A ONE thoughts and reviews

[ExodusUK]

Going to keep it simple.

01. a Bell - Nice but another potentially great melody wasted on an interlude.
02. WARNING - This song has really grown on me since the listening preview and the initial "Oh it's just Microphone again" criticism, dare I say it..this song is better than Microphone?
03. NO FUTURE - Loveppears meets Love Songs. This is obviously a good thing.
04. Anything for you - The only really new song for me...the song was slowly sending me to sleep (in the best possible way) until the chorus gently kicked in with the subtle strings like brush strokes. Finally a ballad that doesn't follow one of the 3 ballad templates in Ayu's personalised copy of Garageband.
05. Last minute - *skips* No idea how this became a single, Ayu has filler on some of her worst albums that are better than this. Doesn't help that the mixing is terrible and harsh on the ears.
06. Zutto... - This song has grown on me, I really enjoy the dramatic medieval sounding chorus harking back to the Duty era.
07. Out of Control - Must be one of the most misleading song titles ever because this song is just as pedestrian as they come.
08. Story - Can't even muster up an opinion.
09. THE GIFT - Can't even listen to this all the way through. It's so boring and disappointing considering how much Ayu hyped it up.
10. The Show Must Go On - *wakes out of coma* No words just


11. Walk - Sorry can't even listen to this as The Show Must Go On is repeat but I remember this song from December being boring and unremarkable.

Overall: Pleasantly surprised.

[Deep snow]

My third-world Internet connection says I have three more minutes until my download of the album is complete
From most of the previews I think I'm going to really like this album. God I hope I didn't just jinxed that.

[280301]

1. a bell - as the only intro/interlude on the album, it does its job well.
2. WARNING - I didn't like WARNING initially, but as soon as I heard it roar after a bell, just wow. There is an element of 'what in the world is this song doing here' after hearing the entire album, it's themes being completely different from the others songs featured, but hey, it's a great opener.
3. NO FUTURE - an experimental wonder. THE GUITARS, THE GUITARS!
4. Anything for You - Ayu kept this unheard until a preview was posted a few days ago for a reason and I'm glad she did. It's beautiful, truly a grand ballad.
5. Last Minute - Perhaps the song that has suffered the most in terms of its tracklist placement, coming after NO FUTURE and Anything for You, it truly does not shine. It is still a great song, but I wish it had been used later on to break up the ballad section. Mixing is still a bit on the 'meh' side.
6. Zutto... - Enjoyable, it displays the emotion of yearning that no other song on this album achieves, making its placement effective. However, it does sound boring at times, following Ayu's typical ballad formula that we've heard again and again.
7. Out of Control - Has interesting musical elements, but is a bit of a bore.
8. Story - Could be placed on MY STORY (I wonder if this is its inspiration?), my favourite ballad on the album and will end up being my most played from this album overall.
9. The GIFT - I'm one of those people who liked this from the beginning, it has its own place in Ayu's discography, and really adds a simplicity/breather that the album needs at this point following all those major ballads.
10. The Show Must Go On - My favourite of the original previews, this song delivered. It truly, truly did, it is the contemporary AUDIENCE for 'new' Ayu. It's noisy, but it's just so glorious in its abrasiveness.
11. Walk - A proper ender, I love the progression.
12. Movin' on Without You - A great cover, I'm glad she tacked this on because the album does require more uplift.

Tell all is really going to be a breaker here. It really has the ability to take this album from Excellent to WOW.

[Tom Punks]

I am apparently in the minority of AHS members who don't like Ayu making really dated music lol... so my review will reflect that.

I'm mixed on the album. It's better than LOVE again but the multitude of dreary, schmaltzy ballads really drags it down... a lot. There are, what, 3 upbeat tracks (not counting the afterthought tacked-on Movin' on without you)? And two of those are very similar, with similar buildups, arrangements, and overall style. The other one, WARNING, doesn't remotely fit into this album. It's a shame.

