Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai

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-   -   [News] ayumi hamasaki LIVE TOUR -TROUBLE- 2018-2019 A (inc. CDL 2018-2019) ~II~ (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124341)

BabyJane 31st December 2018 02:16 PM

Love the setlist. Hope that everything will work out fine with the stream...

AyuWorld 31st December 2018 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by junshen (Post 3293128)
ayumi hamasaki COUNTDOWN LIVE
2018-2019 A -TROUBLE- Setlists
20181231 in KOKUSAI FORUM

Spoiler:


00 Opening
01 WARNING
02 W
03 Lady Dynamite
04 1LOVE
05 No Way to Say
06 Together When...
07 movin on without you
08 Lelio
09 XOXO
10 We are the QUEENS
11 Survivor
12 Startin’
13 UNITE!
14 evolution
15 talkin’ to myself ~COUNTDOWN
16 Love Song
17 NOW & 4EVA

Encore
18 Days
19 ANother Song (Special Guest: Urata Naoya)
20 Dream on (Special Guest: Urata Naoya)
21 Boys & Girls
22 The Show Must Go On

Double Encore
23 MY ALL

coooool! some songs are just overperformed, really, i just wish for another merry-go-round,

AyuCanada 31st December 2018 03:41 PM

Nice setlist, very energetic!

kendelle 31st December 2018 03:44 PM

I tried Abema with two separate VPN (Nord VPN and VPN Gate) services and neither seems to work. The page displays for a few seconds but the overlay with the bowing bear dog thing and the "Sorry...failed to display" message shows up.

Hope it can work when the stream is on but I'm doubting it. Good luck to anyone else trying!

Evan Odinson 31st December 2018 05:54 PM

^No luck for neither :no

Teppei-chan 31st December 2018 06:02 PM

Nice settist, no real suprise for me but I'm happy to see Together when in the list

kendelle 31st December 2018 06:46 PM

This stream may work: -----------------------

It's the best I could sleuth up so far!

Edit: Ugh it's one of those "give us your CC scams"

Chris85 31st December 2018 06:48 PM

I'm watching ayumi hamasaki"LIVE直前!特製カウントダウン right now without any problems, so AbemaDELUXE channel is indeed free, yay!

AJFmzk 31st December 2018 06:54 PM

^ Same. It is working for me as well (though streaming quality isn't the best)

kendelle 31st December 2018 06:54 PM

What are you using to get it to work? I've tried Hoxx VPN now as well with Firefox and Chrome and even installed the apk on my phone with VPN and they all fail :(

jiarongisme 31st December 2018 06:55 PM

So I've got a pretty reliable VPN service, went onto the link (https://abema.tv/channels/special-pl...A8ZNnFq6WLnYqm) and it's just the promo image of the program? Am I missing something?

kendelle 31st December 2018 06:58 PM

I've accessed the same link but anything with abema comes up with this overlay:

https://i.imgur.com/xIULR6O.png

The video player will pop up and then the overlay blocks it =\

Chris85 31st December 2018 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiarongisme (Post 3293181)
So I've got a pretty reliable VPN service, went onto the link (https://abema.tv/channels/special-pl...A8ZNnFq6WLnYqm) and it's just the promo image of the program? Am I missing something?

The show will start in 7 minutes. Just stay on this channel:
https://abema.tv/now-on-air/special-plus-6

jiarongisme 31st December 2018 06:59 PM

^ Thanks for this!

freedreamer 31st December 2018 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris85 (Post 3293184)
The show will start in 7 minutes. Just stay on this channel:
https://abema.tv/now-on-air/special-plus-6

This strictly needs a vpn huh

~angel*ayumi~ 31st December 2018 07:02 PM

I think I will giove up on it... wanted to watch Kouhaku instead but NHK blocked tne stream I was watching <.<

AJFmzk 31st December 2018 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kendelle (Post 3293160)
I tried Abema with two separate VPN (Nord VPN and VPN Gate) services and neither seems to work. The page displays for a few seconds but the overlay with the bowing bear dog thing and the "Sorry...failed to display" message shows up.

Hope it can work when the stream is on but I'm doubting it. Good luck to anyone else trying!

Did you set the country to Japan? NordVPN is working for me. But only on the website on computer. I still get the error if I try to use mobile or tablet

Chris85 31st December 2018 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freedreamer (Post 3293186)
This strictly needs a vpn huh

Watching on PC with Japanese proxy I googled, no VPN.

