^ ah that's true I guess xD Even though Ayu's seasonal singles usually satisfy my taste, it would be nice to get rid of the whole seasonal concept...

I never like hikki's English side in the first place so I dun really care about TITO or Exodus. But true TITO is much more radio friendly compared to Exodus. As for UB and HS, they are in similar genre (synth computerized music) except, like you said, the former album was pretty blue. Also, the way she constructed the songs and the album was too complicated at some degrees. HS is a more soothing one and I prefer HS much more than UB in overall. Still HS isn't something really public friendly at all. TITO gives me a feeling that she's going to head into another direction again and I really expect her to release something weird, as she loves to do experimental stuff in Japanese side.

I should stop right here cuz I dun wanna turn this into hikki vs. ayu thread, which is not my intention. When I brought out hikki, what I meant is that I hope ayu could resume her popularity like how hikki did after UB period. They are two of my most beloved artists (the last one is a Hong Kong singer btw :P), so I want to see them doing good :).

No no no, it's fine really, I like Hikki ^_^ and I didn't intend to start an argument either :) I liked ULTRA BLUE just a bit better, even though both the albums each have one of my fave Hikki songs (BLUE and TAKE 5, the third one being Letters <3). I don't have a problem with her continuing the synth pop pat she has already taken, same goes for Ayu and rock. Oh and I personally enjoyed the majority of the songs on Exodus 04, while I can't say the same for TiTO as some of the songs were simply un-acceptable for me, especially when it comes to the lyrics >_>

YES! this discussion stopped a few days ago! wahaha.

I like reading pages of these..

Oops.

Even though I don't know who Hikki is.. (stopped reading also), I hope Ayu's 'losing her touch' does not have anything to do with her okay ear. because you need a louder volume to be heard in one ear.. and her surroundings are alwyas sooo loud.

Hikki is the nickname of Utada Hikaru. (ehh.. I guess you know who she is rite? :P hehe).

The topic died? Aww this is a great topic.

Anyways I don't care I'll just write what I think in here.

She still have her touch if she doesn't her career would have been over.
Hopefully her next single would be much much much much better.
I honestly think it will be since her London trip I've been excited about her release again I feel inspired and hopeful that She'll release something great this year.
I want her to rest and just relax for a while but I know I'll miss her even when her release aren't that good I still get a wee bit excited just hearing her voice again, Yes, Her voice isn't exactly the same but she's been singing for a long time not just simply singing she's singing probably until she can't talk anymore so it's expected her voice will change and she lost half of her hearing that would also affect (but no I'm not using the old She lost half of her hearing that's why she sucks now excuse). Actually her recent performance wasn't that bad compared to her performance of Sunrise/Sunset on Music Fair.

With all that I can now say "I'm eagerly waiting for her"

(btw I haven't been her fan for a long time I haven't even reached the 1 year mark)

I'm concerned about her overall health, specifically her voice. It appears that her vocal range has become quite restricted when compared to the first part of her career (notice that most of the songs she sings live now are in lowered keys) and she ends up singing even when not in top form (e.g. when she has a cold). This hasn't anything to do with losing her touch; it has everything to do with being made to be 'consistent' as a performer/product rather than doing what is best for her health. I think she is probably aware of this but has resigned herself to doing her best. I remember watching news from her 2001 concert and her injury while in Japan and thinking, "How can they ask her to perform after that?" She's a trooper; I hope it doesn't continue to injure her voice as it obviously has up to this point.

^ thats what i worry too. its impossible how she goes on and on. its why im so grateful to her

I'm not trying to say anything specifically against you or anything, but I hate whenever people assume that just because somebody's voice deepens and they can't sing as many high notes anymore, that means she is losing her range or even her voice in general.
For Ayumi - and many other people - she has gotten many years older, and her voice has changed drastically since her debut. No, she can't sing as high as she once could, but she can also hit more of the lower notes. This is the case with most people who's voices change later in life. Their ranges aren't necessarily getting worse (sometimes they do, but that's not usually the case), it's just that it's changing. It's normal, and it's not bad at all, let alone an indication of a singer's voice getting worse.

