I have to mention, before giving my opinion, that it's almost unfair to compare these three albums because they are such different releases. Party Queen is composed of all new material while Uncontrolled is almost all old material with the exception of four new songs, and JAPONESQUE is somewhat of a combination of the two (with the bulk of the album being new).

With that being said, it's always fun to compare the queens of J-Pop's new releases. :P

Party Queen is the most meaningful of the bunch. Ayu wrote all of the lyrics herself and, while some will argue that it was poorly executed, she incorporated a concept that can (in my opinion) easily be seen in the flow of tracks. JAPONESQUE is the strongest effort and, perhaps, the highest quality of the three albums. What I mean by that is that it's plain for anyone to see that her album covers/artwork are the most professionally done and some may argue that they are in fact the best of her career, while I doubt that anyone would argue the same for the artwork of Party Queen or Uncontrolled. JAPONESQUE also has a PV for every track on the album, and the bulk of the 19 track album is new material. It is obvious that Kuu and her team put a lot of effort into this release. Uncontrolled is a great combination of old singles that display her accomplishments in her twenty years as an artist, and new songs/remakes that show that Namie still likes to experiment and try new things. The tracks that were entirely in English were a pleasant surprise for me and a nice nod to international fans.

If I had to rank them, this would be my ranking:
(1) Party Queen
(2) JAPONESQUE
(3) Uncontrolled

But, then again, this might change if Uncontrolled happens to win me over after a few more listens. ;)

JAPONESQUE is be best, closely followed by Uncontrolled and Party Queen. I didn't vote because it was Kuu but just simply because JAPONESQUE has absolutely everything I'm looking for in a good album; catchy beats, beautiful ballads, interesting arrangements, good lyrics and a great theme. This whole package is just too perfect to imagine. And I seriously can't believe she was pregnant while that cover shoot was done. :D

Japonesque. Didn't care for most if the songs on Uncontrolled, and Party Queen was just meh for me. Her previous two albums were more enjoyable for me, now.

I did not like Party Queen. AT ALL. All the songs sounded stale to me, I felt that it was rushed and more time could be taken in creating 14 fantastic songs rather than 14 mediocre songs. My favourite songs were the instrumentals, which is not a good sign.

JAPONESQUE is definitely Koda Kumi's best album to date. It featured a wide variety of styles, however, as the album goes on, 19 songs is very tiresome. I felt that the ballads could be improved, and All for you just made me cringe. Proper studio recording, please.

However, I thoroughly enjoyed Uncontrolled. I felt that, at 13 songs, it was JUST the right length. I enjoyed the new versions of Go Round, Break It and YEAH-OH, and the singles were possibly the best she's released in years. The four new songs, despite being few and far between, were very well produced, and they showed what Namie does best - midtempo R&B numbers or fierce and hot dance tracks.

So for me, Uncontrolled slays.

Without a doubt.. JAPONESQUE! Uncontrolled was a hot mess and Party Queen was ok.

uncontrolled

Uncontrolled for the win.
PQ is the loser in this year

uncontrolled

Honestly, this is how I'm feeling. Though I don't care for most of Uncontrolled, the songs I do like, Go Round and Yeah-Oh mostly tbh, have more plays than the whole of Ayu's PQ. PQ started off okay, but now I don't listen to it at all. Like it never happened.

Party Queen!

Party Queen for me. I didn't care for JAPONESQUE - I only like maybe 1 or 2 tracks - and while Namie's Uncontrolled was good my first listen, I still need to listen to it more to form a better opinion.

I loved both JAPONESQUE & Party Queen, 1st one a bit more so I voted for it. Don't care bout Uncontrolled. Heard a few songs wasn't impressed.

All of them have songs I don't like but I think Party Queen has more songs I like out of all of the albums.

Party Queen because Ayu suits my tastes that's all =)

Japonesque disappointed me and Uncotrolled is not bad but boring quickly

Oh both JAPONESQUE and Uncontrolled are awesome :heart
As much as I love Uncontrolled, I think I'm gonna go for JAPONESQUE.

PQ and Uncontrolled