(Artist) Hamasaki Ayumi

[Linus]

I think JEWEL PV has been done too quick. It could have been much better. It's like, half PV shows the idea I think was on the directors head (a Jewel land) while the other half with that ice cube (and the black blackground ugly thing) is too simple. Ayu <3

I want to see momentum pv... is that a church? oh i want to see it now...

[RionZ]

Hrmm...I hope the momentum PV comes out before the 1Love PV

[wakaba_doll]

...I hope she won't become a burikko :/

LOL Just finished that article... I really hope Ayu doesn't become like that, either! I'm not so sure that she will, though, because (at least to me), she's always carried a more mature air, compared to most other J-pop artists

Edit: This might be a little OT, but in the case of a burikko, I think Rina Aiuchi fits that mold more than Ayu does (much as I love her too! LOL)

[Masabi]

Can you move the graphics babble in Ayu's pic thread? It's a bit inconvenient imho >_>;

I'd rather not, considering the picture thread is for official releases like Magazine scans and such.  There was no talk going on about the new PV so we livened the thread with sets.  x___x

[DroolBoy]

I think JEWEL PV has been done too quick. It could have been much better. It's like, half PV shows the idea I think was on the directors head (a Jewel land) while the other half with that ice cube (and the black blackground ugly thing) is too simple. Ayu <3

I want to see momentum pv... is that a church? oh i want to see it now...

The black background part is crazy artistic though!

[DroolBoy]

We so need 1337 translation skills. <3

[RionZ]

yes we do, yes we do

[DroolBoy]

It looks like they tapped Tetsuya Yukimi a LOT for this album All the album tracks are by him almost O_O~

1-1 Ｎｏｔ　ｙｅｔ
作詞：ａｙｕｍｉ　ｈａｍａｓａｋｉ／作曲：ＣＭＪＫ／編曲：ＣＭＪＫ

1-2 ｕｎｔｉｌ　ｔｈａｔ　Ｄａｙ．．．
作詞：ａｙｕｍｉ　ｈａｍａｓａｋｉ／作曲：ＣＭＪＫ／編曲：ＣＭＪＫ

1-3 Ｓｔａｒｔｉｎ’
作詞：ａｙｕｍｉ　ｈａｍａｓａｋｉ／作曲：Ｋａｚｕｈｉｒｏ　Ｈａｒａ／編曲：ＣＭＪＫ※カプコン「新鬼武者　ＤＡＷＮ　ＯＦ　ＤＲＥＡＭＳ」ＣＭソング
※ＮＴＶ系「スポーツうるぐす」テーマ・ソング

1-4 １ＬＯＶＥ
作詞：ａｙｕｍｉ　ｈａｍａｓａｋｉ／作曲：Ｙｏｊｉ　Ｎｏｉ／編曲：Ｈ∧Ｌ
※松下電器産業「Ｄ－ｓｎａｐ　Ａｕｄｉｏ」ＣＭソング
※松下電器産業「Ｄ－ｄｏｃｋ」ＣＭソング

1-5 Ｉｔ　ｗａｓ
作詞：ａｙｕｍｉ　ｈａｍａｓａｋｉ／作曲：Ｎａｒｕｙａ　Ｉｈａｓｈｉ／編曲：ｔａｓｕｋｕ

1-6 ＬＡＢＹＲＩＮＴＨ
演奏：浜崎あゆみ／作曲：Ｈ∧Ｌ／編曲：Ｈ∧Ｌ

1-7 ＪＥＷＥＬ
作詞：ａｙｕｍｉ　ｈａｍａｓａｋｉ／作曲：Ｔｅｔｓｕｙａ　Ｙｕｋｕｍｉ／編曲：Ｓｈｉｎｇｏ　Ｋｏｂａ ｙａｓｈｉ※松下電器産業「ＬＵＭＩＸ　ＦＸ０７」ＣＭソング

1-8 ｍｏｍｅｎｔｕｍ
作詞：ａｙｕｍｉ　ｈａｍａｓａｋｉ／作曲：Ｔｅｔｓｕｙａ　Ｙｕｋｕｍｉ／編曲：Ｈ∧Ｌ

1-9 ｔａｓｋｉｎｓｔ
演奏：浜崎あゆみ／作曲：ｔａｓｕｋｕ／編曲：ｔａｓｕｋｕ

1-10 Ｂｏｒｎ　Ｔｏ　Ｂｅ．．．
作詞：ａｙｕｍｉ　ｈａｍａｓａｋｉ／作曲：Ｋａｚｕｈｉｒｏ　Ｈａｒａ／編曲：Ｋａｚｕｈｉｒｏ　Ｈａｒ ａ／編曲：ＣＭＪＫ
※ＮＴＶ系「トリノオリンピック２００６」テーマ・ソング

