OFF went her lover's tattoo and couple ring, together with some 30cm of her silky long hair.

The message is clear - J-pop queen Ayumi Hamasaki wants a fresh start after ending her seven-year relationship with rock band Tokio vocalist Tomoya Nagase in July.



The ultimate act?

Ayumi, 29, wrote the lyrics of her upcoming 42nd single Talkin' 2 Myself like a break-up song:

'During this information age, we're only making the choices that we should do. You should know, only by ending will there be a new beginning.'
She performed it during the last gig of the annual A-Nation concert tour held in Tokyo on 26 Aug.

It featured most of the artistes signed to record company Avex Trax, Japan, including Ayumi, Kumi Koda, Ai Otsuka, TRF, and from Korea, boy band TVXQ and girl group The Grace (or Tenjochiki in Japanese).



LONGEST SEGMENT
Indisputably the biggest act of the six-hour showcase was Ayumi, who was the last to make an appearance, but promptly commanded the attention of the 45,000-strong screaming crowd with her flamboyant antics.

Hers was the longest segment at 50minutes, and she delivered a sexy chair dance in a skin-tight corset that accentuated her curves - as if to silence rumours that she had gained weight due to binge eating to relieve the emotional trauma of her break-up.

Also sharing the A-Nation stage was Ayumi's label mate and biggest pop rival Kumi.

Clad in a see-through maroon top over a black bra and micro hotpants, the usually chatty Kumi, 25, was unusually quiet on stage.

Perhaps she did not want to give anything away about her rumoured romance with boy band Smap's leader Masahiro Nakai.

Hot off the gossip press is another sighting of the couple in a hotel in Tokyo, and Flash magazine caught Kumi buying household goods in bulk recently and speculated that she might be moving in with Masahiro.
But, there is also talk that their relationship is only a publicity ploy conjured by Avex to persuade Smap to leave Victor Entertainment and sign with Avex instead.

Ai, however, remains carefree and unattached.
But she is not lonely for sure.

She boasted the biggest back-up dance crew of 60 during the A-Nation concert and got the audience to do the cutesy Chu-lip dance with her.

Finally, Korean boy band TVXQ proved its popularity by performing five hit songs to excited fans who bolted out of their seats to wave their towels and red balloons.

The five-member band announced recently that it would focus on the overseas market and put local activities on hold for the time being.

One of its last jobs back home was to sing the theme song of actor Bae Yong Joon's upcoming drama Taewangsashingi (The Four Gods), which debuts in Korea next week.

Now, the guys are busy preparing for and promoting their Asian concert tour, which kicks off in Taipei next month and moves on to Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok and Hong Kong, to name a few.