AT 2005 should be release on blu-ray, the quality of the image is pretty good. I think it's my favorite tour from her. The performances of INSPIRE, my name's WOMEN, CAROLS and Boys&Girls are awesome.

I'm personally not a huge fan of so many dancers on stage when they are all like doing different things or the song doesn't "call for". I do understand the appeal, like a circus de soleil big production, but sometimes it's a little too much for my personal taste. Like forgiveness from A Cirque de Minuit or the ring guys on Angel from Premium Showcase.

AT05 is funny now as I remember we were in awe of the stage and production..in hindsight it looks so cheap and amateur compared to what we got between 2010-2020. It's literally some stairs and a white sheet hung from the ceiling for projecting visuals on lol

I get the feeling this is Ayu's choice, and it's one of the reasons I adore her so much. For Ayu, it's clearly a big deal to show her inner circle her appreciation for them. She makes a point of introducing and promoting them, both during and between shows. Not a lot of big stars with their big star egos will do anything like that, especially to the point that even their own fans complain!

Only for the first third of the show ;) The curtains come down to reveal more during My Name's Women.

this was me but with the (miss)understood tour lol I literally thought that tour was her magnum opus for years until I realized... it was just panels of hundreds of lights behind her :roflmao

100% this. sometimes it's great having a lot of people on stage, sometimes less is more.

My issue with her dancers is that they share a bit of her spotlight, they are not only dancers, they are part of her acts. Their costumes used to be quite outstanding as well, so they grabbed some extra attention from me and I ended up knowing them even if I didn't really want to, at least through the video releases because of the way they edit them. I watch tours from other singers, like Namie and Kumi for example, just as much and I can't even say the name of a single dancer or remember their faces as I think they blend with the stage environment better and are there just...dancing, somehow it's a bit more difficult for me to trace their characteristics/personalities. I think that was pretty much ayu's case as well up to AT2005-2006, when her concerts took another direction and became her new norm, and even though she kept most of her dancers from her previous tours, I really didn't get to know them until that change.

Ayu is so freaking gorgeous in AT2005, I can't even. :heart

This. It might be the reason why the band was removed, they could be still working behind the scenes. Though band>>>>>dancers. I don’t see the point of dancers at all, they don’t entertain me.

More live musicians like CDL19-20 and less dancers please. Watching the Fly High performance Avex recently uploaded, there's like 30 people on stage.

watching A BEST LIVE and omg how amazing this is! :love

i still don't get how they got ayu chained so fast during Wake me up tho

I could be wrong but didn't they show how the trick works during the AT06 documentary?

And the curtains were removed to reveal a wall xD

For most of the time her stages are rather simple and the change is mostly in aesthetics...

The structure has an opening in the back so she can get in without needing to untie the chains in the front. :) Yeah, they show it in the making of Arena Tour 2006.

Just realized that in the my name's WOMEN PV, Ayu's hair isn't all up, and isn't all auburn - it's half up, half down, and the hair that is down is a dark brown. I don't know what I thought the down part was before (maybe just bling or a scarf), but now I can't un-see it, and it's not great - it's a really strange hairstyle, I wonder what inspired it.

EDIT: Just realized it's extremely clear on the STEP you/is this LOVE? cover, I feel silly now hahaha.

I LOVE her dancers and band equally. sometimes i do miss her previous dancers.

I have to admit that I had a crush on the dancer Ko, but he was sadly left out from the group. I was never really interested in any of her dancers before but I thought that he looked kinda cute

I miss Shu-ya. Dancers have a lot of fans

Since the concert videos Avex has been uploading are monetised with adverts...have they commented on if the money is going towards charity/coronavirus or are they profiteering?

The vocals for the Made in Japan concert really are rough, eh? The vocal editing where they've dubbed or cut her mic is pretty evident than any other concert too.

yes that's the only possibikity i came out with. still, it's done reeeeally fast!

Most likely profiteering from boredoom.

Ads are sort of a given on YouTube, but they probably don't really make anything from them. I've seen that labels mostly get money from official subscriptions to like YouTube Premium as opposed to per video like with most content creators.