1-11 Ｂｅａｕｔｉｆｕｌ　Ｆｉｇｈｔｅｒｓ
作詞：ａｙｕｍｉ　ｈａｍａｓａｋｉ／作曲：Ｋａｚｕｈｉｔｏ　Ｋｉｋｕｃｈｉ／編曲：ＣＭＪ Ｋ※松下電器産業「Ｄ－ｓｎａｐ　Ａｕｄｉｏ」ＣＭソング

1-12 ＢＬＵＥ　ＢＩＲＤ
作詞：ａｙｕｍｉ　ｈａｍａｓａｋｉ／作曲：Ｄ・Ａ・Ｉ／編曲：Ｈ∧Ｌ
※ゼスプリインターナショナルジャパン「ゴールドキウイ」ＣＭソング

1-13 ｋｉｓｓ　ｏ’ｋｉｌｌ
作詞：ａｙｕｍｉ　ｈａｍａｓａｋｉ／作曲：Ｔｅｔｓｕｙａ　Ｙｕｋｕｍｉ／編曲：Ｋｅｉｊｉ　Ｔａｎａｂ ｅ

1-14 Ｓｅｃｒｅｔ
作詞：ａｙｕｍｉ　ｈａｍａｓａｋｉ／作曲：Ｔｅｔｓｕｙａ　Ｙｕｋｕｍｉ／編曲：ＨＩＫＡＲ Ｉ

[aedon]

It looks like they tapped Tetsuya Yukumi a LOT for this album All the album tracks are by him almost O_O~

MY STORY ver. 2? :| Anyhow, all the awesome arrangers are there: HAL, tasuku, CMJK! And zomg HIKARI arranged "Moments", so "Secret" should be an awesome song! (well, he arranged "walking proud" and "winding road" too, so no guarantee lol) The new face Keiji Tanabe arranged Ami Suzuki's "Fantastic" and also worked with AAA.

[DroolBoy]

Boo! I've been saying Yukimi since forever. Damn.

[RionZ]

6 more days

[wakaba_doll]

HAL is one of my favourite producers!^^ Like old-school Ayu!  LOL I'm sure this mini-album will be worth to buy and I can't wait, either!

[DroolBoy]

Wakaba, it's not mini

It's a full album. 14 tracks.

[RionZ]

goddamn...i have a hankering for some pole dancing ayu...where is that new PV????!

[DroolBoy]

credits-elvis810, taylayu@ayunite

Isn't this like, amazing? LOL

And from the lovely evolusean:

Here is my translation of the entire article.  Please note that the song snippets are subject to change when we get the full lyrics (as the full song reflects the translation of each portion).

What AYU wanted to tell everyone about her NEW album...

AYU's 14 Secrets

Ayu's long-awaited full album is being released!! 11/29; title: "Secret".
Yes, in this album are hidden lots of "secrets".

Photo: Akira Kitajima (Sputnik)
Fashion Director: Kei Ito (abfab)
Hair: Mika Mamose (ISM)
Make-up: Atsushi Sasaki (Allure)
Nailist: Kanako Miura (Three Peace)
Prop Design: Kuniyuki Sasaki
Composition & Text: Himiko Nabeshima
Cooperation: Studio Bastille
Design: attik

I wasn't sad at all, but the reason I brimmed with tears
Was that you had seeped through the scar in my heart
And turned it in to such a tenderness
That it hurt to think of you.
- from "JEWEL"

The season I had you was so much brighter than anything,
That everything reflecting in my eyes was full of light.
- from "It was"

I remember the day when we, so young,
Walked around, clinging to eachother with laughter,
Not knowing anything.
-from "momentum"

Hey, when the time should someday come,
That I blast away from this place,
I will surely wave to you with a satisfied grin.
- from "until that Day..."

Even now I am as ever
Always searching for a place to be.
There is nothing else I'd rather have.
- from "Secret"

Alone, I always searched for a reason.
Stressed, I always looked for an outlet.
- from "kiss o' kill"

Tonai no Ha Studio. Apparently singing until just 3 hours previous, AYU appeared with her hot-off-the-press audio device; I wondered if she had just taken a shower after coming home from working all night, with her slightly damp, just-washed hair, and no make-up. However, with sparkling eyes: "Right now, I think it is my best album ever".

She declared it quite happily.

Even until now, with every interview, I have heard the word "best" a few times before: "This is my best rock album!" "This had the best end result." But I feel by her tension this time a serious nuance in "the best".

Excited by AYU's words, I took a listen to the just-finished album "Secret" and... I get it!! And right there, she made a face full of pride... "I did it!"

The first thing on my mind was the album title. Provocatively called "Secret", will there be any of AYU's "secrets" inside?

