ballads 2 promo tv appearances :) She can only just wear a pretty dress and they will do the job.

My mind is kind of set on a PV rather than a live performance.

She's still heavily pregnant from that video of hers watching the laptop! Wonder when she's due, probably very soon now...

Ayu has been honored with the "Dark Blue Ribbon Medal" by the government for her 10 million yens donation to the National Center for Global Health and Medicine last year, according to the government page "(this medal) is awarded to individuals who have made exceptionally generous financial contributions for the good of the public.It is conferred when the occasion arises, after the Decoration Bureau of the Cabinet Office has screened the candidates recommended by relevant ministries."

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/00...0d68c66ebe3fdb

I was a bit worried seeing Ayu trending on Twitter tonight so had to come here and check everything was ok!

Nice to see her doing charitable works :)

Yeah let's see how this gets spinned into "she is seeking attention".

Most comments I've seen are positive while there a few saying things like "I don't care" or "They should also give this award to *another celebrity name*" but no direct attacks towards Ayu so far lol

That should be it’s own thread :rolleyes

I'm glad she's got this medal :) It's good in all possible ways, for publicity and in general it's nice she donated and it helped people.

I came to announce this, but you beat me to it!

I was happy to see the positive reactions from people too. Haters gonna hate, but in these last couple of years there's been a lot of positivity toward Ayu too, and I've only seen one "Look at how she's deteriorated, she should quit already!" articles in months and months. ^_^ Hopefully she's graduating out of that nonsense and settling into being a legendary veteran like Matsuda Seiko or Dolly Parton.

Ayu's dog Choko passed away at the age of 22

man, the death of a pet that had been such a family member is devastating :( this might partially explain why she's been rather quiet on social media recently.

It's so hard to lose a pet. I hope she's coping with it and has support right now. Our cat is almost 16 and has a lot of health concerns and losing him is one of my greatest nightmares.

That doggo was with her almost her entire musical journey so far. What an incredible life.

Have you ever read Clive Barker's "Coldheart Canyon"? It has the most beautiful, heart-wrenching description of a man losing his dog. The man is a star, and so the dog is the only one he knows for sure loves him for himself. It's a horror story, but the chapter where the man loses that source of affection is really beautiful.

Maybe I'm projecting on Ayu, but it would make sense that a dog with her through her entire adult life would be a huge loss.

That is so sad :(
(also, how many dogs does she have now?)

Wow he had really long life, so sad :(

I haven't heard of that story before. I might go and read it some day. Thanks!!

Didn't she suggest us that she gives birth to a little girl ?

Where?

Really? She’s already given birth??

Obviously not because she would’ve mentioned it already via TA.

Sooooo excited to see what this is! I'm wondering maybe a new magazine photoshoot...

She's lovely, I'm happy to see something new, so fast.

The unstoppable work part makes me think she is feeling inspired and I love to see that.

I'm so happy to see something new so fast even if it is a photoshoot for a magazine !

I wonder if she's teasing something big like an album... Unstoppable please!

I'm really happy that she's been so inspired lately, we've had a lot of new things and releases over the last months.

Just saw Ayu's IG story and I'm really curious what it's about. Could she be giving birth today? Or maybe there's some announcement coming?

Ayumi hamasaki - new song - untitled feat. kazuyoshi shimomura

That would be fun.

Mmmh I was hoping it would be an announcement but I guess we’ll still have to wait. It looks like filming for a video or something like that.

That's super intriguing!

I really can’t wait to know what she is up to!! Saw her ig stories featuring a fish and gorilla icon, wonder what it represents?

omg new single "Fish/Gorilla" is COMING :luv2

Take me to the jungle Ayu!

Fish lips will be a better title

The fish stands for Ayu (ayu is also a species of fish, she uses it as a "joke"), gorilla stands for her choreographer Gori (@gorikoji) -> gori -> gorira

And recently, she's been using the emoji combination of the fish and gorilla when they work together haha

Ayu going to in Godzilla Vs Kong? LOL

Part of me thinks the fish emoji is for Ayu (also a type of fish) and the gorilla is... Shimoko?

Fish = Ayu - also the name of a japanese fish
Gorilla = Gori kun, her choreographer

^I was thinking the same about the fish lol the gorilla is for her choreographer Gori I guess, he's there and reposted the story.

Oh I completely forgot about him lol that makes much more sense

Ah I see, thank you. Wonder what are they up to

It seems like Ayu herself was not involved in the shooting but the 3 dancers. I wonder what it is! The first thing I got in my mind was a tour interlude but there's no tour so... lol

I was thinking she could do another online live for her anniversary maybe but then, we don't know if she already gave birth or not, and still if she did how long back it was, she needs time to recover, and if she didn't, she must be really soon to do so anyway, so it's really interesting she's doing something right now anyways :laugh

I also think it was some kind of video shoot. It looked to me almost like Ayu was part of the direction for the shoot.:think

So we have a photoshoot done, and now a video? Okay, time to get our hopes up. Gonna grab my clown’s makeup as well, just in case. My body and wallet are so ready.

I was so surprised when I saw the IG stories yesterday; I guess Ohia Hamasaki's brother has not been delivered yet.

This might be some kind of a concert preparation, so I'm not getting my Hope's up for a new music release

Great, I am still waiting for EGG since 2000

Are artists starting to tour again in Japan? I'm not sure how the covid numbers are over there, or how the vaccination is going, etc.

^ They’re on the lower end but vaccination has barely been happening.

