[Translation] ViVi Oct 2008 Ayumi Interview "Night Cruising in Hong Kong"

[isaac hiew]

Night Cruising in Hong Kong

The liner that ayu boarded goes to Victoria Bay.

“Scenery never before seen spreads” in front of her eyes.

We too, always were enjoying different kinds of sceneries whenever Ayu release a new song.

She always leads us boldly with hopes and dreams like a captain of the big ship.

It has been 10 years, and we will continue our journey with ayu regardless of the past or future.



“Oh, I have never seen that before.”

It was during the photo shooting session in an on-water restaurant that brims with fancy lights. Ayu said the above with a contented heart while checking the pictures taken a while ago, talking about the Hong Kong’s night views.

Standing in front of these very warm artificial lights, Ayu had long passed the usage of words like “cute” or “pretty” to describe her charming appearance. Instead she is full of vibrating energy, the kind of the force only possessed by a “star”. It could be a miracle after all these years in the music industry.

When we asked about the how she felt of her recently-ended concert tour in commemoration of her 10th year after debut of her music career, “Well, the atmosphere that the fans generate somehow differs a lot than last time.” She replied.

“It wasn’t just a simple sentence to describe it fully, like ‘congratulations for your 10th year anniversary’. I feel deeply that I have to cherish this year with everyone. Instead of thinking that I made something and let my fans receive it, it is more like a feeling of we cooperate on something together.”

“Therefore I naturally will listen to and take suggestions from my fans when it comes to designing the live performance or stage layouts. So in this year’s concert tour, I can really feel the sensation of interactivity and communication between me and my fans.”

“Take me for instance, I can only give so much when it comes to live performances, although I always give my best even when it comes to rehearsals and practices, and that makes it so imaginable and predictable every time. However, if a concert is a jigsaw puzzle, then the audiences are like the very last piece of the puzzle which completes the whole concert tour. When they really participate themselves into the concert; they sing, vibe, shout along with me and my band, we felt appreciated and fired-up. And it is a completely different experience from rehearsals! Especially this year’s.”

During September, there was a release of a compilation album that included all the singles since Ayu’s debut along with a DVD.

“The single that I have in mind the most? Well if you asked me in such a sudden manner, which shall be ‘Talkin’ 2 Myself’. But if you are asking the single that really talks about the memories that I had in these years, I would say it is ‘Dearest’… This is the song that changed the game. I became a singer simply because I love singing. There was a time that I can easily become happy just by singing, until the works of writing lyrics and composing songs became a duty.”

“Therefore if you ask me ‘Do you love singing?’ in the year 2001, I might not be able to answer honestly that ‘I do’… However this song kind of shows that even when I feel lost, I still love singing.”


“Music is so magical. When I listen to the song, all those sceneries like the temperature, the wind and of course the exhaustive feeling comes back to me like a movie. The memory itself always accompanies with the music.”

In these 10 years, Ayu always utilizes the music to convey her thoughts and feelings. But to herself, the music seemed made her “stronger regardless of bad or good things happening to her.”

“I always face my fans with honesty. I never lied to them and sadly to say, it is very hard to achieve that judging by the world that I am currently in. But I never did compromise. Maybe that’s why I felt stronger. That ‘strength’ does not only apply to protecting me, but also to everyone.”

“Of course, I sometimes do feel being bogged down and being restricted when there are simply too many things to preserve. But perhaps the reason of the inconvenience feeling is due to me enjoying a more carefree and relax situation than anybody else when it comes to my career’s performance.”

Ayu creates miracles wherever she was at the photo shooting scene or standing on the live concert stage, or anywhere else. Her miracles let us see another different side of her, as well as providing us a sense of highness and integrity. Besides, such peasant surprises will increase as time goes by.

“It is true that the precision on the stage improved. Since during my very first concert tour, I moved around the stage using conveyor belts. Ayu had never moved, it’s the stage that moves (laughs). It was about 3 years ago, during the ‘My Story’ era that I started to think about upgrading the entertainment effects of the stages. I thought it should not be just about singing, there must be something else to be added in order to provide a sort of eye-candy to ‘conquer’ the audiences. And this time the concert tour has been the most entertaining ever so far.”

The liner carrying Ayu is now heading towards Hong Kong’s famous spot, the Victoria Bay. We thought on the way that both sides should be in total darkness, but we witnessed the bright night life shines on the Hong Kong island from afar, plus the orange-color moon hangs from the above, radiating some sort of a shy light onto our bodies, which spells a “never before seen” scenery.

And the scenery that Ayu brought to us was always so new, creative and luxurious that filled with excitement and adventures.

“I would like to keep my heart beat in the same pace with you guys from now on.” Ayu said.

And now the liner continues to move slowly, continues to find the next viewing spot unknown…


Page 15 – below left

Lovely Lace that covers the fate of strength

The very first photo set that Ayu had shot, she chose a white silk covered by black lace
Dress. She uses the magical properties of the black color to make the feminine lace giving out an aura of strength. Only Ayu can perfectly mixing the total opposite affects of black and white, in this case the dress that both exhibits feminine and strength.

Black x White dress/ others were personal items


Page 16 – the Luxurious dress that even the night will also willing to be subdued

This dress that were lamented with numerous crystals, it shines and reflects the dazzling lights of the Hong Kong coastline from different angles whenever Ayu changes her posture or the ship shakes a bit. No one wants to take their eyes off this piece of shiny bling-bling artwork.

