Maybe it'll be A WINTER BEST with a new song, "Me & You"

Maybe a bit off topic, but I was in a new year party at a club in Hungary (they played kpop, jrock, little jpop) and snowy kiss remix was played!! (they played Namie 2x in the night, but i was so happy to hear ayu!)

A BEST 3 will come out this year. It'd be odd if it didn't. There's been like eight albums (including LOVE again) since A BEST 2....

I still think she won't release it in March. That just seems like marketing suicide; releasing a highly coveted release like a BEST, just after fans have forked out quite a bit for the mini albums, LOVE again, and A CLASSICAL.

But, I wonder if she'll do it in a sort of 'sneaky sneaky' way, and release it during her concert break (usually in June/July?)

So, half the tour (first act?) duration will be to promote LOVE again and act as a build up to the release of A BEST 3, and the other half a sole promotion of her 15th anniversary (so, a setlist encompassing various songs from each era), and of course A BEST 3....

Maybe she could just do that for the final though...

EDIT: I hope the fifth release is something to do with her 15th ANNIVERSARY. Not bloody A BEST 3, as that is only seven years of her career. She should release something that includes material from every era.

i think she will release A BEST 3 on summer or on winter as the closing of her 15th anniversary

...and then another "A MUSEUM 2013" concert!!!

I hope that if she does release A BEST 3, like everyone seems to want, she goes on hiatus right after its release. That would at least boost sales and give Ayu a much needed break. Her latest songs have been pretty good, but not outstanding. I think she needs to give herself time to be inspired again.

Nah I don't think there will be an A Best 3. I think it her 15th anniversary release will be something like A Complete. Really curious to find out what's in store for 8th March!

it's definitely the Arena Tour DVD. That's really the only thing left at this point.

Haha, maybe A COMPLETE ~extended~?

It is her 15th anniversary, it'd have to be something related to that? :shrug

Knowing Avex, A BEST 3 's almost a must for this anniversary! a release like A Complete 'd be ridiculous given the fact that she only released 7 singles since then! and even if A Complete's on Avex schedule! i'm pretty sure they'd include you&me and both minis!:)!i just don't want to think about the meltdowns if this coming true!:dark

They'll release A BEST 3, A COMPLETE 2 and A WINTER BEST all in one year :thud :innocent

Seriously though, I hope not :(

hoping for A Complete 2!! lol.
with some new music of course.

A BEST 3 and A COMPLETE 2 would almost be identical anyway, aside from a few album only tracks that would probably appear on A BEST 3...

I just hope for 15th anniversary versions. I'm think I'm dreaming though, so I'm not going to get my hopes up. :O

I believe it will be some form of compilation though...

Random note: I reckon if A BEST 3 is released, You & Me will be on it. :lech

I don't get why Ayu likes Y&M so much... o.O

^ Neither do I lol. It's such a basic song.

A Best 3 is bound to happen this, its jsut a given.
I dont see why she wouldn't do another Complete Singles since she seems to have stopped making them...

Complete singles was such an extravagant release, yet more of a BONUS. It doesn't hold the same history or weight as the "A BEST" series does.

no best, I'm actually crazy enough to hope for 15th original album for 15th anniversary containing 15 NEW songs, do not want anything else.

For the more realistic part I assume it's gonna be either AT12 or 51st single (since it's 15 years since 1st one, it would be a cool date to start with)

^ That'd actually be cool, if she finally released a physical single to commemorate that date. I'd love an original album with 15 new songs, too. Imagine keeping that under wraps? But avex isn't that nice to us.

But yeah like I said, it's pretty obvious to me that AT2012 is going to be the last release. AB3 will probably come out in the summer with another ~new song~ tacked onto it and blah blah.

If she ends the project with AT2012, then I think that solidifies the theory that another release will pop up later on this year.

New Single

15:51

It's a nice concept, they could do some mirror / reflective work with the numbers 15 / 51. But that concept is almost to extravagant for Ayu's career now-a-days, lol.

^ hope so~ honestly people keep saying they want her to take a break and recharge her creative batteries, but i don't think that's ayu's game. it seems more like she works through her "low" points until she reaches something solid because she wants to.

