ayumi hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2018 ～POWER of MUSIC 20th Anniversary ～ [II]
 

Lottery drawing has occurred and people are getting their tickets now!

Logo + promo images + tour pamphlet preview

ayumi hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2018 ～POWER of MUSIC 20th Anniversary ～

http://avex.jp/ayu/news/detail.php?id=1057714

Personally, I don't think I like that PoM is back as a name. I do like that she's actually announced something though. 1/28 reservations for TA!

Also the gaps after first live and then May to July stinks of 'release + promo'.

The blurb mentions "moving forward without stopping" and that Ayu's new challenge will start on April 7th. Also it seems the theme was due to the 60 shows inspiring the power of music concept.

Main site tour thing lists prices as 9600yen.

Band members, chorus, strings team will be present!

Zeke said his A1 ticket was his worst view, my A1 was the best view.

Seems the applicants were largely successful :) That's good to know!

I applied for 7 and 8 April in Saitama and had the 8 declined. But that was perfect because I was worried about the money hahah SO HAPPY!!!!

Seems like a lot of us is going to be in Saitama!!

My entry got declined :[ Eh, it sucks, but I can try again during another lottery.

^ Yes! The 2nd round lottery started today :) Good luck!

Which date did you get declined?

Osaka, July 22

Ohh! Good to know!! Thank you :)

Seems like everyone here got declined for 22nd Osaka date.
Tour final seems veeeery popular, plus Osaka Jo hall has only half the capacity as Saitama Super Arena

Yumsushi got tickets for us for July 21st Osaka. That's great, now I can see the beginning and end of the tour!

Won my tickets to June 16th!!!

Anyone going to this date too?

4 tickets for Osaka on 22nd are in. Got notice about 3 hours after first reports here.
Reference number are A95~98

I won both dates for Osaka! :D 21th and 22th

- I applied on the day the lottery started, as soon as i knew it was open
- I took 1 ticket per date
- Reference number for the 21th is A140, for the 22th it's A79

I got an extra ticket for both Fukuoka dates and one for Hiroshima. If anyone's interested, let me know.

Ref numbers are:
Fukuoka 12: A23 and A24
Fukuoka 13: A3 and A4
Hiroshima: A18 and A19

(Not like it counts at all but well haha)

I, too, applied for just one ticket, and as soon as I knew the lottery was open. I just think there were limited tickets available for Global TA for these shows, especially the 22nd, based on how much more was seemingly given out for the other shows.

^ That lottery system is f*cked up then lol, why don't they give us all the tickets we want? It's not like there are 10 or 15k TA members applying for the same date huh? I bet there are gonna be a few empty seats like always, that's stupid that we have to earn the right to pay for something.

If tickets with TA were gurantee there whould be much more resellers I think. And with this system everyone has an equal chance because every ticket site (not only in Japan) gets their fixed ticket quote. Most countries have a first come first serve system, so if you don´t have the time to buy right away you will be screwed.

^ I do get that point of view. It's true that sometimes a whole date can be sold out in a matter of minutes for some singers

What i do not really understand is that polka-dot-jewel didn't win, even tho she applied for the same date, same amount, same everyting as me. Yet there still is a second lottery for this date so it means there are plenty of tickets left, why not just have one round of lottery then?
As a foreigner, i couldn't start planning my trip unless i was sure i had the tickets, and waiting longer can cost money lol

There's probably gonna be a 'special' final for this, I bet.

These application rounds are like presales here in the US. You've got various types of presales - one for people with certain credit cards, one for fanclub members, one for those to buy through certain apps, etc. They don't allow all tickets to be available in each of those presales because they need some to be available for general sale.

It's a bit annoying -- Western presales only occur over the span of a few days before general sale, and Ayu's takes a month or two lol. It's a very lengthy process.

I got my ticket for Osaka on the 22nd, reference number A42.
I guess I got extra lucky, considering that for this day so many got declined �� wish you guys more luck for the next round.

I got both Saitama dates. Not 100% certain I'll make it for the 7th but figured I'd grab a ticket just in case.

Seems those dates are quite popular with Team Ayu.

Now: where is the merch announcement?!?! ;-)

The most realistic reason for that is that not all Japanese fans paid for the tickets they won, so these tickets are available for balloting again.

Yeah but Japanese had until the 25th to pay for the tickets, and the second ballot is/was open until the 26th - they wouldn't have known how many Japanese paid for the tickets prior to foreigners participating in the ballot again.

Oh, I see. Dunno then. Maybe they were anticipating some unpayed tickets?

http://i64.tinypic.com/29m6r8o.jpg

Queen

I thought that was CL for a second rofl

Gorgeous photo!! I love it!

Oh I love that!!! ♡

Reminds me of Five and Rainbow.:rainbow

I love that picture! ♥

Stunning beauty.

YAY BLUE

She looks amazing! But I have that lettering art direction! So bad!!!

It's her standard font. It's used for A BEST and for most tours, iirc.

The font is not the problem but the the alignment. It should be all align to the left or center.

Love it!

