Ayumi Hamasaki to release a new single “Nonfiction” on April 22nd, and a new album later in the year

So, Ayu has a new single on the way titled “Nonfiction”, which will drop on April 22nd.

This year marks Ayumi Hamasaki’s 24th anniversary, hence the single. Just as 2021’s “23rd Monster” was to celebrate Ayu’s career anniversary. Could you imagine if Ayu stopped releasing albums and just released singles annually for her anniversaries? 

Despite the absence of an album from Ayu for quite some time, she will be releasing one later this year. It’s truly wild to think that Ayumi Hamasaki hasn’t released a full length studio album in 6 years, her last being M(a)de in Japan, which released in 2016. This was a woman who for 17 years straight was pretty much releasing an album a year. Sometimes two albums a year. And this wasn’t even including Best albums, Remix albums, Live albums and all the other shit. I guess she finally got the message that people had LONG been telling a bitch; slow down. Especially after Namie Amuro came out of nowhere and started kicking her ass in sales for 6 years straight.

HENNYWAY.

The official press release which went out by fax (because, Japan) describes “Nonfiction” as having an ‘R&B groove’, which made me screw my face all sorts of ways, all the while thinking ‘I have to hear this song’. The end result could be great or it could be a catastrophe.

Ayu has actually given good songs with R&B-like grooves in the past, on songs such as “Real Me” and “Why”, both of which were really good songs. Ayu’s problem, and one she’s had with her music for years, is that she either does the same thing, or she tries something new and then never does it again, even if the new thing was actually good. And even in the instances where the new thing is bad, Ayu never attempts to refine it to make it better - which is something I give Namie Amuro props for (seeing as I’d already mentioned her). That bitch stuck with sounds, even when the sales were trash and people were like ‘But gurl, why’, and she kept refining that shit until it worked and she ran the whole of Avex. So let’s see how “Nonfiction” shapes up.

The shot at the top of this post is the official promo shot for the single, which absolutely shoulda been the single artwork. But I just knew that the official single artwork was going to take a decent shot and slap hideous text over it, as was the cases with “23rd Monster” and “Dreamed a Dream”. But “Nonfiction” got WAAAAAAY worse than that. Because look at this shit.

Ayumi Hamasaki - Nonfiction | Avex Entertainment Inc.

Avex don’t give a fuck. Ayu’s creative director don’t give a fuck. Ayu’s style team has got her in a £9.99 shake ’n’ go from Wish, with Kinder Surprise jewellery on.

Everything about this shot is terrible.

And am I the only one that immediately thought Namie Amuro upon seeing it? Ayumi Hamasaki doesn’t even look like Namie in the photo. (She barely even looks like herself). But it’s just what came to mind. Maybe it’s the title (Nonfiction, Best Fiction) and the pose, hair colour and over airbrushing giving me Past<Future Tour DVD cover that’s doing it.

The pink shot of Ayuana Grande shoulda just been the single cover, and done. In fact, I think the pink Ayuana Grande shot woulda made for a great album cover, and that “Non-Fiction” would make for a really good album title.

✏️ April 7: Post updated to include the news of a new album

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