UPDATE (1/3/2012): Photos + goods information uploaded!!
UPDATE (15/2/2012): Free gift information updated!!
ORIGINAL MESSAGE from 2/2/2012.

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13th ALBUM 『Party Queen』 （【CD+DVD+2DVD】　First Press） and LIVE DVD/Blu-ray「ayumi hamasaki ～POWER of MUSIC～ 2011 A LIMITED EDITION」, together with exclusive goods, will be available together in a special limited box set!!

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2012.3.21 in stores
『Party Queen』SPECIAL LIMITED BOX SET

★ TeamAyu Original Gift: Lip Cream Case Strap x 1 + Deco Sticker for iPhone 4 x 1
★ mu-mo Original Gift: Clear File x 1 + Memo Pad x 1

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【CD+DVD+2DVD】 + 【LIVE DVD: 2 discs】 + 【Goods】
-AVCD-38500/B～E　￥17,850

★Contents included:
– ALBUM 『Party Queen』 【CD+DVD+2DVD】 AVCD-38511/B～C
– LIVE DVD『ayumi hamasaki ～POWER of MUSIC～ 2011 LIMITED EDITION』 【DVD: 2 discs】 AVBD-91935～6
★Comes with Half-Pint Glasses and Cork Coasters

★First Press: 2-disc album casing + Live DVD Jacket Transparent Sleeve
★Normal Press: 3-disc album casing
★First Press Gift: Stage Mount for 「ayupan AR」 app

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【CD+DVD+2DVD】 + 【LIVE Blu-ray: 1 disc】 + 【Goods】
-AVCD-38501/B～D　￥18,900

★Contents included:
– ALBUM 『Party Queen』 【CD+DVD+2DVD】 AVCD-38511/B～C
– LIVE DVD『ayumi hamasaki ～POWER of MUSIC～ 2011 LIMITED EDITION』 【Blu-ray: 1 disc】 AVXD-91650
★Comes with Half-Pint Glasses and Cork Coasters

★First Press: 2-disc album casing + Live DVD Jacket Transparent Sleeve
★Normal Press: 3-disc album casing
★First Press Gift: Stage Mount for 「ayupan AR」 app

All songs from 13th Album 『Party Queen』, to be released on 21 March, will be fully revealed in a preview!
We are opening up a free preview limited to TA members, where you can get to hear 『Party Queen』 before everyone else!

※Hamasaki Ayumi herself will not be attending the event.

Music videos included with the DVD, such as 「Shake It♥」, 「NaNaNa」,
「Return Road」 and 「how beautiful you are」 will also be revealed!

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Continue reading →

from LANDS OF Eden. official website news here.

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Ever since the new visual was released, an overwhelming number of enquiries were sent in asking about the clothes Hamasaki Ayumi-san was modelling in the shoot. Due to this large response, a limited number of the “fleece-lined jersey cloth top with eagle print”, modelled in the Jungle Shot, will be put on sale in our store from 25/2 11:00~ onwards!

As we only have a limited number in stock, the item will be sold exclusively in our store, and mail orders will not be considered.

We will be waiting for everyone’s support.

UPDATE (7/2/2012): Cover released!

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Fuji TV’s Thursday 10pm drama 「Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi」 theme song, 「how beautiful you are」 will be released as a digital single on 8 February!

The song will be available as chaku-uta (R), chaku-uta full (R), RBT (melody call) from 8 Feb onwards on the following sites!

iTunes: BUY HERE
mu-mo: BUY HERE

Original article from here.

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ayu Releases 13th Album, DVD & BD and Lifestyle Book Together
2 February 2012. 19:16

Hamasaki Ayumi’s new album 「Party Queen」 is planned for release on 21/3/2012.

「Party Queen」, her 13th original album, contains a total of 14 new unreleased songs, including 「how beautiful you are」, the theme song for Fuji TV’s drama 「Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi」. A refreshing factor is that none of the songs was released on a single previously, and all the tracks were recorded in London, with the participation of world-class top engineers and musicians.

On the same day, the live DVD/Blu-ray of last year’s tour will be released as 「ayumi hamasaki ～POWER of MUSIC～ 2011 A LIMITED EDITION」. A box set including this title, 「Party Queen」’s CD+DVD+2DVD version, and special goods, named the 「『Party Queen』SPECIAL LIMITED BOX SET」, will be on sale too.

Furthermore, 18 of ayu’s past albums in PLAYBUTTON form, a lifestyle book, and a special photobook will also be released. Fans, please do check these all out.

Hamasaki Ayumi 「Party Queen」 Contents
・how beautiful you are
・Return Road
・Shake It♥
・NaNaNa
・Party queen
・Letter
・call
・reminds me
・the next LOVE
・Eyes, Smoke, Magic
・Tell me why
・taskebab
・a cup of tea
・Serenade in A minor

Original article from here.

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Release of the Much-Awaited ayu’s Prescription Color Contacts!
3,000 Gyarus Gather at Shibuya to Achieve ayu’s eyes!?
31 January 2012.

Sale company T＆H Co., Ltd. (URL: http://www.tandh.co.jp/) and planning company WORLD SURVEY Inc. (URL: http://www.world-survey.jp/), with Hamasaki Ayumi as their image model, released color contact lenses 「SWEET DAYS」, and are now adding prescription lenses 「SWEET DAYS Royal」 to their line-up.

On 12/12/2011, the “SWEET DAYS Royal～ Prescription Color Contacts Commemoration Campaign~!” was held, and a limited quantity of products were sold through the official website (http://www.sweet-days.jp/). End of December, the lenses were put on sale at Donkey Hotel and other drugstores around the country.