No touring at the moment (that I’m aware of) but maybe it could be an online thing?

If I remember correctly she also asked whether it should be online etc. so a no-audience version is also on the table.

I think she asked along the lines of "do you want to see this no matter what?", I can't remember the exact wording. But I'd want to see everything we didn't get to see at CDL. :luv2

Not even all medical workers are vaccinated, they haven't even started injecting elderly peope, not to mention general public. It's going to take forever. Hospital beds are pretty occupied. Mutated forms are spreading. The cases are rising fast in Osaka, they will implement safety measures similar to the state of emergency, Tokyo might be next. The situation is expected to get worse during Olympics.

Girl just posted something new.. that bloody red lips though.. not sure how to feel

I’m officially excited. Don’t know if it’ll be music related, but it’s giving me rock vibes. Girl is saying bye bye darling to the ballads lol

She's ROCKING those lips and I'm here for it :laugh

I love red lips on her, but that bucket hat was just a really bad choice. Was she going for hobo/old man chic??LOL i sometimes can't understand her fashion choices with the money she's got lol

Has a 'In the Corner' vibe to it, but more feminine with the very red lips

Ayu *tips fedora*

^that would be more of what her budget is capable of XD Still a better choice tan that bucket lol

I just saw this on her IG and my initial thought is that it's a reference to Robert Palmer's song 'Simply Irresistible'.

I think the bucket hat is actually a fedora though we can't see the full shape. I would hope it's not a bucket hat!

Ayu’s always looked pretty good in hats IMO, certainly better than I look in hats so it’s hard for me to say anything haha.

I’m excited to learn what it’s about!

Definitely got this vibe as well! I'm really looking forward to see what this is all about.

She looks so good!

It makes me think about RnRC special screen

Great photo! Much preferred over fish lips.

These photos make good single or album cover ahahha

I really wonder what it's for! This + the 'Fish and gorilla' post really make me hope that there's some kind of new release in the works.

These pictures really don't scream A BALLADS II to me so I am hoping for another release, maybe a first single leading to a mini / an album this summer? I guess we'll find out very soon!

These would be great covers or music video scenes but I think someone called it with the lipstick ad

Saw some Japanese fans speculating that it might be a bonus added to the album, and that the recent pics/videos are just older than we think they are. Their reasoning: A Ballads II didn’t have a “flying get” (usually most music is released a day earlier than the actual release date.) Even TA has to wait until tomorrow where we used to get them one day before, even for her altered non-Wednesday releases.

Interesting theory, but I guess we’ll see in 4 hours lol.

^ I honestly can’t picture how that style would fit on a softly ballad compilation lol

Feels so nostalgic speculating about the possibilities. I think it probably has to do with some kind of merch, but hoping I’m wrong and it is for a new single or something. Can you imagine Ayu releasing physical singles again with tons of remixes? Wait... remixes... WHAT IF this is for ayu-mi-x 8...?

I thought so too, but now I just thought, maybe it’s another cover song for the end of disc-1?
The song Tokyo from the same Music Fair broadcast as Haruyo, koi? Lol *shrug*

But yes, it is fun speculating again!

Imagine it’s JUST a countdown haha

Very classy with the red lipstick.. it will be better if she didnt over do on her lip fillers

Sorry, I'm not sure I understand: why does extra content change the fact that the album is available one day earlier?

It is exciting regardless! I really hope it's some kind of new material and not just an ad or 'A LIPSTICK'! I feel like it's too early for a tour (still not able to tour + she should be giving birth soon I guess), and I don't think tours are usually announced with new photoshoots are they? And like I said the style doesn't seem to fit A BALLADS nor Pray for you, so I'm reaaaaally hoping for a 2-side single or more with this!

^ I’m not sure how they came to that conclusion either haha. I suppose only to make it a surprise? Personally I don’t think it’s AB2 related haha.

It’s rare, in my experience, for a release to not have a flying get. And if they wanted to keep this announcement a secret if it was related, that’s the only way they could (by holding back the release for the actual release day).

Edit: and now we know their speculations were wrong xD

^And I'm sooo glad they were ahaha! Thanks for clarifying in any case!

I just hope for new music..

Even if it’s a lipstick ad campaign, pls have a new song bgm.. I miss those days where we hear new songs in Panasonic cm hahaha

:luv2

She wrote about the early release kinda spoiling the surprise that she planned to do :-/

But really, the team should be on top of this sort of stuff. I feel bad for whoever’s on the receiving end of this overlooked detail. xD

Oh that's a bit sad...

Surely there's a way to get in touch with Spotify and have them release the song at a specific time as opposed to midnight in each time zone, when you are an artist as big as her?

Music for life concert for TA only in June and Asia tour in the fall! (How?????)

I feel her desire to perform again, but the idea just seems crazy to me. It’ll probably get canceled again, pandemics are not over yet and I don’t think they will any time soon. Sadly. Why can’t you give us a new album that you can make from your home Ayu? :weep

Think it’s likely only in China

What is happening??? hahaha new single, new MV, and 2 new tours - all announced on the same day? :OMG Does she want us to have a heart attack??:roflmao

sorry for the double post - missed this photo on her Insta with all the excitement:

Dunno if it has been mentioned before (sorry if that's the case) :
TA official website has been updated to celebrate her 23rd anniversary
(new banner + A symbols everywhere...)

PV looks promising :)

For sure, other artists I listen to usually release their songs everywhere simultaneously, so it's probably just ayu's team being noobs