Ayu's influence on other artists
 

The Itano Tomomi thread inspired me on opening this thread.

I really believe we tend to forget over here how huge Ayu's impact on the jpop industry was/is, and something that really shows how inflential an artist is, is the amount of people following their footsteps.

So, what was the piece of work (or whole career) that you guys notice that were somewhat inspired by Ayu? What major acts are covering Ayu songs? Let's discuss her impact on other people's careers! And just to be clear: This is NOT a thread to say people are copying Ayu.

Rina Aiuchi


Mitsuoka Masami


alan


Koda Kumi


Kana Nishino


Tomomi Itano


Ken Hirai


Gackt
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x18...12-22_creation

I'm really glad you opened this thread. It's a really good idea to showcase ayu's influence without the need to offend other artists.

Mitsuoka Masami's Blue Bird is surely reminiscent of ayu's Momentum and M but somehow in good way.

Rina's Deep Freeze Pv is like a mix of Ayu's evolution & GAME pvs. I don't like her voice at all - it's like ayu's 1998-2001 voice but weaker. I also don't like the song. (not offending, just opinion)

Alan's Diamond brings close to M (big reference!!) and Momentum as well. The pv reminds me of Jewel pv. But the song is nice and her voice as well :)

Kumi's Can We Go Back is certainly reminiscent of Because of You pv. But I really don't like this song at all. One of my least faves from Koda.

I don't know..Kana's song doesn't reminds me very much of ayu but the visuals yes...she really looks like an younger version of ayu..but I like her, she's sweet :)..the song is nice.

Like I said yesterday in another thread, Tomoni Itano's pv is definitely inspired from Game & Ourselves. But that's not a bad thing..I must confess that I like the pv but the song does nothing for me.....

Ken Hirai's cover...hmmm..I don't really like his voice on Love ~Destiny~..

Thank you for all these songs...I'll try to find other resembling songs.

^Kana's music doesn't reminds me of Ayu all that much...
But her image... Oh her image... :P

Deep Freeze REALLY reminds me of M overall.... I was a massive Rina fan back in the day, until I noticed how much like Ayu she was... After that I noticed that pretty much every big act from Giza is based on other labels big acts (Mai Kuraki :V).

This is so interesting!
That first Rina Aiuchi PV is M in the darks, lol. Like, seriously. And the way Mitsuoka Masami sings is SO trying to be like Ayu (or so it sounds to me).
But, and it's not the first time I wonder about it, I don't really see why everyone keeps comparing Kana's image after Best Friend with Ayu's. Like, I'm not sarcastic or anything, I really don't understand and I want to use this chance to ask why. Apart from the music (which is fairly different from Ayu's), I can't see the similarities.

I really wanted to bring out the time Kumi was inspired by ayu's RnRC cover, but :(

I know a real general influence in kana nishino. They say that nishino's greatness lies within her lyrics, which is really reminiscent of Ayu.

^
I thought about the lyrics aspect too, but truth be told, it's not so rare for a singer to write most of his/her songs texts. To not consider the fact that Ayu and Kana lyrics are the most different things ever.
And Kuu's Dejavu covers are so... ah-emh, "inspired" by R'n'R Circus it almost hurts to look at them both at the same time.

She admitted that ayu is her favorite artist, and this is UNITE! right at ya.



Chinese girl group. Song - About You PV - GAME

^ LOL so true. I was thinking this today looking at them on itunes XD btw I think that kana and ayu also look similar because of their looks. I mean, because you know well the two of them it's easy for you to tell them apart but they're pretty similar, facial features, big eyes, their being blonde...I think general public find them pretty similar. Plus the lyrics aspect, I had heard about that too... it's not so much about their lyrics being SIMILAR, but it's mostly because kana's lyrics were/are considered to be speaking to people, like, they are really honest and meaningful, which is something that has also always marked ayu's ones. They used to say that ayu got famous because of her truthful and appealing lyrics :) So I think it's mainly about that.

HI THERE AYU how ya duin

Kana Nishino uses all the codes of the young Ayu (this is not a critical) but I'm very intrested how her career will turn when she will grow ^^

Miliyah kato also said in an interview that Ayumi was one of her biggest influence with Utada Hikaru !

