I love BALLAD! I'm so happy, I didn't like You were... much so I'm glad this one is good! I love pretty much all her oriental sounding songs.


^I've been in the Days situation, and I've always loathed the song and I still don't like the song any more because of it. I like the PV though. XD

hunny, I *LIVE* Days every single ****ing day of my life, and I still think it has no emotion

Ayu´s voice sounds great as always!

i don't get how you can't hear emotion in BALLAD tbh, it's quite clear to me. oh well, i'm glad i hear it because it's what makes me love it. <3

I just heard BALLAD. I think it's going to end up being really epic. I think I like You were... slightly more though. We'll see?

I really get the Chinese period drama feel from BALLAD, haha. Maybe it's because my parents watched a bunch of them when I was a kid...

No doubt why BALLAD was chosen to become a theme song on a Chinese themed drama. :)

its like Green II i dont like it as much as you were.. i was expecting it to be better -__- im asking too much. im still excited about this single tho. ima be waiting for the full versions of both songs.

i like it!

funny thing: listening to it while staring at jbrat2219's sig.


the song is great. thank god it's not something cute and bubbly. paired with the jeweled body in her music video... hopefully it will have a moment like in Jewel when she opens her eyes with all those crystals.

I just died a little. they MUST restock.

*****es haven't adjusted their price yet even though the poster is not included anymore. -____-

my thoughts exactly.but i kinda this style.overall not a bad song but i prefer you were than this.very suitable for those ancient dramas :luv2


p/s:i can imagine how she's going to perform this song during concert with her exaggerated expressions

To each his own :( Days is probably one of my favorite songs because of the emotion it portrays and how much it related to a situation I had. But if you feel nothing, you feel nothing. :dead2

Do the first press editions of Ayu's singles usually sell out that fast? Or is everyone just super hyped for this single?

Different songs convey emotions in different ways... Days, Together When..., and You were... do very little for me personally but seem to get to alot of people. But more atmospheric songs like BALLAD, Far away, and HANABI, which seem to not resonate with some fans nearly as much, are FAR more likely to give me tingles. They're much more subtle and come across to me personally as more honest and raw, although they might seem like less feeling is in them compared to other songs' more grand arrangements (which come across to me as rather cheesy, they get narmy and the emotion is lost to me).

But yeah, to each his own. I think BALLAD is amazing and You were... is only okay, but I can understand the fans who think completely the opposite.

BALLAD is alright....I'm kind of disappointed though. Hopefully I'll change my mind when the full HQ comes out.

You were... didn't really stick out to me :| Something about it didn't click with me. BALLAD is so LQ that I can't even comment on it.

I think I understand where you're coming from. Sometimes different arrangements for the same song bring out more emotion. For example, when I hear the original version of fated I don't really feel much at all, even though it's a super emotional song. But when I hear fated (orchestra version), I cry each and every time hahahaha. It's one of my favorites but I can't listen to it because somehow I find it much more emotional than the original. Sometimes emotion is lost in grand arrangements. :laugh

Questionnn~ Is there one type of poster or different ones? If different ones, do you get the one of the cover you order or..?

^ I hope it's not the same poster for each version. I hope you get whichever cover is on the CD.

I agree completely on that one. The orchestral version definitely gets to me WAY more than the original. To me, if the focus is on the melody, so much more true emotion can really be conveyed.

It's really just that when ayu's arrangers try to make an arrangement more grandiose, the whole thing feels mleh (or, in the case of songs like "Voyage," downright cheesy) as a result. If the whole song is powerful, then none of the song is.

i didn't think i'd like a song like BALLAD, but i do. i think it sounds so nice! definately not as good as you were... or days, but it's nice & not the worst, IMO. :)

I really like both songs.. but I prefer "You were..." a little bit more.
But.. really a greate Single.
So.. let us wait to listen to "Red Line".

I'm not feeling it yet...someone help me!

Wow, I think BALLAD is going to be good. I thought I was listening to some old skool martial art drama music, bring me back to the days. So far I like it more than you were... .I just loved that oriental feel to it and its the perfect song for the tie-in for the drama.

Ballad'smusic is quite OK but her vibrato's so annoying ~~! i think i love You were ... more

i relli love ballads composition!!! ballad > you were...!!
it seems so atmospheric and it reflects my mood atm

Is it true? I didn't know.
Anyway, if it was so, BALLAD perfectly fits that theme.

Ballad isn't bad, but she's done this sound before with Green. I like You were... a whole lot more.

TBH, this single really isn't exciting me that much. I just hope the PVs add another dimension to the songs.

BALLAD sounds way too much like theme of a-nation '03...

BALLAD is a bit like theme of a nation 03 imo. But It sounds not bad. I like it. But You Were... is better for me.

1st press of CD only is sold out on CDJapan?

