A BEST controversy..
 

Ayu didn't like it or something? I always hear it mentioned but no one has fully explained it to me. What is the A BEST controversy?

If I remember correctly, Ayu didn't feel ready to release her BEST album yet, and Max wanted this to be her last release (much like he originally intended with A back in '99). Ayu didn't want to retire when she was at her peak.

They A Best contreversy is that They released it as a Good Bye album that would have been AYu's last Album because they wanted to end her career but Ayu didn't want to release because she didn't want it to be over . So she said that she would resing the first songs so that she can give people what they paided for. Wikipedia has it posted heres the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Best

whoa! hold up!! i never knew this one.. damn! that must have been a splap in the face for ayu.. tsk tsk. bad max!

I still think it was all an avex+ayu strategy for grabbing people's attention on buying the album. I'm sorry but I find it really hard to believe that ayumi would mention in public her dissatisfaction openly like that if there was no interest behind that. The controversy in my opinion was created by both avex and ayu in order for the album to get more promotion: "oh no "poor" ayu's a victim of avex, she's crying in the covers, that's so moving" :P:P:P

I have never heard anything about avex trax wanting "A BEST" being her last album. Seriously, I never heard that and I kinda doubt that's the real thing.

From what I have heard, avex trax wanted and pushed Ayu to release her best-of in the last minute to compete with Hikaru Utada's "DISTANCE" album. There were many extreme and over-the-top advertisement for both albums. Including 40 different magazines photoshoots to make in 2 months for Ayu. Ayu said she didn't wanted to make this best-of album at all in the NTV interview.

"Dearest" PV is supposed to be the way she feels towards the whole "A BEST" problem.

This site explains it very well but it's in french!
http://dinibuzz.club.fr/Dossiers/Envers1.htm

avex kills a lot of their artists by pushing a best album though. bands and artists that aren't succesful have their career finished by a best album or a compilation. That's what happened to Nana Katase and BREATH for example.
ayu was in a different situation though. She was succesful and te only threat she was facing was tada Hikaru at that moment. Why not spice things up with a little drama that her career was about to end? That still moves people even nowadays ahah they can't see a title that remids of "farewell" that they get scared thinking she's gonna quit

I personally thought this was going to be her last album, and it sold so well that they decided to carry on her career.

Edit: My plot seems to fit right in between ImpactBreaker's plot.

-Threaten she was going to quit.
-Make an A-BEST album.
-Everyone buys it.
-Ayu uses the end of my career as a excuse for not quiting, and claims it sold well enough to continue her career.

I think it was smart. :laugh

I wouldn't trust wikipedia for info, especially on Asian artists. I never heard about A BEST being her last album. But I did hear that Ayu had wanted to quit around this time. This explanation that asongforxx has seems correct. If you read the NTV interview, you can get the whole picture.

Err.. The more I think about this, the more I think i'll stick to my own opinion rather than going with that of someone else's secondhand thoughts/truths.

She didn't intend to quit...she just didn't want to release a BEST album, as to her, a BEST album isn't the same way Avex thinks of it.

I always though avex pushed the release of A BEST to compete with Utada's Distance album. Then Ayu just said she wasn't ready to release it yet, like she said it was 'too early' or something.

The sad thing is Utada's album sold more in the end and hers was an actual album and not a BEST album which (in terms of japan sales) a best album should sell more than an actual album...

i think its this way:

utada was releasing her Distance album. so avex wanted ayu to compete with her by releasing A BEST. however, ayu thought that releasing a "best" album would mean that its the end of her career. she didnt want to end her singing career jus like dat and so soon, especially she was at the peak of her career then. so she was reluctant to release the album.

A BEST got lots of promotions and she went for every photo shooting sessions then, cos she thought that her career will be ending and hence wanted the audience to remember her. but her singing career didnt end.

I don't know why people don't trust wikipedia there information is always right they usually have stuff about Asian artist before other sites do And I heard about "A Best" being AYu's last album before I even checked at Wikipedia just because people can submit to it doesn't mean its wrong and if it is it usually gets corrected quickly. I even submit to wikipedia a couple of times. If it wasn't for A Best "I Am...." wouldn't have been released

I always heard ayu oposed to it, because she thought it was too early for a BEST album, but not because it was meant to end her career.

wow this the first i heard of it and i would never think of something like that, ImpactBreaker... interesting...

