Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai - Max Matsuura's blog entry about Ayu

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

- Ayu Celebrity News (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=92)

- - Max Matsuura's blog entry about Ayu - "Meeting ayu" (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101211)

Max Matsuura's blog entry about Ayu - "Meeting ayu"

Spoiler:

translation from amazing teth:

There were a lot of questions asking me to talk about how I met Ayu.

This will be from my perspective so how it happened may be different from Ayu’s perspective. Our first encounter is when I was about 31, so almost 15 years ago.

I met Ayu through someone that worked at velfarre (Avex’s disco in Roppongi)

She was saying frothy things like “I’m in a dorama (Miseinen)” and “I will put out a song.” At the time, I was still someone of no importance. Even so, I remember telling Ayu that “selling music is that easy you know”

After that, for some reason, we met quite often. Of course I did not predict at the slightest that she would become today’s Ayu.

We would go to karaoke and have her sing, and I have a feeling I would dare to talk about what kind of voice she had, how well or bad she sung, or how high she can sing as I raise the key, etc.

We would randomly contact each other and met occasionally, but I don’t remember talking that much about work.

However, I distinctly remember her saying, “I went with my mom to my talent agency and quit”

I have heard her talk about wanting to become a singer, but I didn’t really take it seriously.

But, if she had went and quit her agency, then the question of “what are you going to do?” would of course come up.

Our partnership began from there on. (NOTE: He actually said “three-legged race”, which means the two worked together from that day on.)

In that case, I got serious too. I began to think daily on the strategy to get Ayu debut.

At the same time, my relationship with Mr. Komuro was getting worse and worse. So my biggest mission at the time was to make avex stand on its own without him.

To do that, there was a necessity for me to produce artists myself. It was around that time when it was decided to debut ELT and I was pre-occupied with that.

ELT, August of 1996 debut

Behind the ELT that was selling spectacularly, I was giving my all to make my next artist debut. That was Ayu.

At the same time, in the January following their August 1996 debut, their 3rd single “Dear My Friend” was a big hit.

In the summer when their album sold over 2 million copies, they also had consecutive hits “For The Moment” “Deatta koro no you ni”. After that, with single hit like “Time goes by”, they released their second album in April of 1998, the month that Ayu was going to debut.

The album sold over 4.5 million copies. It took a year and a half from debut.

With that, it was my role to quickly fill the gaps left with the exclusion of Mr. Komuro.

And, just one week before ELT sold their 2nd album that got a sales record of 4.5 million copies, Ayu debut on April 8, 1998.

It took a bit over a year for her to debut.

I sent her to lessons in NY, and thinking that failure is not acceptable, I agonized over how I would debut her. But, her one phrase of “I definitely want to go solo” kicked away all my thinking and worries.

Knowing how difficult it was to be a solo artist, I agonized over this but ventured to choose to difficult road. Around the same time, we went around promoting her before her actual debut, but the reception was disastrous.

Friends from TV networks also told me “she won’t sell. Give up now.” Seniors in the industry also told me “she doesn’t have a face that sponsors like.”

All I could do was to turn all that frustration into a spring (to make sure Ayu succeeds).

If that was the case, I thought at the time that then I was going to change even the tastes of people of this world. At the same time, music production was happening at the studios with Yasuhiko Hoshino at the center of the efforts.

“poker face” was decided as the debut song. At the time of her debut, over 10 demo songs and up to her 4th single were already decided.

“poker face”, the theme song of CDTV, debut on April 8

After that, singles were released at a pace of one every two months

3rd single “Trust” entered top 10. We began to somewhat see the direction of her music.

4th single: with the help of Yosuke, she appeared in a Morinaga CM

5th single “Depend on you” entered top 10 again.

First album “A Song for XX”, released on Jan 1, 1999, became #1 on Oricon Chart.

And she became one of the million selling artists.

In July of the same year, she sold over a million for the single “BOYS & GIRLS”

You all know about her success after that.

http://ameblo.jp/maxmatsuura/entry-10538972325.html

He recalls when he met Ayu briefly here, and talks about things up until B&G. He seems to be rather open about Ayu nowadays. You know, the "she is a part of Me / he is a part of Me" thing that they have going on.