Chibi-Chan 31st December 2018 07:11 PM

The website is working for me, but the traffic seams insane, video stops every few seconds. Seriously, I'd rather pay and have a wirking stream than this

Aderianu 31st December 2018 07:11 PM

It's kinda works with hola at google chrome. But video is super frozen

jiarongisme 31st December 2018 07:14 PM

Mine's pretty smooth and HD. Lights just went off!

AJFmzk 31st December 2018 07:14 PM

Stream keeps stopping and refreshing, but it works, haltingly

Aderianu 31st December 2018 07:17 PM

It's impossible to watch. 2 seconds of video and 30 of waiting.

Chibi-Chan 31st December 2018 07:19 PM

Abema seriously fucked this up. Seems as if they weren't prepared for that much traffic and now video is freezing every few seconds. I'm really disapoointed. ;_;

~angel*ayumi~ 31st December 2018 07:19 PM

I whould also prefer to pay and watch it without setting VPNs and whatnot <.<

@Aderianu
Thx Hola works for me too, but I get like 2 sec video and then it freeze loke forever too xD

kendelle 31st December 2018 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AJFmzk (Post 3293188)
Did you set the country to Japan? NordVPN is working for me. But only on the website on computer. I still get the error if I try to use mobile or tablet

Yeah I tried it with several VPNs for Japan but none took :(

Luckily someone on JPS recently uploaded a similar Abema stream request and the one I made there has a big bounty so hopefully they can pull a copy of it successfully even if it's a bit late.

It just hit 12am here so Hhttps://avex.jp/upload/emoji/2.gif?1546261313.392607PPY NEW YEAR regardless :)

jiarongisme 31st December 2018 07:22 PM

Wow the audio mixing is so bad on this.

Evan Odinson 31st December 2018 07:23 PM

Can't watch anything, hope someone records:( it

Uknow! 31st December 2018 07:25 PM

warning
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDc7Ygn8cs/

~angel*ayumi~ 31st December 2018 07:25 PM

It will for sure go on Jpopsuki, no worries for that.
But it whould have been so cool to watch it live just one time <.<
Maybe they can fix it, do you also get "livestream went offline" notice?

Uknow! 31st December 2018 07:28 PM

pic
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDdkLmHxI5/

AyuWorld 31st December 2018 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uknow! (Post 3293202)

shes so energetic!!

jiarongisme 31st December 2018 07:34 PM

1 LOVE featuring some really cool visuals:

Dancers time now, heading into the ballad section.

Chibi-Chan 31st December 2018 07:38 PM

No way to say ♡ Please let the stream work lol

~angel*ayumi~ 31st December 2018 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiarongisme (Post 3293206)
1 LOVE featuring some really cool visuals:

Dancers time now, heading into the ballad section.

I want such a clear Stream too :(
I wonder if the stream is only so bad via fake VPN o.o

Edit: I am giving up, I only get black screen anymore...

Chris85 31st December 2018 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chibi-Chan (Post 3293196)
Abema seriously fucked this up. Seems as if they weren't prepared for that much traffic and now video is freezing every few seconds. I'm really disapoointed. ;_;

No freezing for me at all, just low quality.

jiarongisme 31st December 2018 07:51 PM

^ Same. It started as being pretty HD and now it's like 360p-480p but smooth.

Chibi-Chan 31st December 2018 07:55 PM

Video is completely frozen now. =(

Edit: now I have a stable stream since quite a while, wish me luck! lol

Uknow! 31st December 2018 08:16 PM

no way to say
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDe5kRHCei/
we are the queens
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDi-DmnIHr/
movin on without you
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDjl4qBMSr/

Evan Odinson 31st December 2018 08:29 PM

She looks so beautiful! and her vocals sound great in those short clips but to those watching the full show, how are the vocals? I hope she's doing great.

ayumint 31st December 2018 08:35 PM

Her voice is so goooooood!!!

AyuWorld 31st December 2018 08:43 PM

oh gosh NWTS!!

jus that flailing dancer again, meh

Chibi-Chan 31st December 2018 08:47 PM

She seems genuinely moved during NOW & 4EVA, haven't seen her cry like this in a while.

Chris85 31st December 2018 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evan Odinson (Post 3293217)
She looks so beautiful! and her vocals sound great in those short clips but to those watching the full show, how are the vocals? I hope she's doing great.

As usual. Sometimes she sounds good, but overall there's a lot of screaming, off-key moments, problems with high notes...And her voice's traditionally hoarse on a filming date. The volume of background vocals in the mix is very high, so it helps covering it all up. The very beginning of Love Song was good until she went over dramatic and ruined it.
She suddenly started coughing during Days and apologized.

