If you were to reccommend ayu to a friend...
 

I'd pick Memorial address. It has a little bit of everything, IMO.

That's really hard. I thought the same thing many times, like what would be the first performance to show, first pv, first song, etc.

I think I would go with MY STORY or Secret. Shows the range she is able to pull off.

I wouldn''t introduce albums but specific songs instead. It really depends on the tastes of the friend. I'd avoid ultra happy/animeish kinds of a song for a start since they can be a bit scary for people who doesn't know JPOP. Best to try songs in which ayu has a clearer voice, and in which the arrangements doesn't drown the entire song. However, again it would all depend on the taste of the friend. Whenever I feel like getting my mom to enjoy an ayu song, I play Voyage, JEWEL and the likes. She loves them. As for a friend, I sent her alterna and the Above & Beyond remix of M, which she enjoyed but I lent her my RAINBOW album (the only ayu album I have) and she didn't even bother to listen to it at all. I usually don't bother to tell my friends my tastes in JPOP though.

^ I agree on the specific songs bit. I'd probably make a playlist, mixing together all of Ayu's work with a few songs from each album just so they can see her range and growth as an artist. I might heavily feature her latest stuff, just to show what she's doing currently. I actually made an Ayu playlist today that I think works kinda/sorta okay for introducing people to Ayu:

A Song for XX
Fly high
SURREAL
I am...
M
Dearest
HANABI
ourselves
About You
(miss)understood
JEWEL
Born To Be...
talkin' 2 myself
Together When...
Marionette

The way it worked for me was I just shoved Ayu down some of my friends' throats XD. But her tearful performance of Memorial address also helped that.

Wow, I definitely need more time to think of this, but if I chose a specific song, I'd choose JEWEL or fairlyand.... AND IT ACTUALLY WORKED BEFORE xD

I made my friends watch JEWEL & fairyland and they fell in love with the PVs and the songs, from there on it was easy hehe.

Definitely would recommend specific songs rather than albums. If you absolutely NEED albums... I'd go with MY STORY, Secret and GUILTY.

Good songs to introduce people to Ayu include:
RAINBOW
Jewel
Endless Sorrow
Memorial Address
About You
Is This Love
It Was
Marionette
Guilty
Momentum
Talkin' 2 Myself
Naturally
Heartplace
(Miss)understood
TO BE

SIGNAL is good for a laugh.

If introduced a lot of my friends to JPop.
I usually start out with letting them hear Utada before Ayumi because Utada sounds more western, so it's not that big of a switch yet.
After I show them Utada I usually start out with MY STORY and Memorial address. Songs like Moments, Memorial address (take 2 version), Because of You, and About You tend to do really well with my friends. ayu-mi-x is a good place to start out too, maybe some (miss)understood.

I would recommend A Ballad and i have introduced some of the songs from that album to my friends. They really like it . . especially Hanabi . . I just ask 'em to listen Hanabi and they like it . . unfortunately they don't like her up-beat songs and they prefer her chill and ballad songs . .
they like Dearest acoustic piano version too . . .

The beginning of Hana is hilarious :laugh So corny

I wouldn't play her older songs, it would come off as too screechy to people who are not used to her voice.

It so should be the introductory song for every person who doesn't know ayu. This way, it would help on ayu being something exclusive to us :laugh

I'd go with the song approach first, then recommend an album, to find out which songs my friend liked best. Actually, I think I'd go with some of her PVs. Like, if my friend was a romantic and a lover of all things symbolic, I'd go with Together When... If they were into the weird and surreal, alterna or Ladies Night, etc.

Probably "I am...," since it's such a classic and has a good mix of styles. Otherwise, I second the recommendation to show the new potential fan a mix of PV's. I myself got into Ayu after watching the "ourselves" PV.

When I first introduced a friend of mine to Ayu I made her a mixed CD full of Ayu songs. I gave her a range of different songs to see what she prefered. Afterwards I brought her her first Ayu album, MY STORY, and she loved it.

I Am..., (m)u, MY STORY, it's probably best to do the 'illegal' thing and burn a CD with a variety of all her songs to show that she's not just a one note happy-happy pop star (Which everyone thinks she is >.> )

All of them^^

I already recommended all of Ayu's album to my new friend in the university^^

I showed Ayu to one friend, didn't work on her, but she did like Talkin' 2 Myself, I swear she listens to too much MCR and Fall out Boy. But I showed her to another friend and she liked Jewel and Alterna.

I'd say Memorial Address. This is definitely one of Ayu's stronger albums =)

I'd go with I am... album it's my favorite so I would choose this one.

LOVEppears, I am... and GUILTY. (miss)understood can be on that list as well.

*thinking*

ok...

MY STORY 'cause has everithing ^^

(miss)understood? I don't think Bold & Delicious is the best first JPop song for any listener. As an album opener, it may keep potential listeners from wanting to listen to the other songs on the album. Though it might be good for variety or something.