It's also her first album that doesn't really have an identity of its own, which is sad to me...

01 a Bell: This is pretty lovely and reminds me of Kingdom Hearts. It fits the album but really fails as an intro to WARNING.
02 WARNING: SOOO out of place on this album lol. This song is OK, but honestly by the second verse it's pretty much done all it's going to do. It doesn't excite me personally, which is sad because I usually cum for her rock tracks.
03 NO FUTURE: My main gripe with this song is how PAINFULLY dated it is. It'd be fine on LOVEppears or ASFXX or Love songs even since that was Love songs' shtick, but for an Ayumi Hamasaki song in 2015 it's... archaic to say the least. A different arrangement might've fixed that, but I don't mind the arrangement itself, and the verse is kind of a big part of the problem too. Anyway, I like the soaring chorus and the buildup to the chorus and how it releases, but I REALLY dislike how the song cycles three full times. It's just too long. But I'm in the minority here who also doesn't think longer = better lol. IN SHORT, one of the better songs on the album, but I really hate that it's on this album and that she's still releasing songs that sound like this at this stage in music lmao.
04 Anything for You: It's better than the preview made it out to be! Very schmaltzy but the key change at the end helps it along a bit. Way too long. I think she sounds really emotionally vacant though... idk, I don't like the vocal delivery here at all.
05 Last minute: This song has grown on me since the CDL performance and PV, but the mixing is still so goddamn TRAGIC. For that reason, this song will never be a "good Ayu song" imo. The CDL performance with edited vocals is great though lmao. The song could've benefited so much from getting a new, COMPETENT mix, so that you can actually hear the main vocal track in the chorus, and taking out those lame "YEAHS" and whatever other vocalizations that ruin the mood of the lyrics.
06 Zutto...: Again, the CDL performance is better than the CD version. The mix is so much better at CDL and her vocals were so serene sighs. I don't mind this song much now, but I wouldn't notice if it just ceased to exist.
07 Out of control: I usually love these Last Links/call-esque tracks, and this one is fine, but it doesn't grab me so much. idk, maybe I'm just oversaturated with this type of track? She's had so many by now.
08 Story: I don't get the love for this one at all. It's just meaning of Love lol.
09 The GIFT: idk, this is so forgettable I have nothing to say about it anymore.
10 The Show Must Go On: HOLY SHIT is this annoying and gives me a headache... which is really sad because there's only THREE TRACKS THAT AREN'T BALLADS on this album as is. The buildup to the first chorus is identical to snowy kiss; the grating, screeching nature of the chorus is too similar to snowy kiss. If you didn't know, snowy kiss is as far as I'm concerned the absolute worst song she's EVER made, so you can pretty much guess my opinion on this track.
11 Walk: Not worth even acknowledging her.
12 Movin' on without you: I don't know what to really say about this, since it was obviously tacked on as a last-second afterthought, maybe because they saw people bitching about the nonstop onslaught of ballads on this album? lmao. Anyway, I actually weirdly like Ayu dabbling in EDM, so Colours was a fun album for me. This song is more in that vein, and I think it's decent although I don't know if I'll ever go out of my way to listen to it.

tl;dr: My main gripes are the dreary ballads and how dated everything (especially the upbeat songs) are. There isn't a single song I'd say I love or can fully praise... I think it's about time she ditched TK compositions and Yuta Nakano arrangements and found someone fresh to work with. I'm sure there are plenty of people who align with her sound that would die to write for her lol.

It's nice that AHS is happy with this album, but I really don't think my taste aligns with AHS's taste at all. This album is just a retread of 1999-2002 and Love songs for me. It's so dated and a bit bland. The sounds she used for RAINBOW, (miss)understood, NEXT LEVEL, etc. were much more interesting.