I don't recall ever seeing scans of the Super Ayu photobook? Was it ever for sale? I vaguely remember seeing one and she was wearing a crown... but my memory is fuzzy lol

^ IIRC there are two different Super Ayu books..the one shot mostly (the right cover) in London def has scans floating around
https://toysking.jp/aucking/wp-conte...56247678.1.jpg

The left cover mostly has photos that look like FIVE outtakes where as the right version is more Party Queen era? The whole thing is really confusing because I think there is an even a third version that was a lottery prize that could be won at Power of Music venues?

We need an Ayumi Hamasaki wiki for all this stuff because the second this forum goes down for good, a wealth of 20 years of Ayumi Hamasaki history will go down with it too ��

The left one is prize that could be only won at AT12 venue

Left is with Party Queen album photoshoot in the black underwear and I saw only few pictures from it
right is with Party Queen with crown and huge violet skirt, like hbya single cover. There are full scans somewhere

zyrex has it: http://www.zyrex.org/gallery/Ayumi1/AyuBooks/SUPERAyu/

Wow thank you so much for reminding me of this site. it has been ages since I last visited it. Used to go there every now and then a few ydears ago. Going to safe it, so I won't forget it again

no problem lol. I'm always there

Here is a preview of the left one, with the black underwear https://hamasakiayumibr.blogspot.com...super-ayu.html

The one that was eventually a tour good was a scrapped photobook that was supposed to go with Party Queen the album back when the concept was still the same as the how beautiful you are shoot. It was teased in February so in the two months before release, they scrapped that shoot.

I see the limited 'giveaway' one usually go for like 400-700USD. It seems a bit sizable too given the book's thickness you can see in most pictures like when Mannie got his copy.

About the dancers discussion: I like them BECAUSE they are not just dancers. They are also actors/performers in some extent and many of them are really really good doing that. For Ayu's purpose (doing a grand show, Las Vegas-esque), I think they are really, really great and with a solid stage presence.

I just can't see these books without remember Super Manuel. I have such a hard time picturing Ayu feeling enticed by her husband in a**less underwear.... lol

I haven’t thought about Super Manuel in a very long time lol. I can’t believe it’s been 9 years?!

here is a size comparison of the 2 SUPER Ayu books
https://i.imgur.com/Y6jYbpn.jpg



Edit:
4 more concerts + a collection of M Performances are being uploaded to youtube the next days

①「ayumi hamasaki concert tour 2000 A 第2幕」
公開日時：2020年4月19日（日）18:00～
配信URL：https://youtu.be/ms8UsnWLoZg


②「ayumi hamasaki STADIUM TOUR 2002 A」
公開日時：2020年4月20日（月）18:00～
配信URL：https://youtu.be/Xdep295kh5g


③「ayumi hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2003-2004 A」
公開日時：2020年4月21日（火）18:00～
配信URL：https://youtu.be/lVli6Suut70


④「ayumi hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2006 A ～(miss)understood～」
公開日時：2020年4月22日（水）18:00～
配信URL：https://youtu.be/XFnpKG7b4Rk


--------------------


4月18日（土）18:00～プレミア公開
『「M」 COMPLETE 2000-2017』
「ayumi hamasaki count down live 2000-2001 A」
「ayumi hamasaki DOME TOUR 2001 A」
「ayumi hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2002 A」
「ayumi hamasaki STADIUM TOUR 2002 A」
「A museum ～30th single collection live～」
「ayumi hamasaki COUNTDOWN LIVE 2004-2005 A」
「ayumi hamasaki ASIA TOUR 2007 A ～Tour of Secret～」
「ayumi hamasaki ～POWER of MUSIC～ 2011 A LIMITED EDITION」
「ayumi hamasaki 15th Anniversary TOUR ～A BEST LIVE～」
「ayumi hamasaki COUNTDOWN LIVE 2016-2017 A『Just the beginning -20-』」
で歌唱された10本。

URL：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0KPaBnYzws

lol I wanted to say it resembled GAME era ayu but then I found out this was recorded in 2002 so it was before GAME. haha

but it's funny how she does all these movements ayu always did. like she forces herself to move like this while ayu does everything naturally.

Wow so many upcoming concerts premiering on YouTube! Makes me so happy, can't wait!

Would be nice if they add CDL 2001-2002 where M was only at TV version. And CDL 2016-2017 still not released?

What time will the dorama be premiering tomorrow?

