The people who go to her concerts seem to me to be pretty established fans. And a LOT of people go to much more than 1 performance.

Like, when she asks on the Yoyogi peformance in AT05 if anyone saw her fall in the Saitama Arena it's kinda like half the audience that raises their hands.

:|

Usually they don't.

I think that kanariya was a totally hidden track.. as that tracklisting ended with Who... and flower garden too I think.

But I think that might've been it. With this album, I bet they're debating to include a bonus or not.. :D


ASFXX - ended with Present only
LOVEppears - kanariya not shown in booklet
Duty - girlish shown in booklet without lyrics
I am.. - flower garden not mentioned in booklet
RAINBOW - +, not mentioned, but was 'there' independent+...
Memorial address - Memorial address, mentioned
MY STORY - none
(miss)understood - none
:<

oh i dun think it's that hard... LOL.. look at me.. I've been her fan since the end of 1999 and I'm still here. I've already survived from the "ayu's so boring to me" era so I guess I won't give up on her until she's retired*** then i will cry :cry :P

gosh I dunno CHEM is releasing their best album.. damn I always hope that they will release one.. no money for two albums... and for sure ayu/hikki will be my first priority. That means i will get the mini for sure :P..

CHEMISTRY's last original album: 2 CHEMISTRY Fo(u)r 120,033
CHEMISTRY's last remix album: didn't even chart in top ten :|

oh yeah... i never treat the + sign in indepdent+ as the name of the hidden track :P.

so if there's a bonus + a hidden, i guess we can still say the album has 8 official tracks :P.

I call it + or 'more than..'

It was called '+' on ayuready, but 'more than..' on like.. sites. D:

how's + pronounced... purasu?

their album sales declined since One x One (which's the only CHEM album I owned). I guess the best album should be able to get over 400K sales overall (their first two albums were big hits back then). Nonetheless I dun think CHEM will be a threat for the ayu-mini (geez it sounds like iPod mini). Their second week sales should be less than 300K, and ayu first week should be over 400K.

Probably.

I don't think it's ever been said in concert though.. has it?

No, it's never been performed, I'm pretty sure. And I don't think she has mentioned in any MC/talk that is recorded/released.

Well I'm still guessing their earlier works will attract the buyers...I think they were like the 1st group to have their debut single pass 1 million.

At least we'll see if she really is on a decline with her overall sales.

(m)u was her worst selling album this far, if this album makes it to way less sold copeis I'm pretty sure we can expect more and more declining sales in the future, even if 2007 will be a great year.

a hidden track would certainly be nice... XD

What do you mean by way less?

Basically, if it sorta sells a lot less than 870k :P

I have a feeling it'll 'reach' up there.

Ayu mini-albums really should be considered albums in their own right. So much larger in terms of content than most other minialbums..

A PV for each main song <3

at least ayu's sales declines in a steady pace... it's not like her sales dropped from 2 million copies to 800K.. if the mini album's overall sales is around 700K, it should be acceptable.

yeah, but I dun think the 2nd week sales will be that strong. Look at Ken Hirai and Kuu's second week sales.. None get over 300K. First week sales are always the strongest (Ken's best and kuu's second best almost 1 million copies).

Ken Hirai, I can understand cause he had 10 years[?] worth of music on UTABAKA but.. eh... that other one.. bleh.

I hope Ayu sells a lot :>

@ayu_fan929 - Like... ending up with 600-700k sold copies.

A mini album shouldn't reduce her sales by that much, if you take a peek at the success of Ma. Although... Ma really was extraordinary, and I don't think this album will make it there.

It'll probably have way lower sales because it's lacking quality/originality, compared to Ayu's earlier releases.

So it is true. Well, I'm glad for the new material but I'm not thrilled about it being a mini-album :shakehead

It's going to be a very weak mini-album IMO

The singles were not that great this year

Well, simply speculating sales probably won't do anything.

