be the band's last No. 1 album. In May, keyboardist Tomoko Konno experienced a temporary but total hearing loss in one ear, causing the band to field a replacement player since they were on their customary summer tour at the time. Konno's hearing returned in June but there was concern that she would have to be replaced, or perhaps even the band would retire. In this last period of their career, Princess Princess experienced declining popularity and record sales, with an evident difficulty in maintaining their previous musical output and success. The four singles from May 1993 up to their decision to retire in early 1995 are noticeably easy-listening and more mature-themed than their previous pop rock efforts. Released in late 1993, their 8th album Majestic featured less energetic "break up" love songs. In 1994, Konno released a solo album, and Okui also began her solo music activity, and the band filled the year with another compilation album, Presents, which featured fan-voted singles not on their previous compilation. In April 1995, the band informed their label management that they were retiring, a decision taken at the end of the previous year while preparing their next album. According to their statements, there was friction between band members about moving in new musical directions and preserving in the usual artistic path, keeping the image that the band had established over the previous decade of work. Okui, the main musical force behind the band, also said that songwriting was becoming much more difficult for her: "In the past it felt that the songs would just come from heaven, without having to think about it, but as time went on it began to become more of a struggle". Additionally, band members also said that they wanted to end their activity as friends. In August 1995, the band announced their impending breakup, along with their 20th single, "Fly Baby Fly" (which was the band's lowest-selling single since before their "break", only selling 32,000 copies). Their final album, titled The Last Princess, served as a "goodbye message" to their fans. In 1996, the band went on their last nationwide tour, ending with a three-night run at the Budokan in May. After 16 years, Princess Princess reunited in November 2012 for several concerts in order to help with recovery from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. They performed six concerts; November 3 and 4 at the Sendai