Looking back at 2012

[ll moments ll]

i think the only release i truly enjoyed was again. LOVE was a pretty decent release. i don't listen to Party Queen anymore. i don't really keep up with her live performances anymore, so i don't really have an opinion on TV performances or her tours.

she's been in the decline for me for years with the only exception being the Love songs era, so i don't know...i guess as a fan i'm happy with the fact she's releasing new material, but at the same time, they're not particularly exciting releases for me.

yep.

[setsuka]

weirdest year in her careeeeeeeeeeeeeer

released some of her worst songs ever :how beautiful you are and YOU&ME

and some of her best up-beat tracks : Shake It and NaNaNa

...for me it was good music wise but I can't lie my stanning of her shrink a bit this year because it was such a freakin mess

still overall loooking forward to 2013, even tho the first release of the year is not a good one

[jang-kun]

total tacky mess. the covers of Party Queen say so. but hey, AHS was so hyped during its release. like, a tiny bit of info released was like an atomic bomb dropping. lol

overall, the best pvs for me are Sweet scar followed by Return Road. best songs are 1)Sweet scar 2)Return Road 3)snowy kiss 4)Missing 5)reminds me

best release for me this year is again. best covers are Party Queen LOVE. best booklet A SUMMER BEST. best shoot NUMERO.

a-nation and HLS yet to know. lol that BRILLANTE performance was like, omg ayu what happened to you.


oh well.

[ayu_ready?]

music-wise, I like again as a whole. I also like Song 4 U. the PVs are wost in her career after PQ Timmy PVs. except Missing PV, it was beautiful
RR should have been released as a single. loved it

her vocal is suffering and she needs to do something with it.it is so for my ears

happy she finally looks good again and is with long hair, XD

her lyrics are finally something new with again release. need more of that

I couldn't care less about her personal life if her lover wasn't feautured everywhere and surrounded with scandals, other than that, I've always liked Maro, but now MaroxAyu are too much everywhere and it makes me sick

glad she let go of Timmy, even if it is just for a bit

I miss her good TA entries and twitter activity also
I miss her presence in mags and she better not appear live with that vocal

I hope she starts anew with 2013 and does something good for her image she has really spoiled this year

[visionfactory]

Good things:

Party Queen So experimental, I love it!!
A SUMMER BEST I love it!!! I always wanted a summer collection from Ayu!!
LOVE This was a fine album better than Love Songs, nothing special
again Every song is so good!!

Bad things:

Party Queen CD+DVD cover, Timmy everywhere
A SUMMER BEST The weird pose from the cover maybe though it's fine
LOVE The title, LOVEppears, LOVE -Destiny-, Love Songs, Hotel Love Songs and now just "LOVE"
again The covers were shoot the same day from Missing PV

I wasn't really into Ayu lately, I was mostly focused on Idols and Ami Suzuki for 2010-2011 but this year releases caught my attention and now I feel an Ayu fan more than ever ^_^

[amorphose]

Party Queen was tolerable. (Return Road & Tell me why are both instant classics.) But literally everything else released this year was dreadful and I really think instead of speeding up these hurried, money-milking releases, what Ayu needs to do is go on a good old fashioned creative hiatus cause this year has just been way too full of lol'z.

[pimenta]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Videos:

Among my all time Ayu's favorite:
Sweet Scar

Good videos:
You & Me, Wake me up, Snowy Kiss

Indiferent videos:
NaNaNa, Shake it <3, Return Road, Missing, Song 4 U

Love the message, and this makes me like it a little more than I should:
How beautiful you are


Ayu's videos tend to be very hit or miss to me, so, no surprise here... Since 2008 I only loved 5 of her videos, so...

TV lives

Everything was ok... I don't care much about her TV lives, or jpop TV lives.


Concerts

The Power of Music: Her best concert ever paired with Rock n Roll Circus. This concert is a high level lesson on performance. Period.

CDL Hotel Love Songs: Her voice was amazing, but it seemed to be somewhat unfinished costume and choreography-wise... I believe the AT version won't feel like that. Still, it was very entertaining and I loved the setlist.

A-Nation: It was also very entertaining, but not really the best IMO (my favorites are 2008, 2009 and 2010)

Still... I'm comparing her to herself, all of her concert performances released this year were pretty much top level performances by any standart in pop music. IMO, this is were she always shines the most.

wow, this part is almost the same for me!!
Just the songs I would put it differently:

Among my all time Ayu's favorite:
Eyes, Smoke, Magic, Snowy Kiss, Return Road, Ivy, Letter

Good music:
Reminds me, Tell me why, Missing, Melody, call, Song 4 u, Sweet Scar

Really catchy:
Party queen, NaNaNa, Shake It♥, You & Me, Wake me up

Indiferent music:
How Beautiful You Are, the next LOVE


Musically, this year was awesome and the concerts were great!
It's sad that there was too much controversy as well

[JackieRos]

I really think this year wasn't her best year at all.

