New singles Terminal & XOXO ~episode 2~

[stepYOU1234]

Maybe by releasing a recut single it takes the pressure off any new single Ayu releases because it has to do better than this?! Though if they have given up on keeping singles high in the charts then why did we not have any for a few years?

[KarenPang]

Terminal charts at #29 on the 4th day of release

http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/js/d/2014-10-03/more/4/

[pommy48]

Cause she didn't want to release singles anymore

Though I don't think giving us a bunch of mini-albums helped

[visionfactory]

I want to buy the single just for the gorgeous cover, and the last single I bought was talkin' 2 myself XD

[PrincessJenni]

Has anyone heard the XOXO remix yet? The two singles are confusing the living daylights out of me as to what is new and what isn't ~_~'

[mellody]

This HACKJACK mix for Terminal sounds something like she will use as a concert opener.

I'm not surprised if the first song for her next concert is Terminal, mixed with this HACKJACK mix one, just like Feel the love.

Anyway, let's forget about sales for a while and enjoy the song.

[orbitalaspect]

I had to call my best friend after seeing the 16, 19, 19 on daily. He introduced me to Ayu in 2006.

I think it is safe to say that Ayumi doesn't care about her career anymore. I don't know whether I should let her go or hope that something changes next year. But so far, 4 years after Ls, and a string of very, very bad decisions, I feel like a boyfriend hanging onto this relationship by a thread because I don't want to accept that it's actually over.

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by orbitalaspect

I had to call my best friend after seeing the 16, 19, 19 on daily. He introduced me to Ayu in 2006.

I think it is safe to say that Ayumi doesn't care about her career anymore. I don't know whether I should let her go or hope that something changes next year. But so far, 4 years after Ls, and a string of very, very bad decisions, I feel like a boyfriend hanging onto this relationship by a thread because I don't want to accept that it's actually over.

Me for so many years lol

Except I finally got over it and now we're just casual friends again lol

Anyway, after listening to the HACKJACK remix again, I find it totally pointless. The parts where her vocals were used are super awesome, the rest is just like... yeah, like someone else said, concert opener music. And just... idk. Just kinda generic. Well made but generic concert opener music.

[KarenPang]

I think for those whom have followed/supported her for a very long time , to see her career in this state now , even I don't have words to put just how I feel

And for my case I have followed/supported her since late 2005 which's almost close to 10 years . It's insane knowing that

1 part of me want to give up & not to continue supporting her anymore but another part of me choose to believe that hopefully she still has a little bit of hope in wanting a resurge in getting her career back + not just to let things deteriorate until it can't be salvaged any longer

[ayu_ready?]

Originally Posted by KarenPang

I think for those whom have followed/supported her for a very long time , to see her career in this state now , even I don't have words to put just how I feel

me too. I've followed her since 2001

[holy_arrow]

Originally Posted by KarenPang

I think for those whom have followed/supported her for a very long time , to see her career in this state now , even I don't have words to put just how I feel

And for my case I have followed/supported her since late 2005 which's almost close to 10 years . It's insane knowing that

1 part of me want to give up & not to continue supporting her anymore but another part of me choose to believe that hopefully she still has a little bit of hope in wanting a resurge in getting her career back + not just to let things deteriorate until it can't be salvaged any longer

Not only for the long time fans but also for me - the 2- years fan, I don't know how to describe Ayu in this era. Although I can see her effort, the good point in her recent music, I can't face the fact the result was so bad for the legend of Jpop...
I think that the release of this single isn't from Ayu's decision because It's lacking of everything that should be included in the single (PV, promotion, main theme) ! I'm still waiting for the her coming back and having the great time when she got the high result ... Please go on supporting Ayu as you used to ...

[channy]

Mhhhh. What does it take to make people stop thinking Ayu does not care about her career any longer? She's been chasing her pop-colleagues pitilessly for 16 years by now, she's releasing an epic trance-anthem like "Terminal", now continuing with the only reasonable next step, making it a single release and we are even likely to get more of this in the future.

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by kagami

It's really fucking rude to say Ayu doesn't care about her career. I can't stand that kind of thing. For shame.

I think it is easy to assume so because in the past it was clear that she had more FIRE and PASSION regarding her releases. Hell, it used to be so visual, so cross-promotional, more conceptualized and planned out. It seemed like she always had a concept, there was a LARGER picture to be seen and everything seemed consistent with getting that message across. That's what fascinated me. I have no doubt that my appreciation for strategic communication, branding, and creating concepts that reach into the depths of cross-promotional media was hugely inspired by watching the visionary "HAMASAKI AYUMI" evolve over the years as I came into adulthood. She was never an artist who was "just there," she had cultivated an entire universe around her image, her brand, her sound, and her fans. That's probably why I was so drawn to her; her image was so well crafted that she seemed to be a mirage of sorts.

