Ayu: Anything Goes [XXIX]
 

Continuing off the last one!

Uhm, did anyone get the message for those new goods? The A mark made of fingers creeps me tf out lol

I appreciate it's something different but this is an easy skip for me haha

The masked pig-like looking thing freaks me out.

I know this comedian and he’s really weird / funny but these goods aren’t for me I guess lol.

I am very happy to see some different ideas happening tho, instead of her normal formulaic releases.

I think it's pretty refreshing. I like the mug the most, lol.

There is a new Japan Times article titled "Ten Japanese albums Rolling Stone missed on its '500 Greatest' list" and Duty made the list! ;)

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture...panese-albums/

^ Love the list itself and how they've pointed out Rolling Stone's ignorance on non-English albums omg

I swear we’ve entered this weird new world where people who used to hate on Ayu are now praising her lol. It’s nice to see Duty included though.

I think the guy who wrote that article is not the one that hates Ayu usually. Patrick is usually the one that absolutely HATES her, lol.

wow no Utada on the list

Well, this is the first time I read anything from Japan Times that wasn't completely bashing Ayu lol.

Yeah, I think it's the same for me. Usually the articles if they have to praise her usually take shots at her in a backhanded way.

The "Bye bye darling / POWDER SNOW / It was" section reminds me of those old fan setlists from ahs lol Who would have thought that she would actually sing all of them one after the other.

I don´t like the new TA website <.< The old looked better /=

It's better on mobile but on web it's nasty.

I really like the mobile version.

This is the same format as Koda Gumi international fanclub...not a fan of the layout, it's so messy.

Also not a fan of new layout. Might take a while to get used to it. not sure what is the 'upgrade' they meant.

sorry if I'm forgetting something, but was this the first time she performed 'It was'?

I am completely indifferent to her singing It was. It's nice of her to sing some songs for the first time, it's kind of refreshing, but It Was and Beautiful Fighters are the only two songs I like the least on the album Secret.

What in the world happened to Timmy? O.O

No one knows!

The TA refresh isn't my cup of tea, the empty A logo sections just look a bit sad.

I can however appreciate that at least some effort went into the revamp so it looks like someone somewhere is thinking about Ayu's image so that's nice.

Her Tiktok is still there, completely blank. Wonder if it'll be like the TA App or the icon changers (anyone remember those still? lol)

Did avex forget to take this one down? Or maybe it was kind of a hit so they left it there?



I hope they decided to keep it, I really like this collection

They will probably take it down eventually.

Many Classic Moments is such a great cover in my opinion. One of my most played ayu tracks for sure. I love Movin' on without you but MCM is the one I could replay on a loop forever :D

I just watched MY STORY on DVD and as amazing as the tour is... the lighting is awful. Particularly in INSPIRE when she's just covered with a red/orange tinge, it kinda hurts my eyes. T_T

Funny that has always been what I LOVE about that tour! The intense, garish colorful lighting is so stylish. It is something I have missed in her newer tours.

She really went for that lighting up till maybe AT08. I remember a lot of it was super "THEATRICAL".

I really miss the theatrical lighting. It was especially good during AT06 for alterna

Timmy seems to be back on social media and no longer has "working with Ayumi Hamasaki" on his bio.

Hmm as of right now his Twitter still says that, but all of his tweets are deleted.

I think he may have added it back in after. It was gone though when he initially got back.

Is what is on Twitter atm.

Looks like he also no longer follows her or any of the dancers on Twitter :rolleyes

Awww actually feel a bit sad that Timmy is no longer a part of the team. I was just thinking the other day how he's been with Ayu for 10 years.

This is the day I’ve been waiting for

^ lol

I wonder what happened really. A fight between divas?

I love Timmy, he's really nice. I also like him as back vocal,I think he fits ayu. But I'm so tired from his look...can't stand it. It's main reason I don't like to rewatch 2012- lives. If he really left ayu's team I would be very happy. Sorry, Timmy.

Wow. The end of an era.

It's really sad because this most likely means that a great friendship has ended. :(

^I was thinking the same. I'm glad if he is gone from the stage, but it somehow made me sad that apparently there are no ties anymore between him and Ayu and the two seemed so close. I hope he will be fine.

Ayu seems to have a lot of on and off friendships with people she works closely with (I.e.: Leslie Kee, Alvin Goh, and now Timmy) :/

I would like to think their working relationship ended, but that they're still friends. She forgave Leslie Kee and he broke a lot of trust with that staff photobook. So whatever Timmy did, I can't imagine it being worse.

It's good to have a division between professional and personal life.

Honestly, I'm ready for a new era. Less theatrics and more personal concerts :luv2

Yeah it's sad if Ayu and Timmy are no longer friends.

I feel sad for timmy but glad the diaper and pasties era has come to an end

It's sad a friendship ended but I'm not gonna miss him tbh didn't like neither his compostions and his stage presence.

Brilliante is such a classic. Both the song and video.

Hopefully he returns in the future to compose new music for Ayu.

Both BRILLANTE and Survivor are great tracks.... the rest of what he worked on I can forget about gladly. Still not over how he ruined Return Road.