[harufi]

Here are my two cents
CDL1112 ~HOTEL LOVE SONGS~(TV broadcast + DVD) - really enjoyed it even if it felt kind of rushed.
how beautiful you are (digital single) - i wasn't really into this because we'd just had far too many ballads lately, but i love love loved the cover it grew on me more after listening to PQ for a while, and now i think its a good song, just not standout.
Power of Music (DVD + Bluray) - second only to R'n'RC tour to me, and i prefer the version of M she performed to the original <3 i love the jazzy spin she put on some songs.
Party Queen (album + 4 new videos) - i don't care what people think i really dig this album. i haven't listened to it for a while but its still my most played Ayu album. i liked the concept and how diverse it was. the only songs i find myself skipping occasionally are call and letter, because i just think she has far better songs of that sound already. HBYA PV is nice and simplistic but nothing i'd rave over. return road kicks serious ass and is up there as one of my favourites. NaNaNa had potential to be a better video with the camera they used but nevermind. Shake It was just hilarious (not in a good way).
A SUMMER BEST (compilation + You & Me + one new video + some unseen old performances) - this felt so unecessary back when it was released and it still does now. the DVD with unseen a-nation performances etc. could've been released as one of the 15th anniversary releases and i think fans would've appreciated it more. oh well, quick and easy way for Avex to make money i guess. You & Me was great during the summer but i can't listen to it much outside of that, its just a bit too tacky for me. PV was...okay. enjoy it more now as a trilogy.
You & Me + Greatful Days at FNS (performance) - watched when it came out and can't remember much.
a-nation '12 (multiple TV broadcasts, two different edits) - the setlist wasn't what i would've picked but its possibly the most summery set ever haha (with the exception of BRILLANTE). i LOVED how she started, with Timmy singing english lyrics of evolution as an intro, and how she went back into evolution. she sounded good and i really liked her outfits. glad she danced during You & Me! i want her to dance again in her PVs so baaad (not all the time, its just a bit a bit more fun and a nice break from her serious ones). this is the first a-nation i've watched fully so i can't really compare to others, but this one just screamed SUMMER!!
Kishidan Concert (not aired yet) - i hope we get to see this at some point
Arena Tour 2012 ~HOTEL LOVE SONGS~ (DVD/Bluray not yet announced, concert not aired on TV) - I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS!!
Song 4 u (XILLIA2 Ver.) (digital single) - only Ayu could get away with releasing a track like this and have it chart so highly on iTunes :L
LOVE (EP + 2 videos) - i thought it was great - and then again came along and floored it. Missing is incredible, Song 4 u great and i've took to Melody more than i expected. solid release, but could've done with one more track and been a little lighter on the remix side. PVs were very beautiful...but i wanted a fight with the queens on song 4 u haha.
Song 4 u at Hey!Hey!Hey! (performance) - she sounded okay, not great but not terrible. i really loved the staging with the chess floor and dancers don't know whether its just me but i don't think anyone sounds great on TV lives.
SEASONS at FNS (performance) - man, i'm really not a fan of this song to begin with which really didn't help :p even so...it made me feel kind of sad she sounded slow and frail to me and kind of made me realize how old she is and stuff, i always think of her being mid-20s and stuff.
again (EP + 3 videos) - just... Wake me up is up there as one of her best. Sweet Scar is a throwback to RAINBOW and i love it. snowy kiss was a surprise! could've been shorter but really great track anyway Ivy is one of those track i forget about, like meaning of Love but nvm. PVs were...mainly disappointing. enjoyed them, but i wanted something more like Sparkle/Rule for Wake me up. really liked the one shot of sweet scar though.

overall, i don't think she's had a bad year. just a very, very unusual one.

[jyujiw]

Party Queen is one of her most enjoyable albums so far, it really flows very well when complete. It's very strange taking one song or another, it kinda breaks the story of the album. Her voice is amazing and it was very nice seeing her taking a breath of fresh air in the next LOVE and E,S,M. Such underrated songs imo =/

CDL 2011-2012 and PoM were extraordinary, since the PCDL I didn't enjoyed a CDL so much and PoM made me cry many times, it's a simple concert, not in the style that I like, but the meaning behind of it made everything very special and meaningful.

TV appearances = blah.

The second half was pretty confusing, but I liked a lot "LOVE" and "again", I don't think it's her best work ever, but they were pretty joyful to hear.

About PVs, definitely it's her worst year imo xD
This is something I can't really defend.
Only Sweet scar made it through.

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by pommy48

You know how people block out traumatic experiences from their memories?

Well that's how 2012 was for me

[George]

Ayu is going through what seems like a midlife crisis.

[AyUmIXx]

i'm pretty satisfied for the whole year of 2012. just that ayu lacks of TV promotions.

[koumori]

For me, it's not been the best year of her career.

[Leaf King]

There were some good things, and there were some bad things.
The best of all was the POWER of MUSIC DVD release.