I heard both that Avex wanted to end her caeer and that AYu oposed to it. But since A Best sold so well they could't Just kick AYu out of Avex.But they also said that they released to butt heads with Utada's album but thats just a controversy who knows if it s true

I don't believe in this whole 'I wasn't ready for a best album' thing. I think Ayu says that because it wouldn't be cool if she decided to say: "oh yeah... I was totally ready, I mean, I wanted to beat Utada Hikaru in sales". If she wasn't ready, she wouldn't agree on doing 40 covers etc... I don't believe in this at all...

But yes, according to Ayu, she believed it would be her last album.

And obviously, the thing about AVEX wanting to kick her out isn't true. No record company would spend millions promoting an album for an artist they want to fire... duh.

I see.

I knew 'bout this news since A BEST is released. It's a really movin' story.

Hmmm... I dun't really agreed with ya all 'bout the whole Avex and Ayumi is fakin' it, just to get the A BEST high. Sumehow it could be true. I think Ayumi, she must really had felt it then that's why it changed her to be true to herself. Perhaps is all those drama, drama changed her.

When Ayumi said sumething like she wasn't ready to release a best album is because she thought her career is comin' to an end.

I wonder did anyone realize that Ayumi startin' to be true to herself since A BEST. I mean on the media. She used to be really childish and tolkin' like there's fingers stuck in her nose everytime. Seriously, i hate it!:o I been her fans since her first release thingy until now. Gotta say i hate her on the television when she first started spinnin' .

As for Avex always wantin' to kick Ayumi outta the company, i think it's true. After all, you know how bad is Avex can be. Though sume people here might think it's all part of the drama, drama to get the sale up, but Avex can't seal Ayumi mouth with nails, can they? So wot can they do? Just take the **** as it comes.:P

Avex in a million years would never of let Ayumi go at this point. Ayumi probably accounts for more than half of their profits. I really can't imagine they intended A BEST to be Ayumi's last album. If anything I think they used it for a quick yen to strike fear into her fans and make them question if Ayumi's career is safe as they (avex) know that Ayumi has a huge following. Avex knew it was going to sell. Ayumi probably resented her fans being took advantage of. Maybe she even worried herself either way, I bet $100 that Avex never intended A BEST to be Ayumi's last album.

kinda off topic, but doesnt that contradict wut u r saying?

Actually I must disagree.
There's a lot of information there that can't be verified by an interview or comment (for instance, the whole Ayu/hitomi being best friends instance)

If you really want to know about the whole A BEST being Ayu's last album, read the NTV interview. That basically explains the situation. Those were rumors about it being her last album.

LOL So why haven't avex kicked her out yet? Plus what would avex gain by kicking out one of their most profitable artists?
The drama was fake in my opinion. Ayu is cold enough to say she's just a product. Plus if her feeling were true she wouldn't honestly print covers with all the fake crying. People can believe in whatever they want though, as there will never be a true confirmation. :)

There was actually a Wikipedia controversy a while back about someone submitting completely false information about someone, connecting them to all sorts of unsavory people and things. Since then, the people behind Wiki supposedly take stricter measures in accepting articles. Wiki may be correct about basic information but anything past that (like details about private lives, rumors, etc) should always be taken with a grain of salt, particularly information of Asian artists. Wiki is written by English speakers and I highly doubt that the people behind Wiki are able to verify certain things about Japanese artists. Also, because Ayumi is popular, there are fans (or anti-fans) who will post false information so that lies can be spread amongst Ayu fans.

Back on topic, with the A Best controversy, I think the fans took one small part of what Ayumi said and blew it up. Obviously, Ayumi and Avex are still together and she's still one of their top artists. Now, the only 'controversy' is the one that fans keep bringing up so that they can make the corporation the bad guys (thus blaming them for bad sales and stuff). Also, the entertainment industry has a way with twisting facts and milking all they can out of 'bad' news. I agree with Impact that this might all have been faux drama because even a little more attention means millions of dollars in the bank for BOTH Avex and Ayumi.