Exactly! haha

Also tomomi itano's "little" single covers are totally A BEST 2 -BLACK-/A BEST.

Andrenekoi - If you don't mind, would you put on the first post everything that people share if it's relevant please? If this thread will be long it would be hell to find specific inspired thing someone liked.

Kimi to Sora by Sifow was pretty much SURREAL - http://grooveshark.com/#!/search/son...w+Kimi+to+Sora
And I always thought Chain sounded a bit like an Ayu song - http://grooveshark.com/#!/search?q=sifow+chain

No problem! I'll do it once I'm using the PC!
edit: DONE!

Funny enough, even Nami's choreography feels "ayuish"... This considering Ayu barely dances, haha!

@stepYOU1234
SURREAL indeed!

I can also see something Ayuish about the 2nd song, but can't really say what it is!

how about Jolin Tsai?

Jolin Tsai is such a touchy subject among Ayu fans (never understood why), you opened Pandora's box lol

To answer your question, well, it seems to me that this topic is mostly about musical influences, and Jolin & Ayu's music is not really alike...
As far as visuals as concerned though, when Jolin was under Sony (2003-2005 but mostly 2003-2004 Magic-Castle), some stuff like parts from The Smell of Lemon Grass PV were, let's say, "strongly inspired" by Ayu because they wanted to make her the "Taiwanese Ayumi Hamasaki" back then. Jolin didn't really have a say about it unfortunately and she ended up leaving.

wooooww I don't think I ever watched that Koda PV lol cause I never really liked Can We Go Back except live. I only like her rock songs live. I didn't notice how ayuish it was lol talkin 2 myself part 2.
I don't think it was Ayu related at all.

There was a HUGE inclusion of british fashion, emblems, and the union jack in Japanese magazines and brands when around the time when RnRC was released. tbh, I feel like Ayu copied my RINKA who was like, one of those first to show it off the style on certain mag covers and editorials.

but lulz it's not important. It was something that was kinda ridiculously widespread. So it's not like anyone took it from anyone else. They were all influenced by the same trend.

Masami Okui _ -W- : It's pretty much a mix between INSPIRE and GAME ! she even wears the same outfit that Ayu wore during the promotion of this single ^^
http://img4.hostingpics.net/pics/160...7200710716.jpg


This one remind me somewhat of Naturally too

The first song is definitely SURREALish....as for the second song, it somehow reminds me of Startin' (mainly the verses).

@ayumisrael - Omg...Nami's song is almost identical to UNITE! but I don't like it as I don't really love the original...so
S.H.E.'s song is like a mellow Chinese version of About You. The PV is definitely reminiscent of GAME pv with all those tv screens and the overall dark image..

@mizuki 7 - as for Masami Okui's _ -W- it certainly reminds me of INSPIRE & GAME in a good way but only during the verses. The chorus is boring.
As for the other song, Wild Cat, I have a vague impression of Naturally too.

Miku the singer from the visual kei group An Cafe seems to be an Ayu fan.
He used to wear a fox tail a lot and he even imitated the talkin 2 myself cover for a magazine :)
Lyric wise I'd say the way he phrases things sometimes sound similar to how ayu would phrase them, I guess it comes with similar topics in songs.

I don't know if I'll find any pictures but if I do I'll post them.

I am not sure if it's related, but YoonA SNSD recommended "Boys & Girls" for their J-pop compilation album "Sweet Memories with Girls' Generation" :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWHHt2-x4w0

Ayu is really an iconic figure isn't it? Do you realise that the styles are More of 2000-2003 ayu?? When ayu was at her peak...

HAL when they added a female singer.

Yes it's true but it's somewhat logic isn't it ? lol

Oh yes I forgot to post this one ^^ this song would have been great for Ayu ...

My feelings towards this are basically, Ayu was to soloist singers then what AKB48 is to girl groups today.

Every company tried to capitalize on the current superstar(s), thus there were Ayu-esque girls popping up everywhere. Likewise, there's an influx of girl groups now because everyone wants a piece of the AKB success, but in both cases very few imitations remained relevant...

ironic that the girl is really look like ayu in evolution pv (hair, make-up) :innocent

pretty much all of the songs in this thread could be potentially on Ayu's discography lol i can pretty much hear Ayu singing them xD Obviously she is an infuence. Not just musically but visually as well.