I only hope that Ayu will continue sing songs that composed by Timmy.

Btw is Lee gone for good as well?

Well, I hope it wasn't anything bad. I found him a distraction on stage half the time (although his outfit was apparently Ayu's choice) but he wrote some great songs for her.

I hope Lee isn't gone for good. His stage energy is a great match for the troupe.

I learned to appreciate Timmy and his stage flaunts trough the years. I never really thought of them as friends, they probably had a good working relationship and that's about it. Again he did alright in terms of being her back up singer and he made some good music for Ayu.
Maybe Ayu is laying off employees and she started with him.Who knows? Difficult times and all...
I simply cannot fathom how utterly miserable he might feel right now , either way , I wish him all the best.

Ayu has officially commented on Timmy leaving in her latest TA post.

Google translate:
"And one more thing about Timmy, it's completely private to him, so I can't explain anything from my mouth. Right now, I just hope he spends his time calmly, so I hope everyone will watch over him gently without snooping too much."

Could this have anything to do with his comment about bad mixing of Promised Land?

Ayu loses Timmy (split relations) and Shingo Kobayashi (RIP, cancer) in short, coincidental sequence. Going to really miss them both from Ayu's roster, but it's time to move on. :cry

I really dont think so as it was a harmless comment and Ayu's message seems to imply that Timmy's departure is his choice and is for personal reasons.

I guess lots of Japanese fans now feel relieved

there were too many hateful comments about him on YouTube

me too!

I'll be glad if her troupe gets 3 times smaller

Get rid of all the dancers apart from two "statement" dancers (like the 2 vogue girls Shiina Ringo had recently) and just have a band.

that will never happen xD

I was rewatching the videos of her and the dancers commenting the concerts and it is so clear that all her dancers have so much respect for her - and vice versa. In one of the videos Midori comments that she finds fascinating that after Ayu introduces the dancers/band during the concert and she always says "Vocal: Ayu". She mentions that adding the "vocal" before her own name makes her in the same level as everyone else, that everyone has the same importance in the stage. And I think that explains a lot on why she keeps such a huge team of dancers, she really respect them and have them as a support. I don't think she will ever get rid of them...

I'm worried about him, his mental health probably isn't the best right now.

Lee has graduated as well, so he's gone.

Please.

Okay, so I was today years old when I learned that she was saying "vocal". I thought she was saying "boku ru" (which she technically is), as in the past tense version of herself. "I was Ayu". I'm sure I'm the only one who ever heard it that way. :laugh

Exactly. Ayu loves and respects and appreciates them, she insists on promoting them. I remember Timmy doing music for Miccie too, and they had a small concert together. Ayu is all about helping her team in their careers as well, making sure they are taken care of.

A lot of people don't like the results. Sometimes I don't either, although I do think "theatrical" and "big statement" songs and sets suit Ayu well when they're done right. BUT even when something doesn't come out well, I love and respect Ayu for showing such care for people that the entertainment industry usually treats like garbage. She always makes sure to help with with both appreciation and employment.

In the entertainment industry, that is a vanishingly rare show of both compassion and character.

It is very honorable and Japanese of her. I have so much respect of her for that.

I think the Troupe is pretty much the perfect size as it is. It's a good mix of gender, no one dancer gets the total spotlight, the energy is consistent and they have good stage personalities.

I do want to see Yocchan back one of these days, even just for some stripped down concerts or a special occasion....

Totally agree.

I think her bond with Ichiza is really strong, even if they go separate paths. When on stage, she leans on them and you can see that in all her concerts. I love seeing that, it show how amazing Ayu is and how she draws people towards her. Dancers and performers always give it their best because it's for her and that alone makes me enjoy it when she is surrounded by people on stage.

And here's to hoping to an acoustic concert soon :yes

I'm so bummed about Timmy. I always liked him and never truly understood the hate he would receive here which appeared as an issue beyond just "I don't like his songs".

I also felt a bit as though he was kind of a bridge between Ayu and her english-speaking/non-japanese fans — for example, iirc he has passed fanmade videos/gifts (similar to the recent birthday project) over to Ayu? I really loved that little connection... and now that's gone.

I truly wish him the best!

Tim did a facebook live today and was looking his usual self. If anyone asked him about Ayu or what happened, he didn't respond to it. I'm watching my Promised Land DVD tonight and feeling quite sad and nostalgic about his performance. I also never understood the hate he got from people just because of his costumes or his presence. :no

^if he did not respond to any questions, then really something must have happened. Otherwise he could have just said that he simply wanted to do other projects and this is why he moved on. I hope he is alright.
Did he say anything about what he will be up to in the future, though?

I hope among people who made such questions wasn't anybody from TA since ayu asked very clearly to give him space about it. I think it takes only a bit of sensibility and common sense to know there are things you shouldn't ask at particular moments even if your curiosity is eating you inside out.
I'm also eager to see his future projects ;)

I don´t know for the japanese writing ppl, but I only saw one question (in english) that asked about Ayu.

Maybe he just had to get out of japan because of some weird reason connected to COVID. Or not so weird and he had family issues at home. Or is he still in Japan?

