Some excellent live choices here including a few of my favourites!

I think this Dearest live is pretty excellent too

This is my favorite Dearest live from her. It is perfection. I always watch it during the winter :love

I always have this special feeling for dearest, it feels like Im in the ancient era of inuyasha all over again xD <333333

yeah, i have to agree on that! Especially when she's doing these big dresses on stage.
I dont know what it is but it has something very genuine and raw about that one performance that i love so much, not to mention i love her vocals in it too.

Agreed; I feel like as soon as she messed up the lyrics the wall she was hiding behind just came tumbling down. There's a raw and vulnerable quality to that performance that I haven't seen from her in a long time.

Anyone else think this song would be a lot better if Ayu's verse vocals didn't sound they like were filtered through a low compression amp?

Well I would have loved to see that. Imagine her in a kimono revealing La Perla lingery :D Cliché Japanesy suits Ayu: the two looks on the ayu mix 4 cds, her outfit in Part of me plus that amazing I am... opening in which she sings the first two lines in a video. Even though a Japanese theme would have been so cliché for Made in Japan, Ayu can make something magical out of these themes. Something still very avant garde.

I actually really dislike this performance. For me, the quality of her voice is very low; and yes, she sounds defeated in it, which is good for a portion of the song, but she's missing the other half - strength. Unlike the later performances, I don't get a sense of conviction from her in the '04 performance. Nor does it feel slightly vindictive. It's like she's just completely alone, lost, and whining. However, in the later performances, she expresses a bit of anger on top of all that, and it's evident that there's more of a struggle between those two conflicting emotions in those interpretations than in the former. I prefer the "I've become hardened to those thoughts and feelings" type of emotion she portrays in the 2010 performance than the "I still want you to come back" emotion she portrays in the 2004. That's not to say that "want" is completely lost in the 2010, but it's obvious she's been able to construct a very strong mask to cover it up, from which she peeks out above from time to time, and the progress she's made since that day is more apparent. That sort of dichotomy just isn't present in the earlier performance of the track.

Also, the '04 mix is so damn noisy. Her vocals are overpowered by the band, where as in the '10, they are propped up by the instruments, and given support.

This is my favorite performance of her! Love everything about it. And the rain is the cherry on the top.

I also love this one:


The meaning and emotions behind this performance is so powerful. love love love

Agree! I have always imagined a Real Me or Ourselves performance with kind of a new beat and Ayu dancing next to her dancers wearing a short kimono (not necessarily too short, but enough for her to dance and show those legs) haha

I love her "No Way to Say" performance in the 15th anniversary.

I loved the dress, her vocals, the simplicity of the performance and the arrangements.

And though I like Shuya, I could have done without him.

Totally agree with you except the part with the vocals. But anyway, lovely dress!!!

I'm on the minority. I actually like her "new" voice better than her old one. :D

I'll never forget this "No way to say" live right here. It was the first time I saw Ayumi live. I remember I downloaded this performance in Kaaza a looong time ago lol



And I just realize she sing the wrong part during 1:07 hahah

^ I'm pretty sure that was the first time she performed it. She was listed as a guest for the show, but there was no song next to her name. NWTS was completely unannounced as a forthcoming single, and it was just like -- performance and new single announcement in one.

Actually I do prefer her new(er) voice too but I just can't stand all the autotune. But nothing is worse than PSC!!!

I love her mature voice so much more than her voice when she was young :yes

btw, guys does someone know like the specific performances where ayu did the actual countdown on the middle of a song? like forgiveness on CDL 14-15 or last year's Born to be? I've watched every CDL I think but I can't remember them all and I'm feeling nostalgic, I'd like to watch all the performances of songs with the countdown right now :laugh

I don't remember every count down performance at all, but the first one I immediately thought of was Rainbow from CDL 07-08! I think 'cause it's the first one I saw where she started counting down during the song itself, lol



Looked around a lil for you and found Who.. from Premium CDL!

Thank you so much!!! <33