Cool, I hope there will be a better translation soon. I would love to know the encounter between Max and ayu :D

I wonder why he remembers it all now

note: not literal translation

Quote:

There were a lot of questions asking me to talk about how I met Ayu.

This will be from my perspective so how it happened may be different from Ayu’s perspective.

Our first encounter is when I was about 31, so almost 15 years ago.

I met Ayu through someone that worked at velfarre (Avex’s disco in Roppongi)

She was saying frothy things like “I’m in a dorama (Miseinen)” and “I will put out a song.” At the time, I was still someone of no importance. Even so, I remember telling Ayu that “selling music is that easy you know”

After that, for some reason, we met quite often.
Of course I did not predict at the slightest that she would become today’s Ayu

We would go to karaoke and have her sing, and I have a feeling I would dare to talk about what kind of voice she had, how well or bad she sung, or how high she can sing as I raise the key, etc.

We would randomly contact each other and met occasionally, but I don’t remember talking that much about work.

However, I distinctly remember her saying, “I went with my mom to my talent agency and quit”

I have heard her talk about wanting to become a singer, but I didn’t really take it seriously.

But, if she had went and quit her agency, then the question of “what are you going to do?” would of course come up.

Our partnership began from there on. (NOTE: He actually said “three-legged race”, which means the two worked together from that day on.)

In that case, I got serious too.

I began to think daily on the strategy to get Ayu debut.

At the same time, my relationship with Mr. Komuro was getting worse and worse.

So my biggest mission at the time was to make avex stand on its own without him.

To do that, there was a necessity for me to produce artists myself.

It was around that time when it was decided to debut ELT and I was pre-occupied with that.

ELT, August of 1996 debut

Behind the ELT that was selling spectacularly, I was giving my all to make my next artist debut. That was Ayu.

At the same time, in the January following their August 1996 debut, their 3rd single “Dear My Friend” was a big hit.
In the summer when their album sold over 2 million copies, they also had consecutive hits “For The Moment” “Deatta koro no you ni”. After that, with single hit like “Time goes by”, they released their second album in April of 1998, the month that Ayu was going to debut.

The album sold over 4.5 million copies. It took a year and a half from debut.

With that, it was my role to quickly fill the gaps left with the exclusion of Mr. Komuro.

And, just one week before ELT sold their 2nd album that got a sales record of 4.5 million copies, Ayu debut on April 8, 1998.

It took a bit over a year for her to debut.

I sent her to lessons in NY, and thinking that failure is not acceptable, I agonized over how I would debut her.

But, her one phrase of “I definitely want to go solo” kicked away all my thinking and worries.

Knowing how difficult it was to be a solo artist, I agonized over this but ventured to choose to difficult road.

Around the same time, we went around promoting her before her actual debut, but the reception was disastrous.

Friends from TV networks also told me “she won’t sell. Give up now.”

Seniors in the industry also told me “she doesn’t have a face that sponsors like.”

All I could do was to turn all that frustration into a spring (to make sure Ayu succeeds).

If that was the case, I thought at the time that then I was going to change even the tastes of people of this world.

At the same time, music production was happening at the studios with Yasuhiko Hoshino at the center of the efforts.

“poker face” was decided as the debut song. At the time of her debut, over 10 demo songs and up to her 4th single were already decided.

“poker face”, the theme song of CDTV, debut on April 8

After that, singles were released at a pace of one every two months

3rd single “Trust” entered top 10. We began to somewhat see the direction of her music.

4th single: with the help of Yosuke, she appeared in a Morinaga CM

5th single “Depend on you” entered top 10 again.

First album “A Song for XX”, released on Jan 1, 1999, became #1 on Oricon Chart.

And she became one of the million selling artists.

In July of the same year, she sold over a million for the single “BOYS & GIRLS”

You all know about her success after that.

