Original article [here].

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Hamasaki Ayumi reveals gorgeous nails for 15th Anniversary tour
19 August 2013. 14:35

Singer Hamasaki Ayumi revealed that she had changed her nails to suit the finale show for her nationwide tour “ayumi hamasaki 15th Anniversary TOUR ~A BEST LIVE~” at the National Yoyogi First Gymnasium, Tokyo.

This time, she had crystals and aurora stones embedded onto a white French manicure. It was a gorgeous design befitting of the 15th Anniversary tour finale.

AIKO from “esNAIL”, who does Hamasaki’s nails, gave the following comment. “She had always requested for a white French manicure for the finale performance of the 15th Anniversary”.

The setlist for this tour was determined through fan requests, following Hamasaki’s wish to “create a show together with the fans who had supported her through the past 15 years”. After voting, 50 out of 241 songs from the past 15 years were selected, and 33 songs were performed throughout the tour.

Ever since her debut, Hamasaki has always aimed to produce all aspects of her work, and the tour is no exception, with the performance, stage set-up, materials for the curtains and stage flooring, and decoration designs all chosen by her. The extravagant show featured 11 costume changes, including a huge dress decorated with bouquets and a red enamel one-piece suit, as well as a performance from a pool suspended in midair, pleased many fans.

Original article [here].

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Hamasaki Ayumi to perform at “TV Asahi Dream Festival 2013”
14 August 2013. 04:00

“TV Asahi Dream Festival 2013” is a music event organized by TV Asahi to be held this September in Tokyo’s National Yoyogi First Gymnasium. A list of performing artistes has been released.

This year, the special live event will last for 4 days (19th, 21st~23rd September) to commemorate TV Asahi’s 55th Anniversary. Many artistes have been announced as performers, such as Hamasaki Ayumi on the 21st, and EXILE and GLAY on the 19th. Presales for tickets will begin today, from 14 August 12:00 to 21 August 23:59. General ticket sales will begin on 1 September. Check out the event’s official site for more details!

“TV Asahi 55th Anniversary Commemorative TV Asahi Dream Festival 2013”
Time/Venue: 19 Sep (Thu), 21 Sep (Sat), 22 Sep (Sun), 23 Sep (Mon/PH). Tokyo, National Yoyogi First Gymnasium

[19 September (Premium Night)]
Performers: EXILE, GLAY
Doors open / Show start: 18:00 / 19:00
Ticket price: 9,000yen

[21 September]
Performers: VAMPS, Kato Miliyah, Domoto Tsuyoshi, Hamasaki Ayumi, Hirai Ken etc
Doors open / Show start: 14:00 / 15:00
Ticket price: 9,000yen

[22 September]
Performers: androp, 9mm Parabellum Bullet, THE BAWDIES, NICO Touches the Walls, ONE OK ROCK etc
Doors open / Show start: 14:00 / 15:00
Ticket price: 8,000yen

[23 September]
Performers: Ikimonogakari, Nakashima Mika, Nishino Kana etc
Doors open / Show start: 14:00 / 15:00
Ticket price: 9,000yen

Official Site: http://dreamfestival.jp/

Original article [here].

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YouTube official channel “avex Channel” gets more than 1 million subscribers
9 August 2013. 16:51

avex’s official YouTube channel “avex Channel” has hit 1 million subscribers. It is the first time any official Japanese channel has hit the million subscribers mark.

“We are grateful to all who have supported this channel. We aim to grow even more, and bring joyful charming videos to everyone. We wish to celebrate this with all the YouTube staff team.” – avex group

“The internet is the channel to the world, and this achievement by avex is a wonderful example of how YouTube reforms the online world with music to reach out to new audiences around the world.” – YouTube music partnership Japanese representative Hirai John

The cover photo on avex Channel now sports the commemorative message “Thank you so much always for all your love and support.”, and is promoting a playlist of MVs of key avex artistes, such as Hamasaki Ayumi’s “You&Me”, EXILE’s “EXILE / EXILE PRIDE ~Konna sekai wo aisuru tame~ -short version-“, and Miura Daiichi’s “GO FOR IT”.

YouTube has also sent a “golden play button” to avex to commemorate the 1 million subscribers.

“avex Channel” acts as the primary channel for pre-releases of MVs of various artistes, as well as commentaries and off-shot videos which cannot be found elsewhere, and many other original videos. These videos can be viewed not only by viewers in Japan, but anyone all over the world.

◆YouTube Official channel “avex Channel”

Original article [here].

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[LIVE Report] Hamasaki Ayumi’s 15th Anniversary Tour ends. “Everyone, please smile until the day we meet again. Promise me!”
28 July 2013. 21:00

The nationwide arena tour commemorating Hamasaki Aumi’s 15th debut Anniversary “ayumi hamasaki 15th Anniversary TOUR ~A BEST LIVE~” played its finale show on 28 July at the National Yoyogi First Gymnasium.

This tour, playing 28 shows in 12 venues for about 220,000 audience, is a best-of live created for the first time from fan votes on songs to decide the setlist, based on ayu’s feelings of “wanting to create a show together with fans who have supported me these past 15 years”. 241 songs from the time of her debut to the latest track (excluding 15th Anniversary commemorative song “Tell All”) were voted on by fans to choose the Top 50 tracks, of which 20 were performed during the performance (33 different songs made the setlist throughout the tour).

Similar to previous tours, the show, setlist, goods, band members, stage layout including stage curtain and floor material, and even minor details such as decoration designs are all built from concepts dreamt up by ayu herself.

Continue reading →

Original article [here].

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Fashion magazine “Majesty JAPAN” September issue, featuring Hamasaki Ayumi on the cover with her hand as a makeshift bra, sells out
12 August 2013. 23:40

According to reports, Taisei Company’s fashion magazine “Majesty JAPAN” September issue is sold out in numerous bookstores.

The magazine, released on 7 August, features a semi-nude Hamasaki Ayumi on its cover, which quickly became a hot topic. An interview with the title “Welcoming the 15th Anniversary checkpoint with a natural body” accompanied the photos. The article talks about Hamasaki’s reminesces regarding her 15 years in the entertainment industry.

Since its debut on 7 March 2013, the sales of this September issue is a first for “Majesty JAPAN”. On 7 August, they posted an announcement on their Facebook page, saying “MajestyJAPAN Official Page has hit 5,000 likes. Please continue to support us”.

Online magazine distributors are selling both new and used copies of the magazine from 800yen onwards, while online auction site “Yahoo!Auctions” are selling copies at around 1,000yen.

■ “Majesty JAPAN” Official Site
http://majestyjapan.jp/
■ “Majesty JAPAN” Facebook Page
https://ja-jp.facebook.com/majestyjapan