I secretly hope artcika can be in charge of official Ayu covers.

i guess it's easier for them to pic up on logos and modify them, while pictures are a bit of a different story.

ayu-michan, there would be a lot of unhappy people if that was the case xD fans aren't professionals.

betrayed, but still believe in people?
http://i.imgur.com/YZfZLiGm.jpg

^ ugh, I hope Ayu is okay! :heart

im curious, she put that up at 4am JST, Im almost asleep when I got noti from her.

is that her wedding ring?

What a body!

Woha!

YAAAAAASSS, mama!
Back it up :P

I hope there is nothing wrong.

@ that working out pic.
whooooooo omg body goals. She looks amazing.

No! :shakehead

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ap5qGG9-r...54129465_n.jpg

You are right haha :P Though sometimes the fans have some very brilliant ideas that go unnoticed.

Miss seeing ayu's daily life insta posts, recently she's only been posting photos related to the tour.

That pretty much is her daily life until August, lol!

^ YEAH idk why people were complaining of her showing expensive things, I LOVED seeing her daily life photos

change of hair color to ash beige https://www.instagram.com/p/BGtcHJQJPuH/

It is not really a big difference. Have the same tint, because I got tired of my violet brown color and ash brown is the only thing that could slowly cover up my previous hair colour. Not sure what Ayu is trying to accomplish because her hair was not that dark. Maybe she wants to go back to blonde?

New article?
http://109news.jp/event/20160616/62566/?detail

That "ash beige" color is neat. When she decided to do ash green, I was really excited, though. I kept hoping her hair would look more and more green. XD

Her hair color really hasn't changed much in a few years it seems. Her dark hair is starting to seem fairly signature compared to blonde, which is so strange.

I guess since she's been going with the "I came back to Japan, my home country" image lately, she decided to stick to a more "natural" hair colour, since I think some people criticised her for trying too hard to look western by bleaching her hair all the time?

Or maybe she got tired of the blond colour and likes the darker shade more these days.

I loved when Ayu was blonde in the 2000s but in this decade I really love the dark hair.:)

Yosuke Ito went to ayu's live at Fukuoka
http://i.imgur.com/ffBUNqA.jpg
http://ameblo.jp/itoyosuke-jp/entry-...amp=1466265333

Wow, she looks really different there for some reason... is it her hair?

that would have been a nice cover, she looks verrrrry natural in this picture with yosuke ito.

Today Ayu worked at the soup kitchen

http://i.imgur.com/HlT6Zqjl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Y8km1GWl.jpg

She came without newspapers and tv reporters and bring many stuff
http://i.imgur.com/MSVMHfom.jpg http://i.imgur.com/MUWKdKQm.jpg http://i.imgur.com/LmOTavQm.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ffpM1GDm.jpg

https://twitter.com/JGQn0qfo48GvYDy

Holy crap she is so adorable

Awww!

http://i.imgur.com/DgHJ26Jl.jpg

She is so nice and doesn't deserve such bad fans as we

She is so adorable <3

Edit:

2 more pictures found on instagram
http://i.imgur.com/91Yw1xI.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/WHK7iOl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/XlfdWsul.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/tOokIyPl.jpg

:love omg

man, I really love her.

I admire people that do work like this and dont tell anyone openly about it or boast about it on social media afterwards (except of course if it is to raise awareness)

thats sweet. Its nice to do stuff just for yourself, but the big reason to bring media is to focus attention back on the issue.

Can someone explain where is that place? Is it for a charity event?

I believe it's a Kumamoto shelter for those who lost their homes during the quake?

That's so awesome of her! I envy that little girl and all the people who get a service from Ayu like that, I even might get a minor heart attack.

I am always puzzled when I see comments online about how Ayu is a rich diva and doesn't care. They are wrong. She is quite a generous person who cares about the world!
She looks adorable in these photos as well!:luv2

I wish I was there lol!
(Is she trying to clinch a adidas endorsement or is she already appointed ��)

Aww, this is really heartwarming. I sometimes talk shit about Ayumi Hamasaki, but this strikes me as something more genuine than her persona as a star. The aid that is gI've is the most important thing, of course

It would be so cool if she can represemt Adidas line or something

THIS is the Ayu I've been dying to see for all these years. She cares so much about Japan, it is good to give back.