Feeling very nostalgic with all these past concerts :luv2
Although some of the concerts are more than 10 yrs old they're still better than some concerts of other artists nowadays.

excited for the new concerts uploads! I hope STADIUM TOUR is in HD.
_____

a little throwback now, who remembers this one?

https://streamable.com/t38dxj
Because of You @ 2004 MTV VMA JAPAN

ugh LOVE. I wanted the pink dress she walked the red carpet in so badly, I tried to see if someone could make it for my prom dress :laugh (no dice tho)

Found this Voyage live on YouTube and a fun fact that they mentioned and I didn't knew before: Real Me was the first Ayu song which had a sentence in english. Before that she never had used english sentences but because she was focusing on getting known in other countries, she decided to add english lyrics to the songs in RAINBOW.

Yeah, she went over that a lot in the RAINBOW interviews. Due to traveling around Asia in 2001~ she really wanted to increase the 'accessibility' of her songs.

http://ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95849

This manicure :luv2

Was watching MIJ tour, and her vocals in Flower are better than the album recording. The song itself is awesome but her vocals kinda ruined it :weep (Still love it tho)

Can anyone check if the camera cuts/edit of the Just The Beginning CDL M performance here is the same as the TV and rebroadcast version?



Maybe Avex is sat on a home release version?

they definitely are. just checked with the rebroadcast version and it's completely different. this edit is definitely for a home release version. more focus on her face, audio is better.

yay thanks :love

I doubt they would go to the effort of recutting it just one performance for a compilation (when they could just reuse the existing tv version) so I imagine they've got a whole version of the show that they decided not to release? Maybe it was going to be released with a single or release that never came?

My partner's one take away from watching Ayu concerts by proxy when I've been watching them for the last month "why is she so obsessed with clowns..clowns fucking everywhere!". He hates clowns so we will never seen Ayu show in person because of that reason alone.

Delirium-Zer0 wrote a bit of analysis about Ayu's use of clowns as a symbol over her career back in 2015 in her song-a-day entry on WONDERLAND. To quote:

Source

Had a pretty random thought today - what if there were more explicit curse words in Japanese (akin to fk, shit)? Would Ayu have a parental advisory album by now?

There are plenty of explicit curse words in Japanese. Even saying ecchi (sex) or kuso (shit) can be seem as a explicit word. Most of japanese don't curse that much tho...


That explains a lot about her Britney-vibes looks from this era then.

Edit:
STADIUM TOUR is on and so is the "Jesus Died For You" iconic t-shirt moment lol

https://i.imgur.com/m0tJeQ2.png?1

omg I love Stadium Tour TT__TT

The Free & Easy - HANABI section of that tour shall remain one of the most iconic sections in all of her touring history. And also probably the best performance of M.

But MAN, the editing for AT02 and ST02 were horrible.

As mentioned, there are curse words. So no, none of her albums would get one.

yup. personally, I'm not a fan of behind the scenes footage in the middle/during songs.

That period is bizarre..like cutting out the SEASONS performance from the flow of the concert and adding it as a bonus feature, wtf?

Also something I thought was a bug/issue with my DVD copy of stadium tour seems to be an error in the final render of the concert? Anyone else notice the small skip of frames during the first verse of Depend on You on the copy Avex just uploaded? I always assumed my DVD was scratched lolll

Omg Stadium Tour is finally uploaded! I’ve never watched this concert in full before, but wow her star power is UNDENIABLE here. That opening three songs Unite!/Fly High/Evolution is such an adrenaline rush.

I also love this one of her only tours that was presented almost documentary style. It really gives a good look into who she was at that time off-stage, and just interesting overall to see her behind the scenes.

Agreed re: her star power. This concert was just such a fucking moment in time, you know? And to think it was right off the back of AT02...she never stopped moving and was just on top of the world.

I sometimes feel like I wish the documentary bits were separate because if they would I would watch this concert more. But it still stands out as one of my faves. lbr it’s worth it for the Riverdance section alone :laugh

I always assumed this wasn't performed the day of the main filming, but at one of the other shows. :shrug

monochrome says it was performed at all the concerts and it was performed at the Open Air Live (held in June before the Stadium Tour happened in July) as well...we may never know why they cut it :/

While we’re on the subject, they cut the performances from AT02 in a similar way and included those as bonus tracks but who the F knows why? Daybreak and the acoustic songs?? That whole section with that fabulous white shirt should have come after A Song for xx in the main setlist.

Man, avex were trippin’ back in the day.