^
THank you sooo much. Actually a litelral translation isen't a good translation, the main purpose is to translate the ideas to make them understandable. yours is great! Very interesting!:D

Thank you very much!

That was interesting!

Thankyou so much!

I like this sentence:

Quote:

I thought at the time that then I was going to change even the tastes of people of this world.

Thanks Max!! To show us Ayu!! *-*

Thank you for sharing & translating!

am i the only one with this strange idea that there's something going on between Ayu & Max recently? i don't mean to launch rumors or whatever, but they just keep talking about their relationship and how close they feel so it gives a strange impression of them being a couple. sort of.

That was really interesting to read. He really had high hopes for Ayu huh?

Thank you, that's was really interesting. It's really cool that Ayu's debut changed even the tastes of people in appearance/public personalities.

That was so interesting to read! Thanks for sharing!

That was so interesting to read. It really made some thing clearer. I'm so thankful to Max for not listening to the people who said she wouldn't succeed. :laugh And yeah indeed, look at her now. :heart

thanks a lot for sharing and the translaiton :)

Thanks for sharing!!

Thanks for sharing it's so interesting :D
Thank you Max for today's Ayu :heart

thanx for sharing ^^

Max kind of remember back all his memories with Ayu back then,wonder why? because of this upcoming new single MOON? XD

nwey,he's great for believing Ayu and so we're all know who's Ayumi Hamasaki the empress of jpop now <333

thanks to Max Matsuura to debut Ayu!!!
she's one of the greatest artists whom i've known so far..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mayayu (Post 2360957)

me too, apparently you're not the only one haha.. well we'll never know unless the news comes from the two of them

thanks!!
this really reminds me of the old days..
when she just started to debut during 1999 era (when i first encountered her)
max really worked hard :) otsukare sama desu~

it's really interesting...i don't know that max is giving his all for making ayu success, even i can say that without max there is no ayu...ayu is here now because of max...

thanks max!!!

Translation edited into first post!

omg where was this for my thesis! It would've been perfect! :laugh

Thanks!

Quick, use my time machine, Calico!

tnx for sharing, it was an interesting read :)

Thanks for this :) Definitely interesting. Ayu and Max are a powerful team. Like someone said, I wonder if the production of MOON/blossom is getting him nostalgic :laugh

I know I might get attacked for this, but is it just me, or is it a little strange that a 30-something year old man and a teenage girl would hang out often, and it not even be about work? Of course, it's because of that un-typical friendship that we have our Ayu today//

She worked in the idol industry at the time (1995ish) so I don't think that was strange at all (for her)...

It's especially the case with Hello!Project, I think. They basically start out at like 12/13 and are around men and women much older than them constantly.

Seems like it was a "friend of a friend" sort of thing, and with Ayu being the mature teen she was (maybe not, but she's always wanted to become a grown up or w/e), it didn't matter what age someone was if she was going to talk to/hang out with them.

Ayu's side of the story from ALL NIGHT NIPPON in 1999(?) and ROCKIN' ON JAPAN from masa:

Quote:

Do you know Max Matsuura, being the producer of my works now?
　　(U) Yes.
　　(A) Do you know? I've known the man since I was sixteen.
　　(U) Really?
　　(A) Yes, I've known him for about four years. And when we went to a Karaoke house together, I was told by the man, "You are poor at singing."
　　(U) What?
　　(A) And he said to me, "Poor at singing, but you have a good voice", and "Go to take lessons." I didn't go to school nor do any jobs then. I thought it would not be bad because I had nothing to do, and I took the lessons. Ayu had always been told
"Hamasaki can't do anything." before then, in the senior high school and in the junior high school. I had been told, "Don't do any unwanted things, as you can't do anything." So I didn't go to junior high school often. I barely entered a senior high school but dropped it out. But then, the man, Max Matsuura said to Ayu, "You can." I was neglected in voice trainings and dance lessons and playing hard at that time. I was thinking much of how to play. But he said to Ayu, "You can. You can write lyrics and sing songs", and "I feel something within you." It was for the first time for Ayu to meet such a person. I was never told such a thing even by my parent. I met a person who expected Ayu for the first time and I was shocked very much. And I thought I would do my best, even if the man had made a wrong guess. And as the result of my deed, I managed to come here. I'm here now because I met Max Matsuura, and after that, the present manager and the people around me, that is, the present staff around me. I think I could never do that for myself. So I think White Usagi-chan will surely have such an important encounter. It may be tomorrow, it may be ten years later. And Ayu hope you will not miss the chance.