[SKYia]

Mine is very long but if you want to check it out here's the link:

http://sky-fits-heaven.blogspot.com/...um-review.html

[Darkifrit]

1. a bell - I like it. The melody does sound similar to Story. I could see this track as an interlude, not as an intro.
2. WARNING - I like the song but she has better rock songs. It's a good song to introduce the album.
3. NO FUTURE - I love the chorus. This song is great.
4. Anything for You - So beautiful ballad, i love everything. The first chorus is a reminiscence of Walk but the song has a really different atmosphere. I'm not even bothered by the 7 minuts lenghts.
5. Last Minute - It was one of the best surprise of 2014. I adore this song. The PV is simple but i love it. So much emotions on this song. It's a better version of Memorial adress.
6. Zutto... - A great classical winter ballad. I love it. The PV is great too.
7. Out of Control - Good song. I like the chorus and the break.
8. Story - My favourite ballad of the album. It's adorable and emotional. I'm glad she finally released a song with this title. It could have been include on MY STORY.
9. The GIFT - b-o-r-i-n-g. The PV is cute though
10. The Show Must Go On - Addicting. I love the verses and the chorus which are quite different. One of my fav new songs from the album.
11. Walk - It's a beautiful song. The more i listen to it, the more i love it.
12. Movin' on Without You - I'm glad this song was include. It's a great cover with a good beat. Better than the original for sure.


A ONE is a really nice album. It sounds like a collection of what she did the best since her debut, influences from Memorial adress (Last Minute), MY STORY (Story), Love songs (TK ballads), Love Again (TSMGO) and Colours (Mowy).
The album doesn't surprise that much but from the first listen, it's already a classic in her discography.
I'm really happy with it :-) I can't wait to listen to the new version of Tell all.

[love in music]

a Bell - It's pretty but I just don't see the point of it. If the next song was a ballad then okay, but it doesn't fit before WARNING.

WARNING - This song is sooo catchy. The lalalai's keep getting stuck in my head. I love it. 9/10

NO FUTURE - I LOVE her vocals here. This sounds so classic ayu. Like an a-side she could have released in 1999. I love her high pitched vocals 9/10 (would be 10/10 but the ending brought it down a bit. I'm getting tired of her ending songs like that)

Anything for You - I can't believe this song is almost 7 minutes long. It doesn't seem like it at all. Pretty ballad, but nothing that wow-ed me. Sounds like it'd be a good ending song 7/10

Last Minute - Yeah, I'm still in love with this song. I've been playing it like crazy since it came out. 10/10

Zutto... - I liked this when it came out, but I think it was just because I wanted any winter ballad. Listening to it again, it's really not that great.. and her vocals get annoying. 5/10.

Out of Control - This is one of my favorites. The melody makes me want to cry. I need to check out the lyric translation to this one because it sounds really emotional. 10/10

Story - No. just no. Her voice sounds horrible here and it's such a typical generic ballad. Ugh. 1/10

The GIFT - Boring. Not the worst, but still.. it sucks whenever she releases boring/bland ballads like this because she's ayu and we all know what type of ballads she's capable of. 4/10

The Show Must Go On - Holy shit. Everything about this song blew my mind. It's such a badass track! Best song on the album. Totally takes me into another world. 1000/10

Walk - I still love this. It's such a beautiful and emotional ballad and I love how it builds. 8/10

Movin' On Without You - I wound up loving this more and more with each listen. It's so catchy. 8/10

So yeah.. there's a couple duds but I'm not really upset because of how good the other stuff is. The amazing stuff is some of her best work and I know I'll be replaying the crap out of. Compared to her last few albums, this one has more good stuff to offer in my opinion. Great work, ayu.

