I'd rate the whole single **, 2 stars. I just don't like it, it's nothing special. The beggining seconds of Beautiful Fighters are good though, thought it was gonna be a Morning Musume style song.

I actually think this is a pretty decent single by Ayu, despite the really tacky cover and insulting promotional effort (yeah, they're 3 different covers alright. Notice how her eyes are looking at different places?).

BLUE BIRD may sound too fairyland-esque or Angel's Song-esque for some, but after a few listens it really caught on and now I enjoy listening to it everytime it comes on (I have my entire J-pop collection on random mode). It has a nice beat to it, and leads very nicely into the chorus.

Beautiful Fighters was an instant hit for me though. I don't get annoyed by the electronic voice, and I like how it sounds so happy and positive. The energy it gives off is infectious.

Ladies Night ~another night~ was a really rock-ish take on the original, and that's always a lot of plus points in my book. Not really a fan of the Harderground mix because dance-techno mixes aren't my cup of tea.

Overall, I'd give this a 75%. If you have the money, it'll be worth a consideration.

Amazing single :) nice although unspectacular way to have a 40th single. The songs are beautiful, the remixes are really well made. this single is better than the 30th single overall (forgiveness), but how I wish they made Ladies night ~another night~ the other A-side and gave it a new PV, plus add another remix so that the single will be like a triple A-side or something. but still a really good single.

Blue Bird - very nice song. summer instantly pops into my head when i hear it. the PV is relaxing to watch, the song is well made. overall a good summer song better than fairyland and greatful days.

Beautiful Fighters - another summer-y song, fun and cutesy Ayu. The PV was nice when I first viewed it, though I got tired of it. MAybe it was because the dancers had too much screentime. Very good song, though it's understandable that they made Blue Bird the title track over this one.

Ladies night ~another night~ - very good rearrangement of an already original and amazing track. I love how she returns to her rock roots here for a bit, since the tracks for this single and her last one were all really poppy tunes. One of ayu's best remixes and her best rearrangement of her song

Blue Bird (Harderground mix) - very good trance mix. i love the connected-like intro :p its been a long time since i heard a trance remix from ayu, and this one is a really well made one.

All in all, one of her better singles of recent memory. although some of the other title tracks from recent memory are better than either of the 2 songs here (I prefer step you, is this love, alterna, heaven, will, moments, game and carols over these 2), the mixes found here and the appropriate time the song is released makes this single a better one as a whole.

I love everything about this single (Except the fect that the covers are so similar xD)
But, the cover was just so colorful and Ayu looked sexy on it xD

BLUE BIRD;
A soothing, calm, happy song that I keep singing! The lyrics are nice too. When I heard it in Zespri Kiwi CM (Is it what it's called?) I really thought I wouldnt like this single, since I thought it sounded so boring.. But after all, it's great!

Beautiful Fighters;
That robotic voice, it rocks :3 For some reason, both songs of this single, are.. happy sounding O__O" But this one, it's more of a dance song.

Ladies Night ~another night~;
I love tasuku<3 xD I always love songs with guitars in it and a killer bass. This version of Ladies Night is much better than the original and the "danger bla bla bla" part isn't in the song, and I'm relieved. It was actually a pain to hear it like.. 5 times in the song.

BLUE BIRD "Harderground Remix";
It was okay. It sounds so much like a club song, lol.

After listening to this single, I actually think I'll get a version or maybe even two of it!

Blue Bird - 7/10 just so so
beautiful fighter - 9.5/10 it's so catchy, i love it to dead !!!
Ladies night "another night" - 7/10
blue bird remix - 2/10 DUMB !!!! i prefer listen to heaven remix than this

overall 8/10

I couldn't agree more with that statement. :yes

For the first time I'm really disappointed with one of Ayu's singles... (normally I don't like "happy songs" that much.)

BLUE BIRD: 6/10 (PV with beautiful scenery...:) )
Beautiful Fighters: 5/10 (maybe because I saw the PV before I heard the song and I really didn't like the PV...)
Ladies Night ~another night~: 9/10 pretty good remix (as good as the original)
BLUE BIRD "Harderground Remix": 7/10 (I like trance remixes!)

Maybe I'll start to like the songs after some time (like Ladies Night; I disliked it at first, but then it grew on me and now I absolutely love it!)
For me the remixes are better than the two other songs, but the covers are great, as well as the poster!