AJFmzk 31st December 2018 08:52 PM

Vocals are OK, Not amazing, but not too bad (mostly). Love song sounded great. UNITE was probably some of the worst vocals of the night, beside for the beginning of the show. But overall She's been OK so far.

freedreamer 31st December 2018 08:56 PM

a pity she couldnt hit the chorus in NWTS from that clip. but hope the rest was great!

Chris85 31st December 2018 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AJFmzk (Post 3293227)
but not too bad (mostly).

Definitely.
Cutesy voice is back in Days.

Evan Odinson 31st December 2018 09:08 PM

Thanks for the review guys! can't wait to watch it :yes

Chris85 31st December 2018 09:23 PM

Live comments section is fun to read. Some people are admiring Timmy's body.

Katsuyuki012 31st December 2018 09:23 PM

Loved the 1LOVE visuals

melissalove 31st December 2018 09:31 PM

Judging from the clips, Her voice sounds really good and she looks absolutely beautiful. Her dancers though will forever annoy me. *Fingers crossed* maybe they don’t come out so often in the entire show.

Uknow! 31st December 2018 09:35 PM

startin
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDj5z7nAPQ/
evolution
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDktZlnakJ/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDlSLYFnRQ/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDlgIkByGx/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDm_7-ADuD/

Katsuyuki012 31st December 2018 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melissalove (Post 3293238)
Judging from the clips, Her voice sounds really good and she looks absolutely beautiful. Her dancers though will forever annoy me. *Fingers crossed* maybe they don’t come out so often in the entire show.

I was only bothered by that one guy during XOXO, tbh

AJFmzk 31st December 2018 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris85 (Post 3293233)
Definitely.
Cutesy voice is back in Days.

Haha I'm not really a fan of the cutesy voice. But at least there was no cutesy SECTION. I'm happy we got No Way to Say and Together When... I love those songs. I'm OK with Days (did she choke on the fake snow? I couldn't tell but she said something about it), though I wish she'd included YOU or a different underperformed throwback. I'm happy with the setlist though, and UN was a nice surprise guest (even though he was in CDL 15-16 recently). I didn't think they'd do both ANother Song and Dream ON, it was a nice surprise (I didn't check the setlist spoiler before hand). HAPPY NEW YEAR 開けましたおめでとう 今年もよろしく!(Still got a while to go for me though!)

Chris85 31st December 2018 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AJFmzk (Post 3293244)
I'm happy we got No Way to Say and Together When... I love those songs.

Can't agree more. I love them both so much. One of my all time favorite performances of Ayu is when she sang them back to back in 2007 during HAPPY Xmas SHOW!.

Evan Odinson 31st December 2018 09:54 PM

Would love to see a new performance of Why... and since JUNO is MIA (I think, haven't heard about him since a random dorama back in 2012) she could sing it with Urata, she already did it once so why not again? lol I prefer Why... over ANother song anytime :laugh

Anna.L 31st December 2018 09:59 PM

why she didnt keep the way i am? argh ayu why always this cuts?

AJFmzk 31st December 2018 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris85 (Post 3293246)
Can't agree more. I love them both so much. One of my all time favorite performances of Ayu is when she sang them back to back in 2007 during HAPPY Xmas SHOW!.

That was a great show! I have the clips and I keep the audio on my iPod. Those songs are Ayu at the top of her game back in the day, so great to see them performed again now.

metropass 31st December 2018 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna.L (Post 3293248)
why she didnt keep the way i am? argh ayu why always this cuts?

Because ayu love trolling her fans.

maxikot 31st December 2018 10:23 PM

I've managed to record the main part of the concert. Keep in mind it's the stream version so when more stuff happens it gets pixelated so think of it as more of a placeholder till we get a proper tv rip (then I'll delete it) but watchable on a laptop or mobile. It's in 9 parts.
LINK

Aderianu 31st December 2018 10:27 PM

maxikot THANK YOU!

Evan Odinson 31st December 2018 10:38 PM

maxikot you're the best, thanks!

primavera♥ 31st December 2018 10:41 PM

She looks incredibly stunning during no way to say. Whew.

Aderianu 31st December 2018 10:44 PM

video is also up at jpopsuki

hud 31st December 2018 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxikot (Post 3293252)
I've managed to record the main part of the concert. Keep in mind it's the stream version so when more stuff happens it gets pixelated so think of it as more of a placeholder till we get a proper tv rip (then I'll delete it) but watchable on a laptop or mobile. It's in 9 parts.
LINK

a hero, as always!