[Honey_Jae]

1. a bell - A wonderful interlude and I like the atmosphere.
2. WARNING - Great rock song. Like the "lalala" part and the rest as well.
3. NO FUTURE - One of my favorites. Love the verse.
4. Anything for You - Best Ballad I ever heard. Got an gooseflesh all over my body and could cry. It's wonderful. 7 Minutes pure emotions
5. Last Minute - Not one of my favorites. Can hear but not more.
6. Zutto... - Wonderful ballad. Can hear it all the time.
7. Out of Control - I like it. It's a wonderful song.
8. Story - My third favorite Ballad on this Album. It's wonderful to listen.
9. The GIFT - Don't know. It's a great song but I think I can't listen very often
10. The Show Must Go On - Like it, love it.
11. Walk - Love this Song on her Single and I'm glad that it is on her Album.
12. Movin' on Without You - Was not my favorite from Hikaru Utada but Ayu does great work. It's nice that this is on her Album because I don't wanna buy the Cover Album.

For all - I love this Album! One of her best in a few years. Awesome!

[Deep snow]

Overall impression: A grand return to her "roots". Almost everything about this album is perfect. I haven't felt this strongly about an ayu album since Rock'n'Roll Circus.

Pleasant surprise: When I first heard the previews of all songs, the track list looked weird because it didn't seem to "flow" correctly. After a listen to the 12 songs I gotta say the track listing worked. Somehow.

Reservation: Anything for You. Basically a rip-off of Walk to me. And seven minutes long. Jesus.

Favorite: (1) The Show Must Go On: This song is CRAZY WONDERFUL OKAY GUYS. (2) Story: it's kind of on par with walking proud/part of Me. (3) NO FUTURE: This is the part of 90s I actually want to hear, TK. WHY DON'T THESE GEMS HAVE VIDEO CLIPS

[xLuna&1LOVE]

a Bell is very nice, allthough it does not connect with WARNING.
WARNING definetely stands out and I like it. Bit out of place in the tracklist, but it is not that it would fit somewhere else. She made her point, so it is a strong beginning.
NO FUTURE is great. Cannot say much about it, I just like it.
Anything for You is nice, I hope I can keep enjoying it. I like her voice in this ballad.
Last minute is my favourite song. It's so good.
Zutto... is allright, the pitch bothers me a little.
Out of Control is a bit forgetable, but nice too.
Story is also a nice song. Do not care very much about it.
The GIFT I really need the pv to focus on this song. It is a great song tho, but I do not pay as much attention to it, as I should.
The Show Must Go On is fucking dreadful. What the fuck.
Walk is Anything For You and Story's baby. Or something else. Was never really fond of Walk, but I cannot say it is awful. Just a bit boring.
Movin' on without you Talking about a track 'out of place' but I am glad it is included on the album.

Overall I think she did great with this album. I am happy

[koumori]

a Bell: I like this. Ayu has always had two main sides to her - the elegant and delicate part, and then the kick-ass queen. This intro to the album leading into WARNING was like this album was meant to represent both of these parts - that's just the impression I recieved.
WARNING: Catchy, although a little repetitive by the end. I liked the echoed long notes during the chorus and her vocals sound strong.
NO FUTURE: I really liked this! Her vocals are nice and it builds up nicely to the more dramatic end. The song almost gets a little repetitive but the last two minutes makes up for it.
Anything for You: I really liked the preview, and the whole song is beautiful. I loved the key change near the end and Ayu's voice holds up well. Despite being 7+ minutes long, it doesn't feel that way. Given Ayu's ballads are very hit and miss with me, I'm pretty impressed.
Last minute: I liked Last minute the best out of the Zutto... single, but I've listened to it a lot since then and it sounds a bit tired in the midst of all the new songs. I'm also a bit iffy about the song placement from here onwards in the album... but it's still a solid song nonetheless.
Zutto...: It's a nice song, but that's about it. It drags slightly and I was looking forward to it ending.
Out of Control: I think I would have enjoyed this more if it hadn't been after Zutto.... The album at this point started to merge into a blurry tracklist after the great beginning of a Bell-WARNING-NO FUTURE-Anything for You and although Out of Control is nice, I feel it lacks a part that can make it stand out for itself amongst other medium ballads.
Story: Another medium ballad and it begins to just get a bit same-ish at this point. Nice chorus and Ayu's vocals are good but there's nothing particularly memorable about it right now.
The GIFT: I love the piano in this. Although I think I enjoyed this less because of the batch of songs before it, the intro and outro are still gorgeous and it is a nice little ballad.
The Show Must Go On: I love it! It really wakes up the album and Ayu genuinely sounds like she's having fun with this one. Can't wait to see it live.
Walk: It's a 'nice' song but with Story and Out of Control already filling the slots of 'nice medium ballads'... I feel The Show Must Go On should have closed the album, or perhaps been placed different to break up all the ballads. Walk is nice but it just feels like the album fell asleep half-way through, woke up near the end only to nap again.
Movin' On Without You: A last minute (no pun intended) addition to the album, I do like this cover but it felt out of place at the end here. I feel it could have done better near the middle of the album. Still an excellent cover song nonetheless

