Upcoming album discussion thread
 

- STEP you
- is this LOVE?
- fairyland
- alterna
- HEAVEN
- Will
- Bold & Delicious
- Pride

Looking at all these songs..

Do you think with the release of B&D / Pride, she now has an overkill in variety?

Do you think she is maybe losing her identity as an artist?

Do you think the variety of composers this year was good or bad?

I'm just curious what everyone thinks about this. It seems like, to me, that all these songs will look weird being on the same album. I hope that most of the album tracks will be composed by CREA + DAI, because I think 'Will' was the best song this year musically and lyrically.

I noticed that a lot of people seem disappointed [so far] with the release of B&D / Pride. Has it lowered your hopes for good album tracks?

After my first impressions of this release, I have no clue what to expect with this album.. :headache

I bought the album no matter what. Why do people freak out like "OMGZ SHES GOING BANK RUPT CUZ SHES RELEASING SOME MANY SINGLEZ". People, she's a human, she's the number 1 artist in Japan, she wants money. Simple as that, no need to assume that the apolcalypse is among us just because she's realeasing a few more songs.

Anyone else preorder it? I did to get that photobook!

Nope it has not lower my expectations about the album... this arebest singles and songs on her career... like i've seaid before.. she's getting better. I'm a bit dissapointed at B&D but I'm expecting it to be different!

So I looke forward to have this album! cause it's appears to be so good!

I agree. Everyone else has been saying that it is great for the album that all the singles sound so drastically different. I on the other hand don't necassarily think it is a good thing. I love it when albums have a styalistic theme that runs throughout the album and doesn't jump around to so many different styles all the time. Even though I really like a lot of the songs released so far, it doesn't necassarily mean that they are going to gel to make a great ALBUM.

As for B&D/Pride, it's not quite a sure thing yet that those will actually be on the album.

Those are primarily record company decisions, not hers. I'm sure she has some input, but ultimately when and how many singles get released is up to Avex.

That's also very true.. There's a lot of options I suppose.

A: It's just a random themed experimental single that will never make it to an original album.
B: Both songs will make the album.
C: One song will make the album and not the other.
D: Both songs/one of the songs will be released on a BEST album instead of the upcoming album next year.

I'm going with either B or C, since they even bothered to make PV's for both. x_x

Yeah, I'm not sure. If they are not on the album then Avex would be smart to release the album tracklist around the time B&D comes out, that way more people will buy the single.

There's just a lot of weird things about this single - the rush to release and the closeness to the album as well as the completely different style.

Overkill in variety? Never happened, look at Gwen Stefani's album.. Ayu's latest is so good, variety abundance! Wonder what genre will the other 7 tracks be..

Adult Alternative
Heavy Metal
A Capella
Techno
Electronica
Baile Funk
Reggae

i think Will and alterna will not be in the album :(
i tot this year was better than last year =) only for fairyland though
coz i prefer Inspire / GAME more than fairyland single~
Bold & Delicious is very catchy and i like it =)

I STRONGLY DOUBT that Ayu would leave out this single from her album, when has she ever done that before??

It would be interesting to hear a ska inspired song from her, maybe as an ending track.

I would love a song like 'Naturally', techno but not too techno, if that makes any sense...

I would love a really non-noisy song, like an acoustic piece, with ALL real instruments.. Every song this year has some computerized feel to it, even 'Will' (not sure about 'Pride' yet).

If she decides to do any more hard rock influenced songs (which she most likely will), I'd like them to be not in the style of 'GAME' or 'is this LOVE?'.. or quite simply, HAL. 'alterna' is a style of rock that I really like, 'Memorial Address' and 'Humming 7/4' too.

If just the last single before the album was the one I considered mediocre throughout the year, and if that were to change my views on the upcoming album, I would totally not have been excited about I am...'s release as at first I thought "a song is born" was one of the most boring ayu songs at that time. (Of course, that actually didn't change my expectations, I knew the album would rock and it did, and I learned to love "a song is born").

I'm expecting as much out of this as I did out of MY STORY: nothing.

I think every one of her single this year has really devoloped a different identity in my brain. Each song has a different meaning and affects me in a different way. I know whatever song Ayumi writes is coming from a spot in her, and I love every moment of it.

i think there's two more new songs right? Startin' and Rainy day

Do you think with the release of B&D / Pride, she now has an overkill in variety?
No, variety is interesting. She's an artist and she should experiment and not get stuck in one single style or genre.

Do you think she is maybe losing her identity as an artist?
Why should she? She's always been changing her style in the past so I am not surprised to see another change of style again.

Do you think the variety of composers this year was good or bad?
Good. Else all the songs will sound the same in some way or another.

Yes, most likely it will be on the album, but as of right now none of the official sources say that it will be - they list every other single this year except that one. So we'll have to wait and see.

I personally do not think there can be an overkill in variety but maybe that's just me. This variety of styles so far has truly been REFRESHING. At time when Ayu's album have a real style/theme throughout it can get tiring at times like take "RAINBOW" or "I am..." "MY STORY" and "Memorial address" are my favorite albums because I think they have the most variety overall and it doesn't bore me like how the many many pop tracks of similar sounding rock tracks on "RAINBOW" and "I am..." did. You all are probably going to say that "MY STORY" is just overkilled with Pop Rock songs but it has a lot more variety in my opinion to her other albums.

For the second question, I have to say if anything I feel that Ayu is more sure of herself as an artist than anything else. I think she is beyond comfortable with her identity as an artist, otherwise she would not be able to get up and try so many different things which may even kill off the fans who enjoy songs that are typical of Hamasaki. I think she has come to a point where it really doesn't matter what type of music she releases since I am pretty sure her career is stable enough, or at least she has enough money to keep herself happy if she does plummet due to people disliking her new sound. If you look at artist like BoA or Koda Kumi who hardly ever release anything really "different" you can see that their releasing what they think will sell for sure and are going to be on the safe side. Ayu probably did this earlier in her career but she's coming WAY far now so I don't think she really needs to worry as much.

And lastly the variety of composers is what has made me LOVE this album to death, it is SO much better than "MY STORY" in which every track practically was done by one composer. With a variety of composers comes a variety of different possiblities, keeping Hamasaki's music A LOT more interesting and surprising.

Lastly if anything "Bold & Delicious" has made me anticipate this album even more.

I agree, but I don't want the mood of the album to suffer because it jumps from Alterna to Bold and Delicious or something. :) Songs can be great individually but sometimes so many styles all put together can make an album sound very disjointed.

I don't listen to pop much, let alone JPop or any foreign music except for Ayumi. I got into her because of the variety of genres she tries. And for the most part, she does a good job. So yeh. I listen to her mainly for her variety so I'm glad her upcoming album seems so diverse. :yes

LOL

mmm, i had expectatives but when i heard Will and HEAVEN, but B&D , I don't have words.... I bought MY STORY, I had to sell it because i didn't really like it; , i won't buy her new album.

Pride sound a bit better than B&D, but the songs , how can they be in the same single?? one is cheer the other sad, really sad... so slow... (it reminds me to some european or american song, like sordid sceneries, sad, black, wet, i don't know how to explain it, but i have the feeling that i have heard songs like pride before... i do not mean it's copy, no no, i just mean it reminds me to something...) .

i know artists have to innovate, but , god, innovate inside your own style! don't get into gospel /R&B!!! because in that style, you have to own a powerful and moduilate voice, and yes, Ayu can scream well and has a "i" sound so powerful, but i don't think this will do in live... live versions for songs like that are really difficult... (althoug to be surprised will be good ^^)