With Hamasaki Ayumi as the image model, 「SWEET DAYS」 was released in August last year, and the use of these lenses spread like wildfire among the popular gyarus at Shibuya. Last November, during the “Girls Award by CROOZ blog 2011 AUTUMN ＆ WINTER” held at Yoyogi Gymnasium with a total of 30,000 attendees, Ogura Yuko put on the lenses for her stint down the fashion catwalk, generating more hype for the color contacts.

For the “shibuya duo MUSIC EXCHAGE” programme held last December, the color contacts also received much attention as one of the judging requirements of the “D-1 Miss Contest”, a contest held during the No.1 gyaru event “D-1 dream project 2011”, when the top Shibuya girls were crowned.

“D-1” is an event with more than 10 years of history, held at gyaru haven Shibuya. The “D-1 Miss Contest” has produced numerous famous gyaru models, such as the charismatic Funayama Kumiko (Kumicky) and Fujita Anna (GARULA Brand Director), and can be called the gyaru model’s gateway to success. This time, the bright spark of the 1,200 applications was happy, charming Miyashima Zaira. More than 3,000 gyarus gathered at Shibuya for the event.

During the Miss Contest, the 7 finalists had to make use of ayu’s color contacts 「SWEET DAYS」 and Hamasaki Ayumi-produced 「A eyelash」, to create the best eye make-up as their final task.

As the 7 finalists presented their “hot make-up” on stage, there were “droopy eye” looks, “wingtipped eye” looks and “round eye” looks, all adorned with color contacts and long eyelashes. The audience were also full of praises and cheer:

“This is one aspect of Hamasaki Ayumi we will always aspire towards. I want Hamasaki Ayumi’s eyes!”
and
“With Eurasian features, I’m aiming for that droopy cat eye look!”

Official Site: http://www.sweet-days.jp

Sound sources from nationwide arena tour 「ayumi hamasaki ～POWER of MUSIC～ 2011 A LIMITED EDITION」 to be released!

Original full orchestra arrangements of songs have been receiving much praise and requests from fans, so all sound sources from the concert live will be made available for the first time!

※ More information to be released at a later date.

Original article from here.

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Tweeting with Fans in English, Hamasaki Ayumi’s “English Capability” Level
25 January 2012. 19:24

Since her divorce, singer Hamasaki Ayumi has been updating Twitter in English about her mental state and well-being. Hamasaki has been tweeting in English frequently in recent times, and when she was interviewed by CNN a few years ago, she also answered some questions in English.

As her ex-husband is an Austrian, English would have been their main language of communication, but just how good is Hamasaki’s English?

“She makes some grammatical errors, but understanding her is not a problem”
Hamasaki has always been actively tweeting. Before the divorce announcement, she tweeted 8 times on 14 Jan and 12 times on 13 Jan, and included some English phrases. On 23 Jan, she wrote the following tweet in English, “Never regret anything coz at one time it was exactly what u wanted”, together with a picture of herself running towards the sea.

Hamasaki’s style of English is unique. Since Twitter only allows messages of 140 characters to be posted, she often uses abbreviated words. For example, “for” becomes “4”, “because” becomes “coz”, and “by the way” becomes “btw”.

International translators who analyzed Hamasaki’s English tweets concluded that “she makes some grammatical errors, but understanding her is not a problem”. Her frequent use of abbreviations shows that she is familiar with English in the written form.

How about her speaking ability? Video sharing site “YouTube” contains clips of Hamasaki Ayumi interacting with overseas fans as she signed autographs for them. In a video from Jan 2010, Hamasaki was signing an autograph along a street in London. Peering at the CD in her hand, she asked, “There’s a “Paris” written here, whose is this?”. In another instance, she replied “Funny” to a fan’s comment. She appears to enjoy conversing in English.

In July 2008, a video shows Hamasaki in Hong Kong. Alighting from her car at the hotel entrance, she immediately walked towards the fans to sign autographs. When a pen given to her seems to have run out of ink, she was heard commenting, “It doesn’t work”. When a man asked if she had anything to say to her Hong Kong fans, she jokingly replied in English, “Yes, I’m really tired”, with a smile.

Too Much Tongue-Rolling when Pronouncing “R”
In 2006, Hamasaki attended the interview session for CNN’s “Talk Asia”. Though she conducted most of it in Japanese, she did answer some questions in English.

At the start, when asked about the reason behind her then-newest album “Secret”‘s title, she explained in English, “Everyone has a secret, right? Me too, and probably you too. But when you tell it to others, it’s not a secret anymore, so I can’t tell you”. In the end, she added, “I hope this album will stay in everyone’s hearts”.

Although it was a long interview, what is of interest is Hamasaki’s body language when she speaks in Japanese and English. When she answered questions in Japanese, she leaned back in the chair in a comfortable position, thinking as she spoke. When speaking in English, she leaned forward, overusing her body and hands to express herself. The inflection of her voice and her facial expressions also differed greatly from when she was speaking in Japanese.

The translator mentioned earlier looked through Hamasaki’s interview and concluded that she was “excited and tense”. He criticized her overeagerness at answering questions in English, which went against her normally calm and composed nature. He also commented that “Japanese people easily fall into the trap of speaking like awkward Americanized people”. In addition, she had the tendency to roll her “R”‘s more than is necessary. If this is carried too far, it becomes hard for the listener to understand what is being said. There were also times when the content of her answers did not match the interview question, implying that she “needed to hone her listening skills”.

Nonetheless, the translator emphasized that, “as a musician, she set a good pace to the conversation. Having a good pace is more important than pronunciation when trying to get through to the listener”. 5 years after that CNN interview, there is a high possibility that Hamasaki’s English conversation skills have improved greatly.