AyuWorld 31st December 2018 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris85 (Post 3293246)
Can't agree more. I love them both so much. One of my all time favorite performances of Ayu is when she sang them back to back in 2007 during HAPPY Xmas SHOW!.

so ture omg I wanna cry, those days <3

nowadays Ive been repeating her A Winter playlist on Spotify and No Way To Say gets old, the feeling, I still believe the santa is her dad lol

about Dream On,I prefer Why... over it too,

AyuGAME 31st December 2018 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxikot (Post 3293252)
I've managed to record the main part of the concert. Keep in mind it's the stream version so when more stuff happens it gets pixelated so think of it as more of a placeholder till we get a proper tv rip (then I'll delete it) but watchable on a laptop or mobile. It's in 9 parts.
LINK

Thank you so much

errikkutrancex 31st December 2018 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxikot (Post 3293252)
I've managed to record the main part of the concert. Keep in mind it's the stream version so when more stuff happens it gets pixelated so think of it as more of a placeholder till we get a proper tv rip (then I'll delete it) but watchable on a laptop or mobile. It's in 9 parts.
LINK

Thanks a lot ! Really kind of you !!!!

AyuWorld 1st January 2019 12:38 AM

Omg!! I watched Days part on Twitter where Ayu choked on the fake snow omg! Pretty much ruined the lart and Ayu was like “coughing “gomen gomen” gosh lol

Uknow! 1st January 2019 01:04 AM

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showth...70#post3293270

Cahz- 1st January 2019 01:52 AM

Ok, I'm not gonna say she sounded bad the whole concert because it's not true but man, when she tried to reach the high notes, as a fan it was really painful to watch her trying so hard and not achieving it.
Overall I enjoyed most of the concert besides what I mentioned.

~angel*ayumi~ 1st January 2019 02:04 AM

She nailed Love Songs though :O

Andrenekoi 1st January 2019 02:25 AM

ayumi hamasaki LIVE TOUR -NO FUCKS GIVEN- 2018-2019 A

surrealA 1st January 2019 04:47 AM

The venue looks so good on TV! First Countdown Live not in yoyogi right?

ayumint 1st January 2019 05:01 AM

Omg, that "W", really loved it

AyuCanada 1st January 2019 05:27 AM

It is fun that they broadcasted it, they all did a good job. Ayu sounded well although her voice struggles a lot to reach those high notes (as always). The production is wayyyy below her previous CDL but I guess we were all aware of that.

Chris85 1st January 2019 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~angel*ayumi~ (Post 3293295)
She nailed Love Songs though :O

IMO she nailed it in one of her 2 TV performances with that song, but definitely not here.

Andrenekoi 1st January 2019 08:46 AM

I loved how she did pretty much every single thing people trashes her for doing during this concert.

She dreased younger, sexed every thing up, had flaing dancer, kissed another one on the lips, shoved gay people and luxury brands into our faces....

Gosh, I love this woman!

Party_King 1st January 2019 08:47 AM

This was a great CDL! Very energetic! Even if she couldn‘t hit the high notes, her vocals were pretty good...
WARNING was Routine but the best Performance of it since AT'15. W was a real hot performance. I loved it from beginning to the end. Also Lady Dynamite and 1 LOVE were great. 1 LOVE had the same choreography as it’s performance from Cirque de Minuit but other visuals on the backscreen which I liked a lot!
No way to say started great until chorus. It was a pain listen to her while she tries to get the high notes. Together When... was okay.
I really love Lelio and XOXO, but this performance was rather boring and I thought it's bad to not Show the screen from the Smartphone as they did during the tour.
We are the QUEENS, Survivor and Startin‘ were my highlight vocal-wise. She was perfect and on fire. I really love the combination of the three songs! And than, there was UNITE!, which was horrible to listen to. I mean, I really love that Song (I’m really happy she brang that track back with TA Tour 2015), but she just couldn’t get the high notes anymore with her current voice. I was surprised that she was doing the „lalala“ Intro for evolution.
And I also was surprised she didn’t put UNITE! + evolution right after talkin‘ 2 myself. I personally think that this would‘ve been a great flow and talkin‘ 2 myself would also fit perfectly after Startin‘.
IMO Love Song was the worst performance of that show. The Acapella Intro felt rushed and emotionless. The whole performance was overdramatized. But there wasn‘t that „love 2 u, love 2 u“ part, which was a really small plus for me...
I don’t like that cuteness voice during Days and it's performance. Maybe, I’m just still mad that she axed YOU for it...
I can‘t stand ANother song. A shame that Feel the love~Merry-go-round was axed for this. Also something strange happened to UN‘s Voice during Dream ON... i think the filter on his voice was a weird/bad choice...
Am I wrong, or did they lowered the key of The Show Must Go On? If that’s the point, it was a gerat decision. They should‘ve done this also for UNITE!.