On a side note, it will vastly improve the public perception ofher, and it'll give her new life experiences to write about! :love

ayu left Fukuoka yesterday

http://i.imgur.com/gzLJKVUl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/bIuB7pJl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/cGVff6sl.jpg


Teru from Glay reblogged link about ayu https://twitter.com/TE_RUR_ET/status/745108510082367488

wow she looks so young here! just like it's 2006 again :D

^ I don't know WHY, but that photo above with her carrying that container makes her seem so ...human.

I know that sounds ridiculous, but dI'd that happen to any of you too?

So sweet! I don't think she was allowed to do that in the past because of her popularity. She is surely happy to be helpful.

Ayu looks amazing in that recent encore picture on her Twitter. GLOWING.

"Thank you everyone at Kyushu! Thanks for all of the troupe members! TA Thank you everyone! 2016.6.20"
http://i.imgur.com/ZzSxEa2l.jpg

Oreo sleeping with toys
http://i.imgur.com/3N62iIQl.jpg

"ayu x ISM" - the collaboration! Revival of the Sugar Coconut shampoo!

The ISM salon quality hair shampoo that had enormous success since its release in July 2013 - 'Sugar Coconut' is being resold this summer from July 1st in a brand new package!

We are now accepting pre-release orders: http://stylecreation.jp/ism_ayu

You must check out this fantastic shampoo this season!
http://i.imgur.com/M1mkvUAl.jpg

This picture of her is simply gorgeous !

this promo looks so much better than the one she did in 2013(?) :luv2

I like old photo too!

http://i.imgur.com/oXaygOE.jpg

i forgot about that one!

this is the one that was in my mind

https://japanallinone.files.wordpres...04/proxy-1.jpg

A lot of her one off promo shots are gorgeous. Like the one for Gem Cerey was nice too.

I used to love this one too! Wooo, I totally forgot about this one.
The new promo photograph is nice, but it is boring to me. I prefer this older one.

That was for the wild rose scent shampoo, i absolutly love this picture *_*

When was this from?

A BEST LIVE tour goods http://shop.mu-mo.net/a/st/event/ayu1304/

oh right it was different scent! her smile in this is kinda weird :D

haha yea coz we have never seen her doing this kind of stuff before, or maybe she did but just not publicly known, since these days are the social media era..so we just get to see her "Human" side, which is good :yes

it is very sweet of her, good work, Ayu!

Oh my GOSH her latest tweet is total fitness inspiration!!

Saved it to my phone for inspiration whenever I don't want to go running. :laugh

She's the same height as me and I've never felt physically powerful or anything, but looking at Ayu is like... ow wow you can be a tiny little powerhouse!! Such a queen.

I think that picture has lots of photoshopped and made her like a woman working in a tanning shop. :P

Sunsets tend to make people a bit orange.

?? Not sure if that is sunset... maybe it is late afternoon (4pm~5pm ish)

I always thought it is sunset photo

"Yes, JUST DO IT ✓"
http://i.imgur.com/QPNc893l.jpg

Motivated for fitness right now~ ☆☆☆

I love her trainer's (?) expression.

"Holy sh*t, she is strong."

She is such an inspiration! :heart

I've just spotted somebody's comment under her last facebook post:
I'm not surprised that she keeps apologizing fans for living Japan after reading crap like that...

damn, i dont want to see another "apologize" video or song, :( they dont understand that things happen n people make mistake?

^ Some people act like she's SINGING MACHINE not a person who has also private life. I'm listening her because I love her music and I don't have to agree with her life choices (it's not my life, I have my own).

It reeks of entitlement BUT they do have the right to feel whichever way, as fans and as her main audience.
Hell, I've seen worse from members who come to this forum so maybe that's why I'm unfazed and the message seems rather tame.

Tomorrow 6/29 release! #Training #muscletrip #RoadOfTheShugyo
http://i.imgur.com/82r6ZW3l.jpg

Road?..

i hope so won't see this herself :no i can understand peoples frustration but come on, this is harsh

I think its a play on words. Because she's on the road touring.



And well, I sort of agreed with that sentiment around Colours, but since haven't felt that way. Basically when she moved back to Japan I felt she had ultimately made the biggest apology.

^ I think she's confused sometimes with her own decissions or she regrets them but we all do sometimes. She had her reasons to leave, she had her reasons to return. I left my motherland myself following my business plans and than I fell in love and decided to stay. Sometimes I miss my family, sometimes I wish I could be in 2 places at the same time.

Oh yeah this "fan" on facebook is really an idiot <.<

When I was looking at comments about the album when it first leaked...

