ROFL.

ROFL, it is.

I do think that it would make a hot album ;D

Someone might have already mentioned this, but there is something I really, REALLY like about this perfomance, especially after reading the translation:

There's this innocence to her voice, like she is either just noticing what is going on in the lyrics for the first time, or rediscovering it after a while; there is just such a sense of wonder at the person she is singing to and the emotions she is feeling in the song; it's absolutely beautiful. I think it's one of the reasons I love this song so much.

I like how she's like:
"This is the first time I'm singing this song live!"
"Really?!" - Tamori [old guy with glasses]
"It's very risky! Risky.."

:)

The best by far of the songs we know so far going into the mini-album and i'm pretty sure it'll be the best song on the mini-album for me. GREAT!

Umm Whoever said her vocals were stunning, well, they were not at all, they were nice though, (Im talking about the live performance) but it seemed like she struggled to reach the highest notes at times.

:innocent
BLUE BIRD~another bird~
Born to Be..~be another~:thud

^those all nice^^ had to laugh

Real me ~another me~

could we say JEWEL = new HEAVEN?

IMO, that's how she usually sings. Honestly, she really has improved. Unless you wanna watch some pokerface lives to see what she was in 1998.. x.x She is AMAZING now compared to then..

-falls over-

HEAVEN is a much stronger and better ballad then JEWEL

I think that it's because it was for a movie.. :p

While JEWEL is a heartfelt, soothing piano ballad about a loved one..
HEAVEN is singing for a couple that is split apart :< Plus the arrangement had a lot to do with it.. :|

Piano only in JEWEL vs. like.. all the Japanese instruments and strings in HEAVEN with heavy percussion-y ness... yeah it would seem stronger.

But I think the studio track of JEWEL will be just as strong. :)

yeah I sure HEAVEN is betetr...but we also mentioned Startin' the 2006 STEP you...and STEP you is way way way way better!^^

Apparently nobody watched the Music Station episode where she sang BLUE BIRD and Utada sang This Is Love. Utada made Ayu look like crap. :headache

Again, Hikki does NOT sing well live. >> This is Love doesn't even require much singing and her singing in this sound slightly filtered..
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eb73gmM24F8
Performance in question.

If Hikki were to sing BLUE BIRD, I think we'd have some problems just as if Ayu were to sing This is Love [cause.. it's kinda low.. ._.]

I think Ayus voice is really nice when she sings low. Often better than when it's high.

Just compare the old evolution VS. the new live one :). Or Boys & Girls.

It's in a weird highpitched kinda Hikkilow though. LOL
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KQ8zZ4WQL4U
Compare with this Passion performance..
Not good. And she was SO not sick in this one.

I do think that the This is Love performance had a manipulation play with her voice [you know, cause This is Love is slightly.. electronicy..]

Dude. Have you even tried to hum that song using the key she used? It strains SO BAD. :dead2

I still think that she used some sort of microphonic filter for that song. It doesn't sound 'LIVE'.. :<

maybe she did like Ayu does/did sometimes, sing over her own pre-recorded vocals.

Oh come on. Utada even writes about it in blogs. If she did pre-recorded it wouldn't have had as many mistakes. Utada is a great live singer.

Yes, I never said she wasn't, but so is Ayu and she did that :D.

Well, it doesn't really matter. Blogs are cute.

I still think comparing This is Love to BLUE BIRD isn't a valid comparison.

I mean, BLUE BIRD really isn't that easy of a song to sing ._.

Yes it is. The range of notes sung are quite small in comparison to stuff like "Free & Easy", "End of the World", "SAKURA DROPS" and all kinds of stuff.

I think it sounds easy to sing ... but Ayu kept on "failing" during her lives. Although a-nation was near perfection :).

End of the World is scary. ._. All of Duty was all over the place.
Free&Easy was.. scary too.
And This is Love probably isn't much compared to SAKURA DROPS.. which has really high notes x.x

I just wonder how Hikki would sing BLUE BIRD :|

I never though Utada songs were that hard to sing... Passion to me sounded so mono.

Hikki would sing it like Boku wa Kuma. For a children's song, I think you do need to do some vocal control for the "Kuma, kuma, kumaaaa".

Anyways, back to JEWEL. Do you think it's brash to release a mini album instead of a single first? Cos I'm sure "JEWEL c/w 1LOVE" can break 300k.

I think that it was a good decision.

She might've seen the way her songs were going and wanted to refresh with a mini album to start out with some sort of 'end of winter into spring' ballad in February.. or something :)

I never heard Hikki sing any songs.

But I've had like... the entire ULTRA BLUE sung to me ... over and over.

I love her songs :).

Ayu needs to do a RAINBOW ~Episode II. I have never heard a song as listenably experimental as that.

I love Hikki too. :yes

immel doesn't love hikki..

I think emi sang the songs to him.. x.x

Ooh. Immel and emi exist in the same place? Awesome, AHS couple. :D

No.

They are overseas.

He's in Sweden, she's here in Cali. SHHHHHHHH.

Ooh long distance.

From Jewel to BLUE BIRD to Utada to ... overseas.

Where'd the topic go? LOL.

I want the studio version. Now. So that I can experaince the complete greatness of this song.

Seconded. :love

Studio version <3

I want a CDL06-07 version too.
Then she'll be in some giant JEWEL dome and then it'll slowly open.. <3 <3 <3
And it'd be all like HANABI status.