Now, everything kind of made sense as to why she did them in the past year. She tested with PREMIUM SHOWCASE to see if she can still hold quality concerts with fewer dates. She went to Singapore instead of Taiwan for a-nation to probably test her popularity.


And to those that want her to tour the US and Europe...it took her this long to actually want to extend into Asia as a whole, so the other continents will just have to wait :laugh

I don't mind. If she doesn't want to perform, I'm not losing my sleep because of it. And maybe this year's CDL will be more interesting than the ones in 2012 and 2013. I haven't felt that interested in those since HOTEL Love songs CDL which was amazing in my eyes. I did watch few clips from those tho, but they made me feel meh, which isn't a good sign. :<

well I guess that last year was the last kouhaku for me :(
now only idols, boyband and enka. Ayu was the only reason to watch it

i'm actually happy that Ayu has finally decided not to participate in Kohaku. There are just idols, boybands and enka in that event and Ayu is a different thing. Though its an exposure, i wonder how the ratings will change now that the opener for 15 freaking years is gone. <3

^
She is the opener since 2008 not before ^^ lol
Here is the rating for the different openers since the past ten years and you can see Ayu had the best rating :) (big drop for the last year but I think this kohaku had less good audiences overall)

2002年 藤本美贵　30.3%
2003年 BoA　31.1%
2004年 上户彩　31.1%
2005年 细川高志　30.2%
2006年 大和美姬丸　23.5%
2007年 早安特别队　26.2%
2008年 滨崎步　31.8%
2009年 滨崎步　33.7%
2010年 滨崎步　37.0%
2011年 滨崎步　34.9%
2012年 滨崎步　32.1%
2013年 滨崎步 26.7%

I wonder why she felt so much pressure in doing it?
I mean artist come and go all the time... I wonder why she felt like she had to do it for so long?

I guess a sense of obligation/duty/expectations for her fans and status...I respect her for...


Time to throw everything away and start again.

LOL Thanks for correcting me. Anyway, its just time for a new beggining. :)

but she toured Asia already, TWICE, in 2007 and 2008! so you're incorrect. I'm pretty peeved that she's ignoring us fans in the US and Europe constantly, yet she lives in LA. :grumpy

pommy said "extend into Asia as a whole". Back in 2007 and 2008 she only had a couple of dates in Taipei, Shanghai and Hong Kong... That's not really the whole of Asia.

It's like Ayu is already a Kouhaku tradition and I feel like it's not enough if she's not performing there. But I care less because I can't watch Kouhaku anyway, unfortunately. So let her concentrate more on live performances. :-)

It's about 8 years too late for any sort of US show...She'd just be throwing money out the door. Even Utada who was actually somewhat relevant in the states had to use her own money to do her tiny, stripped down tour. It'd be a nice gesture for Ayu to do something like that for her fans but she's in no way obligated. The point of seeing Ayu's shows is for those great visuals so unless she's playing the Staples or something...it'd be pointless for all sides to have a US show. Now Europe, I can definitely picture that happening. They just seem more receptive of international acts.

I think you need to understand her main audience is Japan/Asia. She can say all the "I'll go anywhere where people want to hear my music", that doesn't mean she'll actually do it. She still has to do what's profitable. We should just appreciate that she is branching out more.

Why does she live in LA? Other than for her marriage, she likes that she can go out without having to worry about paparazzi or fans. She can live the life she wants in LA, so don't confuse her personal life with her work.

And to be honest, she probably didn't even realize she had such a huge international fanbase until the recent few years. We can see that she's more receptive of us now, so just let time take its course.

Why you can't watch Kouhaku?

No. That's far beyond the point. Ayu does not need heavy visuals. Take a look at her a-nation performances...

She's going to held concert in Asia again, maybe another Asia tour, so saving money now, I also only watch Kouhaku because of ayu, it's getting bored now...

She's in this year's Music Station Super Live, at least that's a consolation for her not going to the Kouhaku...

^Amen bro !!!

Yeah, I'd definitely take MS over kouhaku any day!

Well this is new. Strangely enough I don't care that much. Looking forward to MSSL more anyway.