I liked the most of her outfits. I think my favorite is that school-girl dress during WARNING and W. Also that, what she was wearing under it for Lady Dynamite.
I hate that Gucci Outfit for the encore… And am I the only one who thinks that she got some botox right before the show? Her facial expressions were sometimes out of place and she looked like she was in pain.

+ and - LIST:

+ W
+ Lady Dynamite
+ We are the QUEENS
+ Survivor
+ Startin‘

- No way to say
- UNITE!
- Love Song
- Days
- ANother song (for personal reasons)

ayumint 1st January 2019 08:52 AM

She reached 750k people watched online last night, that's huge number

AyuGAME 1st January 2019 12:35 PM

I think she did very well last night.

She is not screaming to reach the high note which is good. She can't do that again and again because it will ruined her vocal.

She is really stable and energetic.

Sky High 1st January 2019 08:41 PM

She was really good, UNITE was struggle for her.

ayumint 1st January 2019 10:24 PM

I just wondered if an intro at the begining will transform to full song? Really liked it "TO RA BU RU"

mizuki-7 2nd January 2019 01:08 AM

Really fun to watch ! probably her most energetic concert and despite being in a hall it doesn’t look cheap the visuals are good etc... her vocals are on point for most of the concert I really feel an improvement for the whole year but it’s quite sad the struggle she has for reaching the higher notes in some songs ... she definitely should lower the key of her older songs to makes them sound good with her current voice.

maxikot 2nd January 2019 02:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mizuki-7 (Post 3293380)
Really fun to watch ! probably her most energetic concert and despite being in a hall it doesn’t look cheap the visuals are good etc... her vocals are on point for most of the concert I really feel an improvement for the whole year but it’s quite sad the struggle she has for reaching the higher notes in some songs ... she definitely should lower the key of her older songs to makes them sound good with her current voice.

This. I also enjoyed interludes a lot. Some of them could work great in albums. The intro sounds like a perfect 1st track of TROUBLE. If used as such we could have at least a partial connection with the title.

FoxyPinkGirl 2nd January 2019 04:02 AM

I miss her gold corset instead of the black/silver one she wears now under the school girl beginning outfit. Honestly, I feel people are being way too harsh on her for her vocals. Keep in mind how much she’s touring in general, her age but also her deafness. That right there plays a big part. Also, what song in the encore does she sit/lay on the giant heart guitar prop? Yeah, she should’ve stuck with the tour shirt for the encore during the tour versus the designer outfit. Would be more of a good gesture for fans, rather than pleasing pesky designers (with the desingers knowing the fans can’t replicate nor afford it).

Katsuyuki012 2nd January 2019 04:55 AM

The heart guitar is during Boys & Girls

hud 2nd January 2019 04:56 AM

seriously the stage looks SO awesome

Chris85 2nd January 2019 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FoxyPinkGirl (Post 3293385)
Honestly, I feel people are being way too harsh on her for her vocals. Keep in mind how much she’s touring in general, her age but also her deafness. That right there plays a big part.

Well, music is supposed to sound pleasant for ears. I think she's very lucky that people can overlook her singing skills and still go to her concerts. I absolutely agree about deafness not doing her any favours, but the amount of touring is her own doing. What about her age? It's not like she's 60 and her voice changed because of that. There are artists who tour more than her and still deliver very good vocals, using proper techniques and taking proper care of their voices.
I think a big problem with Ayu is that she's been screaming for years constantly straining her voice to the point it gets hoarse like in this show. I don't know how her team is ok with that.
Anyway she said herself many years ago that despite hearing problems she'll continue being a pro without any excuses. So we all know her situation, but she asked for no special treatment herself. I believe she can improve, but it seems that she's more focused on touring, than on working with a vocal coach.
She increased her concert tickets price, so it's only fair to want some quality vocals for such money.

Katsuyuki012 2nd January 2019 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FoxyPinkGirl (Post 3293385)
Honestly, I feel people are being way too harsh on her for her vocals. Keep in mind how much she’s touring in general, her age but also her deafness. That right there plays a big part.

Deafness is an excuse for being off-key and all that at times but not for hoarseness and her not having a proper technique.