I think this album will likely surprise us, as there was no 3rd / 4th single that was like 300k++ worth of sales.. :|

People are so raring to go probably <3

Yuck, I don't like this news at all. But then again, would I like a full album with mediocre tracks? No. Still, I think a lot of people are unhappy about this minialbum and it won't sell. I'd be shocked if it sold 500k!

Album title JEWEL sounds...possible O-o.... like...yeah o-o lots of gems and diamonds on flashy intro o-o...

seems very pink >_> XD
I'll live with Long curly hair.... like her bday pics XD

Right now, I don't think it'll reach 800k. 600k for sure, maybe 700k. I'll have to listen to JEWEL/1LOVE to take a more accurate guess...

I bet it's just here that everyone's disappointed as well as the majority of Ayu's 'overseas' fans :|

I mean, I don't think Japan was all 'ew 2006 for Ayu smells' like most overseas fans are..

I think anything above 500k for a mini album is amazing :|

how many songs are going to be on it?

Considering her recent single sales, that doesn't seem like an impossibility. More... very much like a possibility.

@cyber - 7 and hopefully a bonus/hidden track.

Seven total so far.

But I have a feeling they'll add a track.

Since the seven so far all will have PVs.

[I think that most albums / minialbums [in ayu's case any album.. is an album LOL] will sell at least 3x as much as the reasonably highest selling single ;D]

If "JEWEL" is a breathetaking, beautiful ballad with a touching PV, I think it might sell well. You know, the kind of ballad that just makes you want to cry at the end.

I doubt it will be less than 600K. I guess I will be shocked already if the first week sales is less than 350K.. I dunno, I just feel like ayu should have more than 400K hardcore fans in Japan..

I dun even know if Memorial address is a successful album or not. Using mini-albums sales history and quality-wise as judgements, I think it's excellent. However, if looking at ayu's sales history, it's just a medium success album. I remember that when I checked the first week sales of Ma and it was around 500K, I was a bit disappointed.. (as compared to RAINBOW's first week sales , over a million copies). I know that I shouldn't compared RAINBOW to Ma since RAINBOW is full length.. but I couldn't stop myself thinking the decline of ayu's popularity in Japan at that very moment. If Ma was released between I am.. and RAINBOW era, it should be able to break 1.5 million copies easily..

OMG i only like 1 song so far LMAO :laugh

HOpefully X3 XD I'm getting really anticipated >w>...

Do we know that 1LOVE will have a PV? I though only JEWEL was more or less confirmed.

So far, sites have listed:
7 total songs with 7 video clips included on the DVD.


I remember back when Memorial address came out, people even complained to no end about the number of songs, so I guess no matter the quality, people will never be satisfied.

if there're seven pvs inside, and considering 1LOVE is one of the 7, I guess it deserves a pv...

I want another BOUNCEBACK composition from Ayu XD...

Since when was everyone satisfied with any of her releases?

Heh.

Well if she had more than 400k hardcore fans than wouldn't the tour attendance be more than 260k? (for (m)u tour)

Quotes from Memorial address' anticipation thread:

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showth...ght=mini+album

It was completely sold out, if there was more tickets it's very possible even more would have been sold. It was her largest tour ever, selling the most tickets... and all her tours have sold out so I believe that she'll try larger and larger for each year.

I love none. LOL!

But heck, I'm still buying this album. :)

Maybe Avex cannot afford more tour dates or Ayu cannot perform so many times? Remember that this was her largest/longest tour so far (?) and that it was a sell out.

Let's hope for CREA compositions for JEWEL/1LOVE and the yet to be announced song :).

That's make me melt a bit.

well.. last year was a disaster because.. IMO too many PV's.. way too many PV's.. she should have saved some for the album..(..(m)u didnt have any just album PV's does it..? I cant recall..).. and .. well.. she released so many singles.. and all the songs made it on the album.. not enough original work.. and the cover.. dear gods the cover must die..