　(S) And you get tired becaues of that. You were such type, weren't you?
　　(A) I think so. And at that time, I met the producer at Velfarre (a disco club).
　　(S) I know. You are talking about Matsuura-san.
　　(A) Yes. I remember that when he was introduced by someone as the executive director of avex, I greeted another person next to him, as he was apparently so young., and he said, "It's me." The encounter was just like that. And a while later, I met him at a Karaoke house. A little bit lowbrow one. A snuck?
　　(S) I suppose it's a Karaoke bar, with a stage.
　　(A) That's it. You must have a hard time there listening to other guests singing, too.
　　(S) Don't go to such a place. (Laugh)
　　(A) Ahahahaha ! And I met him there. He asked me, "We have met before, haven't we?" and I said, "Ah, yes." I didn't know what was avex then, and I thought he would be a man of high position somehow. I didn't know at all that avex was the record company. I was singing songs at random then, and he began to say, "Sing this song next."
　　(S) Which song did you sing?
　　(A) The songs of Komuro (Tetsuya)-san, as they were very popular then. And he said to me after I sang, "Don't you intend to be a singer?" I answered, "No, I don't."
　　(S) Hahahahaha !
　　(A) Hahahahaha. Because, such a question. You see? Don't you think it was the honest answer?
　　(S) Yes, I think so. (Laugh) In Hamasaki-san's way.
　　(A) I said I didn't intend to be, as I didn't like singing especially and I wasn't confident of singing. And I didn't contact him for quite a while after that. I was asked my phone number then and told it to him. Some messages were recorded in my answering machine, but I forgot his name, and left it alone. I kept on playing at Shibuya and Roppongi as before, But, you know, I got tired of such things, as they were not so fun actually.
　　(S) I'd rather say it as nothingness.
　　(A) Really. When I was seized with such a feeling, he phoned me again. I remember quite well it was when Ayu was walking in the Center St. of Shibuya. I answered, "Hi," walking in the Center St. (Laugh) It was the secretary. She said, "This is XX of avex. I'll put you through to Matsuura." I noticed it was that man. And we were talking as, "It's a long time since we talked last." "Don't you really intend to sing?" "I do. I do. Because I'm free now." "I suppose so. You have nothing to do, don't you?" "Yes." "So go to the voice lessons and the physical training first to develop your strength," said he. I thought, "Oops ! I don't want to go." Actually I was still unwilling to sing then. But about a week later --- I changed my mind again. I thought that just to sing songs wouldn't be so bad, as I had nothing to do. I went to avex so casually, talked with the executive director, and went to the lessons. And, as you would imagine without my words, I stopped going to the lessons soon.

Their stories are somewhat different, I guess, but essentially the same.

^somewhat different? more like very. she's saying she never wanted to be a singer when they met and he said she told him she wanted to be? lol so weird

thanks for the translations though, nice to know he didn't give up on her and made her what she is today

a really interesting entry to see it from the view of max matsuura...

i wouldn't have thought that Ayu doesn't have the face i mean she has a face with charisma!!!

but isn't it always people who first seems to doesn't have a chance and then are very successful...

Quote:

she's saying she never wanted to be a singer when they met and he said she told him she wanted to be? lol so weird

She released NOTHING FROM NOTHING at the time so I think at some point she did want to be a singer... otherwise why would that have come out?

Quote:

I have heard her talk about wanting to become a singer, but I didn’t really take it seriously.

Maybe he remembered it wrong? Maybe he had a dream about her saying things like that, haha. He did say that their accounts might be different.

Quote:

This will be from my perspective so how it happened may be different from Ayu’s perspective.