.

yeah read the NTV interview. it focused on ayu in the A BEST era..:yes

where can I read the NTV interview?

Yes, where can I read the interview?

You can read it here: http://iota.asmallorange.com/~ahsfor...ad.php?t=25478 Although the translation is a bit shaky at points.

From what I always understood, Ayu took it as a symbol of the end of her career, and didn't like it for that reason. She also wanted to have more control over the release of her supposed "handpicked album". However, the theories that it might have been a cleverly crafted marketing ploy are quite interesting.

^thanks for the link!

All people need to do to learn about this story is watch the NTV interview done in 2004. The album was released against Ayu's wishes - she thought three years was to little time to release a greatest hits album - thus she resang some of the songs in protest. She was so dissatisfied with the situation at the time that she was honestly thinking of quitting. "Interviewer: Why did you force yourself? Ayu: Because I thought it would be over. Interviewer: Meaning you would retire? Ayu: Retire? I didn't make a detailed decision, I just wanted to leave." However, when A Best sold a gajillion copies, it made it very difficult for her to just leave as she had been thinking about doing.

As for it being a marketing ploy - I think it was real, but Avex played it up for all it was worth.

Maybe she was a bit dissatisfied. But her thinking of quitting or that avex wanted to end her career sounds a bit too forced. That's kinda like Utada hikaru mentioned in an interview she had had a relationship with another girl just to impress the gay people who were actually the ones supporting her EXODUS career in the US. The sames goes for Utada and ayumi each saying they both karaoke and listen to each other songs, it didn't sound exactly natural to me. One can lie in interviews or just spice things up, and us listeners shouldn't always accept such "facts" passively. That interview wouldn't really had brought so much attention if ayu had just mentioned she was extremely happy with A BEST album release and that everything was perfect. The moment she made the interview, she was already promoting the album. The "protest" of resinging a few songs can also be interpretted as nothing more than business. In my opinion it sounds pretty pathetic that a singer would get angry at their label and the label would print the covers of her crying showing her dissatisfaction with the label O_o;;; That would be extremely bizarre to be true.

well, what i heard, was that in japan, whene people normally released best albums, it usually meant in general, for anyone to release one, that it was the end of their career..which has obviously changed now and everyone releases them..lol..but im not sure if this is true..

so ayu wouldnt have said anything against avex, if it was the norm for people to do at the end of their career... :)

I'm ashamed that some of you would think that she would fake such a thing. Maybe if you knew the facts you would understand. She wasn't allowed publicly say in any magazine interview or other, that she was against the release of A BEST because of the fact that it may have hurt the sales. The only thing that ayu could do to try to hint that to her fans was the cover.. and its not like they had AYUMI HAMASAKI FINAL ALBUM on it or anything. really, go watch the 2004 interview and watch ayu crying when she talks about it, even 3 years later. you can see that she is sincerely hurt by it.
does ayu, to you, look like someone who would put on such an act to get a few extra million in her pocket, even if it were possible (which is isnt because they didnt let her say that she opposed the album till it was practically off the charts) ? o_O

if so. wtf.?

I know what the facts "published on interviews" were, but I also am able to interpret and process any kind of info I get in contact with. I wouldn't be ashamed of others for them doubting something they've read, I'd actualy be ashamed of myself if I were one to believe in every single thing I see published on the media. I love ayu and think her lyrics are real, but I'm not one of those that thinks ayu's a pure person with no syns who was born to spread peace and love LOL Just by the way she dresses we can say she loves to make a profit.
ayu's crying are "SO REAL". Specially the one in HEAVEN and HANABI ~episode II~:rolleyes I'm one of those who thinks her crying in the Who... performances are all fake..... (of course that's just my opinion, anyone is entitled to interpret it the way they can). I don't mind those though, she wanted to be an actress and she has to create an image and promote it so that it will catch her fans attentions.
ayu sure does know how to promote her stuff in my opinion.

That interview was given in 2004, years after the A Best release. Durring the promotion of A Best I don't recall her saying anything negative about the album.

I don't think Avex was trying to end her career at that point, but I do believe that Ayu was thinking of quitting. What would shock me, is if she HASN'T had thoughts of quitting before.

