Album art + tracklisting: Ayumi Hamasaki - LOVE again

To celebrate her 15th anniversary of shrieking like a banshee being fisted with a knuckle duster, Ayu and Avex planned a monthly mini album roll out between November and April. This whole blasted thing was a mess the second news of it hit da webz. But shit just got messier. I'm talking Diddy Kong and the Jackass n***as running rampant through CostCo with a bucket of doo-doo messier. Ayu's forth mini album release will in fact be a full length album. This sounds like a nice surprise, but it ain't. Fans should know better than to get excited. You'll soon seen why.

With barely any time in between Again and February 8th when FLOP Again releases, this doesn't leave much time for Ayu to do a great deal. And also means we won't get a single - continuing the trend of Ayu and Avex's refusal to release a physical single to precede an album and then wonder why album sales are in the toilet, along with Ayu's hopes and dreams of maintaining a number 1 album chart streak well into her 40's and her marriage to Manuel.

Those of who who have been following this mini album mess will have some things to say once you see the track list for this full length album, I'm sure.

1. Wake me up
2. Song 4U
3. Missing
4. Sakura
5. Melody
6. task'n'bass
7. Bye-bye darling
8. Snowy kiss
9. Sweet scar
10. Petal
11. Glasses
12. Untitled for her... story 2
13. Gloria
14. Ivy
15. You & me

"task'n'bass" is most certainly an interlude. Just so you can mull over the wonderful value for money you're getting with this release.

It was common knowledge that a release would eventually come along with all of the original material from her mini albums released up until that point chucked onto it, because it is just how Avex and Ayu roll. I just didn't think she would do it this soon. After all, these anniversary releases were supposed to be MINI ALBUMS. Albums unto themselves, not shit to carry over onto a full length album. I sided my eye when Crystal Kay try to push 2 of her mini album tracks onto one of her long players. But DIS!? If Ayu is going to be this lazy with the piss-takery, she may as well throw the songs from Five on it too.

This is a complete slap in the face to fans who bought both Love and Again. Just when you think Ayu and Avex can't take the piss any more, they golden shower the whole of Japan and throw a match on bitches.

How the hell can you charge fans 2,500 yen for a mini album one month, 2,500 yen for another mini album the next month and then drop a 'mini album' which features ALL of the original material  from the last 2 mini albums, a song which featured on your compilation release 6 months prior and a few extra songs for 3,500 yen. That shit is RUDE! Fans need to boycott this shit and make sure LOVE again's first week ORICON chart position is N/A.

This whole entire anniversary release deal has been a mess since day one. It's becoming clear that there was never really any proper plan concerning it and that each release was done willy-nilly and last minute. When Kumi Kehovah was doing her 12 days of Christmas singles, there was a ridiculous level of consistency and you could see the whole thing was produced together. Even though I wasn't a fan of all of the songs, I commend Kumi and Avex for delivering a package and it was clear everything concerning it was well planned and fully conceived. Ayu in comparison is just rushing shit out, making bad eleventh hour decisions and is doing damage to her own name and a legacy which seemed untouchable at one point.

What Ayu should have done from the start was to have recorded a full length album for February and used the leading months up to its release to drop SINGLES. Love and Again were just glorified multi A-side singles anyway.

Wigless heads need to be rolling out of Avex over this über debacle. And when is this trick going to learn to stop throwing the world 'love' into her album titles!? She did it with Love songs and then she ended up divorcing a n***A before her follow up album hit the stores. By the time her final mini album drops in April Maroka Uchiyama will be f**king somebody else and Ayu will be alone. Half deaf, an entire year without a number 1 charting releases and surrounded by dogs.