1890000 Japanese Yen/ Sonia Rykiel

The shoes and accessories were personal items.

Page 17 – The Music is so magical. It will always show up, accompanying your memories. You will definitely remember the smell of the wind that time whenever you listen to a particular song, right? I hope that my heart can continue to vibrate with everyone’s through the use of music in the future.
Page 18 – What have I learn in these 10 years? I learnt to have the strength of not only protecting myself, but also everyone.





Page 19 – The Black Dress is always the must

The black color is this year’s color, and to Ayu is always a trendy color regardless of time. The charisma that the black dress possesses will not fade away, so is Ayu’s personal charisma, which also equals to her world view.

Black dress and accessories are personal items



Translated by Isaac Hiew
Translated from ViVi Magazine, October 2008 International Chinese Edition
Translated on 7th Oct 2008

Please get my permission and give me credit if you want to use this article on your website. Thank you

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

this is really useful!

thank you!!

^^

[Melrose]

Who is saying that? Is Ayu talking about herself in third person? o_o

[freedreamer]

Cool! she really loves t2m...

and im glad she sang her most heartfelt songs in AT08..haha

nice interview...
no wonder MY STORY saw the age of a new Ayu concert

[I_you_me]

hooo.. thankss!!

[ayumisrael]

Thank you for the translation!

I loved “I always face my fans with honesty. I never lied to them and sadly to say, it is very hard to achieve that judging by the world that I am currently in. But I never did compromise. Maybe that’s why I felt stronger. That ‘strength’ does not only apply to protecting me, but also to everyone.”


I think I'm one of the few here who believe her and don't think that everything she does/say comes off as fake. (I'm not a blind love person).

[polka-dot-jewel]

I just love her so much! She's always so genuinely honest and you know she loves her fans dearly and would never do anything to hurt them (or make them distrust her).

Such a wonderful article. Thank you!! =)

[ren0210989]

tnx for the hard work it's very appreciated^^

[Bad Wolf]

Oh this was fabulous! Thank you so much for posting

“The single that I have in mind the most? Well if you asked me in such a sudden manner, which shall be ‘Talkin’ 2 Myself’. But if you are asking the single that really talks about the memories that I had in these years, I would say it is ‘Dearest’… This is the song that changed the game. I became a singer simply because I love singing. There was a time that I can easily become happy just by singing, until the works of writing lyrics and composing songs became a duty.”

“Therefore if you ask me ‘Do you love singing?’ in the year 2001, I might not be able to answer honestly that ‘I do’… However this song kind of shows that even when I feel lost, I still love singing.”


“Music is so magical. When I listen to the song, all those sceneries like the temperature, the wind and of course the exhaustive feeling comes back to me like a movie. The memory itself always accompanies with the music.”

It's creepy how she says things about music in general that I've pretty much said about HER music lol.

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by Melrose

Who is saying that? Is Ayu talking about herself in third person? o_o

I haven't read this translation yet, I read the original text...

If it's not in quotes, it's the author of the article/interviewer.

If it is in quotes, sometimes the Japanese substitute their actual name for a pronoun, so in a way, maybe she is.

[MissElin_]

Thank you soooo much!!! I love your translations!

[_Zora_]

Thanks for the translation, this was a pleasure to read! Are there scans available for this article?

[maikaru]

Ayu is always known for saying herself "Ayu" instead of "I" or "Me."~
That's why she talks about herself in third person.
It's a habit of a lot of japanese~

I really thank you~ I haven't bought the magazine, or seen the articles,
So I can finally see the interview until someone uploads the magazine. ^^' LOL
I want to go to hong kong~~~ it been sooo long~ T T

[love in music]

yay thanks for the translation

[Melrose]

Oh okay, thanks!

[greggerz189]

Originally Posted by ayumisrael

Thank you for the translation!

I loved “I always face my fans with honesty. I never lied to them and sadly to say, it is very hard to achieve that judging by the world that I am currently in. But I never did compromise. Maybe that’s why I felt stronger. That ‘strength’ does not only apply to protecting me, but also to everyone.”


I think I'm one of the few here who believe her and don't think that everything she does/say comes off as fake. (I'm not a blind love person).

ayumisrael, you most certainly are not. I am right there with you on this.

[4ever*ayu]

Originally Posted by _Zora_

Thanks for the translation, this was a pleasure to read! Are there scans available for this article?

check it here: http://www.zyrex.org/gallery/Ayumi1/Ayumi-mags/ViVi/72/

thx a lot Isaac! you're the best!
the more article/interview i read about the real ayu, the more i idolize her!!

[Chibi_Venus]

Wonderful issue. ^^

Thank you.

[Amrai-chan]

Originally Posted by ayumisrael

Thank you for the translation!

I loved “I always face my fans with honesty. I never lied to them and sadly to say, it is very hard to achieve that judging by the world that I am currently in. But I never did compromise. Maybe that’s why I felt stronger. That ‘strength’ does not only apply to protecting me, but also to everyone.”


I think I'm one of the few here who believe her and don't think that everything she does/say comes off as fake. (I'm not a blind love person).

Originally Posted by greggerz189

ayumisrael, you most certainly are not. I am right there with you on this.

I third this.

Thanks for the translation.

[isaac hiew]

I love the most when she refer we as the jigsaw puzzle piece that complete the whole concert, if it is a giant jigsaw puzzle. That moves me.