I think it's the same with Kumi and For You got critizised, too for not being thaaaat good.
So not only Ayu has that status;)

^I personally adore for you because it's so summery. :D

And I've also decided not to expect too much from Ayu. I did so with Love songs and RnRC and noticed how amazing both albums were. It's a good way so I'll do the same with FIVE. :)

BRAVO !!! I couldn't have said it better. +1

A good way to minimize expectations about a new release is to not read through every post in the news topics as well! I know this is a weird thing to say on an internet forum XD, but when I only read up on posts containing information and ignored the rest for quite a few recent releases, I didn't get influenced by all the posts already praising it in the heavens, or all the posts that hated it from the get-go, or all the criticism about the covers and the promotion, and all the overly positive "AWESOME" posts. I mean, sometimes it's nice, but they do mess with the way you yourself view a product.

Anyway, I loved this release, and then when I checked back most people hated it. I'm pretty sure that if I had read through the topic I would've been much more negatively inclined towards the release...

nothing leaks yet...
i cant wait to this album,,,,

It will only be released in 1 month and 2 weeks from now XD

hmm I think since Ayu joined Avex, it's not entirelly about Ayu anymore. She became a part of the company. It becomes sort of a team work, if they have profesionals working everything should look good. I mean yeah tastes are tastes but somehow from such a huge company as Avex I expect better artistic stuff than I see now. Like if you have a great thing then represent it nicelly too and do the job 100% till the very end, details are also a part of the overall look and just as importaint as the main thing. But that's just my point of view...

Yes!!! I am so excited :D

I hope Leslie Kee as photografer from this mini album, Leslie is my favorite ayu's photografer, if Leslie do it, ayu's album always looks gorgeous, example MY STORY.

I hope FIVE cover album will make with indoor photoshot concept, in a studio. I were borred with outdoor photoshoot for her album. Time by time, from GUILTY to Love songs.

leslie will shoot for the covers + 1 of the PV

What are some photoshoots that Leslie has done for Ayu? I want to know why everyone has always been so damn obsessed with him and his work he has done with Ayu...

Her album/ single covers have been gorgeous, but some magazine photoshoots are terrible

I had no idea he did RAINBOW and SECRET, they are some of my favorites!
Though I still prefer Shimoko's covers (Days/GREEN, NNEXT LEVEL, MW, A BEST 2).

Leslie tries to show full Ayu's body
Kazu - only face

She's been on the cover of VOGUE and GQ? I didn't even know that, anyone knows where I can find scans, especially GQ?

http://ayumifanparadise.free.fr/?alb=200

Here you are for VOGUE, but I didn't konw either for the other one...

wow thankss aderianu for the huge collection of Leslie's photoshoots!
she looked gorgeous! i love seeing her smile like that~~
so i hope Leslie will tell her how bad it looks on her lately lolsss~~
Kazuu u better stay away from ayu a little way~~ haha XDD

Haha I wonder how Kazuyoshi is feeling right now? His favorite diva is gone :laugh

VOGUE Taiwan 2002 ::
http://ayumifanparadise.free.fr/?alb=417

GQ Taiwan December 2002 ::
http://ayumifanparadise.free.fr/?alb=383

Which makes me optimistic, we didn't get a non face focused album cover since NEXT LEVEL. xD

Thanks for the scans !Lawi! and Heavenly!

Love all the Leslie works except for some magazine shoots!

Thank you!!:love

but stillll i hate SECRET covers.. to much star and something wrong with her face..:grumpy

Dang nice pics Aderianu :D

Ohh, I really hate Startin's cover... it's sooo tasteless...

i think... startin/born to be is very simple and tasteless but very glamorous!
wowa! A BALLADS tehnique very very fantastic!

Thanks. Not really many of my favorite Ayu photoshoots in this collection, but some of my favorites are here (A BALLADS, MY STORY (not the actual covers, I hate those but the rest of the MY STORY shoot, especially the rocker stuff is some of my FAVORITE, the curly haired ones are pretty (the first magazine posted), Daybreak is nice, the INSPIRE cover is nice, and the ayu-mi-x long black hair is gorgeous.

But still, there have been a lot more Ayu photoshoots I love but right now I don't have the ambition to go and hunt them down but I appreciate the fact that you did Aderianu!

