Favorite Time During a Release/Being a Fan

[emi♡]

So, let me explain lol I just added all my ayu albums back into my media player, and I've been getting nostalgic.

And BLUE BIRD just came on :spazz

And I was telling a friend that I just realised how much I love everything about this song, and this release. It was such a happy time for me, and even here at AHS, I think, iirc, this was a pretty positive release, with good vibes all around.

And the PV! Naturally Gorgeous Ayu in that PV!

I think there might have been some negativity over Beautiful Fighters, but who cares!

Anyway, back to the...weird thread. BLUE BIRD was just, I think my favorite time being an ayu fan. Was a happy time, with good songs, and all that good stuff.


So, do you guys have a favorite time around a release, or just a time when you loved being a fan?

[bondingo]

I think the releases of m(u) and Secret might have been my favorite times as a fan. m(u) was the first Ayu album to be released after I became a fan, so it was a very new experience, and Secret was great because we all thought it was going to be a mini-album, but then it wasn't, and we were instead given an album with probably her best PVs as a whole and where almost every song was fantastic. m(u) is a great album but still had its fair share of stinkers (In The Corner and beautiful day, etc.).

[jewelbox]

(m)u , listening to is this LOVE? for the first time was amazing. NEX LEVEL because that album made me her fan again.

[HilaryDuffFanboy]

GUILTY for sure.
I went to Japan for the first time when GUILTY was released. Went to my first CDL. It was amazing to go to the big Shibuya intersection and see massive GUILTY poster as well as lots of other GUILTY billboards around Tokyo.

I went again when Love songs was released and promotion was nowhere near as heavy

[Chritopher]

Secret and Guilty era because of tons of great and not so great TV performances I was looking forward to.

[xLuna&1LOVE]

The GUILTY area was just... wow. I go-t several heart attacks i guess. No, just kidding. But I believe I haven't felt that excited in my entire ayu-fandom.

Last best time? That exciting feeling of download the PQ album.

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

The discovering ayu part was the best part for me. Finding out about her, her works, and finding amazing things, about her personality and how beautiful she is as a human being, and her strength, omg so many things...

Too bad I was just a bit too late for the release of BLUE BIRD, my first ayu release as a fan was A BEST 2, which was amazing to me, got to discover her through this release and her passed 2 albums.

[ayuuk]

GUILTY and NEXT LEVEL
I happened to be traveling in Japan when GUILTY was released. Saw lots of posters, heard the music play in many places.

Then I went to Japan for NEXT LEVEL, my first time seeing Ayu live!! Everything was amazing. Also went to the CDL for the first time, and cried during You were... and Pride. Really miss those times!!

[toniayu]

mmm...i think NEXT LEVEL

[LONJJONG]

the release of MY STORY.
Because I have been a "true" fan since Moments so I have not experienced any heartbeats of new album releasing. And when MY STORY was announced, I was really happy and told my dad to buy the album~ When I got it on my hand, I saw it for seconds. It's really exciting!!

And then I began to memorize all of her discography and collected the scans etc. <3~
And also when I bought RAINBOW album. I have always wanted it!

[Jason]

I'd have to say... between when I initially got into her (late 2002) to right around the time Secret came out.

When I got into her she already had 4 albums out that I instantly fell in love with when I listened to them. And then there was RAINBOW, Memorial address, MY STORY and (miss)understood. It just seemed like she could do no wrong! She never failed to amaze me.

But then there was Secret. That album let me down a lot. I mean, I was excited that we were getting a full album instead of a mini album and all but throughout the entire time I listened to it I just didn't feel that usual spark her previous albums had. The whole album just felt lifeless.

However, GUILTY came around and perked me back up again. I still love Ayu and I always will but there'll never be the same excitement I felt between RAINBOW and (miss)understood.

[Minttulatte]

Oh, I love these threads. I love to read topics like these because everyone's nostalgic stories makes me feel nostalgic too.

Hmm, I became a fan in 2006, few months after (miss)understood was released but I didn't follow her at first so much so I didn't even know Secret was to be released. I found out of that about 2 weeks before it was released. I can say that even though I never worshipped Secret as much as I worship (miss)understood, I have nothing bad to say about this era either. Secret PVs were really beautiful. I remember I couldn't stop watching momentum PV because the song was amazing and its PV was heartbreakingly beautiful too. I wish she could make another PV like this. ;___;

Actually, now that I think about it, Secret era might actually be my favorite time as a fan. I had just became a fan so I was excited about this and that even though the album itself wasn't a big wow moment eventually, but these days I think it's pretty good.

