Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai - 2021: Reflecting on Ayu's career

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

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

- - 2021: Reflecting on Ayu's career (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125221)

^They respect her legacy from the 90s and early 00s (which is what people refer to when calling her utahime of the heisei era), but during the last ten years, she has been perceived as trashy by a lot of people. She has a very loyal fanbase, which is why she is able to hold her tours, but the general public is not interested in being associated with the Ayu from the last ten years. Her early career is what people like about her and what is still selling, but the current Ayu not so much.

This conversation seems to pop up every few years, so I'm just going to start by quoting myself.

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All of this has been discussed to death, and will continue to be until the end of time probably. And that won't stop me from repeating what I've said many times before.

I think there are both conscious and unconscious reasons for "abandoning" Ayu. Certainly the things you listed above are a factor for some people, especially the general public/casual fans. She's not the same Ayu as before, and she has gotten older.

Then there's the unconscious level. And this is maybe my own theory on things, but Ayu was the voice of the "lost generation" in Japan. People always connected to her on this really personal level for her lyrics, her attitude, etc. During her prime, Ayu was a "bad Japanese woman" because she broke out of the mold in so many ways, and that was exactly what the general public was feeling and wanting during that time. Now, those people have all grown and settled into the more "expected" roles they play in life, and the current younger generation in Japan is really much more insular than the previous. Now Ayu's actions and behaviors as a "bad Japanese woman" are something to insult her for, it's not something they want to see in a Japanese popstar. I also contribute this to Namie's success - despite the bumpy rode she faced earlier in her career, but scrubbing her private personality from things (like, literally having her tattoos removed), she became this aspirational image of a cute, beautiful, talented, hard-working Japanese woman. And all of those things are certainly true, but it's a very specific image that she's portraying, and exactly what the general public want.

As for overseas fans, that's a different story altogether. But I also honestly feel like if she was blowing things out of the water in Japan a lot of her foreign fans would fall in line too.

I think she has tried to pull back her private life and be seen more as a "good Japanese woman" since around MADE IN JAPAN. And while it seems to have helped a bit, it's not a full rebrand. I also think Namie's retirement has helped her, because it's ended the cross-fandom hatred.

That said, I do think she has also stagnated a little bit by working with the same people so consistently. She herself has said that she doesn't really listen to music, and I don't think she has (or cares to have) her finger on the pulse of society and culture anymore - at least not musically. Her goal seems to be to continue to refine the dream that she wants to show us vs. create a new dream - that's why everything now feels so much more iterative than groundbreaking. And some people love this and eat it up, but the general public is looking for something more fresh. I think Ayu has it in her to do that - to pull a Namie and make super commercial music, but it's just not what she wants.

Of course the media exposure was a big factor against her image over the last decade, but I don't really think that she cares about it. I mean, as long as she can sells out arenas and halls, there isn't any reason for her to bother. She's the most successful solo act of all Oricon period and no one seems to be even close to her.

Her last "standard era" was Love Songs, which did pretty well on charts (3 #1 singles and the album was #1 as well). After that, avex promotions were weak, and then the gossips overcame her musical releases. I don't believe in the "lack of quality" or "bad voice" idea. The big issue is that Avex only cares about where the money is, and it's all about selling tickets.

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Originally Posted by barisuta53 (Post 3337445)

I think I agree with you.

Everyone is different and behaves differently, but I don’t like it when gay men trash those they deem to be too camp or flamboyant. Especially since these are the ones who put their necks out to further the cause by forcing people to pay attention rather than quietly living life.

This is why I think personalities like Ayu are drawn. But it’s all a moot point I guess because I don’t know if anyone in Japan has criticised her for showing support for the gay community (I won’t say LGBT because she hasn’t really).

Her decline from popularity was well underway before she started letting her thoughts on it be known which is a shame. I feel like the way her career is now has given her freedom to do what she wants to do. Maybe she feels less pressure?

I would say Ayu is a better LGBTQ+ Ally than your average popstar. She portrayed gay and lesbian relationships on her work over the years, have had openly lgbtq people on her body of work and I can't think of anyone else in the industry worldwide who actually had a openly trans dancer that got A LOT of spotlight over the years while still only playing roles her cis dancers did usually.

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Originally Posted by tokyoxjapanxfan (Post 3337453)

My “issue” with Timmy was similar in the sense that it felt like he was being used as a spectacle. We don’t know how much he wanted that, though. I mean he did his own makeup and it’s obviously something he was comfortable with (for at least some time.)