I know she can't constantly make everything perfect, but I at least wish her Memorial address-Secret PV days would come back. She shot some of her best PVs back then.

^ totally :yes

I bought an All Region DVD player just so I could watch the PVs on Memorial address!

She's stuck in a rut PV wise IMO. She needs to work with completely new directors, maybe some foreign ones idk.

Her PV's were not that grand to begin with... but I will say Memorial address and Secret PV's where more interesting then most of them.
I think Memorial address had the best however. I do miss those days...
I love I am... but it had some flaws... Memorial address on a whole... for me was ALMOST perfect.

this put in my mind "Mirrorcle World ~again~" xD i think it would be nice

BTW if they use reflective/mirror it would be 51|12 or 15|21 (with 52 you could draw a heart in the middle xD)

Oh yes you are correct!

OMG that obsession of the japaneses to create an anniversary of whatever thing.

celebrate yours 25 anniversary is a great time but not your 10, 12, 15

Well in the music business... 10 years is a long time...
heck, 5 years is long (and ayumi did this with 30 singles)... its normal.

25 years should be a HUGE celebration however.

Consider the normal life spam of a jpop queen is 3 years... Ayu is around for 5x this.

when we will know about the last realese? :< we should know somewhere soon...

I was thinking sometime this week... because we have been getting them the same week or the week after...

i actually think she should have waited wth the announcment for LOVE again in terms of, it's kinda like too much time ahaid to wait and everything has been already discussed left and right. The fandom just dries out lol

Now I want to have a discussion titled, "how lame could the fifth release be?"

I was just imagining all the disappointing things that could come out of the final release. XD Like a poster or something.

I really want to buy LOVE again, though. It'd be nice to finally add to my Ayumi collection after such a long time. O.o

that gave me an evil idea...

I disagree. Ever since she debuted her PVs had that something, even the early ones that made me want to see them over and over again. I guess she pretty much peaked with stuff like STEP you, is this LOVE?, alterna, fairyland, JEWEL, 1LOVE, Because of you, RAINBOW etc. but even after the golden era, GUILTY had a couple of awesome PVs, NEXT LEVEL pretty much only had GREEN that was even remotely interesting. Rock'n'Roll Circus put her back on track with Microphone, Sexy little things, Don't look back and You were. MOON and Sweet Season were nice, Virgin Road = simply epic.

And then came the boring love~breakup PVs featuring people she is in a relationship with. Sure there were a few gems after that like do it again, progress, Song 4 u and lately Sweet Scar, but the rest ranged from uninspired /boring to just plain terrible...

its a matter of tastes really.
I find most of her PV's utterly boring.

She has something like 100+ (?) and about 1/3 of them are interesting... the rest... blah, I could do with out.

Yep, it's all about taste. Imo ayu has the best pvs in J-pop

^^I wouldn't be so sure about do it again being a gem in her PV filmography, it took me a good moment to recal what it was about....:innocent But it's probably just me, tho really it was nothing going on it it lol
Her Pvs aren't bad, they're good eyecandy. They all seem to have potential.
Tho I think the only PV I really really fell in love with since RnR is sweet scar .

Some are great, but and are not.

DAYBREAK imo. a Jpop queen/diva with toilette paper all
over her body on the road.

LOL But i must admit most of her PVs can get people's attention.

lol Yuya xD Daybreak was one of the first one's I've seen. Though the toilet paper was weird, but that' what was so cool about it, she looked like a homeless girl.

:yes

LOL perhaps there might be a deep emotional impact between toilet papers, Ayu and being on the road. LOL I don't want to be off topic but I want new PVs that can make me watch them again. Her PVs since L didn't really get me.

Actually watching DAYBREAK after so long, there's something to her in that pv, forget about the dress, it's all about the power in her eyes, and words.

I used to think it was a horrible pv but I learned to appreciate it, and it's actually very beautiful, but dark. It has that very ayu-ish signature, something that we hardly get in her storyline pvs with mannie, maro, etc.