Stunning ����������

This is on purpose. he official logo for his probably is like

...text...
.....text.....
...text....
.......text.....

I actually quite like it

I think they also went for the "hide one eye" thing that's very common in editorials and album covers lol. they did it with the fabric and to hide completely they aligned the font like that. just a guess lol

I wonder if it's a totally different photoshoot from the JTB one

She basically just ripped off Namie's Finally promo pic

https://goo.gl/images/qHJGfj

The same cloth colour even?!

Ok, so she's using cloths like Namie in Finally.
In the other pics from her IG she had a red one for the tour photoshoot.

I'm actually with pedronekoi here.
The picture looks unbalanced

+1

My goodness, that picture...but more Helvetica?

Ayu has posed in the past draped in cloth. This is not a new thing for any artist really, lol.

No, but it's a bit unfortunate for her to do it so soon again after Namie.

This concept has been used many times. I even doubt if Ayu knows Namie has used this not too long ago lol

Leslie is always bad with text.

To be honest I think that Ayu's aesthetic is far more refined. While Namie is just rising the fabric for the purpose of being beautiful, Ayu is playing with the concept of unveil/hide some parts of herself and is playing with the fabric that moulds her body for sometimes imprisons her or releases her. In the blue photoshoot, she looks like she is opening a door to see the real world and to let people see a part of her. Which is symbolize by her straight eye that is catching our eyes. Eyes contact is an important thing to begin a link between two persons.

I think the alignment of the text is near perfect. Notice how it mirrors the angle/shape of the bend in her arm. Both are like <.

Also notice how the end of each line (the right side) hugs or is in alignment with the part of the image that directly follows it.

ayumi hamasaki: ayus head
ARENA TOUR 2018, POWER of MUSIC, 20th, Annnersary: the blue tulle

Honestly it would look like shit centered and throw off the entire balance of the image as a whole. And I’m inclined left justified may do the same. Kind of amateur techniques if you ask me.

The only thing is the word Anniversary looks like it could have used more work. It almost looks separate from the rest of the text. It should have some breathing room after it like 20th does, or 20th should be moved over a bit so it was hugging the blue tulle that wraps around her jawline more precisely like the rest of the text. I guess if they give 20th breathing room, they should follow suit with Anniversary; and if they make Anniversary hug the image precisely like the first few lines, 20th should too. That’s the only blemish in the layout of the txtーthe relationship between those two lines.

There’s a method to the “madness” people, and it’s not that hard to figure out if you know how to analyze an image or are at least familiar with basic elements and principles of design.

Does the Reference number (A___) actually indicate anything regarding to the section / seat number? Since they say you're gonna have to exchange that with a real ticket on the day.

no

I also think it woudl look bad centered...I could live without the blue glow tho

I hate the text but it's better than having the official logo lol

Thanks for the clear and straight answer lollll
It’s my first overseas ayu show:)

The picture is not bad. I do enjoy the promo, even though I am also getting the Namie vibes from it. If she is about to release some flower-shots along with it, we know for sure she is channelling her inner Namie. For now, she is like any other artist, draping herself in tule and looking beautiful. Nothing new, it has been done 1000000000000000 times.

The only thing I stumble over is how unnatural she looks. I love her look, but is this really Ayu? It looks like a headshot of Kylie Jenner and Britney Spears joined together.

Leslie used to have less retouching on his works, or if he did, it was lighter and less 'plasticky'.

Sometime in 2012-2013, he changed the way he retouches his photos to make it similar to how Shimoko does. I only really enjoy ND CHOW's work lately even though Leslie always has good setups just some strange retouch issues. Kazutaka is also good but oh my god everything ends up cream/beige....

Part of what makes this look different I think is the lack of hair visibility and her eye makeup being not quite her usual. The team that did her hair/makeup for this is totally different from her usual staff.

Her face looks like the "old Ayu" lol For me, this photo is amazing :love

I like how she looks, but damn I need the new release so bad D:

Ayu's used tulle and Namie's photo uses more a silky sheen fabric, it makes the images look totally different. Namie's is smooth and shimmery, which fits with the overall vibe of the image. Ayu using tulle looks much more structured and fixed, which with the arm positioning and styling works for her photo.

It's like... sure, they both used blue fabric draped around them but the images are totally different in how they feel. It's like saying they both wore a blue dress. I do like the Namie promo more though, sorry Ayu. She still looks good though.

It's honestly not possible that she wouldn't, imo. It's been absolutely everywhere in Japan. Even if she hadn't seen it (unlikely) someone on her crew would have. Hardly an original idea, but it's an odd choice so soon after. One of her best shots in a while though for sure.

It is actually very possible not to know. I have no idea what Serbian pop singers are doing even though I live here. I am completely oblivious of what kind of pictures they take or videos they do. Japan is much bigger than Serbia and therefore it's super easy to miss these things regardless of them being everywhere. It's not like this is a super original idea :rolleyes It's literally just people in dresses.

i dont like leslie kee but i have to admit that he photographs ayu very well. i give him kudos for that. that picture looks amazing

holy shit!! her best picture in ages :luv2 and no contacts!!

omg I screamed :laugh

also I just realized the Finally resemblance lmaooo Ayu girl! get it together! :laugh

It’s unfortunate that people think she tooks the idea from Namie while it looks more like a continuation of her last shooting with Leslie Kee which was done before Namie released her best of ...so it’s more the opposite ...

