Scans shared by wincci.

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COLOR ON COLOR LOOK!
ayu’s latest heartthrob spring color look ❤

Changing her trademark blonde hair to a pink shade, ayu seems to have powered up this spring. She speaks lots about her new album, which “contains everything that I am now”!

New album 「Party Queen」 contains lots of different songs, from upbeat tunes to ballads. And there are lots of thought-provoking lyrics too.
“In terms of sound, I decided to challenge new genres, and the recording was done in London. This album can be listened to in various ways, and also hints at the person I may turn out to be in the future. As for the lyrics, well, when I was about 20 years old, I was 100 times more serious about life than I am now. So I guess the girls reading JELLY may be able to dig deeper into these songs than I can, and so find various meanings and answers for themselves.”

So instead of getting to understand ayu, one is made to question oneself?
“This album is not about “Do enjoy listening to it~” (laugh) I feel that the girls will seriously think about things as they listen to the album. It’s always been like this. Everyone’s thoughts and reviews of songs do teach me that there are different ways of looking at a song. I’ll get comments like “This song synchronizes with that particular song from the past, and so this is the result, right?”, and I’ll be shocked and reply, “I see, wow!”. For the PVs too, I use tricks so that the real meaning behind the video is unknown to anyone but myself, so it’s a sort of self-satisfaction, but everyone often manages to arrive at the right interpretation anyway, especially readers of the JELLY era.”

Does ayu go to karaoke to have fun and sing in a relaxed manner?
“Personally, there’s a male part in the chorus of 「call」, and when someone can harmonize well with me when we sing it together, I’ll go “Eh!?” and my heart will throb a little ♪ Sorry for being so naive. (lol) And then, for 「Letter」, I want to sing it to my friends, and I want my friends to sing it to me too.”

That song with “snot”! (laugh)
“Yes yes. (laugh) I totally didn’t realize it when I was writing the lyrics, but it’s now the highlight of the song. If it really has that much impact, I’d rather everyone remember it as the “snot song”.”

Ahaha. Sorry. And it’s such a great song too. How about drama theme song 「how beautiful you are」? Was it based on the drama?
“I did receive a copy of the drama script, but it was also based on what I was seeing in my life. There were people whom I wished to sing the lyrics to… So for me, this song is truly filled with lots of happy words which I always wish to hear, whether I’m feeling happy, lonely or depressed.”

Incidentally, you’re filming the PV for 「how beautiful you are」 today.
“Yep. The other 3 PVs were all filmed in London. These songs which are thought-provoking will naturally have a PV that’s thought-provoking too, but you can also enjoy them without thinking too deeply. It’s not that hard… Oh~ but maybe it’s not so easy as well. (laugh) By the way, I got to ride in a real tank.”

That must have been interesting, like going into battle!
“Ahaha. Going into battle is also a way to look for answers… But as long as one listens to the album and watches the PVs, I think that the person I am now will be understood. Even this photoshoot for JELLY has something to say ♪”

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How’s going AYU?
JELLY bombards ayu with questions on her personal life!

Q: What is a mobile app that ayu would recommend?
A: I’m bad with gadgets so I don’t play around with the apps on my mobile. I only use the messaging and emoticons. (laugh) When I have free time, I just zone out. I don’t turn on any music, and light candles but place them really far away so I’m in almost total darkness, and I just sit there. People who don’t know I’m there will think there’s noone in the room!? (laugh)

Q: What is your personal goal for this year?
A: I always train hard to build up stamina before a tour, but when the tour starts, I always use up all my energy during the shows. On my off days, I do vocal training and other such essential practices, so I don’t really have time for physical training. I hope to change that this year. I used to do only pressure training, but I do yoga and kick-boxing now too. I also hope to continue picking up some things which I’ve started learning this year. So those are my goals!

Q: What is a recent obsession of ayu’s?
A: Pink hair. But since I have to bleach all my hair to white before I can dye it pink, I won’t recommend it to anyone. (laugh)

Q: Yuuki-chan is pregnant with her second child! Does ayu wish to become a Mama too?
A: I knew that last year. She came to tell me when we met up during Christmas. Since the girls around me are mostly single, such incidents are rare, and my image of being pregnant is that you’ll be constrained in lots of ways. Like when you want to go outside, and even your clothes. But if I become pregnant, I hope to be as cute as Yuuki is now~

Q: When ayu was around JELLY readers’ age, what were the lessons you learnt from love?
A: When girls are in their late teens and early 20’s, we tend to admire adult men, right? When we’re students, we go for the seniors. And we admire men who can drive, too. (laugh) In fact, I really liked this older guy then, and whatever I’ve learnt from him, I’m using it right now to change myself, going at my own pace. That love shaped me more than the loves during my mid- to late-20’s did. That was probably the first time I seriously felt the anxiety and excitement of love. As the saying goes, “the child is father to the man”, so the love I had when I was 20 will always be with me, even when I turn 100. (laugh) That’s what I feel, so be careful when choosing your boyfriends ♪ It’s really very important ❤

Q: How does ayu spend her time at home?
A: With a camera. I have a professional camera with lots of different lenses, and I take photos of my dogs. I also hang mini-camcorders around their necks and film their daily comings and goings… My life at home is simple like that. (laugh)

Q: What made you cry recently?
A: Probably when I was doing editing work for the PoM tour DVD. This tour was created after 3/11, and I was touched and amazed at how much Japan had progressed in such a short period of time.

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