A minialbum shouldn't be too bad at this time ..with this tracklist


1. Startin'
2. Born to be...
3. BLUE BIRD
4. 1LOVE
5. JEWEL
6. new song
7. new song

why I didn't include Beautiful Fighter is because..the song is a c/w song
not an A side like the other one and hopefully 1love/JEWEL won't releases on single but instead album tracks.
Also ayu could lose miserably(sales) if she releases single/album around the time Mika releases the NANA single/album.

^I think it's confirmed that Beautiful Fighters will be on it. And c/w songs do appear on albums like GAME, Will and alterna...

Yeah, I know. But what I was saying was that if there were indeed 400k of hardcore fans, than I would think avex would open more shows have larger venues. Plus, I would think all 400k of these 'hardcore' fans would buy her singles at least twice.

I can't wait anymore!!!!

I have a feeling that capacity = full for most concerts, so 400k isn't too possible unless you have 2-3 shows every day you have a show scheduled.

Look at this old ranking from 2004:
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/6791/entx555ql6.gif

演 唱 會 入 場 人 數 後 來 居 上
嵐 密 密 唱 No.1 狂 數 步 姐

最 新 一 期 日 本 市 場 調 查 雜 誌 《 日 經 Entertainment 》 ， 統 計 了 今 年 日 本 各 大 演 唱 會 的 入 場 人 數 。 該 調 查 包 括 於 今 年 一 月 至 九 月 期 間 舉 行 的 演 唱 會 入 場 人 數 ， 以 及 年 尾 舉 行 的 演 唱 會 之 預 計 人 數 。 其 中 樂 壇 天 后 濱 崎 步 的 成 績 竟 然 不 及 女 歌 手 MISIA ， 相 比 起 冠 軍 嵐 ， 更 是 差 天 共 地 。

According to the latest issue of Japanese market research magazine 《 日 經 Entertainment 》, the total number of people attending was calculated for those concerts held this year from January to September in Japan, as well as an anticipated amount for the concerts held in the last quarter of the year. J-pop queen Ayumi Hamasaki's results were not as successful as those of MISIA, and compared with 1st place Arashi, is an even bigger difference.

MISIA 女 星 之 首
五 人 偶 像 組 合 嵐 截 至 今 年 九 月 止 ， 共 舉 行 了 三 十 八 場 演 唱 會 ， 有 超 過 四 十 七 萬 人 入 場 ， 成 為 眾 歌 星 之 冠 。 原 來 他 們 的 演 唱 會 不 但 有 日 、 夜 場 ， 更 試 過 一 日 內 連 開 三 場 ， 難 怪 入 場 人 數 這 麼 多 。
5-person group Arashi held a total of 38 concerts up until September, with over 470,000 people, winning 1st place. Actually, their concerts not only had day and night times, but even tried 3 shows in a single day. No wonder they accumulated so many people in the audience.

至 於 KinKi Kids 則 屈 居 亞 軍 ， 雖 然 成 員 堂 本 光 一 和 堂 本 剛 今 年 各 自 舉 行 了 個 人 演 唱 會 ， 但 他 們 將 在 年 尾 以 組 合 名 義 舉 行 九 場 dome tour ， 預 計 有 四 十 六 萬 人 入 場 。 而 今 年 首 次 以 個 人 名 義 舉 行 個 唱 的 光 一 ， 則 有 超 過 三 十 三 萬 四 千 人 入 場 欣 賞 ， 排 第 八 位 ， 亦 是 入 圍 十 大 的 唯 一 個 人 男 歌 手 。

As for KinKi Kids winning 2nd place, even though their members had their separate concerts, their group concert at the end of the year, 9 shows of dome tour, is estimated and expected to have over 460,000 people attending. As for Domoto Koichi, who held his first solo concert tour, had over 334,000 people in 8th place, the only solo male singer on the chart.