I agree with you. Didn't she cry in the "rainy day" PV? It was so fake looking. I've never seen her cry during a live performance so I cant say anything about that.

^ I don't believe PV crying is real.
Maybe live performances sometimes.

Did Ayu ever say how she felt about the release during interviews around that time of A Best, or the only source is NTV?

On the subject of crying, I don't think the crying on the cover is real. I actually don't think the crying on the PV is real either.

But I think it's real in live.

I don't want to turn this into a bigger argument but why would Ayu lie in interviews if one thing she hates is lairs. I know some of you will say people hate what they truely are but none of us know Ayu personally so we can't really jump to the conclusion that she is lying or telling the truth, we as fans for the most part have to stay neutral and keep an open mind. I do agree though that the crying in the PVs is fake obviously but the crying in the performances in Who..., Replace, winding road, walking proud, ect. is real.

I'm yet to meet the first human being who nevers lie, because that's a extremely rare specimen.
Second, I'd rather believe ayu is true to what she writes in her lyrics. If that's true, than she admits she lies: just read the "walking proud" lyrics.

Well of course for the PVs, it's not real - it's acting. I've always thought her crying in concerts was real though - like she allows herself to let the songs effect her as much as possible and then add to that the fact that she seems like an emotional person to begin with, I think the crying comes out naturally. I've seen her live 4 times and only once did she cry a bit, so it's not like she goes out there and forces herself to cry for every performance.

the crying for live performances were real.. we dont see her using eyedrops do we?

That is very true. Ayu probably doesn't like constant lairs and I have read the 'walking proud' lyrics so I can see where you are coming from.

Hmmm... what i know from A BEST is, The release of A BEST is when aves REALLY needs money... So, they know that new album of ayu will make MUCH money.... So, avex ask ayu to make album in day XX, month XX, and ayu was really shocked, and dont want to do it, so she actually confess about it, BUT after A BEST has been released...

So, it is not a fake things, it is real.... and it is not a trick from ayu and avex to rise the record sales...

No, it is not avex ask ayu to quit... ^^

Well; Ayu cries.

But it's hard to tell if its real or not, hm? lol

I think that we should believe its real in things like Japan Record Awards when its really hard for her to talk and sing..I wonder how it was like.. she didn't really make a surprising look that one time.. [When she won for Voyage] I think. She was like o_o and then she started crying...

/confused

A BEST was a turning point in her carrier because she realized that she was only a product for Avex, milking her for all she was worth. She was forced under contract to make it. So she resung some songs & added a new song "M" on the CD so the fans could get their money's worth.

She felt like quiting because the company was putting so much pressure on her. They asked her to compose all the songs for her next studio album, even though she never had any experience. She had so much on her plate that when they slapped her with "A Best" she was like,"that's it. I can't take it anymore." In the NTV interview she said that she posed for so many magazine covers during that time because she knew that if she quit, she would never experience it again.

I'm assuming that she had the thought of quiting in her head since the "A" single which is why Ayu wrote songs like "end roll", but seeing as it sold so well, she continued on for awhile. I think that's what happened with "A Best." Ayu said that was the last straw, but since it sold over 4 million copies, she didn't want to dissapoint her fans so she continued on.

She released "endless sorrow" 2 months after A Best which is a dark and depressing song and dissapeared for a little while. (She wasn't even in the original endless sorrow PV!), but something about her changed and she released UNITE! & Dearest and finally her "I am..." album. I guess she gave in and said "I am a product. It is my job to fulfill people's dreams."

That's pretty depressing, you know..!

I like your opinion :yes very interesting point of view...

I understand why she wouldn't want to quit at the peak of her career; as soon as she started, she must have realized that being a singer/songwriter was the thing she wanted to do most.

yeah, i had a really old interview/documentary that explained this, but i cant remember. it was something like avex ewre pushing her to release it, so then her way of protesting was to re-record 4 of the tracks. the promotions for the album were cray as well, cause its release date was pushed to compete with utada's 'distance' album. 'a best' took the no.1 spot for the first week, but then distance took over after that and eventually sold more. i also heard that they planned to end ayumi's caraar with a best

ehh actually she only re-recorded 3 songs. and "Distance" took #1 for the 1st week, not "A BEST".