Quote:

^somewhat different? more like very. she's saying she never wanted to be a singer when they met and he said she told him she wanted to be? lol so weird

What else was different? Somewhat different implies that there are differences, but not that many.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mayayu (Post 2360957)

Quote:

Originally Posted by k21sh3n (Post 2361080)

me too, apparently you're not the only one haha.. well we'll never know unless the news comes from the two of them

LOL, he is married and has a daughter!! :innocent
He blogged that when he was trying to calm down Tohoshinki fans when bad news came out. That he stayed up all night to answer fans while being on vacation with his wife and daughter. Also that his daughter doesn't see him that much (because he is busy). His facebook page also says 'married' :yes
LOL, would be quite a scandal if he and Ayu started dating while he is married and has a family ;) They are just very close friends :yes

Their initial meeting sounds so sketch. >.>

But it's good to hear his side, which is a little different from hers. I love how he talks about how no one thought she would sell! It's amazing how far she's come.

Quote:

Originally Posted by truehappiness (Post 2361537)

What else was different? Somewhat different implies that there are differences, but not that many.

that is a big difference though lol. i don't know. i've been inclined to think there may have been more to their relationship at that time (not necessarily a love one) but more nevertheless, than they've let on so the story they stuck to got distorted a few times :P

Doesn't his Facebook also say he's "Interested in Men?" -blinks-

Quote:

Why would they have more to their relationship? They've already told us how things started. I don't think there's any reason to hide anything when nothing happened. I guess people just feel like they don't know everything and want to fill in the blanks themselves. Oh, the price of fame.

It's sort of surprising that Ayu and Max didn't end up getting together since most stories that involve a producer + a musical superstar end in the superstar and producer in a relationship.

I think Celine Dion had it happen? Mariah Carey too? KEIKO from globe as well? (She married Tetsuya Komuro)

^ honestly, i don't know. i'm not stating it as fact. it's just how i always thought of them and it's always something i haven't been able to explain :shrug

i think it's really nice that they have a close relationship even now.

Yeah, I kind of LOL'ed at the "Interested in Men", but the 'married' part is true :laugh He told that on his ameblo blog (before he even had twitter or facebook). Maybe we should ask him to post a picture of his wife :laugh The CSO of Avex, Chiba-san, did that when somebody asked for a picture :yes He posted quite some pictures of his wife (she is beautiful!) :yes

thanks for this, an interesting read.
just look how famous she is now (:

I don't find the blog message now and my internet is not working along >_>
But Matsuura tweeted this about his wife about a month ago: "My wife has been keeping it a secret from me that she's a Tohoshinki fan. She still thinks that I don't know it, but I know it all along."
You can find the screencap here.

Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed reading from his perspective :).

Thanks Max. You let us discover a great artist as Ayu :heart
What a nice message ^^

thanks for sharing & translation guys

How very interesting! I always feel like there's so much more to their relationship than they'll ever let on about... like we'll never actually know exactly what kind of relationship they have or how extensive it is... like they're purposely leaving a lot out and it makes it all the more mysterious. :)

Max has a Facebook!? Anyone have the link?

A 16 year old girl and a 31 year old man hanging out as friends for no reason in particular and in no relation to the entertainment business, sounds kinda sketchy, you have to admit that TH. I'm not saying they were in that sort of relationship, or that Ayu was doing enjo kousai or anything, but it sounds weird.

Hello Project girls being with staff members who are of course adults is one thing, and spending your free time with girls half your age and who are minors is another.

Regardless, it's how we got Ayu.

Quote:

A 16 year old girl and a 31 year old man hanging out as friends for no reason in particular and in no relation to the entertainment business, sounds kinda sketchy, you have to admit that TH.

I'm curious about the friend who worked at velfarre that introduced them to each other or whatever. How old were they? Were they introduced to Ayu from a friend or via her idol stuff? Who knows, haha.

I just don't think it's all that strange considering she was at velfarre at the time. It's not like only teens go there.

It's amazing how he went from feeling so superior "Even though I was still a nobody, I felt like I was in a position to judge (her singing)" to totally supportive....