Somehow that doesn't surprise me... Especially since a lot of people were waiting on the covers.

I'm glad I ordered it several weeks before that. XD

And I hope we get a different poster for each cover +w+ They would be GORGEOUS all together in my bathroom. Lol

BALLAD is so calm and serene, i feel like sleeping after listening to it.. which means it is a little bit boring too.

since Japan's 1 hour ahead of me in that it's already 12.26am at their end , so yup

omg, it has aired already? is there a date attached to the airing? I'm gonna check SSTV's site now

"You were..." PV? Great. Seems like yesterday when I waited for the "Days" one. :D I wanna watch it soon.

OMG YES IT DID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT HAS FINISHED AIRING!!! i cant wait to see it!

12月4日（金）
You were... / 浜崎あゆみ
星のように… / MISIA
君がいない未来 / Do As Infinity
シャツを洗えば / くるりとユーミン [JET]
GALAXY from DVD「memento mori090702」(ONLY SSTV EDITION) / BUCK-TICK

This is what I've found on SSTV:

NEW CUTS
2009/12/04　 07:30～08:00

It is already December 4th in Japan (00 32), but apparently the PV will be aired like 7 hours later?

EXCITING UPDATE!!!:

You were...'s director is 武藤眞志/Masahi Murou, who has directed Depend on you and STEP you! OMG :heart a refreshing director!

^i posted above that it actually aired in NEW CUTS so..it has already premiered haha..
WoW STEP YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DOY was SO LONG ago LOL...
can we expect the tone of the PV to be dark :P

OMG OMG OMG I cant wait!!!! Give me now! :D

now i understand why AHS is down :laugh
oh god, i need it NOOOOW :heart

so the guy form DOY and Step you? i smell a GREAT PV!!
(yay! no Kazu!)

OMG yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it has a huge director!!! Can't wait^________^

YESYESYES! No Kazu for at least one PV!

I'm just really excited cos for once she's not using Kazu or Ishii to direct her PVs~ and it's a director who directed pretty cool PVs before and for many renowned artists, so... ^^

Caps (from ayuchina) :

^Looks amazing!!! Cant wait! Looks a bit weird and dark. I really like what Im seeing!

^It looks rather plain? HAHAH...but DOY was plain too. BUT BUT BUT! it does look like there will be meaning to it

omg a teddy bear... I'm feeling this PV's gonna be really symbolic with the teddy bear, ballerina and all... omg and she looks so pretty, she looks like her 1999 self here omfg!

Bahhhhh it looks awesome I want to see it!!!

^omg yes thats so true. Veery 1999. Im actually happy there is no plot. I just want another symbolical MV.

PLEASE UPLOAD IT SOON!

Another totally new thing from Ayu xD... simple, futuristic... But she looks so beautiful so PV's gonna be good <3
That dress o.O''... is horrible :/

By 15 minutes or so it will be in the download section!

THE PV LOOKS AMAZING! :heart

^Cant wait! :luv2 It seems to be pretty amazing and really symbolic. I hope so! :yes

OMFG I CAN'T WAIT FOR IT THANK YOU

LOOKS LIKE I GOT HOME JUST IN TIME!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

the screecaps looks great!!
i can't wait to see itttt!!

It's up in the download section!

Now I just pray the forum wont crash. I CANT WAIT!!! they really got it almost immediately this time round

edit: just when I m typing this, the forum crashed =.=

I went ahead and listened to the PV rip first.

oh. my. God.

FABULOUS. AMAZING. GORGEOUS.

You were... reminds me a lot of her old songs, and old J-Pop honestly... reminds me a lot of POWDER SNOW~... :heart

BEAUTIFULLLLLLLLL..I gave me a very x-mas vibe haha. I shall post my thoughts in the official thoughts section tmr.

But she had the MISIA hair going on hahah! and was there something to do with the human subconscious mind? I saw this brain thing and all the really exotic robots...Im so intrigued. I liked how Ayu was so restrained in the PV unlike the robots.

This video is gorgeous! I can't stop crying! I don't even know why I'm crying! She looks so beautiful!!!!

I have been waiting for on of these weird PVs to come again!
I love it! The feeling is just mindblowing. (L)

Im so amazed how You were... PV turned to be so SO GOOD!
It's very artistic in appeal.:D

OMG !!! this pv is.... GORGEOUS MARVELOUS PERFECT !!! good job AYU !!!!!!!!!!!

It's very pretty! :heart

OMG THE PV'S OUT??!!! :thud

Download section NOW \*__*/

I listen to You were... for the first time since the pv leaked a while ago and...I felt that the verses are better than the chorus, which sounded abit misplaced and awkward (trying to create an epic ballad but failed)

I was abit disappointed with you were..., and even her recent ballads (much less classic ones) are slightly better than this.