IMO Guilty & (miss)understood would be the best choices. I Am... is good but she still sorta has that high-pitched voice in some songs. =X I thought of Rainbow also but it's mainly only the singles that are good on that one, heh ^^;

For songs, I would say
Alterna
Talkin' 2 Myself
Rainbow
Jewel
Marionette
(Don't) Leave Me Alone
Together When...
Voyage
Ourselves
Because of you
Hanabi ~Episode II~
Memorial Address
Fated

=X

For albums, I would either recommed "I am..." or "Memorial Address" to my friends. The tracks are really good; "I am..." is the album that got me into Ayu in the first place and "Memorial Address" is just one of her best albums, personally. As for songs, I'd say:

evolution
voyage
Jewel
July 1st
Ourselves
Naturally
Real me
talkin' 2 myself
TO BE

hahaha
my frens like her ballads the most
Like Dearest,Moments,JEWEL
BLUE BIRD too ^^

well for me i'd start with a song first, or show them a relli kool PV of Ayu like evolution or something

but if it has to be an album i will probably give them My Story because there is so many different genre's in there~

Memorial Address and My Story

evolution !!!

my favorite ayumi song of all time!!!

Exactly. Good points.
I've thought about this too, but, to be honest I can't really decide. You just have to listen to more than a couple songs, maybe three or more, to show different styles of instruments and singing. I mean, "Ourselves" is completely different from something like "Fated". Though, like ImpactBreaker said, I don't usually ' come out of the closet ' to any friends about my japanese music. No one's really into that or Japan in general but myself, sadly.

The first song I got my friend from Jersey into was BLUE BIRD and HEAVEN and he kept asking me who sung that and then he instantly fell in love with her music. He likes alterna a lot too lol. But if I had to say an album that he hasn't mostly heard yet. Probably MY STORY or RAINBOW. Maybe (miss)understood but he's heard most of the songs on that lol. He does although LOVE Beautiful Fighters, I catch him singing it from time to time lawlz.

seasons n together when..

I agree with some of you on showing people select songs first, then a full album later.

For me, I'd probably show people a rock song or something sounding very contemporary. Examples would include 1 LOVE, Because of You, Startin', talkin' 2 myself, or anything with a rock feel (if you'd consider that even contemporary, since Ayu producers neither country or hip-hop, two very popular genres from where I live).

Deep ballads, such as Pride or Together When..., would probably be next.

I'd honestly try to stay away from pop/cutesy songs at all costs. (:laugh) Only if they really had an interest in her music would I show pop songs to them.

hmm it really does depend of your friends style of music..ayu has a WIDE range anyway so there isn't much problem
The first song I ever showed to my friends a few years ago was "evolution" and my friends in my old school weren't exactly into pop/rock and especiall not asian music=__=
BUt as soon as the heard it they were like " OMG THIS GIRL CAN BE A RAPPER MAN..look how fast she sings..JUST LIKE TUPAC^__^.."<-thats them discussing when they've stolen my iPod=___=
But then again in my new school I showed it to another friend who had only just heard of her..AND SHES ASIAN and she said she didn't like "evolution"(which I replied WTF ARE U CRAZY UR NUTS ITS A CLASSIC ITS ONE OF MY FAVOURITES)
...so u can see not everyone has the same taste

I agree with everyone here, u should just select some of her hit songs that your confident to share?? If your really desperate to just show one album they I guess Memorial Address or My Story (They're my faves). I think MA has agreat range of songs and they're all top notch too..annd MS may be more compatible with people cause its Pop/Rock which I guess more ppl will be familiar with.
I don't think u should recommend anything from her early early work where her voice is still screechy..the only one I REALLY approve of is "A Song for XX"

Some songs I'd recommend would be: alterna, Because of You, Evolution, HANABI, HEAVEN, JEWEL, Liar, M, Marionette, Memorial Address, Moments, momentum, Not Yet, ourselves, RAINBOW, Replace, STEP you, until that Day...

and one thing I REALLY GOTTA ADD IS: you must show some of ayu's beautiful pvs cause like seriously.ALOT of the songs, even whe nI already like them I REALLY only get into them after seeing her pwetiiiiiiii pvs and going OMG ITS AYU♥

I dont think I would introduce ayu to any of my friends by just 1 CD.I would just show them a few of my favorite songs by her, but if I had to do it, it would be GUILTY,because I feel that it fits their taste their taste in music a little more than her other cds ^^

One of my friend only listens to one ayu song and it is voyage because he saw the clip of her forgetting her lyrics -_-! lol

I see can my friends doing that too ! lol

if i were to recommend ayu to a friend, probably lend them A BEST 2 black + white, or i would show that person one of her concert videos and see which songs he/she would like. her concerts usually have a nice variety of old + new songs

yeah, i would say Memorial Address...