Basically, she said that it's been a long time running, but she's going to go ahead and allow herself to graduate from NHK Hall, in other words, Kouhaku Utagassen (and move on to bigger [and better, presumably] things). They mentioned that in the article, as well--that she, much like Madonna, has shied away from regular methods of music promotion such as TV appearances and traditional single releases and has shifted toward larger live spectacles such as tours and her performance at a-nation in Singapore.

Not totally sure what to make of this yet, to be honest. Ayu's decision to relinquish ties with traditional methods of promoting her records does remind me of what Utada Hikaru did several years ago, as she, too, has left behind TV spots and, for that matter, has never appeared at Kouhaku Utagassen. Many perceive this as laziness, but it could certainly be a shift that industry veterans such as Hamasaki and Utada both recognize as a change in the winds, so to speak. So long as she continues to strengthen her songwriting, I could care less whether she promotes her records the way she used to or not.

Do what you need to do, girl. Exciting stuff.

Personally I don't see how skipping Kouhaku and TV in general to perform in clubs in Singapore is going to take her career to the next level. However I'm happy for her that she'll finally get a little more rest and will be less stressed out during this time of year from now on. :)

Her recent CDL shows were good, you can't call them shitty, it's beyond rude and very disrespectful towards Ayu and her hard work. As if one song performance could ruin entire CDL show preparations.
Anyways Ayu wrote she's planning activities throughout all Asia next year.

this is kinda like her 'world wide' tour... lol

It more of I think, 'I'll only do what I want to do, for me and my show, not because someone tells me to do it'. She's becoming more of an independent artist. Though I hope kouhaku don't go mean Asian on her like how japans tv stations black list if an artist pulls out or cant attend. But think of it as ayu needing her full rest and game for her shows. No more rushing stuff

Recent CDLs were not shitty...

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13...psxqu2yeli.gif

she's gonna use Singapore as a BASE for overseas promotion not perform in clubs here...
which i honestly think is strategic esp after seeing a-nation bringing in people from not only SEA but even Japan. they were mostly ayu fans.

i think ayu and kouhaku team have discussed about ayu's departure and have come to an agreement, so it's mutual. not like ayu's leaving without notice. so that's good i guess.

so anybody have confirmation about the reason of her leaving kouhaku yet?
did she write the reason on her TA post?

yes, she mentions it in Japanese on TA (so it makes sense to say it in English on Twitter).

Haven't gone through and properly translated yet, but I will soon :)

Oh my God I almost lost my shit because when I read the messages in English I thought she meant RETIREMENT. Oh my goodness gracious I need to lie down.

Oh thank God it's this. I thought she was getting another divorce...

yeah, Ayu isn't really a master of context on twitter, especially when switching languages... It SEEMS like ayu was directly responding to tweets to her like artcika's but without the @replies necessary for context...

Anyway, on TeamAyu she has this very... desperately reassuring tone, like "I'm fine, I promise! I'm really happy about this!" which makes me feel like she probably wasn't invited this year... but she does promise that she's actually happy about it (like if she had been invited she would have wanted to decline... which would have actually been REALLY awkward for her to do). She also promises her activities in general aren't slowing down, that she's being "the same wild child I've always been," just redirecting her efforts to a pan-Asian approach rather than just Japan.

Still no immediate plans for work Stateside or in Europe, however - she specifically says "the whole of Asia."

She's also amused by the inconsistent "facts" from one news story to another about the Kouhaku thing.

And she sends her love to TA members affected by the quake in Nagano, hoping they can smile if they look forward to CDL. Also Miccie took photos of the PV shoot so we should be seeing those soon.

She may want to do another asia tour after her a-nation trip. And with how much stress and effort it took for her past ones, maybe she's trying to make it easier on herself, or even maybe she want to do what Koda does in Taiwan

Thanks for that, google translate wasn't really giving me much help. :D

YAY! Ayu's not taking part in the Kouhaku!!! Oh wait, WHAT!?!?!

Now this puts me in a brain with thoughts divided...I'm glad that Ayu's not taking part in the Kouhaku this year. I don't think she deserves to go into the Kouhaku! But yeah, I'm also sad because we've been seeing Ayu on the Kouhaku since 1999...

I really have to wonder about her future... It's her decision, right? After all, I think it's time to move on...

But yeah, I'm very surprised at this. Ayu NOT going to the Kouhaku!? That's great, but at the same time, that's disappointing as well. I'm pretty tired of Arashi leading the white team for the fifth year in a row (not fair?), but with Ayu pretty much out of the Kouhaku picture, let's see how this will impact the Kouhaku competition this year...

And hey, when will the list of artists for the 65th Kouhaku will come out? Isn't it usually a month before the Kouhaku happens?

Because....she's so...busy with her vibrant career these days(??????)

What offense is there in not wanting to be attend Kouhaku this time? I can tell you for sure it is not because of arrogance.

Would have loved to hear news of her performing Pray this year but it's okay.

well i guess if it was her decision, let that be. Maybe it'l come to better things. It still makes me a bit sad though....

Thank you for this!

It's not just this time, it's never ever.