So it wasn’t my issue with him, just how he was used.

It felt... like a parody. I mean, Gomi also became a parody of himself (who is also gay), and Hikaru is now kind of going down that road lol. Still, it’s impossible to say Ayu is forcing any of this. I can’t imagine that if they expressed that they wanted to be used more “normally” that she’d oppose? In the end they’re in the world of entertainment and screen time and getting a name for yourself is surely part of that for some.

Timmy’s just felt closer to home because I’m also a foreigner and I’d hear the things people were saying about him. Kimoi, kimochiwarui, kowai... not very often that they were positive.

But I know that Ayu loves and values the gay community so I don’t really believe anything was ever done maliciously or forcefully.

(None of this is aimed at anyone, just offering my opinion.)

Personally I don’t think her embrace of the lgbtq community hurt her, considering is was done after her popularity had already started to wane. I think it’s just a case of over exposure and changing of trends. No one stays at the top forever.

My biggest annoyance now is just that I feel like for the past 10 years she failed to utilize the immense amount of talent that still exists in the music / entertainment industry. Instead, she just kept using the same team over and over again. (Minus a few instances of course.) For someone as big as Ayu, it just strikes me as odd that she seemingly just... stopped trying to progress.

This all comes from a place of love. I know it might sound too critical, but I don’t take it as seriously as it might sound haha.

Considering Hikaru's instagram and Gomi's behind the scenes behavior, I believe they got those roles because it hit closer to home for them. Hikaru has being a femme high heels dancer on his own stuff since before working with her.

About Timmy, he was a drag performer back in UK, wasn't he? And his outfits are actually representation of some stuff done by a LGBTQ+ subculture if I'm not wrong, so even if it feel odd for us, she maybe is conveying something this subculture feels confortable with.

In the end of the day, a lot of Ayu work was meant to be shocking to some degree, even during her peak, and making people unconfortable with some stuff reflects that.

About her stopping progress, is something I somewhat agree, but I believe this was more of a comercial decision. From Love Songs to Colours she really tried to push boundaries both with her own sound, as with her visual work and public image, and as the public didn't react well to that, she tried to get safer again starting with A One.

I always like to repeat how some of her work where she tried the most to do new stuff were also the ones with the poorest reception.

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Originally Posted by tokyoxjapanxfan (Post 3337453)

My biggest annoyance now is just that I feel like for the past 10 years she failed to utilize the immense amount of talent that still exists in the music / entertainment industry. Instead, she just kept using the same team over and over again. (Minus a few instances of course.) For someone as big as Ayu, it just strikes me as odd that she seemingly just... stopped trying to progress.

Now here's the real tea. She is AYUMI HAMASAKI. She's not some small artist struggling to make it big. She has all the resources in the world to branch out but is just so comfortable in her little work family that it gets to the point where everything just starts to sound stale.

Like yes, she absolutely doesn't have to "prove" anything at this point in her career but that doesn't mean you just become... monotonous. And that's been my problem with Ayumi. Everything became boring. The songs she's been releasing aren't "bad"... but they also don't excite me anymore.

That said - I'm hopeful that she feels inspired again if her latest TA entry is accurate to how she is feeling and perhaps we'll get something interesting again.

There’s a difference between why she’s not popular in Japan anymore and why there’s disconnect with even overseas fans. I think boring is less of a factor for Japan - their idea of a good time is getting some much needed shut eye induced by a snoozer of a track, figuratively speaking. Her voice plays a bigger factor in regard to her fallout with Japan than the people she’s working with.

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Originally Posted by Andrenekoi (Post 3337422)

I always find it funny how people want Ayu's work to feel personal and for her to not put personal stuff in that at the same time. And how easily people forget she is pretty much milking her own story since her first single.

EXACTLY. She started intertwining her own experiences since the very beginning - HER LYRICS. I don't know why people think it's unthinkable for her to get other stuff there too! IT only feels natural to progress to that eventually, more or less.

_______

Honestly I get it. I also think a lot of her stuff sounds like leftovers from whatever she did before. And yes, there is a thing where artists work with the same people constantly and don't branch out. Which i do find strange, cuz even if those people you are comfortable with, as an artist it would get somewhat borring after a while? I don't know, maybe she sees it differently and it's the other way around - she found people who live on the same wavelength and you surelly wouldn't even think about replacing or letting them go. At the end of the day there might be more to this than just Ayu "getting comfortable" with her team.