^ I always thought it's rather depressing, that's why I liked it I guess~

Yeah, not many of her PVs after that made me watch them more than once. While I can still watch the (miss)understood/Secret ones over and over again :)

I think that do it again has a lot of strong symbolism in it, and it's one of my favorites PVs.
I always remember that moment when she walks and someone throw money at her, like "I give you money, now make what I want you to do and STFU !", and that's basically what she denounces with this song.

daybreak PV made me HATE the song... lol...
I hated that PV with a passion when I first saw it and refused to listen to the song... but after a few years I got over the horror that it was and have come to enjoy the song, lol

I'll take a Maropan figure!

Just kidding. Not really.

I just saw new Kumi realese, the 2nd cover album. It's pretty sad her photoshoot it's so DAYUM good...

Gawd, I always was on Ayu side, but wait.
- she married a guy
- she gave a birth
- and she can still be creative and not sing about love all over over over and again...

All Ayu is doing now is drinking tea in pretty house, crying in wheat crops, crying on a car and playing with sappy American styled dramas. Her photos are "Ayu close up with "no" make up thinking of her love life calmly looking into a beautiful relationship" "Ayu in sheets thinking of her lover" "Ayu in the beach with her lover"... I know Kumi does that too, she is singing sappy ballads in rain looking pretty, but she ISN'T focusing on that.

Haha, it's sooo true :laugh

Let's hear it!

Edit: Never mind! I saw it! That's so hilarious and scary. I might do one too.

This is the greatest thing I've ever seen.

Such....a gorgeous cover! I need to wallpaper my room with this :love
And maybe a free wall renovation to all my favorite friends :D

OH MY GOD THEY WOULD DO THIS
so glad it's a joke BUT THEY SO WOULD LOL

As expected stock is back for the photobook versions :) http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/list_from_c...tml?key=246497

Nice! Hope people can snatch them up quickly.

i wonder how many copies they have?

I loved that poster with the best moments of our ayuma !!!

I know we're all sick of titles with 'LOVE' featured, but I actually wish there was a song called 'LOVE again'. I like the way it looks.

LMFAO loooooooooool
:thud genius u r
I see 163 pic lol
I love this poster plz release it

The name was styled as "LOVEagain" on one of the CDL goods pages which was pretty neat. Though that was just a mistake, I guess.

Cdjapan just have some more of the Blu ray and goods limited edition back again, so finally went to place my order.

ayupan figure

coolness!
My first ayu-pan is pretty cute!

How awesome would it have been if she had named it 'LOVEgain' as a homage to LOVEppears? I mean, again and appears use the same 'a' sound...

But then I think everyone would just call it LOVE gain, it doesn't seem as effective as LOVEppears. :O

edit: avex TRASH*

hahahahahahah

I would appreciate the amalgamation LOVEgain. Given how love is pronounced like loo-ve in Japanese, the extra emphasis on the -ve would lead into 'gain' nicely, just like in LOVEppears.

Yes cuz making cover albums and recording a bunch of songs with koi/ai kanjis in the title and generic (piano+bass) arrangements and PVs in which she walks around surrounded by a bunch of people is just so new, creative and never seen before...:rolleyes Read her lyrics. 90% of her songs are about love and relationships in some form. In fact Nishino Kana is the only female artist who sings more about love than her. Tbh Utada is currently the only female artist in Japan who IS creative and manages to stay somewhat fresh with her lyrics other than Kyari Pamyu Pamyu (but her songs are just too unbearable for me) >_>

Koda hasn't been creative since Kingdom.

All those Ayu-pans look so frightening.

Defenitely not the case...:o:headache:irked

Kumi is way more creative imo than most of the artists excisting in Japan or in this world!!

I have to agree.. The production value of Kumi's works tends to be fairly high. JAPONESQUE was impressive imo.

Production values and creativity don't always go hand to hand.

I was simply talking about her music and PVs. She has her ups and downs like everyone else, but has never been on pair with Ayu when it comes to creativity nor has she ever managed to surpass her works.

Quoting just for the lols tbh. I love Kumi so I'm not trying to hate on her but this is just biased fandom at it's finest.

Exactly. What I am saying shouldn't sound offensive towards her in any way, as she is among rare female solo artists who has managed to stay relevant after a long time being present.