The thing is, she is not in her 60s/70s and she also doesn't have songs that are incredibly hard and require a lot of high belts. It'd be different if she only/mainly had such songs. Yes, her voice is deeper but one can always lower the key if needed and change some notes. I understand that her high notes are not as easy for her but tbh, who knows if she could sing them now if she was properly rested & taught.

Overall I can definitely watch the CDL 'at ease', vocal-wise. W was definitely not a vocal masterpiece but I enjoyed the performance. That's the case with most songs here. The show itself is amazing imo.

However, fans have also lowered their standards when it comes to her performances. The problem is not really her age though. As I said, I understand that when one is e.g. 65 they can't sing some notes and do it differently and/or use more pre-recorded tracks/lines (which she does already but it's fine).
Her real problem is her schedule and the lack of a permanent vocal coach. There are a lot of singers that perform more shows in in the same time span. Look at how many concerts Celine Dion did in this decade and compare it to ayu. But Celine has even cancelled due to vocal rest, warms up and has a coach. Ayu sounded great during PoM18 but there was a lot of time between dates and honestly, I'd take that over her current schedule any day.

If ayu is not capable of such a schedule (and her singing technique likely doesn't help, although she doesn't shout all the notes during this CDL. Just compare to MIT) then she shouldn't have it. I am not saying she should stop touring, just less dates. But she won't stop anyway and it just feels like her right ear going deaf made her want to perform as much as possible which for us as fans means, quantity instead of quality.

This is way too long.

Aside from that, I enjoyed the CDL! W was great (love the car and the fact that it feels quite tightly choreographed) and I already commented on the re-worked visuals for 1 LOVE. Didn't think I'd say it but the cutesy voice before singing made it feel a bit like the PV with the whole 'selling herself' stuff, so that worked imo.

tokyoxjapanxfan 2nd January 2019 06:35 AM

I really liked the intro a lot. I would support that becoming a full song, or at least released as an instrumental.

I’m glad I was able to go. I was honestly hoping for some sort of MC, as it’s the end of an era. Actually I’m surprised there wasn’t a montage of sorts. The change from Heisei is a huge deal to the country.

Andrenekoi 2nd January 2019 06:45 AM

Er... She most likely IS shouting because she IS deaf. Concert setting is loud and she probably have issues hearing herself a lot of the times.

Singing while being almost deaf isn't something easy to solve.

That being said, in a world people are paying to watch Utada murder her discography live without any physical issue as an 'excuse", Ayu does get trashed way too often... And it's not like she ever was a good singer anyways. Heck, most of the big acts in jpop are pretty bad singers tbh

People don't pay to watch Ayu because she is a vocal powerhouse, they pay her because she is a top tier performer and entertainer. Less Mariah Carrey/Celine Dion, more Madonna/Mylene Farmer.

Katsuyuki012 2nd January 2019 06:56 AM

Ayu did shout much less than she used to so that's good but she herself has proven that she can sing without shouting all the time while being nearly deaf. Obviously it won't be perfect and that's okay. She was never a good singer but back in the day her voice wasn't constantly hoarse with a few exceptions.

Ayu does get trashed way too much for things and while she is a performer rather than a vocalist, it isn't too much to ask for when fans want her to just rest more so she doesn't have a hoarse voice. Nobody expects some vocal runs etc. like they would from Celine and Mariah. Just a voice that isn't totally overused.

AJFmzk 2nd January 2019 09:27 AM

Personally, I thought this countdown live was really entertaining to watch despite her vocal problems. Everyone here has made some good points and I just thought I’d add my two cents.

I speak from experience when I say trying to record and perform with ear injuries/problems is no joke and beyond f’ing frustrating. So I definitely have sympathy and I’m willing to overlook things for her, even though I’m a no excuses kind of person when it comes to my own work. But overlooking doesn’t change the fact she went off key and it was hard (and sad) to hear it.

I agree with Chris85 on the point that if you’re charging the prices she does, most people expect not to be cringing at off key notes. But people do expect vocal problems from her and what you’re paying for is the experience, however unpleasant and cringey it is at times. And as long as people keep paying those prices, she’ll continue to charge them, which doesn’t mean she shouldn’t try to fix it, which I think she’s been trying to do. The injury is not really her fault and it seems like she’s been taking steps to try to find a way to work with her limits and be as good as possible (compared to the last two CDLs, she sounded good. All her shows that I attended this past year were good for the most part. She did well all things considered). I’m sure there are some other things she can do to help ease the burden on her clearly overworked vocal chords such as doing less dates on the tour etc. but at the end of the day we don’t really know what steps she’s been taking, maybe she’s trying different things and seeing which is most effective. In any case, she’s a performer, specifically a singer, so everyone is entitled to their opinion and to be as charitable or critical as they wish.