Also if I recall correctly, Namie had a blue outfit in her Queen of hip-pop tour in 2004/5 iirc that really looks like ayu's Team ayu limited live 2003's pink skirty outfit. Namie probably liked it.

I was totally thinking about this PV from HAL.

Not that this shows through in their music, but the Gazette's lead guitarist, Uruha, says that Ayumi Hamasaki is one of his favorite singers. I found that to be so unexpected.

Uruha also likes kuu and his ringtone was once HANABI ~episode II~ from what I found, excellent choice XD

Some J-Rockers, even harder than ayu's seem to really like ayu.

I don't know if any of you know alice nine, but saga (bassist) and nao (drummer) and hiroto (guitar) are ayu fans, they even went to CDL 10-11. Saga's favourite song is step you. LOL.♥ no one can resist ayu's charm.

And IIRC it was x-japan's drummer that went to ayu's concert as well? Along with others like Namie, kuu and her sister misono. hikki also once said on TV that she sang ayu's M in karaoke.

That Sifow song does quite remind me of Surreal. I might have to check out some of her other stuff!

The first one also reminds me of Hikki's Uso Mitai na I love you

It's not ironic actually, it's likely completely deliberate.

Because of Ayu's success with the songs they arranged & produced, HAL became very sought after in the early 2000s - Dream managed to work with them, and then later Every Little Thing, Ruppina, KinKi Kids, Janne da Arc... Plus other producers started kinda ripping off their sound.

I'm fairly certain avex gave HAL a singer so they could get more of that group on the charts, and that means cashing in on the Ayu formula - high pitched voice, huge eyes, ayu-like hair. HALNA is shown from the back topless on the "Violation of the Rules" album jacket, making them one of several artists to do the LOVEppears thing.

I noticed Masami Mitsuoka/Mizca came up in the first post as well - the first 3 solo songs she ever released, between late 2007 and early 2008, were called "Hana," "Distance love," and "I am" sooooo there's that. :D

The first time I heard that sifow song when I listened to CLAЯITY, I immediately thought of SURREAL.

That S.H.E. song is a direct rip, don't care what the group says in regards. Everything is just so similar to About You.

@Deli: It always amazes me though how no one was ever able to fully to cash in on ayu's style.


That HAL singer makes me really appreciative of Ayu's vocals. I remember having a similar japanese "tinge" every now and then in a song for xx, but after that. Her voice is so unique.

To be honest EVERYONE who tried was able to cash in at least a little bit. The HAL sound took off cuz of Ayu - Ruppina and Dream did well at the time. Heck, Yuta Nakano's production sounds the way it does because he was in HAL once. Plus ayu's contributions to fashion back in the day - the people who adhered to the popular ayu-influenced style (big eyes, light hair, both hime-gyaru and tomboyish fashions depending on the time period) were certainly more successful than they would have been if they hadn't.

It's just that the more obvious duplicates - like HALNA, and to some degree Anzai Hiroko back in late 2000 - were nothing special outside of cosmetic similarities, and consumers are usually savvy enough to pick up on the obvious cash-in. These were no exception.

Artists that have been influenced by her in a more generalized sense are naturally going to succeed a bit better because they're more genuine (influenced rather than ripping off). After ayu showed up, there was a more "genuine" or "raw" sort of female singer that suddenly became popular - the 90s idols like Namie were getting shoved aside, at least temporarily, in favor of singers like Nakashima Mika, SAYAKA, post-TK hitomi, et cetera. And now, because time has detached everyone from Ayu enough that the influence isn't as outwardly obvious if you're not looking for it, we have singers like Nishino Kana who are becoming popular because they're the ones teenagers can relate to, just as Ayu was back between 1998 and 2002. Granted, Kana's lyrics don't talk about self-doubt, hopelessness, betrayal, and loneliness to quite the depth Ayu's lyrics did, but her songs about hope & heartbreak resonate with the kids these days regardless.

The songs that sound very simillar to ayu actually does because it has the peculiar H/\L sound, since they arranged/composed many of her most famous songs.
S H E is obviously a cover of About You. Since About You is one of my most favorite ayu songs, I obviously prefer the original (not just because of bias towards ayu lol). About You is very aggressive, and ayu nails it so well.