We hereby, as an official fan of Ms Hamasaki Ayumi, must sincerely thanks Mr Max Matsuura for not giving up as well as making efforts for her fame. Without him, there will never be a successful and well respected Ms Hamasaki.

Those information can be read from wikipedia as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Misa-chan (Post 2361824)

It's amazing how he went from feeling so superior "Even though I was still a nobody, I felt like I was in a position to judge (her singing)" to totally supportive....

Well, when you first meet someone, you sort of determine if they're superior or inferior? In time though, that changes as you work with/get to know that person, I think.

Quote:

Originally Posted by taskinillusion (Post 2361630)

^ Agreed.

Their relationship to me, has always seemed more than just business. I mean, why did they keep in contact over all that time between Max meeting Ayu and her recording her debut single? Why would a middle aged business man and school aged girl just... "hang out" at kareoke clubs? They are definitely hiding something, and we'll never know what it might be! It doesn't have to be what some of us are thinking it was.. but they have some sort of special connection. And its probably why Ayu is where she is today.

Maybe Max was the father-figure Ayu never had?

I'm a bit confused about the timeline.. so when was Ayu released the Nothing from Nothing single?? when she's still a model? or did she join avex right after Nothing from Nothing.. it seems that they (avex) never mentioned that part of Ayu's life

why is he telling us all these suddenly? haha =x

Quote:

Originally Posted by k21sh3n (Post 2362196)

Ayu released Nothing from Nothing during 1995 but with Columbia Records Japan, a different record label.
Was her first attempt to be a singer, I guess.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alternarist (Post 2362301)

why is he telling us all these suddenly? haha =x

Haha thats a good point!

He's telling us because people have been asking him on ameblo and Twitter.

haha i think he is talking about this because Ayu has been so busy so this is like a filler?? XP

sniff sniff... that was a cool story telling from max... i really felt it.. it's different from just the often told "max just heard ayu singing in a karaoke blah blah blah"...
and boo at the people who told max that ayu's not gonna succeed..bet they wanna take back what they said now...hmph

It's sort of weird looking back at this 10 years later with the knowledge of their relationship now. But at least it's straight from max in this case and we can kind of fill in blanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by truehappiness (Post 2360903)

“poker face” was decided as the debut song. At the time of her debut, over 10 demo songs and up to her 4th single were already decided.

So it's possible that A Song for was really ayu's first song

Wasn't FRIEND the first song Ayu wrote (if we exclude LIMIT)? It definitely was the first one she recorded but I'm not 100% sure if it's the first one she wrote.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ayu

This is the coupling song for my debut song, “poker face”. Oh, my god, it’s so embarrassing I can’t (Laugh) contain myself (Laugh). When you listen to the album from the beginning, you can tell how different my voice is on this track. But I didn’t want to re-sing it for the album. I mean, we recorded this song even before “poker face”, so it literally was my first time doing any of this, and I really tried so hard to sing that I was nearly bursting the blood vessels in my throat. So every time I listen to this track, I remember myself back then and get all choked up and nostalgic and go “Ohh, so cute!”

But according to ASFXX's liner notes, ASFXX was the first song she did when they started working on the album itself. They started working on the album in September, so I guess it wasn't her first song, especially since she struggled with its lyrics.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ayu

When we were making the album, this was the first track we produced. I always start off with lyrics by coming up with them in my head, and then writing them down after they’re perfectly ready. But with this song, even though I had the lyrics in my head, I couldn’t write. When I put them into words, it just became too real, and it took a long time for me to finally make that step.

Spoiler:

The way Max wrote her here makes their portrayal in the M drama even more clearly fake. Ayu is so full of confidence and knows what she wants (it actually reminds me of her awful aidoru video when she was 15 or so. At the end, the director asks her what actress she wants to be like. She replies there isn't one--instead, she wants to be someone that others aim to be like).

And while Max believes in her and promotes her, he doesn't pretend he knew she was going to succeed. I like this. It feels more real and I can feel the work and anxiety.

Thank you for translating and sharing this