I also think that talkin' 2 myself/Together When... were good times for my fandom. Those two releases before an album were the last ones I was completely and hopelessly obsessed with. Then GUILTY came out and I was obsessed with it too. Those were good times even when I eventually overplayed GUILTY and its singles to the point I couldn't listen to those anymore an that's probably the reason why Mirrorcle World took a long time to grow on me. -.-'

Then, hmm... I think that next time when I was in a excited mode over an Ayu release was You were.../BALLAD in 2009. Those times were good as well because this single saved my fandom, so I really, really love whole Rock'n'Roll Circus era way too much~

And needless to say that Party Queen made me excited so much it made me feel nostalgic. I remembered when Secret and GUILTY were to be released and I was as impatient as hell. Luckily that painful waiting is over now. ;__;

[toniayu]

omg!!I love the tags hahahahahahaha

[Jennie Mae]

I think for me, it was the releases between 2004 and 2007, so like MY STORY, (miss)understood, and Secret. In those years, I lost connections with a lot of close friends and my Mom died, so I felt that Ayu was the only real connection I had with anybody, and I became a massive fan. I've since reconnected with my friends and made a lot of new ones, but all her songs about loneliness and loss bring me back to that time.
And then I think this current "era" is pretty fabulous because of Twitter. I mean, I've been able to talk to Ayu and wound up meeting her a few times solely because of Twitter. Being able to communicate directly to her (and Timmy and Leslie in my case) is mind blowing.

[Tom Punks]

Definitely Secret's release. I've never been so excited for an album in my life. I pretty much jizzed, hyperventilated, and probably cried the first time I heard JEWEL live, then saw the PV, then heard the 75-90 second previews, then heard the full songs, etc. And I was still listening to that album religiously by the time glitter/fated came out.

[MissElin_]

Originally Posted by HilaryDuffFanboy

GUILTY for sure.
I went to Japan for the first time when GUILTY was released. Went to my first CDL. It was amazing to go to the big Shibuya intersection and see massive GUILTY poster as well as lots of other GUILTY billboards around Tokyo.

Omg story of my life! That CDL was my first Ayu concert and I cried for like 7 songs. And everything you said about going to Japan for the first time and seeing the GUILTY promotion - same for me! And to buy the album directly from a store. Woah good fandom times!

A release that was amazing for me as a fan was also t2m/Together When... Everything was perfection and I played those previews over and over and over again.

I remember my first time I saw ST2002 for the first time too. It was epic. Like beyond epic.

And the first time I saw Ayu at all - Fly High PV from some russian streaming site (before the glorious times of YouTube). And to download her music via Kazaa that took over one week for just one song to be downloaded. But everytime new music managed to find my way to the computer I screamed. Good memories.

The most exciting time for me, was the release of Memorial Address. I'd only found out about her a few months prior to it, and I was just blown away by how fantastic the songs were on it. The music, the videos, the speculation, the artwork. Everything was just so amazing for me around that time. I'd never been so obsessed with an artist before and was just fascinated by how quickly and easily I was drawn into the hype of an album being released I still do get those feelings before an album or single, but it was very wow for me at the time, as it was all very new.

[No_Doubt]

Originally Posted by bondingo

I think the releases of m(u) and Secret might have been my favorite times as a fan. m(u) was the first Ayu album to be released after I became a fan, so it was a very new experience, and Secret was great because we all thought it was going to be a mini-album, but then it wasn't, and we were instead given an album with probably her best PVs as a whole and where almost every song was fantastic. m(u) is a great album but still had its fair share of stinkers (In The Corner and beautiful day, etc.).

This. I became a casual fan after the CAROLS single, but STEP you/is this LOVE? made me a super fan. The string of singles leading up to the release of (miss)understood, the (miss)understood album release, then the two singles before Secret and Secret suddenly becoming a full-length album instead of a mini? MAGICAL. My fandom was at it's peak in those days.

More recently, the period of time from the release of You were.../BALLAD all the way to the release of Love songs was another favourite time of being a fan. I genuinely love both the Rock'N'Roll Circus and Love songs albums. Two of her most accomplished albums in my opinion, everything about them is just perfect.

And finally, being a fan right now is AMAZING. Party Queen is a really quality release that has reinvigorated my love for Ayu. Since the album wasn't preceded by any proper physical singles, it feels like getting a ton of new music at once. I legit haven't heard this many new Ayu tracks at once since becoming a fan in late 2004 and discovering her back catalog for the first time.

[Delirium-Zer0]

"RAINBOW."

Ayu fandom-wise, this was the climax for me.

The singles leading up to the album were epic, even if remixes had suddenly died down (which disappointed EVERYONE). "independent," "HANABI," and "Free & Easy" are to this day 3 of my favorite ayu songs of all time, and they were a more raw style for her than usual so everyone was excited.

By the time RAINBOW came out, we'd just heard "Real me" in a D-Snap CM and this sudden use of English was intriguing to us. I remember everyone trying to understand what she said

The album came out around Christmas, so i was home from college on winter break. This album's release felt like a Christmas present even though I didn't actually own the album until much later. Christmasy arrangements like those for "Dolls" and "Close to you" really made it feel like Christmas to listen to the album.

I remember the rumors about the tracklist and the album's length leading up to the album, hearing the instrumental "RAINBOW" clip, and everyone being anxious for the "single" (which was originally the plan) of the full song to come out.

AHS was jumping at the time, I was working on my ayu discography/database with yaten at ayu-mi-x, and all of us really felt the high-tension atmosphere surrounding the album's release.

Good times, good times.

[haikudasai]

From before I am... released to a bit after Memorial address.

She was simply amazing then. The waiting games. The forums. The discussions. Even the members.