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Originally Posted by Zeke. (Post 3337483)

Yep. This. All of this.

Some of her most disliked tracks by the overseas fandom actually are well Beloved in Japan (pun intended). But you can see a lot of complain about her voice in Youtube videos, for example.

I don't live in Japan, but I have always wondered if all people know who she is, ordinary Japanese people. If I told them her name, would I get a “who is that?” comment or they would know about Ayu?

^They definitely know her. She was too big not to know her. It's like everyone here knows who Madonna is, but especially younger people might not know her songs or might have just heard them at karaoke once or saw her perform on kouhaku or something and that's it. People around 30 or older will definitely recognise songs like evolution, Boys & Girls and SEASONS and even start singing the chorus if you mention her. They often seem to feel kind of nostalgic. But they also often assume she isn't active anymore, because during the last years she was most often over the news for her private life and not for her music. It's safe to assume they don't know any songs after BLUE BIRD.

^It makes me sad, I love her early days but most of my favourite songs are probably post Secret at this point!

For people having a better understanding of how she is perceived in Japan, do you think Haru yo Koi could have a significant impact on her image? Is it really that big a song or was it blown out of proportion in our circles by the 2003 performance?

^ It is one of Yuming's biggest songs, together with Sotsugyo Shashin.

That said, I don't think it's going to have a huge impact on how Ayu is perceived. It may subtly give a more positive image in some of the public's mind, that she's done something so mature and lovely - but for a lot of people I think it will just cement the idea that she is a hasbeen - she's covering a famous song vs. getting publicity for her own, and it's an old song at that.

I think the only thing that might make a difference is if Yuming made some public comments about the cover that were favorable, but I don't see that happen with artists in Japan so much - even when they have officially released tribute albums.

I don't really think Haru Yo, Koi was meant to be big, anyway. A Ballads 2 seens to be a test to decide where to go next.

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Originally Posted by voltron (Post 3337525)

^ It is one of Yuming's biggest songs, together with Sotsugyo Shashin.

That said, I don't think it's going to have a huge impact on how Ayu is perceived. It may subtly give a more positive image in some of the public's mind, that she's done something so mature and lovely - but for a lot of people I think it will just cement the idea that she is a hasbeen - she's covering a famous song vs. getting publicity for her own, and it's an old song at that.

I think the only thing that might make a difference is if Yuming made some public comments about the cover that were favorable, but I don't see that happen with artists in Japan so much - even when they have officially released tribute albums.

Lol that is definitely not going to happen haha! Yuming is famous for making pithy and mean comments :mischief

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Originally Posted by KPL (Post 3337530)

Lol that is definitely not going to happen haha! Yuming is famous for making pithy and mean comments :mischief

Really???

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Originally Posted by ayu_fantasy (Post 3337535)

Really???

I don’t know any specific comments but I can believe it. She’s a public supporter of former prime minister Shinzo Abe who is a huge nationalist.

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Originally Posted by barisuta53 (Post 3337538)

I don’t know any specific comments but I can believe it. She’s a public supporter of former prime minister Shinzo Abe who is a huge nationalist.

I vaguely remembered that there was something like a talk show/radio show many years ago where people asked Yuming to comment on various famous people in Japan. And her comment for ayu was something along the lines of "her mascaras look like fly's legs" lol

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Originally Posted by Chibi-Chan (Post 3337514)

But they also often assume she isn't active anymore, because during the last years she was most often over the news for her private life and not for her music. It's safe to assume they don't know any songs after BLUE BIRD.

Yes and sadly it didn’t help that during the last decade most of the time when she was on TV it was for singing her popular songs instead of her newer ones... to me she should’ve refrained herself to do that because this has cemented this image of diva of the past and considering her voice couldn’t handle these songs properly it only make it worse for the public. I don’t like to make comparaison with Namie Amuro but she was clever to stop going on tv shows because her vocal cords was destroyed (she said it herself).
its useless to try rewrite the story but when I think about it im always a bit sad how things tourned .

^^That's pretty funny, actually. xD

There's this interview one had with the other, I believe Ayu was the one being interviewed, and she was TOTALLY starstruck lol.

Yuming is a big name in the industry and she is around since the 70's. Her comercial peak still was way into her 40's. She can say pretty much whatever she wants lol