"Of course there are parts of people that only they know. No matter how long you've been with a lover or a best friend, there have got to be parts that you don't know or thing they aren't showing you. But it's because of those parts that people are so fascinating; it's because of the mysterious parts that they are on our mind, right? With this album, I wanted it to feel straight-forward and open about that sort of "me that only I know" in a sort of story. I would be so glad if the listener can find a bunch of parts inside that make them go 'I think that's my secret'."

"Secret". Inside are, of course, what you could call girls' cheer-songs, which portray strong female figures like AYU, and, really outdoing herself, several songs stand out which make you feel human "weakness". In "Secret", for example, a song with the same title as the album, she can't help but feel sorrow even though she is a pop-star; the AYU-ish ballad "JEWEL" exudes of an AYU whose heart has been hurt by sad events in the world.

"In today's world, the news is entirely things you don't want to see. What I wanted to tell with 'JEWEL' was the story of a girl who became caring by being cared for. Busy days and overly surreal occurances... in times like these, I think we sometimes really forget about caring for people, about pure feelings, about naivety..., and about what we want as people. And myself, there are even times when I hurt people without realizing it. At times like that, when people other than myself tell me "NO"*, I am shown what I don't see on my own. I wanted to talk about that kind of 'love'."

AYU paints many pictures of the word "love"... The way she wishes it herself, with each song having its own story, the listeners own affairs and feelings may unknowingly overlap. Simply put, that is the reason why AYU's view of the world continues to mesmerize girls.

"This album was at first meant to be a mini-album, but we quickly changed it to a full album. One day I was just gushing with things to say in my head, and I felt like I just had to express them in song, so I wrote up 3 songs* in one day, and then 2 more songs in another at a high pace."

Even at full-speed, having just painted what she wanted to express, the words come across clearly. Yes, the words AYU sings, particularly in the ballads, are vital in the heartbreaking winter. Furthermore, even in the AYU-ly bold song's lyrics, the source of girls' cheer, this album goes full throttle with AYU-power.

"The song '1 LOVE' is the story of an outlaw girl. While on the one hand, she loves and is loved, she thinks she understands all people. She makes choices on her own, and she thinks you can't live life without fighting. Me? I'm fighting really hard as always!! (laugh) But not just for myself, so I think I could go on fighting this much. But you get war-buddies, and then the battle's over and you go home, and you've done it."

Also is "until that Day...", the 2nd track on the album. In this song, which means "sono hi made [until that day]", You can't help but feel the aesthetic that makes you go crazy for her all over again, thinking "AYU is such a babe!". Yes, the AYU who struggles through life as well as her ideal, beautiful self after the fight is over are both portrayed here.

"This is, frankly, a song which portrays my way of life."

She says it so lightly. And both sides of AYU from the songs which portray weakness are the secrets she showed me with "Secret".

"Yes, there are going to be days when people have to be strong, and naturally there are also going to be days when you think you can't be strong. I think when they look at themselves on those different days, they feel like they'll stick it out for a year, and then one more. There are lots of different girls for different days on "Secret", and I want to share that with everyone!"

AYU's best album ever, "Secret", to all the girls whom AYU calls "partner"... This album will trail on shining through 2007.

Interview: Himiko Nabeshima

Your small back tells me so,
Having made it through the night
Secretly clinging to your knees
And crying
- from "Born To Be..."

If you've decided to have faith, accept even the answers
That are different from your ideals.
- from "Startin'"

I feel like glass slippers would be too tight,
And not quite cut out for tearing through
This day and age.
- from "Beautiful Fighters"

If you're gonna stab at my nature to always somehow stick out in line,
Feel free to do as you like with your sharp words.
I can't copy what's been done before.
- from "1 LOVE"

[light_hikari]

Although I doubt it, I'd be pleasantly surprised if her feelings for the album are true.

[RionZ]

omfg...i'm looking forward to it even more...

[DroolBoy]

Secret CM:
Windows Media Player : 300k / 129k

Secret mu-mo CM
WMP:
300k / 128k



CM is out. IT'S AMAZING.

[DroolBoy]

1. Not yet
2. until that Day...
3. Startin'
4. 1 LOVE
5. It was
6. LABYRINTH
7. JEWEL
8. momentum
9. taskinst
10. Born to Be..
11. Beautiful Fighters
12. BLUE BIRD
13. kiss o' kill
14. Secret

RAR of mp3 previews:
http://www.twitter.com/?d=G63CE10A
http://download.yousendit.com/9C8AADCA6321C2E0


I mislabeled Born to Be.. as BLUE BIRD. Sorry for this inconvenience.
http://download.yousendit.com/19739D0B2375654C  Correct file is here.

:]

[RionZ]

Thanx, but I'll hold out til the day it comes out.