Leslie Kee did god and bad works with Ayu, like any other photographer. :shrug
The only really good thing is that he tends to shoot her whole or partly body, like somebody says, so the chances are high we're getting a more complex cover again. :yes

This time the cover will be done by Leslie Kee?
I cant wait to see the cover

so covers will be done by leslie kee, along with one PV being directed by him as well? i can't wait to see how everything turns out, now. :D

I like Startin' / Born To Be... covers personally and don't find them tasteless at all. <3 Actually I hope she would have more covers like it. Especially with that awesome long, dark brown (m)u hair ;______;

Gorgeus photoshoot :luv2

^ she looks cheap and vulgar on Startin' cover, it's so hooker'ish, imo. That's why I hope FIVE cover will be way different... :)

But didn't you notice that you could see her legs?? And then she has the audacity to smile?! Clutching my pearls, tbh!

Really, all I want out of FIVE is a CD+DVD cover without duck-lips. I don't think that's an unreasonable request...

Most of Kee's work that he's done for her covers has an actual concept which is a good thing~

I hope he will work with her on her next original album as well.

^ me to, RAINBOW and A BALLADS are her best album covers imo and & is prolly my fave single cover.

A BEST is my favorite Ayu cover ever, but yeah, RAINBOW and A BALLADS would be close.

Don't forget that photobook thing he had with all those other stars and she looked like some kind of... snow queen/nature goddess.

Wow, I didn't know, that Leslee did so many photoshoots for Ayu. She looks amazing and even gorgeous on most of them!!

What are you looking at? :shakehead

It can't be the same picture that was posted! :laugh

+1 I agree

I'm sensing an album cover where she's smiling. Or maybe that's just my hope... haha

I'd like to see something other than her just smiling because that's what was on the last album cover.

i dunno why many people hate Startin' cover but i feel she is so gorgeous on it! maybe i like her in black long hair.

i love Memorial Address photoshoot series. i hope FIVE will have the similar awesomeness, since both are mini albums.

even that obviously not all his works might be perfect, you all have to recognize that he knows how to identify beauty and compose good pictures!

He is one of the best people out there with good eye to compose photographs ever :P Something that for example kazuyoshi doesn't have, since he thinks photoshopping (eg.flower background photoshopped on those S/S covers) would fix everything when he lacked of something lol :rolleyes

Also, look at the colours Leslie uses, and the lightening, the angles, etc... just beautiful.

You also have to look at his other works with other artists as well. They tend to be rather breathtaking and full of movement despite being still images.

I really wonder when they'll reveal covers~

Maybe I'm one of the fews who really thinks Kazu isn't that bad as photographer :laugh.
Leslie and Kazu are just.. different :shrug and they work in a different way either.
If Leslie works are more 'natural looking' Kazu ones are more 'fake plastic looking'. Even Leslie had bad works imo as for Kazu.
People should focus more on good works and not bad ones imo. I'm not saiying Kazu is my favourite photographer ever but he's obviously not a incompetent. BUT if you're asking me of my favorite photographer I'd choose ND Chow :heart

Don't get me wrong though, I also like Kazuyoshi lol

^
oh, :laugh I misunderstood sorry.

It's okay :P I totally agree with what you said btw.

They're different, and I was just comparing one thing that I thought it was good about Leslie.

I still love Kazuyoshi's futuristic Asian works and most of his pictures are amazing :yes
I also love Mirrorcle World, GREEN & Sparkle xD :love



ND Chow is awesome too!! :D

haha same startin is one of my favorite covers I think she's stunning in it!

Kazu definitely has more photoshoots that I love. Some of my absolute favorite magazine shoots are done by him.

For me, I would like to see five different Ayus that each represent the style/theme of each of the five songs on the cover, or even the booklet. Kinda like ayu-mi-x II..

Maybe that's just me :)

I can't wait for covers! >.< I hope it will be something cheerful like & cover.

i miss ayu tv appearance...
it's kinda off topic..
but why does ayu have no tv appearance lately...

There's been no reason for her to appear on TV... no new material~

She should appear a few times for FIVE though, lol.

Also, fun fact. ND CHOW used to work as an assistant for Leslie before branching out on his own! I guess it was because they were both from SG working in Japan as photographers... or something. This was back in '01 / '02 though.