My fav single for a long time.

01. BLUE BIRD 10/10
I love the lyrics. They're so nice. And the PV is beautiful. I love everything about this song.
02. Beautiful Fighters 9,5/10
Not completely of my liking, but the more I listen to it, the more i'm starting to love it. And the PV is just awesome!
03. Ladies Night "another night" 9/10
I'm not a great fan of rock music, but this is quite good. Need to listen to it more. :)
04. BLUE BIRD "Harderground Remix" 11/10
I LOVE AYU'S TRANCE REMIXES!1 Seriously, this remix simply makes me want to cry and laugh at the same time. Finally a good trance remix, like the good old times.. *waiting for Ayu Trance 4*

Overall: 10/10

...what should it be? Forty-first? XD

Well, the same thing could be said for 'forgiveness' and her "30th single". It's just a number. (Plus, I think it'll do better than 'forgiveness')

BLUE BIRD - 7/10

BLUE BIRD is a decent attempt by Ayumi to produce a summery song with a trance feel. I think the song's a nice summer song and I totally love the introduction and bridge. They're contrasting and they bring about this sense of ethereal nature. However, I would have appreciated they put more effort into the composition of the song as it's starting to sound a little generic and I guess everyone agrees it has that fairyland-sque feel. fairyland was a better song in my opinion because composition wise it was more elaborate and it was multi-faceted (happiness with sadness). BLUE BIRD was more single-sided in its expression (happy and relaxing moods). Still, I think it's a good summer song, not outstanding though. It's really nice though if you increased your volume slightly louder, because then you're able to pick up more instrumentation and probably appreciate the song better.

My judgement of this song is also waivered by the fact that Beautiful Fighters does not seem to throw in any contrast to the emotions of happiness. (Her summer single predecessors all had songs of varied beats and emotions for the tracklist; }{: independent-July 1st-HANABI, &: Ourselves-Greatful Days-HANABI~episode II, INSPIRE: INSPIRE-GAME)

Beautiful Fighters - 8.5/10

Beautiful Fighters came as a refreshing change from her other songs. I don't think the song sounds cutesy pop, neither does it sound generic. I really appreciated this song for the influx of happy feelings coupled with a sense of camaraderie (with all the GO! GO!). I think composition wise it's really unique as opposed to other Ayu songs. Starting off with the whistles and slightly erratic composition, I felt overall quite wowed by the song. It's a clean break away from the kind of songs she's been doing and it's a great new style.

Ladies Night ~another night~ - 9/10

I reckon this is one of her best remixes in a long time. Ever since Ayu started doing songs like HANABI ~episode II~, GAME, About You, I've fallen in love with Ayu's rock side and I think it's amazing how tasuku arranged the composition to suit Ladies Night. It's not just a typical remix, but there were ups and downs in the music variation, sudden pauses. I'm glad much thought was put into the planning of the arrangement. It comes out to be quality work in my opinion and it has definitely made me love the song much more. Hopefully we'll be getting more of songs like this and that Ayu will seriously consider releasing A ROCK.

BLUE BIRD (Harderground remix) - 8/10

I didn't really appreciate the HEAVEN Trance Remix for some reason. It just didn't seem to click with me. At that juncture, I thought it was the end of trance remixes for Ayu. That was until the BLUE BIRD (Harderground remix) came along! I think it was rather well remixed (though my favourite remixes would always stay on Ayu-mi-x III and IV) but I think it lacked a little sophistication. I would have appreciated it if the composer had tried to infuse some other styles into the song. Nevertheless, it's really great still and there's a good amount of melody and vocals.

BLUE BIRD PV - 7/10

I think the BLUE BIRD PV is one of the most relaxing PVs that Ayu has ever done. The entire PV made me smile a lot and it's quite my idea of an ideal getaway. Not to mention it has Ayu with the most beautiful summer shot (i.e. shots that were taken in series with the last shot of the PV). Superb actually for a summer PV! However, the PV would have gotten higher ratings from me if it had actually debuted first before fairyland because when I watch the PV, I have an impression of a 'fairyland downgrade to mid-grade' PV. It's like "Hey, let's try to do another fairyland but OOPS, we have insufficient money, so let's do BLUE BIRD". I got a little sick of the beach-themed influences and there was no contrast whatsoever to anything. INSPIRE was a good PV because not only did it have beach-themed influences, it had some exotic influence too. That makes a good PV. BLUE BIRD was the beach, beach, beach and MORE beach. Not that I don't like the beach, but the paradigm seems to be hanging on the beach and the sea. No doubt, it's ideal if you could get on a boat, go into the sea and have fun with friends (I believe that's what Ayu's trying to express as well) BUT I think the theme was overly predominant. I appreciated the scene of brief greenery in the PV when Ayu was on top of a hill but I'm starting to loathe her attire and makeup there, hence effectively nullifying the scene's impact on me.