I don't see anything wrong. You mean the part they are showing the dancers? I think it's just the edit.

lmfao I do not know what kind of ROCK I have been living under the past 18 years but I was today years old when I realized Urata Naoya was one of Ayu's backup dancers in ST2002

No wonder she took him under her wing the way she did when he was branching out and trying to go solo

I think I rewatched Stadium Tour 2002 live fully for the first time in 15 years. and I guess I like it much more now than 15+ years ago.

and I actually really like her casual sports style there! why does it look more stylish now than in 2002??

Yeah for whatever reason editing was weird in 2002... I imagine something was imperfect regarding some recorded performances which explains why they were "bonuses" as opposed to being part of the main thing. Ayu of that time would be that meticulous about some things.

Urata Naoya iirc was in DT01 initially?

That is so weird to me. :shakehead

I think it was due to the scale of the dome and stadium, they had a ton of dancers from an ASAYAN audition or something. I recall that is how he got into the troupe initially and then made friends with Ayu so he was brought back with a few others later on.

The charisma for Stadium Tour is out of this world. She was giving us Britney while still being undeniably Ayu.

Stadium Tour is so good, one of my favorites

It's really amazing to see the amount of growth she experienced from Concert Tour 2000 to Stadium Tour 2002...like in 2 years she literally transformed into a completely different person, in many ways.

Agreed. I also find the transition from Stadium Tour 2002 to CDL02-03 *completely* jarring. She morphed :laugh

Completely!!

Edit: OMG AT2003 is up now and it's so nostalgic!! It was the first full Ayu concert I ever watched (bought a fake copy on one of those anime events back in the days lol). And she looks so stunning during the ourselves and Real me part!! Her face is just angelic <3 I feel like the quality on YouTube is better than the DVD?!

I'm mistaken, it's not depend on you but there's def a glitched in the medley that is present on both the DVD and youtube upload.

It's kinda disappointing that Avex doesn't seem to have a proper archive or process for retaining raw footage/stuff from over the years. If they had, they would have definitely released a $300 collectors edition of new PV edits or "close up version"/"dance version" or something from over the years.

The editing can be off-putting at times but ST02 is just such a great concert. It's very energetic and feels very 'easy', probably due to the open air factor. And I love the fireworks :heart

I think so. I even replaced my dvd rip with it. lol

Was the appears cover considered problematic/blackface when it first came out or is it one of those cultural things that isn't a issue in Japan as they're such a homogenised society?

^the cover never meant to show Ayu as a black woman, it's simply gyaru style, which was very popular in the late 90s

The concept of black face is not known by most of japanese society. You can see people doing it on TV even nowadays and no one says anything.

lol, I had almost forgotten about all of this. Maybe Avex thought by slapping the term bonus on them people would think they were getting something that wasn't always there to begin with...

I don't think the japanese public would consider that problematic even nowadays.

I didn’t know that Ayu wrote the lyric of LIMIT on her first EP nothing from nothing !! It’s a great song to bad she will never acknowledge it lol
It’s interesting because it’s an Urban kind of EP but she stated in interview and in her book that back then she liked rock Music, it’s like the opposite world lol

English translation:]

A lonely girl who has no hope for the reality of life
Stay and hurt each other with a boy, in limited time, who has got his eyes staring at his dream

Just wanna say love, wow, wow... limit lovers
(Just wanna say limit love)

The bright smile of him and his bandana make it feel good, that her closed heart, which has been left in somewhere
Her tears slid down her cheek
His hands are always warm, with his kindness but without decoration: full of feeling with truth
Someday two of them fall in love and stay together and hurt each other in the limited time

Just wanna say love, wow, wow... limit lovers
(Just wanna say limit love)

She couldn't make sure about their love because if she says something loudly, nothing will appear, even the smell...
He says that he, definitely, comes to see her
Even if she realized that it is a white lie, she kept waiting forever, only knowing to believe him
Trying not to realize her sadness in the wind, she dreams about limit love, reading a book, in the non-limited time

Just wanna say love, wow, wow... limit lovers
(Just wanna say limit love)

ˆ I've seen people talking about NOTHING FROM NOTHING on Twitter after the release of the dorama. People were like: wasn't she already a singer back then? And posting the link for NFN.