I suggest getting your eyes checked and also looking up what hooker means at http://www.dictionary.com. There isn't anything vulgar or "hookerish" about them. Her expressions are very tame and all that's showing are her gorgeous legs & arms in modest poses.

i can't wait for the covers!! i expect something sexy and classy, and obviously a cover without weird expressions or fish lips.
And idk why you hate the covers for Startin', i think they are pretty good (and we can see her legs and not only her face)

What's so vulgar, cheap, and hookerish about them? O.o I think they're elegant and sexy (done tastefully well).

I actually never knew some people hated the Startin' covers O___O Firstly because everyone loves that hairstyle, and she looks gorgeous in them, happy, radiant, etc. :shrug Oh well LOL

The Startin'/Born To Be... covers are so flawless. Haters to the right plz.

I think S/BTB cover is pretty, but not unique somehow.

Oh my gosh, the Startin' Covers are my most favorite Ayu covers (next to Memorial Address. I just adore that cover -- i got it on my wall!) She's soooooooooo beautiful in it. The hairstyle is great. She looks so happy. I just love it!

ok-ok, the opposite opinion is just shutting up :)

i love offtops...topic about mini album, and discussion about Startin' covers! YES!

what's strikes for me with S'/BTB cover is you can perfectly see a natural thigh, the way you would seen it laying around at home, in front of TV, in pijama (nor fur obviously), that's the way a woman's body is. I'm not saying that's bad. I'm saying it's not usual.

And yes, Leslie seems to focus on her body, so I'm pretty sure we'll get Ayu's body in the new covers...

I love Leslie's photoshoots because he just knows how to work with Ayu. Not only does he focus on the entire body, but most of his picture involves movement too :luv2

I had a dream with the covers...they had grey tones and were really gorgeous *O*

:yes:yes:yes

lol, what a war my opinion on Startin'/Born To Be covers... started. XD She's just being sexy there. What's wrong with that? :)

gosh, shame on me... i didnt even notice that all the tracks will have promotional videos!! thats awesome

This! CD+DVD ver's ok but CD ver 's masterpiece!

maybe Ayu use one of them at cover
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9159/346848573.jpg

Hopefully that wig he's looking at! I love it!

I think I know him... isn't he a hair dresser?

it's Jun Yoshida from ISM

OK, definitely getting CD+DVD, but do I get CD regular or CD limited edition? I don't really know if the limited is worth it...I'm sure I'll never play Tales. Never played any of them.

Hm...help me out here lol

PS kinda want the acoustic version of beloved

I think if you not going to play game, no need to have limited edition

But you can always download the acoustic version but you can't download the limited tales of cover :p that was reasoning for getting the limited as my second version

i loved the wig he's lookin at *--*

^it looks red )

arrggghhh

"Show us the coveeerrr" oh please oh please :thud

well, the mini album comes out august 31 so i think we still have some weeks till we see the cover. :(

I love startin' covers. Most amazing thing is her brown hair omg I die


That wig is gorgeous I hope she uses it!

^maybe if not for covers, but for some magazine photoshoot...

Startin' covers aren't ugly - they are just boring. Thinking off the top of my head, I think they are the most boring covers/photoshoot she ever had.

^^Sunrise?

^ Sunrise/Sunset is many things, but I wouldn't say "boring" is one of them lol. It's like the horrifying gift that keeps on giving--whether you want it to or not.

I personally think MOON/blossom, Crossroad, and Moments are among her most boring covers. The only thing Moments really has going for it (for me) is a thematic tie-in to the PV. That's something I really miss in her recent single covers. Especially in 2010, the single covers looked like an afterthought or a desperate attempt to latch on to the latest trend instead of part of a cohesive package.

In my book, Startin'/Born To Be... is redeemed by that beautiful smile. :love

leave all covers offtop in this thread )

What constitutes as a boring cover? Like what does she need to do for it to be interesting?

I think bold and delicious is one of her most "off" and boring covers, doesen't realte in any way to the song and looks like the least stand out pics of a photo shoot.. IN fact most of the single covers leading up to Mss understodd and miss understodd itself were pretty bad (STEP you.. or lord and those album covers) or bland (Heaven and B&D). Except fairyland.

nothing could be worse than &

Exactly what my response would have been, haha.
MOON/blossom is pretty boring too. crossroad is just gaudy and totally does not match the song itself. Moments I really like because Ayu looks gorgeous and at least it's not just a blah background (like one color).
Well it's just like "here I am with a fur rug wrapped around my body sitting on a black background *smile*"

*gasp* :(

I'm kidding. that's blasphemy. & is one of my favorite covers lol