Quite a good amount were like "Go back to doing I am..." like they hadn't listened to her seriously for ages, like what the heck?

"I wonder if people think they can heal their own wounds
by hurting others and putting them down?"

exactly my point: Music!
Big sales doesn't mean better music and I love what she's doing right now

Don't act like y'all wouldn't be pleased if Ayu released an album of the same calibre and "this could be a single" quality as I Am....

He wrote later that she disgraced her family and stuff like that. I know that Japanese society loves to make a big deal about any "misbehaviour" but... She was good person and now she's bad and vicious, really?

When she tried to "return to her roots" with "Love songs" fans wasn't happy either. She'll never be able to satisfy everyone so she should do whatever she likes and don't feel sorry for her actions.

This was my first thought after reading that comments.

I think for some people it's something more than music, they're just obsessed about her.

I'd love if she'd release album with own compositions again but I can't say that what she did after "I am..." is worse quality.

She's had plenty of good stuff since I am..., it's that these people listen to something once and then compare it to something that came out 15 years ago like Ayu hasn't done anything worthy of their ears since then.

I think her songs are better since I am... Those songs are remarkable and great.


JEWEL
CAROLS
Dearest
NEVER EVER
Heartplace
everywhere nowhere
HANABI
Voyage
(Miss)understood
Rainy Day

Also there are some really awful songs, but Good songs > Bad songs.

I just don't think she should have to apologize for living where she wants. :shrug It's sad that anyone would stop respecting her just because she needed to get away. Sometimes people just don't see the other side of things.

Considering I find I Am... to be a messy and that I don't think it aged all that well, I would actually be really sad if she did something like that again. :P

I love "I am..." but it's been a long time ago. She tried different music styles during past 10+ years and it's fine if somebody don't like the results. I'm not a big fan of "Party Queen" or "Colours" but it's doesn't matter. She's still able to releasing catchy songs and write deep and meaningful lyrics - she's still herself even if she has changed/grow up (whatever you'll call it).

Blue sky gym
#run
#until the end of the so island
#water running low
#don't have towel
#mobile radio don't work
#I came back in half crying
http://i.imgur.com/Ddw9eIdl.jpg

I don't really appreciate I am... To me that album is overrated as fuck, just like Final Fantasy VII.

^ Yeah, (miss)understood is better for me, like Final Fantasy VI.

^Haha loving the FF references guys (I completed VI for the first time this year and am now replaying VII for the first time in years)

IMO Memorial address is the most concentrated "Ayu" album ever. A little bit of everything!

You don't have to like songs from "I am..." but you should appreciate the fact they were composed by Ayu herself (what makes this album her most personal release). She proved she's not just a singer but the artist.

I feel like RAINBOW had more interesting tracks than I am... tbh.

That is true for me. I also prefer the atmosphere the album gives off as a whole. I think that's also an appeal of MY STORY for me. I think other people may have found RAINBOW not to flow but I always felt like I was listening to something with a complete and distinct mood. RAINBOW is just too cool

I am... is not the same. It just feels like a collection of really great and powerful songs sometimes so I usually never listen to that album straight through but rather I pick songs I'm in the mood for. But I guess it's still kind of epic in a way with how strong so many of the songs are and the way it's set up from the beginning. I get the mood of it sort of but I guess maybe it's just something I don't prefer. evolution and Unite are overrated. So is Dearest. Naturally, still alone, Connected, and M are truly the gems from that album and it's unfortunate for me that she doesn't have many songs like them. I will always love A song is born for the feelings it gives. I always cry lol.

^I will never forgive what they did with endless sorrow on that album... :P

no more words is probably my favorite on I am....

Was probably one of her most vulnerable songs at the time.

I think "you could" would've been a better way to phrase that, "should" sounds like forcing your opinion.

As for the better albums, I've found RAINBOW, Memorial address and (miss) understood to be her strongest. Rock N Roll Circus and Next Level are below that tier, along with Duty.

I am... has some really strong singles, but unite! and evolution were never my favorites. I've found that the album tracks are either very good when they're good and very boring at their worst. It IS the FFVII of Ayu's career when it should be FFXII :P

Honestly though, anything from I Am... could be released today and still do really well, and sound current. I don't think you can say the same about any of her other albums. It has the most fantastic production value, and it is so polished in the right way (while I like them, (miss)understood and secret are TOO polished to me, like they sound scrubbed clean).