I'm looking forward to hearing the new version of Tell All, but in the meantime I'll give this album a 6.5/10. There's some really good songs here but unfortunately overall the tracklist fell flat for me in the middle. Still a good album and I think it'll grow on me a lot more over another few listens, but this is my first impression post.

[tasking]

Well, my tastes have officially changed. I can't even sit through a whole new Ayu album anymore; I can only be arsed to listen to the new songs that haven't already been released to the public on a single or in a PV. And even then, I'm extremely bored.

Yup, I loved Colours, but found A ONE an absolute snorefest.

/waves bai bai to the Ayu fandom amongst sticks and stones and runs like hell >_>;

Seriously though, I guess at least for me, you could compare this to Kim Junsu's first two studio albums. His first album was absolutely on point. It had the perfect mix of upbeat dance tracks, sexy slow songs, and ballads, which are all Junsu's forte. Not to mention, the MV for Tarantallegra was stunning, as well as the album art. It was something new and different than his previous work in DBSK/JYJ, and interesting. For me, this was Colours. Even though it was mostly dance tracks, it was Ayu stepping out of her comfort zone and working with new people, right down to the album art with Alvin Goh.

Then you had Junsu's second album, Incredible. Junsu had since found his love and success in musicals, and this album reflected that. 80% of it was ballads, and therefore felt like one big track. This is A ONE for me. Ayu's going back to her comfort zone: ballads. Not only do the songs sound the same (the rock songs sound the same, the ballads sound the same), but they don't stand out and sound like everything else in her discography. Even the PVs remind me of something else she had already done. But I guess it was already established that this was going to be A ONE's approach from the get-go, with the album being released on her anniversary and Ayu finding her roots again recording in Tokyo. That being said, I do like The Show Must Go On however, even though it bares a striking resemblance to snowy kiss - but then I liked that song as well.

Also, it didn't help with avex uploading literally EVERYTHING sans the makings of beforehand. Some could argue that I didn't have to listen to the previews - which I didn't - or watch the PVs, but it's kinda hard when everybody else does and rants about how good or bad it is and then it messes up your expectations going in. I guess for the next release I'll just unfriend everybody.

(Just kidding! )

[Zeke.]

WARNING is a nice return to form but it SURE AS FUCK is NOT better than Microphone.

and Story sure as Hell isn't comparable to walking proud.

[DaNNy_aYu]

OMG!! NO FUTURE and Show must go on are AMAZING!! I love this album!!!

[everlastingRAINBOW]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

WARNING is a nice return to form but it SURE AS FUCK is NOT better than Microphone.

Microphone is sex in the form of a song. WARNING is like a really boring version of 1 LOVE.

[SunshineSlayer]

Ok, I totally stayed away from previews and the music videos and I think this album is.....bland, bland, bland. It makes Love Again appear lively by comparison. >_< A lot of the tracks sound just way too much a like.

It's not a good sign when one of the best tracks on the album is a cover of someone else's song.

