So FRIDAY, that bastion of fair and balanced journalism, says that Ayumi’s recent blog entry threw fans into a tizzy for the wrong reasons. Here’s the blog entry excerpt from 07/04/09, as translated by Delirium-Zer0 on AHS:
I uh…
I made a verrry verrryy big decision today.
I honestly don’t know if it’s the right decision or not.
But I’ve definitely chosen this.
I stressed and I stressed…. and I decided.
It’s best to resolve to do something, and then get acceptance for it later.
So it’s okay.
Definitely okay.

Immediately the fans began to speculate that Ayu was either a) retiring or b) getting married. She responded less than a day later to squelch all those rumors, saying that the decision had nothing to do with retiring or marrying. She apologized for an entry that may have been confusing, and did not say much else beyond shooting down (quite politely and sweetly) the other rumors.

FRIDAY’s prediction? That Ayumi is setting her sights on the USA and Europe. For the USA, I have mixed feelings. Ayumi has been recording and filming PVs in the States for years, and admits her love for Hawaii and California freely. The PVs for ‘Bold & Delicious/Pride’ were even filmed in New York City. For her to launch a promotional plan of attack in the USA would be logical, but it would also be an utter failure. Here’s why:

1) Seiko Matsuda. BoA. Utada. The Wonder Girls. This just doesn’t work. If Ayu proved the exception to the rule it would be amazing, and…well…AMAZING…but…

2) She’s getting old. For a pop star, that is. Face it, let’s say it. 30 is old for a pop idol, even in the USA. Not the time to shoot for anything so lofty.

3) I would take this as a sign of “giving up” from Ayumi. Her sales have been dying a slow death, and her career is nowhere near what it used to be. She is still the empress in J-Pop, but it’s in the way that Madonna is the queen of USA pop. She still packs stadiums and sells records, but is she really still relevant? What Madonna has going for her is an international audience. Ayumi does not (yet) have this. In her 2006 CNN interview, she said that she would more than happy to sing wherever they could have her, but…

4) avex can afford the stage show they put on for Ayumi because it is contained within the Pacific…Japan is enough, but I can’t even imagine how much money it costs to host the ones in Singapore and China. That stage, all that equipment…the cost to produce something of that caliber in the USA would be unimaginable, and definitely not worth the risk. A stripped-down, club-style Ayumi show would be something to behold, but Ayu’s style is NOT stripped-down. Of course already hardcore fans would love it, but numbers like ‘Sparkle’ and ‘evolution’ require that flash and all that ambiance to retain their appeal. It would be dismal to see a less-than-over-the-top Ayumi show, unless she retooled everything we have come to know and love about her stage shows.

5) Again, it’s just not a financial sure thing, and I think avex doesn’t want to go fucking around in this terrible economic climate.

….this last part is just a theory, but could it actually be possible, and if so does that mean that Ayumi is just sick of being the last of the J-Pop queens to see an American collab/release? Koda Kumi has recorded with Fergie. Utada and BoA have always been multi-national in their appeal. Even Namie seems to be more easily marketable to the American market, if avex wanted to do that.

Ayumi is very Japan. She is like Morning Musume, in a way, with their American “expansion” – untranslatable. It would be a tragedy to hear an Ayumi song translated to English and performed. The meaning is in the subtle beauty of the Japanese language. The lyrics to ‘A Song for XX’ would simply not be the same in English.

It just makes me angry at myself to admit that, while I would give anything – and I mean anything, this is going far beyond what I was willing to do for Morning Musume – to see Ayumi in the States, I am ultimately wary of the entire situation and hope she will retain her integrity in the Japanese industry without selling herself into a Lady Gaga/Mariah Carey duet. AAUUUGHH FUCK NO WHY DID I EVEN TYPE THAT D: D: D: D:

Also, LOL FRIDAY.

Maxker at AHS posted the news, and the translated article from FRIDAY is beneath the cut. Credits at the bottom. Haters to the left.

ARTICLE FROM FRIDAY

China Daily (中国青年报) – reporting, according to Taiwan media reports and the magazine «FRIDAY», the popular leader of Japanese music and Asian fashion scene Hamasaki Ayumi have returned after 6 years absence from doing a dorama song. She produced one for the Japanese TV drama Dandy! Dandy! named «Sunrise ～LOVE is ALL～»

Hong Kong media recently claimed, in fact that, Hamasaki Ayumi has been slowly fading out of the entertainment industry since last year, and may withdraw from the end of the year, and marry her secret boyfriend, and become a full-time housewives.

In addition to sitting on the value of a about 10 million dollars mansion in Tokyo, Hamasaki have now also in recent years got herself two new apartments, both located in the expensive Hiroo district located at Shibuya, Tokyo. She is also rumored to purchase many high-level furniture, even a toilet covered with diamonds imported from a nightclub in Hong Kong.

The paper «Magazine for WOMEN», reported that she will marriage at the end of the year and is actively preparing this, that’s the reason why her cooperation with the underwear brand Wacoal, has quietly replaced the image of her as a spokesman.

Japanese media speculated that her source of income to buy luxury flats are likely to originate in the rich boyfriend, her boyfriend in Japan has a number of senior commercial real estate lots.

The magazine «FRIDAY» on their side put these rumors under doubts. – Hong Kong newspapers can never be trusted, says their press agent Kazuo Inagaki.

FRIDAY on its side has a different and more promising theory. Her management advised Hamasaki to withdraw from Japan and focus on the Asian market, more specifically the mainland China. This happened in 2002, with the launch of the single «Daybreak», and with a remix album based on the million seller «I am». Following the latest years Hamasaki has held two large scale concerts in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. According to a document FRIDAY has got their knowledge of, the launch of Hollywood song Rule was Hamasakis and Avex Group’s first major step in the direction of the United States and Europe.

According to the inside document report FRIDAY has got in their possession, the lates international releases from both fellow label colleague BoA and her former rival Utada Hikaru was received with great enthusiasm by producers and critics in the U.S, with the exception of the general public. Under several circumstances, its in fact the name «Ayumi Hamasaki» that have been mentioned and sought after, both during interviews and live presentations, to Utada’s and BoA’s frustration.

For many it may seem as if Ayu has been slowly fading out of the entertainment industry, but this is incorrect. According to sources within the Avex Group, Hamasaki uses a lot of time to practice her language, which she takes weekly English language exams, preparing for a huge career move.

Kazuo Inagaki refers to a post written by Hamasaki in her official blog last week. This post confirmed that a big decision was made, but disproved the theory regarding marriage. This forces FRIDAY theories about the document regarding a large scale world release. -It is only a matter of time before Hamasaki will aim toward the West, whether it be America, or Europe resume to see, she now only need to be fluent in English language, he says.

Editor:赵纲
Translated from the edition 中国青年报; 11th. July 2009. Thanks to “ruyki”@AMF for translation.