I am not offended sorry if it sounded that way=)

But I really think she is changing her style and her sound constantly with adding her "vibe" to it.

And the PVs they are always something new to me(okay maybe not all her ballad PVs :D)

She had some awesome PVs like WIND, Ningyohime, BUT, Aisho or Wonderland and tons of PVs that feature her sexy signature that I like (Shake it, JUICY etc.), but imo I'd say that only some are very creative and really interesting. On the other hand she has tons of videos where she is just sitting down and singing while looking pretty and as much as I hate Ayu's PVs featuring a love story Kumi actually started that whole crap with the 2nd session PVs and she has so many of them...

=) Okay let's just agree on different opinions ;-p

I'm bored with Kumi at the moment. I actually don't enjoy Western pop (being exposed to it all the time), and I feel like her recent releases (UNIVERSE, Dejavu, JAPONESQUE) emulate it far too much for my tastes...

I think this is why I'll always prefer Ayumi. She goes to the beat of her own drum usually. She's different. She might not be a 'trendsetter' anymore in the fashion stakes, but her music is still completely unique.

I'll never hear something reminiscent of Ivy or Sweet scar on Western radio (although I wish I could).

Pop music really has gone to the dogs at the moment. You really have to dig for great pop music.

Back on topic though, 29 days! :D

Hoping for more previews in a week or two...

Since CDJapan has the limited editions back I ordered the DVD one. I've never cancelled an order with them yet, so I sent an email to cancel the regular DVD version stating I wished to cancel because another version had become available. Does anyone know how long it takes them to cancel an order? I don't have a credit card so I'm using a family member's with permission. I just want to be able to tell them how long it will take.

They're usually pretty fast. I cancelled an order a few days ago and they replied the day after I sent the email :yes

Thank you :thankx: If the order is cancelled quickly that's great - I don't want to have to pay for two versions of the same album.

My countdown app says 28 days, 17 hours left!

a countdown for love again, lol... cant wait for this either!

^ I want that photobook.
So much.
So much.

I've just ordered my GOODs Bluray edition, yeah!!!

I thought I wouldn't be able to buy one of those because it sold out really fast, XD

I hope its all new photos!
It would be killer if they reused the super ayu pictures, lol.

How awkward would it be if the photobook contained never seen pictures with tomoya, mannie and maro... omg wait actually that would sell like hot dogs :innocent

I always find it awkward when people compare ayu and Kumi cause they see their career with different purposes. Kumi wanted to sing since she was a kid cause she admired the way her mom touched people's heart singing, and she wished to do this someday, singing for her is touching someone's heart, and that's why she talks about love a lot, her ballads rarely are "alternative" and also why she puts so much effort on her lives. She's there for the public. On the other hand, when ayu started singing, she herself stated she wanted to save herself through music, and that's why her style is so full of messages and concepts, in that "artistic way". Her songs are mostly about her and her life experience. It's like Kuu was the pop singer, and ayu the alternative one. I think you can pair ayu much better with Utada and Kuu with Namie or Kana. Comparing ayu x Kuu is like a bit less ''stroner''than comparing Coldplay x The Wanted :P

Hope we get some leak next week

Couldn't have put it better myself

the moment I saw new Kuu promo images I instantly ordered her new album with photobk, sorry Ayu

Off topic, but I honestly would have gotten Kumi's album... If it wasnt a cover album. I abhors those. I'm not here for a karaoke singer.

Ayu's photobook best contain new images or the fandom will just get worse.

Yeah, the covers are absolutely gorgeous. Like a candy store. :D

I don't know. I didn't really like her previous cover album, so I'm a bit reluctant to purchase this one. :/

Back to Ayu though.

I'm going to miss all the constant news. AHS is going to become one big tumble weed after the project ends and we don't receive anything new until who knows when.

its her 15th year! I think this entire year is going to be big news for ayumi fans!

^ I really hope so! :D

I hope she does release a single, even if it is a digital single, later in the year. I really enjoy her music at the moment. ^____^

Snowy kiss >>>
It's such a good song
Ayu's on a roll

I pretty much agree with this as well.

^me too =)

Never thought of it that way! Makes sense to me :yes