Watching AT03 makes me so nostalgic. This tour is really amazing. I think it has one of her best costumes (fashion taste-like). Even the Britney fire outfit is amazing lol

Also crazy to see how her concerts became soooo long! AT2003 have 1h56min while AT2015 have 3h35min!!

Timmy said on his IG live today that he hasn't watched the M drama. The first song he heard of Ayu's was Duty in 2000. The one song he wants to do an English version of is Forgiveness.

Is Ayu warm toned, cool toned or neutral?

awww my first song was Duty too xD

Is it just me but has there been a big increase in Japanese comments on Ayu youtube videos? Looking at them through Google translate it seems like there's a lot of positive comments "even though I am anti now, i can't deny there will be never anyone who will surpass her", "I miss the time when Ayu's face would look down across Shibuya on a poster throughout the seasons when she released a new single"

or "The small girl with an untouchable aura that shaped Japanese popular culture at the turn of the millennium".

also what happened here at 2:25? the guide track skipped? lol

Totally random but I've been obsessed with LABYRINTH lately despite being only an interlude. There's just something so magical about it compared to her other ethereal-like interludes. I wish there was a longer version of it! If anyone has some random instrumental tracks they found on YT or something that has a similar vibe drop a link lol

@ExodusUK Just a poorly done eccho effect. It was cut so it wouldn't overlay the live vocal for the next line, as it's a second audio channel which is a little louder than her mic.

I guess the tone of the comments on her videos changed a lot since Namie retired. Maybe because once that happened, there was less comparasion between them, and Ayu's work was once again seemed for what it is. I mean, they are just two completely different kind of performers, and Ayu will never be able to offer the singing-dancing focused experience Namie does (on the same way Namie couldn't really offer what Ayu excels at either).

It also has been like 20 years from her peak, so she is at that point she stop being "old", "something your mum would listen to" and starts being "vintage", "that cool seasoned artist".

And the strage times we are facing right now tend to make the cultural scene distance itself from simply escapism and focus more on self and societal reflection, the kind of work that made Ayu a star on the first place.

edit: Today really seemed to click with people on the comment session to AT2...

Why M complete live was deleted? Instead of that all performances was uploaded separately

I love shows choice for A best track list live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0KPaBnYzws

This is the URL for it so it looks like they just stuck it on private. I guess they figured it would be better long term to leave all the clips up at her channel vs. taking it all down later on as the drama is still airing? Also the premiere is more of an event I guess so people can chat during the airing as its happening.

Thanks that's so interesting! I'd love to hear his version of Forgiveness!

I'm watching the A BEST track list live and I'm so happy they chose the DOME TOUR 2001 performance for A Song for xx. It's a huge favourite of mine, but I haven't rewatched it in a while. I cried watching it now, Ayu just exudes such power and delivers such a performance for the song.

I found it disappointing how most of the performances chosen for A BEST compilation were from concert tour 2000. I understand that this allows good nostalgia vibes for the casual public but... They only chose lives pre-2009 which was a let down for me lol.

oh okay avex you have AT2007 upscaled in your drive... now upload the full concert!

I also wish there was more variety in the selections, too much 2000.

In hindsight the Greatful Days PV sticks out like a sore thumb in Ayu's videography? Doesn't feel like Ayu at all, feels like a PV Hitomi Shimatani or BoA would have had at the time. IMO late 2002 Rainbow/2003 Memorial Address was such a weird identity crisis aesthetic/visual wise for Ayu.

Limit is the best song from Nothing from Nothing. And yeah, it is a little sketch that they don't acknowledge that she was already singing before Max came along.

Slightly off topic: who else is pleasantly surprised that AHS is very much still active and kicking in 2020... Very much goes to show the level of loyalty coming from us Ayu fans :D

They're manipulating the narrative into a popular romance mold, the most famous example of which is probably Phantom of the Opera and Christine Daae. The older, driven, brilliant man with vision takes the young, inexperienced, naive, sweet girl with raw talent and molds her into a shining star. Max even says so directly in the drama: "Only if I mold her will she shine!" (From the opening scene in episode 2 where he's trying to get control of Ayu's career from her old company).

That Ayu was already making things herself would ruin that romance because it would mean she molded herself instead of being an object to mold (:mischief). That's also probably why they skipped Max first trying to get her lessons in Japan, which failed, before New York--it would reduce him from a genius with the brilliant understanding of Molding the Diamond that is Ayu to a guy trying to figure out what the hell he's doing.