I'm a fan of Deep Freeze. The whooooo-ooooo-oooo always made me think I was into some frozen place, so her earlier songs were somewhat magical; a lot of JPOP was for me back then, and that's what sorta made me stick to it more than other kinds of music. I liked when Rina Aiuchi made songs like that, plain JPOP. She later decided to follow the rock trend but definitely didn't do well. She was better with the cutesy anime-y stuff.

Well, it's not a cover, the melody is entirely different. It's inspired by About You, absolutely, but it's not a cover.

Rina Aiuchi was definitely better doing pop like this. I COMPLETELY agree. Her voice is not suited for the more rockish stuff she did later, it's too sweet.

Another song of hers I'm SHOCKED I didn't think of earlier is "Ruby Stars" - I did a mash-up of it & A Song for XX a loooonnng time ago to demonstrate how close the structure & progressions of those songs were. Fun times :D

This thread reminded me of that one guy who did almost all the hits from the 90's to now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzRup5YFf8Y

People always say oh this band is better than the other, when it's basically the same
dude who arranges and composes the music. Maybe most of the artist that have been
posted here are under the same record label or they have worked with the same persons who composes the music.

I find it cool, sorry if it's kind of off topic.

Itano tomomi's music video is a blatant copy of a scene from the movie pans labyrinth

lulz sweden op.

But really, you're right!

It reminds me of when some time ago there was a thread with asian "artists" singing some ayu songs in their own language or something like that..

I remember an odd woman singing a weird version of Depend on you. It was hilarious~ :laugh

I can't find the thread, though XD

^ ohh i remember something like that too. Also there were people covering her songs in japanese, like, other singers... if I recall well. It'd be lovely to find that thread again!

I found the thread, but the link of Depend on you is dead! XD
Damn.. I should have saved the video.. :roflmao

Thread: Plagiarized Chinese version of MY ALL X__X

(Thank you Pommy for opening this! :laugh)

Anyway.. this is MY ALL.
And this too... MY ALL XD
Enjoy~ (?)

Has Ayu ever commented on all the artists that copied her style?
The only reference I remember is the Alterna PV, where we can see a copy factory of her.

I am really interested what they were thinking making this Halna girl a carbon copy of Ayumi. It's really creepy!! :(

HAHA I remember this!!!! the MY ALL one is creepy. seriously. XD thanks for finding it againnn

I think the only reference to copycats is alterna tho. Can't think of anything else atm!

Ooooh Kana Nishino <3

This is great :) I don't know but somehow watching these make me happyyyy ~~~ ^^

I forgot many of those older songs. Can't really remember how Ruby Stars sounded though I know such song exists.

I love re-reading this thread. I missed some stuff.

I love it was mentioned that Uruha from the gazette is an ayu fan. I already love him so much but now I love him more lol. Same for Alice nine members Iiking her. I love my jrock boys. They have mesmerizing ways of performing similar to ayu.

Rina is great. I love how ayu-ish she could be.

Anyway, about An Cafe. Back when I was more activel listening to them, there was this one song where the intro sounded like MY ALL. I'll have to find it.

The stuff from the AYU48 thread would be relevant here too.

Would cover bands be something to talk about and share here? I just happened to stumble upon this one today, tagged "ayumilky".....the singer sounds really similar to Ayu :D

Virgin Road (partial cover) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJCIQ5TjBQI

I always terribly loved this song.
And Ayu would have done it so well in her peak (not with her current voice, please!!)

I didn't realize Rina's Deep Freeze was similar to M PV :laugh
Interesting thread, guys! Keep up the good work!! ;)

I finally found what I was looking for!

Here he is with some of his Ayu CDs ;)


And here is Miku "imitating" the talkin 2 myself cover


Some parts of the lyrics to An Cafe's The miracle of meeting by chance. I feel like they use some of the same themes Ayu uses a lot, of course it's not the same but it always reminded me of her lyrics.

Quote:

In the endlessly stretching blue sky we are together Continue fighting the anxiety you have towards a neverending future I will give your injured, thirsty heart water without trying to hide it At sad times, look, we’re together let’s divide the pain and cry Even when you feel all alone, we will be waiting for you

Awww ^.^ I never knew Miku was an Ayu fan! I'm a big An Cafe fan so I'm very happy about it! ^.^