As I said, I actually thought his songs for her were quite fresh - it was probably the circumstances around the PQ album and the dividing forces behind that that may caused some (western) fans to dislike him.
I for myself don't enjoy DragQueen performances nor RuPauls DRace and so on. I respect the art for (and I found some things quite entertaining) but the hype around it made me lose interest. That said, I don't think is own performance in her shows always suited each show but its her decision. Its not like it made me not want to watch it.

he is still in Japan

He did a post on his Facebook about how Kobayashi Shingo was so important for him. That back in 2011 he didn't had any professional work related to music and that Shingo have supported him to audition to become a chorus singer (for Ayu). And that he took the opportunity that was in front of him and then got the job.

lol same! i have always heard it as "boku ru ayu deshita" or something :dead2 i don't know any japanese so I always thought she was like "i'm ayu :D "

I loved Timmy songs, voice and stage presence, I'll surely miss him. It was also such a powerful political statement for ayu to have her by his side wearing those daring outfits. If I had to guess, I'd say he got sick of the hate he got and decided to leave and try something better for his mental health. I wouldn't say he had a bad time with ayu, but maaaaybe someone in the crew? I'll look forward to whatever he does from now on, and please ayu don't toss his songs aside from your concerts :P

Timmy unfollowed me on Twitter so :eviltongu to him.

In all seriousness though, I do wish him the best and I'll miss him. I was watching Power of A^3 the other day and thinking how large his contributions have been.

I've been watching a lot of this type of videos lately. Really cool stuff, how do they do it? Wish someone could make one for Ayu.

They have done it for Ayu, look for the female artist one.

I thought Timmy and Ayu were inseparable so to me hearing that he is leaving is hard to believe but, I guess it's true. I doubt he left on bad terms. He seems to just not want to discuss his personal reasons.
I am not celebrating his departure but I can't say I will miss him on stage. I do still appreciate his work with Ayu making music together though.:yes

Yeah, I thought they were gonna be together for a WHIIIILE... but I guess something came up!

Well, it has been 9 years. That's a long time tbh.

Wow, never knew Ayu remained top so Long until she got overtake by akb48

Yeah, AKB's singles were crazy cause they are still selling a million each for a while now.

To me this is so unfair, all this solo singers, and then AKB....they are not even in same category.

On the bright side, isn't it amazing that it took over 48 girls to topple Ayu's dominance. That is insane.

I wouldn't call it unfair, as you can see by the list it always had a group/duo. Pink Lady was huge in the 70s and was there in the list for most of the 80s and 90s. DREAMS COME TRUE, SPEED, Morning Musume, all of them were there as well.

The list shows more how stale the industry became during the 00s. Nobody who debuted after 2000 made the list except AKB48. And Ayu's power was very strong for the first 5 years of her career, by that she took over all the other singers.

since we are in a slow news period...

Who remembers the famous beef between Ayu and Coco Lee back in 2002? According to this video ayu kept to herself the whole time and was accused of being "passive aggressive" to coco and her staff... though knowing Ayu, she was probably just being her usual introverted self LOL

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av51271749/

what exactly was the beef? I don't know who coco is and there is next to no English in the video, so I didn't understand anything at all.

Yup, can someone explain the video between ayu and coco? It seem like the video says that ayu was just looking downwards all the time rite...

And I heard sometime like coco’s stuff commenting on the manners thingy.. but I don’t really understand the whole commotion during their back stage.

Promised land CDL is 30% off at cdjapan in case anyone is interested

Just came across to Miliyah’s cover album (both women and men) and noticed that she covered songs from utada hikaru, namie amuro, mika nakashima and koda kumi. I wonder why ayu isn’t in the list and i’m sure she is more than a legend.

Has any female singer ever released cover song of ayu’s?

I don’t know but it seems like she is not allowing people to cover her songs easily ? It’s quite strange even Avex singers doesn’t make cover of her songs beside Gackt but still it’s one her friend so ...

^I know An Youqi (chinese singer) released this cover of TO BE (re-named as "Accompany me") and some idols have sang live covers but I'm not sure if other females artists have recorded covers of her songs (GACKT recorded SEASONS and Ken Hirai recorded Love Destiny tho)

So many people ask me if Ayu is still active...

She’s literally been touring nonstop for years at this point lol.

I guess TV really is an important factor in promotion in japan.

Thanks for the info, the ASFXX cover was nice though!

I was looking on Mercari JP and saw these really cute Christmas boxes from 2002 and 2003. I guess these eventually made way for the Happy Boxes?



Thinking about the Happy Boxes and the anxiety of trying to get them was almost nostalgic lol I wonder if they'll do them again for her in the future? Although with Ayu not really releasing albums and singles I have the money to basically buy most of the items I want.

I feel like we need some kind of encyclopedia of ayu merch for reference lol

Wow definitely have never seen that!

I feel like there’s a span of a few years in the early 2000s where there’s not a lot of documented info lol.

Wonho (Ex Monsta X member) said in a recent interview that his favorite japanese artists are ONE OK ROCK and Ayu (or that he listen to her a lot not sure how accurate the translation is lol) :luv2

https://i.imgur.com/cpKdVd1.png

His taste is so on point!