Andrenekoi 2nd January 2019 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AJFmzk (Post 3293400)
Personally, I thought this countdown live was really entertaining to watch despite her vocal problems. Everyone here has made some good points and I just thought I’d add my two cents.

I speak from experience when I say trying to record and perform with ear injuries/problems is no joke and beyond f’ing frustrating. So I definitely have sympathy and I’m willing to overlook things for her, even though I’m a no excuses kind of person when it comes to my own work. But overlooking doesn’t change the fact she went off key and it was hard (and sad) to hear it.

I agree with Chris85 on the point that if you’re charging the prices she does, most people expect not to be cringing at off key notes. But people do expect vocal problems from her and what you’re paying for is the experience, however unpleasant and cringey it is at times. And as long as people keep paying those prices, she’ll continue to charge them, which doesn’t mean she shouldn’t try to fix it, which I think she’s been trying to do. The injury is not really her fault and it seems like she’s been taking steps to try to find a way to work with her limits and be as good as possible (compared to the last two CDLs, she sounded good. All her shows that I attended this past year were good for the most part. She did well all things considered). I’m sure there are some other things she can do to help ease the burden on her clearly overworked vocal chords such as doing less dates on the tour etc. but at the end of the day we don’t really know what steps she’s been taking, maybe she’s trying different things and seeing which is most effective. In any case, she’s a performer, specifically a singer, so everyone is entitled to their opinion and to be as charitable or critical as they wish.

Yeah, deaf or not she went off-key, my point is just that this is a issue she most likely will never be able to fix, not because she is untalented or lazy or doesn't care or is just milking her fans, but because she actually has a physical condition that limits her possibilities of solving that issue. And she is clearly aware of that.

In a way it's like complaining tha an amazing dancer during their 20's doesn't dance as much or as good in their 50's, 60', or even in their 40's. There will be physicial limitations that really can't be solved and either they give up on
dancing or deal with realistic possibilities.

Ayu can only do as much concerning how far she can go to work around her deafness, and it's not really something that can be solved by simply having a vocal coach. Her main issue isn't fixable.

For someone who goes to her concerts, there's isn't much more to be done besides either giving up on her or setting the expectations to what she is able to deliver. What, at least in my case doesn't mean I lowered my standarts for her as a singer, as she always sang pretty bad IMO and my standarts for her on that regard were never high to beging with :B

I, and I'm aware no one has any obligation to agree with me on that, set a high standart for her as a performer, and IMO she meets my high expectations way more often than not. During this whole decade I just really disliked two of her tours, and she has a new one literally every year, more than one sometimes.

Her tour schedule is not even that much, in the sense that it probably doesn't have as much fault on her hoarse voice as people make it seens... Maybe for a japanese artist considering how small the country is, but during a busy month she is performing 3x a week tops and there are older artists with busier tour schedules out there.

Katsuyuki012 2nd January 2019 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi (Post 3293410)
Yeah, deaf or not she went off-key, my point is just that this is a issue she most likely will never be able to fix, not because she is untalented or lazy or doesn't care or is just milking her fans, but because she actually has a physical condition that limits her possibilities of solving that issue. And she is clearly aware of that.

In a way it's like complaining tha an amazing dancer during their 20's doesn't dance as much or as good in their 50's, 60', or even in their 40's. There will be physicial limitations that really can't be solved and either they give up on
dancing or deal with realistic possibilities.

Ayu can only do as much concerning how far she can go to work around her deafness, and it's not really something that can be solved by simply having a vocal coach. Her main issue isn't fixable.

For someone who goes to her concerts, there's isn't much more to be done besides either giving up on her or setting the expectations to what she is able to deliver. What, at least in my case doesn't mean I lowered my standarts for her as a singer, as she always sang pretty bad IMO and my standarts for her on that regard were never high to beging with :B

I, and I'm aware no one has any obligation to agree with me on that, set a high standart for her as a performer, and IMO she meets my high expectations way more often than not. During this whole decade I just really disliked two of her tours, and she has a new one literally every year, more than one sometimes.

Her tour schedule is not even that much, in the sense that it probably doesn't have as much fault on her hoarse voice as people make it seens... Maybe for a japanese artist considering how small the country is, but during a busy month she is performing 3x a week tops and there are older artists with busier tour schedules out there.

