I've heard no word of a 2010 release yet.This will be the first time EVER that she has gonna she has gone 5 months with no single;I checked all the way up til May for Avex releases.

I know that she recently stated somewhere that she has been recording new material and making PVs. She also just came back from London with a photoshoot that many people speculate might be in the next album. Furthermore, her upcoming arena tour is called "Rock n' Roll Circus" and fans speculate that this may be the title of an upcoming album, and there's even rumored tracklists as well. So, I think she may release an album later this year. But I think she does need a break to come up with some fresh ideas and not be overexposed all the time, something Avex seems to do with artists like Ayu and Koda Kumi. I like the way Hikki does it; taking a break and coming back strong and rejuvenated.

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That woman really pushes herself too hard.It's not like it's '06 though releasing 2 albums in one year!I still just warming up to NEXT LEVEL.I love the intro and title track but I haven't focused on much else other than that,discord and the singles that made it on the album.

However.....if she manages to bust out another Duty or (miss)understood....I won't be so plagued by the idea of her fainting from exhaustion.She'd probably flee from the hospital with her IV in her arm and right into the studio.It's not even that Avex pushes them that much,they just allow them to get a lot of studio time.Kuu-chan and Ayumi really willingly work a lot.

But I can say Ayumi's work has been paying off for the past 2 years.2 meh albums from KoKo....UNINVERSE was not very impressive.TRICK had about 2 songs I liked and that was it.

Quite an observation! She hardly takes any break...Especially this few years, she has quite a lot of new stuff actually.

She's getting the most out of it now. Isn't she doing what she can while her hearing is still in tact? I know she's steadily losing it.