I think her voice sounds good at the moment, imo. In the past two years some of her performances have been a tad bit shaky (due to her hearing loss?), but even in her not so amazing performances her voice still comes through. I think that with her new music they are trying to get it more in her range (a tad bit deeper), so she'll be able to do well in her lives. Seeing the AT09 performances really blew me away, she sounded excellent pretty much through the entire show :yes

Certainly, that may be the case; however, the quality of the notes she is projecting is not as clear as it was perhaps 10 years ago. I'm certainly not suggesting that she cannot sing, nor am I criticizing her as an artist or performer. Please don't misunderstand: I'm very much a fan of Ms. Hamasaki's. However, I think that if you listen to performances of her songs from certain periods in her career (e.g. Ayumi Hamasaki Concert Tour 2000 Vol.1, Ayumi Hamasaki Countdown Live 2002-2003 A, Countdown TV Toshi-koshi LIVE 2002-2003), you can hear that her voice is not in good condition. She even commented on it during the 2002-2003 live, saying something to the effect of "I had no voice left, but I was singing in my heart." This is not a criticism of Hamasaki herself; it is a suggestion that what has happened as a result of her being made to sing during bouts with colds, bronchitis, and other illnesses is that her vocal range has narrowed. Even when singing under the best of conditions, singers lose some of their range if they continue to sing for long periods of time without rest.

Mochida Kaori is another singer who has clearly lost some range in her voice. She has even commented on the changes in her own voice because they have been brought to her attention. She came down with bronchitis during a tour and continued to sing. She has difficulties hitting high notes now that is very visible in the way she sings (and the expressions she makes while singing). Onitsuka Chihiro has to take time off from her career to heal after having a polyp removed from her throat; her voice has largely recovered but has been criticized by some, which is unfortunate because a) It is not her fault and b) She is a very talented vocal musician and songwriter. Celine Deon has faced the prospect of damage to her voice in the past as well as have a number of professionals who continue to sing today.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion in this matter. I do not profess any professional credentials in voice training or other musical or medical professions. However, I have a background in music and have heard enough from singers and musicians I know to understand something about the phenomena to which I have been referring. Certainly, people's voices can and often do deepen with age. Should this be the origin of the shifts in key in most of Hamasaki's repertoire, that is great news. However, considering the hoarse quality of her voice in some performances during highly active times of the year (e.g. sometimes during the end of the year), it is completely defensible to put forward the hypothesis that a burden has been placed on her vocal cords due to overwork. This is not a criticism of the singer; if anything, it is the concern of a fan and perhaps an indictment of Avex.

I've heard that Mocchi had surgery at some point to attempt to correct the problems, and her voice changed completely because of that...

I still love her voice though. In CHANGE and moka it sounds so nice!
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/BMTHg7B_avc/ - CHANGE preview crossfade
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/cYbKniODH2g/ - weather from moka

With regards to Ayu, I find that her voice ends up very worn out after long bouts of singing during tours, so I'm not really sure why she's having such long tours when she should spread things out more... aie. Ayu CAN still sound good, and I know that. It's just that she's really been performing WAY more than she should. [see AT09...]

i only get bored when that sunrise-sunset out.but after You-were/Ballad (such a perfect single to me) and now rock on roll circus,im getting so freak about ayu MORE.... i dont know why,maybe ayu had planned about this too,look around,everything seems so perfect now.

now i can hear ayu's song ONLY for about this month.... its great actually

for the PV - well yeah,,,why not using the greatest director such as wataru,kouki tange or tetsuo inoue.... *kazu is good only as a body language director*

for the voice.... ayu ,remember how sweet your voice in 2002 to 2005,because you didnt force your voice too much.... try to back at that era,remember how nice your voice when singing dearest in AT 2002... ???

for the music... keep it up!! still the best music

for the costum.... well being minimalist is good,but we are used to be see your uniqe style,but,,,i think your style now have been satisfied me ^^

for the hair...... arghhhh...i really love your ash-blonde hair...love it alot.and nice medium hair cut too

oh yeah..... about the vibrato... i notice she always change ,rainbow ,MA ,MS,MU,Secret,Guilty.... they have all different style of singing...

maybe we dont know all about Ayu's

what we do now is just TRUST HER,that she would die for everything to make her fans happy

I actually don't think her voice got deeper, she always has had a deep voice, you can hear it even in her idol on stage days. I just think that she has somewhat lost her high voice - her lower voice imo really hasn't changed much at all.

^I still think that the way she sang on the begining of her Avex career is not healthy for the vocal chords...

Does she strain herself to hit those really high, squeaky-sounding notes, or are they natural? I've always wondered that... If she does strain herself, then that really will affect her vocal cords, but if it's natural, then I don't see what the harm is :) Her voice has matured a lot, so it's gotten much deeper, so I don't think that she forced her squeaky voice back in ASFXX era... But that's just imo, I'm not sure what the real facts are :P

either way i think her voice with the higher notes or deeper notes is fine ^__~

It may not have gotten but it definitely sounds different. Maybe the tone of her voice changed? I mean in her idol days she was super young, your voice changes as you get older, ne?

I've thought the same thing tbh. Some of the notes on ASfxx and LOVEppears sounded painful, and really out of her range, like she was struggling to hit them. But that's the vocal style that was popular in the 90s, so thats why I think she did it. Her voice was lower on NOTHING FROM NOTHING and her idol days