I thought Colours was a step in the right direction, but now it feels like 1 step forwards and two (or 3 or 4..) steps backwards.

Maybe it will grow on me...

[truehappiness]

I think it will grow.

Took a bit for previews to warm up for me, at least.

[Ayumiko]

ok after listening to the whole album like 3 times, here is my review...

a Bell - absolutely love this opening. If it turns into a full track one day, that would be so awesome!!

WARNING - I'm probably one of the few who doesn't like this song. Too repetitive for me...but I like her voice here.

NO FUTURE - This song sound so dated...is this by TK? Don't like this one too.

Anything for You - Beautiful opening...but kinda boring

Last Minute - Still my favorite...so much emotion

Zutto... - liked it already when it was released as a single.

Out of Control - Didn't like it at first till the bridge part kicked in. Listened to the song a few times and it grew on me. I feel like this song could be on RAINBOW...or something.

Story - Nice ballad....decent...not great not bad.

The GIFT - a nicer ballad than Story

The Show Must Go On - another dated sounding track...and sounds too much like snowy kiss...never liked snowy kiss

Walk -its ok...doesn't stand out

Movin' On Without You - loved ayu's version

Favorite tracks on the album: a bell, last minute, out of control, the gift, movin' on without you

Overall: Its a decent album. Colours was definitely better. I think I'll combine both albums on my playlist, removing feel the love, XOXO, hello new me, and add in a bell, last minute, zutto, out of control, the gift, and movin' on without you

[Larisa-chan]

Already posted a similar comment in another thread, but this album reminds me of Love Again and it bores me. I like about 3 songs: No Future, The Show Must Go On, Anything for You. Last Minute is ok, but I've heard it so much since it was released. Also, Warning is ok only because it's not a ballad. The lyrics in this album are really strong, but it's a pity that there are about 90823409284 ballads in this album. Drags so much.

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Ok, I totally stayed away from previews and the music videos and I think this album is.....bland, bland, bland. It makes Love Again appear lively by comparison. >_< A lot of the tracks sound just way too much a like.

It's not a good sign when one of the best tracks on the album is a cover of someone else's song.

I thought Colours was a step in the right direction, but now it feels like 1 step forwards and two (or 3 or 4..) steps backwards.

Maybe it will grow on me...

I agree, and it scares me a little that AHS loves this so much because it's just... such a bland direction to encourage Ayu in? I guess I just don't get why everyone is praising it SO much, I mean do we REALLY want her to continue in this direction of albums bloated to the brim with schmaltzy soundalike ballads and rehashes of that one non-ballad track from Love songs for the umpteenth time? IDK, I just really don't get the hype. Not because I don't like the album (though I don't), but because musically it sounds like a retread of Love songs, LOVE again, and even LOVEppears at parts. Maybe I just didn't realize that so many people preferred this late 90s anime music sound for Ayu. I've always seen Ayu's distinct sound as the big pop stuff she did from RAINBOW through Rock'n'Roll Circus (and Party Queen). To me, this is not at all Ayu's sound or style. But I guess it is to AHS and that's why we disagree?

I know AHS doesn't like Colours, but despite its major shortcomings it was much more in line with the music she made from 2005-2010. The music she made once she had fully settled into her role as a behemoth pop songstress and fully realized her style. But this album is a step back to a sound that predates those albums. It feels rudimentary and untrue to Ayu's trademark sound.

I can understand liking the individual songs--like, I don't think NO FUTURE is altogether* bad. But is it really appropriate for 2015? No, music has moved past this sound. It's dated and cheesy. It could have been a kick-ass track on LOVEppears or I am... but this is pop and you can't just keep churning out music that doesn't fit with the current times. It just doesn't work like that.

That's why I don't understand the A ONE love. A lot of it would have been fine in 1999, but pop music has moved so far past this. Ayu once moved past this. But now she's regressed and it's stale.