女 歌 手 方 面 ， 以 實 力 派 的 MISIA 最 犀 利 ， 她 舉 行 了 七 場 巨 蛋 棒 球 場 個 唱 ， 吸 引 了 三 十 五 萬 五 千 人 次 入 場 ， 力 壓 步 姐 進 佔 第 五 位 。 而 排 第 九 位 的 步 姐 今 年 舉 行 了 二 十 九 場 個 唱 ， 吸 引 三 十 三 萬 三 千 人 入 場 ， 成 績 比 MISIA 遜 色 得 多 。

In terms of female singers, vocal singer MISIA is the best so far, with 7 shows at a baseball stadium, attracting more than 355,000 people at 5th place, winning Ayumi hamasaki at 9th place, who held 29 nights with only 333,000 people in total.

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showth...ghlight=arashi

and probly some fans can't afford concert tickets?? There're lots of reasons why a fan is not attending.. and you can't really compared the people attend the tour with the number of cds sold. Like other people said, the tour dates are limited and only 260K seats available (plus let's say more than 20% of people attend more than one concert).

It was her largest tour so far.

This, just like all other, sold out completely immediately after the release of the tickets to the public.

I don't think she'd have problems selling out 300k+ tickets for a nation wide tour. At all.

She could probably try including Tokyo Dome as one of her venues, which would be a considerable raise in tickets sold.

well.. i guess ayu's not the only person having tour around japan... other artists are on tour as well so technically you can't reserve for more dates/places. Furthermore, it depends on ayu's health condition as well. Probly avex can find more dates to accept 100K more people attending concerts, but this may really suck ayu's soul away by doing 10+ extra concerts..

I think it's sort of crappy to have to perform for 3 hours straight for people..

multiplied times 30+ concerts x.x

I loved everything about (m)u... except the cover, lol.

The cover + after christmas release + GEO for too many songs + Bold & Delicious at the same time is probably what dragged down the sales under the million... because I think it was still top-notch quality.

I wouldn't mind 4 new songs, because I'm not too fond of the extremely poppy
BF, but I like the pv :(

To both of you: I think that fans rather save money to go to her concerts and buy albums than buy singles, she seem to have a LOT of fans who simply go to her live performances... because they are awesome. People come, watch, leave, and don't care about the merchandise and so on ... the show is awesome enough and totally worth it, which an album or a single might not be.

Ow, yeah.

Honestly, I don't know why people have a such a freakin' problem with the singles this year. I think they're just fine. :shrug

Sure they're poppy, but they're so catchy if you look past odd PVs and stuff <3



Not all arenas are able to be used by Ayu LOL I think she makes do with what she is given :D

I just guess I had a different perception when you said 'hardcore fans' cos isn't 'hardcore' in Japan = to buying all her CDs + going to her tour?

Anyways, my point is that I don't think she has 400k of hardcore fans, so if 1st week sales fall below 350-400k I wouldn't be surprised.

Actually, most people in Japan apparently spend their money on 2-3 concerts a year o___o~

However fun it is to stand in front of 10k+ people, yeah... sooner or later it must get tiresome.

I don't think there's any definition on that word as such, so... let's just interpret it our own way and try to explain what we mean :). No, I don't think that's it. You can be hardcore without spending all your money.

another reason for bringing Ma famous is the first introduction of cd+dvd in ayu's cd (and i think it should be the first ALBUM containing dvd in avex). Oh another famous factor is that every song gets its own pv (except of course Memorial address, that's why avex made it as a "bonus" track.. dirty trick.. i wish Ma had a pv :cry)

I have a feeling the album is call "JEWEL"
look at the official site, there's jewel floating around the flash animation and plus it's pink ...maybe we get the overall colour/scheme is pink this time

No 1LOVE/JEWEL single is a good idea!!!!

7 tracks is a bit too little...... 9 would be better......

And I agree, having a good cover will be crucial to it's selling power!

Very true... I believe this... JEWEL be it :| ... although I still have a suspicion that the title track might be the one that's not yet announced.

That's true, didn't even think of that. Being the first CD/DVD release Ayu ever made it probably DID boost sales, she never included PVs with an album/single ever before.

