Thanks for translating this!
I'm thrilled to see Ayu so happy to be working on something. I've only recently discovered Yumi Matsutoya, and she seems very cool--very creative and interesting, much like Ayu herself. I'm not at all surprised that Ayu found inspiration in her.
Recently albums are making much less money than singles in the music business. A single is released with lots of pomp, tied into products and video and whatever, and serves as a project in itself. I think that style suits Ayu very well. She can put so much into crafting each song/lyrics/video/product she works on without filler.
My hope is that she'll start doing interesting projects with each single. Her albums don't sell as well anymore, but each digital single can become a small piece of art on its own and give her the time and space to maybe start writing her own music again, even!
