Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai - Ayu : Product vs Artist and other things

Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/index.php)

- Ayu Chat-Room (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=20)

- - Ayu : Product vs Artist and other things (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124086)

^ I agree with the 20th anniversary commemoration remark , Ayu should have made a big bold statement about it as it's such a big thing but for her choosing to only go on tour & appear on a-nation in August , that's not enough and hardly felt worth it :no

At least she did some things celebrating her 10th & 15th anniversaries although they weren't that great but this's just really bad

Other artistes I support , they did a wide variety of different things in celebrating their milestone & they did not just tour only

You just need to take a look at what BREAKERZ (Did a 2 man live house VS Live with 10 different concert dates with 10 different artistes , released a special album based on 10 different songs they came up with from the entire VS Live tour , organised a 10th anniversary gallery exhibition at Gallery Parco & etc) , Hey ! Say ! JUMP and KinKi Kids (despite Domoto Tsuyoshi had unexpected health problems in the midst of celebration , Domoto Koichi solidered on and did a 2 dates outdoor concert at Yokohama Stadium with Tsuyoshi appeared on VTR) did last year in celebrating their respective 10th & 20th anniversaries

At least what each artiste did last year , it was great and exciting which really made me feel proud in supporting them for a very long time

Even Acid Black Cherry released Acid BLOOD Cherry in celebrating his 10th anniversary last year despite him being in poor health still

2018 hasn't end yet , Ayu still has time to do other things in celebrating her 20th anniversary aside from touring . Just that right now from what she's doing , I'm not having high hopes but I'm still hoping she can prove me & others wrong

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chibi-Chan (Post 3273574)

F
What also was a real no go for me was that she decided two times now for her TA tours not to have a live band and go with more dancers instead. I'm sorry, but if she would care about music just a bit at this point, she would understand that a live band is essential to every good concert.

TA '15 had a band, it was just TA '16 that didn't (and the one chapter of JtB).

I agree about the "celebration" aspect you mention though. There is so much she could be doing, even things that wouldn't be taking much effort from her - like releasing all these concerts she has stored up! Or an un-released/demo project, or another singles project, or a cover album, etc. However, I think they might be cautious because the public might not want to consume these things - for all the effort that went into it, I feel like the A Best 15th Anniversary re-release kinda flopped.

^oh sorry, I meant TA '16 and chapter 3 of last year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tokyoxjapanxfan (Post 3273512)

I'm not replying to anyone in particular lol.
Just going with the theme of the thread~

I was under the impression she was coaxed into writing lyrics, and her sound was more of an "anti" Komuro.

1998 was still huge into dance music, but Max took her into a completely different direction. And lyrics became the forefront of her music as opposed to just the sound. (At the time, this was pretty rare.)

I also heard that the reason for poker face's cover hiding her face was because Max wanted her to sell for more than her image. (But I don't have sources for this...)

Personally I believe that Ayu, when produced by Max, was still having to listen and abide by his direction. I'm sure she had the ability to voice her opinion, but it's -very- possible that Max wanted her to look like she was in complete control, even if she wasn't. To make her seem more than she might have really been. To make her star factor even bigger.

I mean, she was at one time the most profitable person for Avex. I truly doubt any company would have been letting such a person do as they please.

I do think there was -a lot- of work going on in the background.

I think Ayu is far more in control now. Which could be the reason quality has started to diminish. She doesn't have someone guiding her in any specific direction like Max had done.

Obviously we will only ever have theories.

But to me, the Ayu many people long for, was Ayu as the product. Not Ayu as the individual.

Even remix albums, I've heard, were completely because Max wanted to do them, and sell them, and market her in such a way. We all know A Best was an Avex decision as well.

Anyway, none of these things are bad things. And they're just my thoughts and what I've heard over the years haha. Take them with a grain of salt.

I still love Ayu, but there are things that I think she could benefit greatly from by changing.

Thank you. <3 This is basically how I feel.

It's really weird seeing people say that she was more personal or ambitious back when avex had more say. They wanted her to portray a "happy girl," so she wrote A Song for XX and POWDER SNOW in rebellion to that. I've read that it took her years to accept LOVE ~Destiny~ as her own song. Putting LOVE ~refrain~ on LOVEppears instead was also a rebellion. She started composing because none of the demos fit what she was looking for, so she decided it was easier to do it herself. But then she was forced to compose. She was also forced to release stuff she didn't want to, like you said, one only has to look at the covers used in the ourselves PV. When people were asking for ayu-mi-x VII they were basically playing into avex's hand. *rolls eyes*

I actually have a lot of things to say as to why I think some things are the way they are, but I'll leave that for another time. ^^

One thing, though, I recommend for everyone to be on an Ayu hiatus for a while. After that you might look at things differently - for better or worse.

Sorry for double-posting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by voltron (Post 3273533)

Alright, I'm going to start with the necessary disclaimer, since a lot of folk here get triggered by bringing up anyone else's name, etc. I've been a fan of Ayu for nearly 19 years, have been following Hikki since Distance, a fan of Koda Kumi since her second album, and a fan of Namie since around Love Enhanced. So all this to say, I've been following these women for longer than some of you have been alive. ;) But seriously, I've gone through phases with ALL of them where I've liked them more or less, and feel like I have a pretty firm grasp on their careers, personas, styles, etc.

There's a lot to unpack in these comments. So let's dig in, in no particular order, and with me being to lazy to re-read a lot of the above diatribes.

*snip*

Another great comment. <3 Keep them coming. lol

I probably was the only person who was kind of happy that GUILTY only got second place, because I thought that it likely took a huge load off her shoulders. I doubt that Terminal would've got released as a re-cut if she had her number 1 single streak going.

To sum up your very good post I will say something that I thought for quite some time: What keeps Ayu from getting "better" is the fact that she has a personality. There's a lot of things she could be doing, a lot of things I'd like her to try, but there's a line where trying something new means losing oneself, where evolving means throwing yourself away.

Quote:

Originally Posted by orbitalaspect (Post 3273507)

Unless Ayu is now an introvert. If that's the case, I'm just going to throw my hands up and call this debate officially over.

What the hell?! O_o She has always been an introvert. Everything about her screams introvert.