LOL... I'm so sorry to bring out the word "hardcore"... :P

I should change the subject to "there should be at 400K ayu fans buying her album everytime"... :D.

(m)u had two album PVs.

I personally think it 'had' four, but for some reason they wanted to test the market with B&D / Pride, so those ended up as single PVs.

rainy day and Ladies Night = album PVs <3



MY STORY PVs:
Moments
INSPIRE
GAME
CAROLS
Humming 7/4
walking proud
About You

(miss)understood PVs:
STEP you
is this LOVE?
fairyland
alterna
HEAVEN
Bold & Delicious
Pride
rainy day
Ladies Night

SO MANY <3

I believe that some other people had albums+DVD..
Like Do As Infinity.. or something.

Personnal taste, I guess.

I'd rather have Ayu sing ballads or rock songs than her recent pop song's style.

and dun forget about the other "B&D" pv LOL.

I'm not too sure if ayu's Ma as the first album to include dvd... But it should be the first album in avex... cuz lots of cd website kept talking about "first cd ever in history to be CD+DVD blah blah blah"..

Yes... ugh... even just looking at the greatness of (m)u makes me fear what'll happen to this album when it's released.

I want a billion songs and a jillion PVs.

I'm greedy and damn spoiled by Ayu.

Didn't VALENTI have a CD+DVD version? I think it was just Ayu's 1st CD+DVD (mini) album.

That's what I believed. I don't think Ayu has 400k hardcore fans, but she certainly has 400k+++ interested fans who'd buy her albums 5 years after her peak.

yeah pvs are always good :P as long as they aren't badly made (e.g., the album pvs from MY STORY..)

Those happen to be some of my absolute favourites.

Their visual beauty is breath taking, even though maybe thery're not very meaningful.

I love them to death.

yeah so we dun need to worry... ayu-mini will get no. 1!!!!! (ayu, we'll pray for you)..

I know, but this influx of pop makes me believe that next year will be somewhat packed with ballads / rock. D:

Memorial address period - all over the place due to A BALLADS delays of singles.. etc & was awesome, two ballads followed.

MY STORY period - ballad, experimental INSPIRE, rock, and ballad. <=a rock / ballad period

(miss)understood - heavy guitarish songs for first single, poppy / rocky second single, ballady third single, ...experimental and ballady fourth single <= also a rock/ballad period

I guess Ayu's had too much of her non-pop and wanted to do more of it this year..

But that also means that next year might be sort of like the M.A / MY STORY / (miss)understood periods <3

yeah, they're visually pretty... but i guess i want more outstanding plots in the pv...

I think her directors really do play a big part.

For example:
If she pitched the ideas for her 2006 PVs so far to Kouki Tange, they would most likely have been extremely detailed and symbolism-filled.

However, she instead had Takahide Ishii and Luis Hernandez..

Some of the worst directors in Ayu PV history :<

I could so imagine a hot version of BLUE BIRD with Ayu transforming into blue birds and flying over the beach, blessing a couple as they flew by <333

It's like... ballads will always be there, and they'll be coupled with either pop or rock songs.

Already speculating about her next era... are we that disappointed, or is it the nature of us humans to do so!? Well, I want ROCK. And I expect it.

MY STORY #2 yesplease.

Atleast you're admitting it :P

Many people here seem to act as if they've been cheated by Ayu :( It's not as if they signed a contract with Avex or anything.....

What ever happened to quality over quantity? The single tracks make almost no relation to the album tracks. Just look at (m)u. The single tracks (except for B&D/Pride) had no relation with sweetbox.

She's usually always had a ballad, but I guess she wanted to have mainly pop, as that what has been LACKING over the years. I mean, she had maybe fairyland and Greatful days as poppy singles in the last 3 years.. but that's about it.

She's probably going to go ballad / rock / ballad / pop / rock / ballad again in 2007.
I bet she's done with her pop phase and is ready to go back :yes

Well, her singles weren't really pop but the album still included pop songs.