However, I was quite satisfied with the pv, because the execution of the pv seemed different from what ayu used to do and my favourite part was the beginning! The puppet is so cute :]

Hopefully the song will grow on me in time to come.

the song is a little more boring than I initially thought. it's not as extremely dramatic as Together When... but it's still nice.

the PV was pretty good for an ayu PV these days.

so far, I really like the PV.
There's a little bit of weirdness but not that much as alterna or Ladies Night does.

The full song sounds even more beautiful than the preview itself.
And Im really glad its really different once again from her previews PVs. :)

I love the PV, kinda strange and creepy but very nice! i'm glad it's not an obviously-plotted love story like Days :yes

(did anyone notice the very end's a very random view of a white ceiling and sprinkler? :roflmao)

mu-mo extra has changed.
It´s now "2 postcards" instead of the christmas card.

The PV is weird, but nicely executed and not something you see every day, which is a good thing. Loving the song even more now~

Lol. I started spontaneously giggling about fifteen seconds through the PV..... I really think this is her weirdest video. >_> But...... I love it!!!!! Not at all boring.

And I am loving You were... more and more, every time I hear it. ^_^

HD version of the PV in the download section ^^

WOW~ I love the pv! I was expecting the pv like NWTS or Days but its totally different and I love it! I'm so happy this single turned out so good! Great covers, songs, and pv! (Hope BALLAD will turn out good too) I haven't had this extremely happy feeling with ayu's releases in a while!

I love the randomness of the pv but I have no idea what the meaning of the pv is...o_O

Thanks a ton, babe! :D

I LOVE THAT PV!!! It's so good and beautiful!

i thought the scenes were pretty, but the video didn't flow well together. i wish ayu would've had more looks in the video. i'm glad everyone likes it though! this seems to be a very popular release.

Hair was disastrous, anyway still can't get into the song. Don't know why either :| Maybe because she has had better winter songs in the past. The PV was alright, the random dancers with the make-up were...random xD

Wow the PV looks great from the caps - so wintery! I'll be holding out until the album though...whenever that is!

mi|kshake~

"You were..." is not my favorite winter ballad from Ayumi. It didn't catch my interest like "Days" did. Maybe I'll grow to like it in the future.

OMG those caps look so NOSTALGIC OLD SCHOOL AYU. This is fing amazing

I actually didn't like the PV. The minute I saw the little hand puppet thing, I knew it was going to be different. it has an artistic edge. . .but that was definently the weirdest of her PVs. But You were. . . isn't a weird song. I can understand Ladies Night's PV being weird but still what the **** was with the Sparkle-ish dancers? The setting at the end of looked really fake, too. I'm glad I didn't order the CD+DVD.

BTW, this is the guy who did Ladies Night / Depend on you. STEP you was Tetsuo Inoue.

This is great since her older PVs tended to have the "Wtf just happened?" reaction too! Woo!

Looks like her description of "covered head to toe" in jewels was more like... sparkles? Like body glitter and the light dress...

wows. I just heard you were. I love it! All I can say is wow. she really really let me down with days, but I am in love with this song. I love how the melody for the chorus is high pitched. She's ruined plenty of songs singing in a low pitch during the chorus/climax of the song. but this song is so beautiful...

Music video is really weird, but its pretty. Very eye appealing.

i like the pv... it is very weird, it's different from what i imagined and i can see how a lot of people wouldn't like it for the song... but it reminds me a lot of something lady gaga would do - sort of like an art instillation rather than just a promotional video, and i love love love that.

Ummm. Ok. I actually can't believe how good these song and video are.

I love the song and I love the PV. As simple as that.
The bear at the beggining: that was so cute!

Okay, I might just like the song, but not the PV, and maybe I'm sort of interested more with Sayuri Sugawara at this time...

Amazing song. Ayumi has really proved that she is the goddess after all... I am speechless of the quality of this video. I loved the visuals and I'm dying to see interpretations of its meaning haha

The song is great, I love that is more of a rock ballad than a christmas carol like Days was. Great sound, amazing chorus and lyrics and she was singing it perfectly.

About her... glad to see that she's back to her great style!! She looks stuning, and with that hairdo and her dress, it reminded me a lot of the old school ayu- those performances with big dresses of Dearest and such. Also, her acting was good, and NO DANCERS!!! Hooray for the extras, they were just so refreshing to see!
The only fault I see is her make up... I don't really like that glittery stuff on her skin, combined with the lights made her look a bit older, but well, it's a minor flaw for the best Ayumi Hamasaki video since I don't know when.

And did anyone think of Disney after seeing her dress? It reminded me a lot of the electrical parade they use to have at Disney Land hahaha

I actually really like the song after seeing the video. It's got this really great feeling to it. The video was so-so itself. It looked like a stage production. But, I'm glad that she's breaking away from her comfort zone.

What a BIZARRE PV.

But I like it when Ayu goes all weird on us. :yes