Fast forward to the present, and there's little to no remnant of THAT "HAMASAKI AYUMI" today. I know people grow and change, but her brand and image has made a severe de-evolution recently and it just seems so... foreign. It's a head-trip that's for sure. In that environment she had created (which also translated well into her music, the ability to create soundscapes that constructed vast environments for the listener to become lost within), I felt unbelievably happy. I still feel the best when I can escape into her world and her music, making it part of my reality and my scenery. I often flashback to my thoughts and feelings regarding her "previous" states as they were "current" and how I compared them to that "past" and it was never quite like this. She seems virtually absent in a way. With Ayu and her music, I never felt lonely. Now it's as if an important character in my life has taken a far away trip and I'm uncertain as to when I will ever see or here from them again in the ways that I have in the past.

People can continue to act as if the fans who feel this way are overreacting, but the emotions we have are real and highly understandable. Ayu was always the megastar - anything but average - and for me she was unlike anyone or anything I had ever encountered before in my life. Now, her brand and her image seemingly continues to regress. I used to think in the past that I could never imagine the day she actually "fell" because even if she wasn't selling as much as time went on, her brand, her aura, her environment, her drive and her sense of concept continued to grow and excel. There's not much we can do but eventually I feel she may return with more passion than ever before. Even if the sales aren't there, when Ayu finds that creative drive and begins expanding upon her empire once again, I will be the first to walk through that door with pride.

[Zeke.]

She can try new things while staying true to her sound; there is a TON of variety over the course of her career yet it remained true to her image and brand in one way or another.

In the case of what keeps people holding on, it's because she still showcases her brilliance every now and then or slips a glimmer of hope and/or excitement into what are for the most part less-than-thrilling tracks. For example, Party Queen had reminds me which for me was so classic Ayu. Wake me up I believe is one of her best songs she has ever released and it was another case of "yes, this is who I fell in love with" - it was compared to Sparkle but it definitely was no copy-cat track. Tell All was another case of classic Ayu (although that bridge is atrocious). BRILLANTE, etc. There are MANY cases where Ayu releases something that clearly has her sound written all over it among a bunch of "new" material and the songs that show some sort of familiarity about them (just the SLIGHTEST) are always the most raved about. She can still try new things without abandoning her sound. It's still there, it's just less and less likely to come by. If I wanted something COMPLETELY different, THEN I'd go listen to another artist. That's the thing, Ayu is the only artist who can deliver "her sound" and I can't find that sound anywhere else - even though she is producing it less and less, the chances that SHE create something that infuses that magical HAMASAKI AYUMI sound into it is 1 million times better than any OTHER artist doing so. It is her sound and her ability to evolve that sound while remaining true to it that I've come to love for a large part of her career.

She is a J-Pop artist. I listen to her because she has always made really great J-pop. Colours was anything but...

It's like if you have this really great jazz musician you listen to and suddenly they started making country music.

[errikkutrancex]

I found this strange video concerning the plug air : maybe it is an instrumental version of the remix ??!!! I don't know...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuScl_lUtlk

[tsumekaze_]

I don't really care about it charting so low, it's a recut single, they never do well. Colours still sold a good deal of copies so yeah (y)

[Andrenekoi]

Oh, grow the fucking up. She released a recut single of eletronic music aimed to DJs and you guys act like she invented cancer.

[//ABEST]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Oh, grow the fucking up. She released a recut single of eletronic music aimed to DJs and you guys act like she invented cancer.

my thought exactly! shame on you saying she doesn't care if she didn't, why did she even release this? i feel like she's on stage of her career that she just wanna have fun! yes, it has only 3 track but all of them are awesome and i'm very pleased with this single

[Chris85]

She obviously cares about her career. She may not care about her sales. I'm so grateful she releases music and does concerts every year. Of course I'd love her to do promotion like she used to, but it's too much to ask. Thank God there's TeamAyu to keep me entertained.

[kinix]

If XOXO plug air edition and the bundle set were sold out on mu-mo means that it's a expected sales by avex so I don't think it's a bad thing. avex must have it's own way of marketing now. So nothing to really worry about. Charting really doesn't matter anymore as long as the music is still what I like. Unless she's releasing some shitty song then it's a different thing. Topping the chart might seem nice but it doesn't really say much of the song quality which is what matters the most wasn't it?