Conclusively, great PV, good summer getaway PV, but overused beach theme with one horrendous attire (i.e. the reddish raw-nature themed dress she wore on the hill).

Oh yar, I almost forgot about her DANCERS. The problem with the PV? It has the shadow of a cameraman appearing in 00:53 on her skirt and there's WAY TOO much spotlight on her DANCERS. I want to see more of Ayu, not her dancers. They're flamboyant and very annoying I would say. I used to think they were fine until they started to share rather equal screentime collectively with Ayu. This takes away the bulk of the scores I had intended to give her. No more "dancers take up equal screentime" crap. People buy the album and the single to see Ayu, NOT her dancers.

You should still watch the PV though, it's really colourful and I reckon it's one of the most colour-rich PVs.

Beautiful Fighters PV - 9/10

New PV Concept! I really like the PV because it's showing us another facade of Ayu. No more "Hey, I'm pretty" portrayals (e.g. is this LOVE? PV), this one comes off with her DISTINCTLY as a race car girl! I liked how they incorporated the screw-ups in life with the PV, like how no matter how screwed up you think your life is, there'll always be an opportunity for you to shine in areas of life you're good at. The overall optimistic mood of the PV is great! It really brings a smile to your face. I think the feature of the screw-ups that each of the girls made was good as well. Ayu's screw-up was really really cute! I think the rest of the girls had some pretty funny screw-ups as well! However, herein lies my complaint as well. Again, her dancers seem to be getting equal screentime. I think it's much better in this PV though as her dancers appear to flow with the PV storyline (BLUE BIRD just had the same dancers with horrendously intrusive attitudes). Still, it's quite annoying and I hope they had gotten Ayu instead to potray all the "problematic situations". Ayu's really at risk of over-exposing her dancers. They get too annoying. I would rather see more of her than them.

Conclusion

Conclusively, I think you should really get the single. The single cover and design is one of the most colourful and beautiful we've seen in her recent works and the content quite's worth the value, not to mention the totally beautiful posters!

However, I hope Ayu does NOT feature any more of her dancers and stops reusing the beach theme unless she plans to add on new facets. It's getting on my nerves already.

Overall rating: 8/10

I'll laugh and cry together with you if you want :).

i think this maix single is better than S/B
i hope it can sale as much as HEAVEN.

I'm rather pleased with it. BLUE BIRD and Beautiful Fighters are nice enough and I love the Ladies Night remix. But this is a single where the songs are much nicer than the extras (PV, different jackets).

Great remixes, BLUE BIRD isn't her best, but I like it. Beautiful Fighters is gonna have to grow on me though. I really loved Born To Be... so this single isn't as good as her last in my opinion, but better than Bold & Delicious / Pride. And maaaaaybe better than fairyland

01. Blue Bird 9.5/10
I duno, but I think 9 it's enough. It's catchy and happy, luv it

02. Beautiful fighters 10/10
I love to dance with this, it's typically cute song.
Ayu looks so cute and the bridge part make me wow!! dancing!!!

03. Ladies night ~another night~ 10/10
I very very very love this remix, I wish I had the chord,
when my band members hear this they said it's super cool!!!
But I miss the 'DJ lose him can't replace him...' part, I love it!!!

04. BLUE BIRD ~Harderground Remix~ 7/10
It's good, just that...

05. BLUE BIRD PV 8/10
I love it very much, the beach secens but the overall seems so-so.
Well I mean it's good but that's all

06. Beautiful Fighters PV 8/10
It's funny and energetic, but the car riding scene seems odd....

07. Cover 7/10
Good, colorful but plain, I guess for this 'summer and happy' kind of single she shouldn't pose like that, I prefer H or &

...

Uh, then wtf is going to be 40th XD

And they didn't just do 'new covers'.. they had a bunch of different things ~ :D

Different OBIs, different DVD material, posters, different CD-colors, different CDonly/CD+DVD inserts..