I prefer her older pop song's style than the recent style. Now, it's rather summer pop songs or cuty pop songs. More "STEP you" would be best! The techno sounds makes me think of her older pop songs. :yes

I, too, want rock! :P

STEP you is, I think, pretty rock-ish... well, it's like the PERFECT blend of rock, pop and mild techno sound.

Ma had quality. I can't say for sure yet, but I don't think the upcoming album (JEWEL?) will have much of it. Not in the same extent.

I will love it, but, as spoiled as I am, I had expected more.

STEP you is rock? It sounds more like bubblegum "Britney Spears-kind of" pop :laugh (I do like Britney so...)

I don't like Britney very much, but I did like her once. I simply don't care about her at the moment.

I listened to some of her songs recently, not her latest ones, but I think her arrangements are much emptier and R&B-ish pop than the rock-pop that I think Ayu goes for in STEP you.

lol. Maybe In the Zone Britney, but not bubblegum Britney!

Well, maybe for the vocals, but the instrumentals is pretty heavy.

Well, I don't consider STEP you as poppy as say, BLUE BIRD or fairyland.

It's sort of inbetween. Like a confused song between pop and rock.. leaning more towards pop, but has some rockish elements. :)

I believe that we will ALWAYS be expecting more.
Until Ayu releases a 4 CD album with each genre we love on a CD filled with songs from that genre.. we won't be satisfied.


And I think that the GEO / SWEETBOX association was very VERY last minute.. like pre-HEAVEN x.x

^^ *agrees*

I don't get why people see "techno" in 'Step You' anyway?

Probably due to the synthy noises during the bridge :p

Aka when the thing is spinning in the PV.

Then again, you haven't heard the samples of JEWEL/1LOVE right? They are NOTHING like Startin'/Born To Be/BLUE BIRD/Beatiful Fighters.

I reckon the "album tracks" will be much higher quality than the singles. Simply because my love for the singles are purely fan-driven :P

I believe that the album tracks, like M.A's case.. will be superior to the single tracks :p

ANGEL'S SONG, Because of You, Memorial address > the singles

At least, imo. :x

i have no problem too with her new single...
i love blue bird, startin and born to be...BF sometimes too repetitive but its a great song...new style of ayu i think
c'mon people buy this mini album

A 4CD album would cost too much.

*whine*

True, and I'm putting a lot of hope in them. Especially 1LOVE.

Haha, well, that's been the case for her three latest albums I think, more or less. Especially MY STORY.

I want acoustic folk pop next year. She's never really done it. Except for maybe..girlish, but that was barely anything. She's done rock, she's done the ballads. Now its time for her to tackle acoustic guitars, acoustic pianos, more drums and the occasional violin more often. You can't tell me that would not be awesome. :P

I believe that Japan received the songs well, it's just that sales have been slightly down for some reason -cough- :p

Startin' releasing on the same week/day as a big BEST album I bet affected its first week sales, which then affected every week afterwards.. :<

BLUE BIRD did pretty Ayu-average. I would've liked it to sell 170k first week, but beggars can't be choosers ;D



I WANT A HITOMI SHIMATANI CROSSOVER STYLE SINGLE :x

The arrangement of STEP you is way too heavy for me to consider it a sugary-pop song.

I could go with pop, but I'd like saying pop-rock-ish.

I think it's because the album tracks are generally less listened to.

I've played the singles way too many times, and the album tracks just seem better due to having heard them less :p :D

I know. I said it is like pop with its use of synths [but even alterna has those I think..]~ but it's rock as well..

Poppy would be cheery bubbly music in my eyes, whereas STEP you is a bit darker and in your face. :p

The PV is, that's for sure.

That just might be it. Not in my case though.

When I discovered her I started listening to her albums, all 8 of them was released by then, I never listened to any singles. I still found many of the album tracks much better.

Ah.

For me, I enjoyed the single tracks a lot more than the album ones, having listened to them so many times LOL

But the album tracks are just as golden in my eyes.

-contradiction?!-