Ew really?

I would hate for Ayu to start wearing crazy costumes like Gaga, especially when they don't mean anything for her...and other people as well.


But if there is one thing I hope Gaga will change in the music industry, it's the idea that, you don't have to be a glamorous, beautiful person to write great songs, have a beautiful voice and sell.


About the koda-ayu-namie thing...honestly...I try to compare Ayu to only Ayu and things she's done.

Everyone is just too different imo. Different music = way different stage performances.

I can respect that. I can understand why you dislike Ayu's (new?) music. And of course, I can see why people love Namie and Koda. I love old "Concentration 20" Namie, also STYLE and her SUITE CHIC persona. Koda, well.. I'd definitely play with her boobies. And she can sing pretty well live from what I've seen, which is something Ayu can't do right now. I don't know enough about the other J-pop divas besides Ayu to really discuss them, honestly. It's just that from what I can gather, there's nothing too similar about any of them to warrant constant comparison (It's just a J-diva thing, I know). But the way I see it, it's like comparing Nickelback to Sum 41 just because they're both Canadian "rock" bands, which is sooooo.. I don't know.. ignorant? lol.

The J-divas all have certain strengths and weaknesses, and people assess these strengths and weaknesses in different ways. Admittedly, I think people are sometimes really insane for how they perceive their attributes... I think we all have moments like that here. For instance, I don't understand how anybody can think Ayu sounded excellent at CDL. I also don't understand how some of Kuu's songs are loved by anybody. We all have our radical douchebag "wtf are you on?!" moments. So when I say, "I don't understand why Koda/Namie/Ayu have the same fans blah blah" I don't really mean to offend anybody or anything. I just find it questionable for some odd reason.

^
^ Gaga's songs are catchy and fun, but great? - imo, not really :)

That's alright, I haven't seen any of SMAP's concerts because I find them boring :thud so if there is a particular performance of theirs that you think is amazing, I'd like to see it. Of course it all depends what you consider a great stage production is:)

I do agree there are things she can do, but obviously not with the current staff she has nor by herself, as she seems to be lacking new ideas. Besides I don't have a problem with her performances to be honest, her singing skills are a bigger issue imo, even though I generally don't mind them, at least most of the time.

@ Coelacanth: With Ayu, it's all so serious for me. Like, she's the artist I hold to a higher standard. I follow her work closely and hope everything she releases is great.

With Kumi, she can be hot. I like a lot of her music - but when she is about to release something, I just hope it's something I can listen to and have fun with. Something really enjoyable. But if it doesn't turn out that way, it's just disappointment - much smaller disappointment than I would have with Ayu. Same with Namie.

Idk if I'm making myself clear. But Ku and Namie release some good songs I really love here and there so I follow them to see when they release other great songs. It's like...

When Ayu releases a song I dislike or am not the biggest fan of, I try to force myself to like it. If it were Kumi or Namie, I'd just say "I don't like that song" and move on. All three of them have songs I do like. That goes for Ai too!

Basically you could check out just about any SMAP, Arashi, Kinki Kids etc concert and see that the stage design and the many different ways that they use the stage is pretty amazing and varied. Or just download the countdown live at jpopsuki. :) They really use the stage and venue a lot of different ways over the course of a concert. There are many ideas that Ayu could implement into her shows.

^having watched quite a few Johnny's concerts, I don't know if it would actually work in an Ayu Show. Most of them are in Domes and Stadiums, for example, and there is much more you can do there, I think. The one time Ayu did a Dome tour, I really liked the stage design. I just get shivers down my spine when I remember the Evolution Opening at Dome Tour. You just have so much space to work with. I also find KinKi Kids concerts to be really simple, which is a good thing, but it only works because they have great voices and can pull it of.

I don't think Ayu lost her touch, at least she didn't loose it with me. I have phases with her, sometimes I listen to her more, and sometimes less. I don't compare her with others. I like a big variety of artists, and she happens to be my favourite. I don't think about it too much, I never analyze why I like what I like. It's like falling in and out of love. It just happens, you cannot control it. And maybe one day I'll suddenly realize I don't love her as much anymore and move on. But I'm a faithful person at heart and I doubt that would happen. My expectations are not set high, so I'm always never dissappointed.

Oh for sure, you can always do more with more space. Although even the Johnny's arena tours are pretty elaborate anyways. Most of the things done in dome's can be done in arena's too, just on a smaller scale. My basic point is just there is always something more that can be done and so many people like to say that there just isn't anything more she can do, so that is why she repeats things. I disagree with that. If given the choice though I would personally prefer her in a concert with her and the band and that's it, haha.

I don't agree. It's seems like everyone forgot that the CDL called Future Classic!:innocent
some people says that her outfits are all recycle? But where do you see the pink dress? The step you performance was really different from the other ones! The intro of the concert was really differrent too. Usually, it's a interlude or intro from her album (except for PCDL).
No, I really think that a lot of people exaggerate.
And, if you are not agree with that, I tell you to do a concert with a lot of new ideas. I think I'll have a lot of fun.
I would like to say that Ayu move on to concert! It's impossible to change choregraphy of all songs for each concert!
Do you see the stuff she used when she song evolution? Usually she moves a lot. It's a new stuff, too.

^Actually I was wondering about the thing in Evolution. When I saw it, the first thing I wondered is if the reason was so that Ayu could get from one end of the stage to the other without running and therefore loosing her breath in the song - just put her on a luggage cart instead. :) It didn't really have the right effect though cause she was still out of breath.

I didn't even bother watching CDL 09-10 ...

ya.i thought it would help her alot,but :tired

Yeah, but I think she didn't realize that she's 31 years old and not 20 again. But it's good to see that she understood that she should try to find other stuff to keep her breath! We could think that her concert ran 3 hours. It's a lot. With a 2hours concerts I'm already tired and I always sit down and not move. XD
So I perfectly understand that kind of thing.

Yeah, the audience appeared to me to be the best since MY STORY tour

I just think that she needs to rest a few months, let's say 4 months?

I agree with you guys, she isn't what she used to be, not to me at least. Most of ehr songs sound alike now, whether it's her rock-songs, her power ballads or her usual summer-songs. We need something new! Like back when she did Bold&Delicious. Not her best track by far, but a nice change and something new and innovative!
I haven't even watched her 4-5 latest AT's and CDL's, they don't interest me, and by the pictures and reviews posted here, they seem to be identical to each other.

I wish Ayu would have a rest. Take a break for a year or so, find some inspiration to make new stuff.

They did showed her in one of the CDL? or something, that she sits on this huge comfortable chair, which is on a wheeled platform and pushed her on it while she fans herself and wipes her sweat and drinks a sip of water. and by the time she reaches the other side, she is just in time, a few seconds away from going to stage.

you really don't watch her latest 4-5 ATs and CDLs??
really? wow!

---

anyway, how i wish that we could log onto her TA blog then we can share our minds to her and ask her to stop singing and take a rest for a year!

then we will mess up her TA LOL. I don't think fans outside should have access to her fanclub. her fanclub is what kept her going properly.

we complain too much.

You'd probably get banned from TA or something if you said something bad. I hope ayu doesn't learn enough English to be able to find or read posts in this forum, she'd probably feel like crap.

^ exactly. saying good things, does help alot in improvement, and doesn't leave scars. ^^