Deafness =/= hoarse voice. She might not be able to sing perfectly well and again, nobody expects that from her but while deafness limits her she has proven her ability to sing well. A vocal coach can fix the hoarseness with giving her a proper technique. It has worked before too.

I agree on the performer thing but expecting a singer to simply have a fine voice (a.k.a. it not being strained), no matter if they are an okay or fantastic vocalist, is not that much. It's not like she has huge expectations to meet..

Her schedule isn't as full as many others (as I wrote earlier, check her and Celine Dion's numbers for this decade so far) but she clearly still struggles. Other artists might do way more but then again, other artists don't have hugely strained vocal chords because they perform three days in a row (not referring to ths CDL obv), unlike ayu.
Be it her simply not having the stamina (voice wise as in that even with a good technique she needs more rest than others) or a lack of vocal protection through proper technique (meaning that she could manage to do the tour without going hoarse if she had a proper technique) - something should be done. And if it's not her schedule having a big influence on hoarseness (as you seem to predict, reasonably so) then it only makes it much worse since it means her way of singing is so bad that she can't even keep her vocals in 'shape' while being on a tour that doesn't have a big schedule. And there is a difference in not being a good vocalist (range etc.) and not being able to sing without going hoarse after some dates.

Note: I won't really talk about going off-key here and there because I agree that it definitely has something to do with limited hearing, although she still handles that one quite well.

Corvina 2nd January 2019 01:48 PM

I've watched the CDL yesterday and I have to say, when she started singing for WARNING I was shocked.
As I'm still following her quite closely, I know what to expect, so that was a first for me..
She sounded pretty bad. Better then in the songs after that, but really bad again in No Way To Say/ Together when... and UNITE. Love Song as well.
Also don't like how she acts in XOXO.
I enjoyed Lelio the most! And the visuals were very nice as well.
But overall I guess I don't enjoy her concerts anymore, for several reasons.
Hm, end of an era, really.
I do hope she has a nice release for this new year!

njanjayrp 2nd January 2019 01:54 PM

She generally strugles with older (pre-missunderstood) stuff. Some songs she handles well, some less well. If it’s the loudness that bothers her ears, she should try doing acoustic versions and lower the key altogether.

A part of me enjoys her screaming, the other part of me cringes. Now we dissected and over-analyzied her singing so many times that I just expect her to do certain songs in a certain way so I don’t get disappointed. If she does better then great!

The age is definitely not an issue - I’ve seen Suzanne Vega in November who is a lot older than Ayu. She still sounds like she is 18.

relmy 2nd January 2019 03:24 PM

I feel like she does better in smaller venues than arenas, maybe how they handle the sound in the venues?

She needs to get that vocal coach from AT15 time back and just keep that up imo. She can still sound great but she's just so inconsistent.

Andrenekoi 2nd January 2019 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katsuyuki012 (Post 3293413)
Deafness =/= hoarse voice. She might not be able to sing perfectly well and again, nobody expects that from her but while deafness limits her she has proven her ability to sing well. A vocal coach can fix the hoarseness with giving her a proper technique. It has worked before too.

I agree on the performer thing but expecting a singer to simply have a fine voice (a.k.a. it not being strained), no matter if they are an okay or fantastic vocalist, is not that much. It's not like she has huge expectations to meet..

Her schedule isn't as full as many others (as I wrote earlier, check her and Celine Dion's numbers for this decade so far) but she clearly still struggles. Other artists might do way more but then again, other artists don't have hugely strained vocal chords because they perform three days in a row (not referring to ths CDL obv), unlike ayu.
Be it her simply not having the stamina (voice wise as in that even with a good technique she needs more rest than others) or a lack of vocal protection through proper technique (meaning that she could manage to do the tour without going hoarse if she had a proper technique) - something should be done. And if it's not her schedule having a big influence on hoarseness (as you seem to predict, reasonably so) then it only makes it much worse since it means her way of singing is so bad that she can't even keep her vocals in 'shape' while being on a tour that doesn't have a big schedule. And there is a difference in not being a good vocalist (range etc.) and not being able to sing without going hoarse after some dates.

Note: I won't really talk about going off-key here and there because I agree that it definitely has something to do with limited hearing, although she still handles that one quite well.

I don't know if the hoarseness is purely lack of technique, her overall health (it tends to hit harder during CDLs in winter after all) or a mix of both, but I agree it has little to do with her deafness unless it's caused by excessive shouting because she can't properly hear herself, them it may be a possibility.

I'm talking mostly about going off-key, the difficult to reach some notes, etc.


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