Hi,

Does anyone have two extra tickets for the May 12th concert? Please let me know :)

Thank you mizuki-7 :)

Do people not know how this works? It’s usually the photographers direction that they follow and it ends up being the final photos.

Blame the photographers and not Namie or Ayu. :rolleyes
But anyways I don’t see the comparisons, the only common thing is the fabric.


Every single time, people have to compare.....

Some people, including Sunshineslayer, give Amuro (who is super famous for being super creative when it comes to just about everything) too much credit. I wonder how will the pop scene in Japan survive when she retires and then there is nobody to inspire great ideas.

Absolutely love the new promo image.

In my opinion whenever Leslie Kee photographs Ayu, she never looks like her self. I like the photo but it has a very artificial look. I feel that way with just about everything he does. I do sometimes like his work with Ayu but generally no. Ayu just can't seem to quit Leslie Kee.:laugh

I think only Leslie Kee can portray Ayu as powerful woman

y'all should just chill and not take everything that serious lol

I don't think Ayu needs Leslie Kee to accomplish that.:dead2

Actually, in this kind of of work, nops. Either Leslie was an integral part of her team for this pieces and had a saying on the direction, but not the final decision, or he received the directions before hand to follow. The direction was most likely from Ayu's creative team.

And the fabric thing is obviously a trend, considering so many people are using that at the same time. But I have to agree that for the casual observer it looks like Ayu copied Namie because Namie's event was anounced earlier and generated more buzz.

I wouldn't be surprised if this direction was decided BECAUSE it looks like Namie's, as a way to grab the attention of people confusing both promotions.

I just don't get why people make such a big deal about this when we've only seen two (three?) photos with this fabric lol. Not unless Ayu names her next album "Finally" and re-records every single track like, seriously?

Namie apparently has dibs on tulle. Lol

Honestly I don't care. And if we're being technical, Namie looks like she's using organza. Ayu's looks more like tulle. Hahah

I was in Japan at the release of Finally. It was not possible, lol. Well, I suppose anything is possible; just not likely at all in this case. And I am serious about that. You didn't need to be out looking for it. You didn't need to be a follower of pop music. It was on every single television news program, every single newspaper, every single subway station, billboards in just about every part of town, etc., etc., etc. Even if Ayu herself didn't know, there is no way someone on staff, particularly the photographer himself wouldn't have known.

That said, I don't care. What's wrong with it? I think it's one of Ayu's best shots in a long time.

What did I even say about Amuro? I said it was an odd choice given the timing, but that I like the photo. I even said it's not a creative idea for either of them, lol. And Ayu has always been my number one by a long, long ways, so I don't know why this is even brought up?

Yeah. Sorry about most of that. Rough day yesterday.

MTE! lol

I've never really been fond of Kee and his work with Hamasaki. As much grief as he got, I kind of miss Kazuyoshi and his approach with her.

I guess the ticket sale is now open for public. Pls correct if im wrong :)

http://avex.jp/ayu/news/detail.php?id=1058986

Please buy Hiroshima and Fukuoka tickets off me though. ��

I love the new promo! It's the best she has looked since Five. I love Leslie's work.

By the way, are there HQ individual pictures of this?

Take that back IMMEDIATELY.

Haha! I knew that would get me some side eye. I enjoyed her work with Kazuyoshi. Yeah, she was stiff but at least there was color and "presence" in those shots.

I love Leslie Kee's photos of Ayu. He makes her look modern and cool.

None, because it's from before the selection of the final shots.

I honestly hate the cover, I hate the pouty mouth pose; whoever is giving
her the direction to do this pose needs to get new ideas.

Of course is not just her that does it, this trend needs to die forever

You said it better.
What I meant to say is I sincerely doubt that Ayu or Namie said, take a picture
of me with this fabric across my face for my cover. But I still don’t know why the comparison.

No, it's another lottery, this time for Yahoo members.

Here's the info about general sales:
【一般発売日】
■4月公演（埼玉、愛知）5月公演（福岡、広島、）
3月17日(土)10:00発売

■6月公演（石川、宮城）7月公演（大阪）
5月12日(土)10:00発売

From LINE:
https://i.imgur.com/i5H1TYy.jpg

There's that wacky jawline again.

I much prefer the first one.

I really like the new one. Would make an awesome album cover, too!

Where? What am i missing?

Both photos are very good.

This new promo pic gives me BRILLANTE vibe from her first PoM tour. But at the same time it looks very different from everything she did in the past. I like it.

Pic is nice but I prefer the first one :)

Amazing! Just flawless <3

I like this one better!

Serving BRILLANTE ~POWER of MUSIC~ realness

https://78.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m...remvo1_500.gif