Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai - Ayu's Influences

Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/index.php)

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- - Ayu's Influences (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109530)

Ayu's Influences

I don't know about you guys... But sometimes while listening or watching to some acts older than Ayu, I have that feeling of "wow, so, this where this come from!"

Not saying that Ayu copies them or anything, but every artist has their influences in the end of the day, and while watching some lives, I was thinking about discussing this with you guys on a thread...^^

So, can you think about any act that u feel that influenced Ayu as an artist? Share it with us!^^

Here come mine:

Yumi Matsutoya
Not only the fact that the performances are big (and the ship :P), but the overall body language, the way she acts on the stage and even some on the music (mainly on Haru yo, koi on those two songs... I can hear influences of it on the Rainbow album, for example).

Seiko Matsuda
The greater mother of cutesy on jpop, I can see her in Ayu everytime our girl goes kawaii or dressed like a party cake. Some may also remember of Sparkle...^^

Madonna
Besides the image control, the constant reinvention of her own persona and her most eletronic stuff, the theatrical side on the lives are all thanks to Madonna. ^^ and oh... At02 :P

How about you guys? Noticed someone else? Agree? Disagree? :P

ayu's body language reminds me a lot of yumi matsutoya's

Sorry i dont have anything to offer in regards to this but...
WHOA SO THAT'S WHERE THE SHIP WAS INSPIRED FROM.
Yea now that I've watched Yumi matsutoya's lives...I guess, Ayu is inspired from her respectable senior..

yuming's famous for having grand shows just like ayu. just look at the shangrila 3 concert as an e.g. the fountain stage is <3 and those world famous acrobats. her songs are catchy too! and haru yo koi is absolutely stunning!

and yuming released hell alot of studio albums over her years as a singer. i think when ayu reached yuming's age, she will have that many studio albums released too! XD

Interesting topic! I've heard the names of some of these artists tossed around, so it's nice to have a compilation of their videos here. I loved Ayu's covers of Yuming's songs, but I didn't realize how influential the performances themselves were.

thank you for making this thread! I always thought ayu was a lot inspired by madonna, but I didn't know about Yuming and Seiko Matsuda :)

I still think ayu is much better than all these women :P

Well... I myself am a huge Madonna fan... but IMO they play at the same level :P

I'm really liking Yumi too, the sad part is how hard is to find her stuff to download

Smashing Pumkins' music wise, a lot of guitar riffs from Memorial Address especially sound like they could have been ripped straight from them.

Quote:

　　(A) Now, somehow, really ... I'm enjoying life more than ever. Really enjoying music now. So I've come to need less reasons than before. Playing with Mac is a pure fun to me.
　　(S) And that you don't need any excuses any more?
　　(A) Ah, really. Though I'm not so ambitious as to break down the situations. How do you think? Does Ayu look like a person who listens to Backstreet Boys rather than Smashing Pumpkins.
　　(S) As your public image?
　　(A) Yes. It's likely, isn't it?
　　(S) I feel so.
　　(A) Though I had listened to Smashing Pumpkins so often until I was tired of it. (Laugh) But I think most people can't imagine so without doubt. They would say, "Huh? Ayu would never listen to such music."
　　(S) You are eager to link yourself with it now, aren't you?
　　(A) Yes. But somehow, I'm not so ambitious of it. It's all right even if I don't realize it. I only like to enjoy the process toward it.
　　(S) I see. You like to enjoy yourself now. Otherwise, I think you wouldn't have suggested to do this work with us. (Laugh)
　　(A) Really.
　　(S) I think you would have been reluctunt. (Laugh)
　　(A) Huhuhuhu.
　　(S) How do you like Smashing Pumpkins?
　　(A) Let me see. What do you call that --- like an obi (band of paper) of a CD?
　　(S) Huh? An obi.
　　(A) Ah, it's and obi. (Laugh) You know? On the obi of "Mellon Collie", which I've listened to before this interview, written as "Infinite Sadness." Somehow I liked the phrase very much at first, not the songs. I liked the phrase "Infinite Sadness" very much, just when I saw it before buying it. I wondered what it was, listened to it, and thought --- "Ah ! The obi is right." Hahahaha. Actually I have no knowledge of other artists, whether foreign or Japanese. So all I can do is to find in such a way at first.
　　(S) I think it's just the belief of Billy Corgan, the leader of Smashing Pumpkins. That sadness is one of the great emotions, the great asset in life, and one must not deny it, though he doesn't affirm it, either. I think he is the person who maintains in music with courage that nothing will be solved without facing it, and so is his music. You felt sympathy in that respect, didn't you?
　　(A) I think so.
　　(S) And you wish to do like him, don't you?
　　(A) I think so. It's somehow very ... tender, beautiful, kind and healing on the one hand. But on the other hand, distant and horryfying. I feel so very much somehow. Tremendously cold, I feel.
　　(S) Smashing Pumpkins kept on doing so, created quite high quality music. But the quality didn't satisfy that man who aimed at even higher level of music, and the band broke up. I think Hamasaki-san is at the starting point in the sense now.
　　(A) Yes.
　　(S) I think your music expresses such "Infinite Sadness" as energy, but that it hasn't bloomed yet as music. Talking with you now, I feel you know that more than anyone else. And I think you wish to make for the place very much now.
　　(A) ... Huhuhuhu. Yes.

Of course there's Infinite Sadness and then Endless Sorrow :p

I always thought Ayu uses Madonna as her inspiration, but hey, who popper doesn't? After all, she is The Grand Queen of the whole Pop Universe, aren't she? I love Madonna a lot <3 She is among my favorite artists from America. I just watched her Ciao! Live from Italy tour yesterday with my big sis who adores Madonna pretty much~ I was in her Tour in 2009 when she visited Finland for a first time, it was amazing!~
[And now I stop this off topic XD]

Oh, so that's where the yellow dress came from! So cool! I need to listen to Seiko's music more, she seems interesting! And she still look so young, I couldn't believe she's 45!

Whoever can't recognize it is in denial, but Ayu once in a while draws heavy influence from what's popular ATM in American pop. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that ftr.

Musically and visually, anyone can tell what this influenced.

@Eewyi
Seiko is 49 :P
I'm not very found of her, I find it kinda strange for someone her age acting kawaii

@ストロボ・EdGE
After Memorial Address I saw less and less of this... it just seen that she is mixing her references better now :P

Quote:

Originally Posted by ストロボ・EdGE (Post 2701757)

I agree with you that there is nothing wrong with it, but in this case I was never really sure if Ayu really "copied" Aguilera here. Because "Fighter" was released on June 3rd, 2003 and "ourselves" on "&" was releases only one month later on 9th July, 2003. So I always ask myself if they really shot the music video not even a month before the release of the single.
Maybe this will always stay a mystery...:P

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi (Post 2701780)

Oh, lol, I didn't remember it right then! XD
I can't still believe it, why she looks so young @___@

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chibi-Chan (Post 2701800)

I don't want to get too OT, but Fighter was technically released as a single on 06/03/03 in the US, but the song and video had already been around for 2+ months prior on TRL and such. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighter_(song)]

^2+ months? I thought that it had only been around for 2 weeks or so... xD Then I think she (or the director) really got inspired by Fighter.^^

I thought she said she was influenced by rock bands like Deep Purple

Quote:

Originally Posted by ストロボ・EdGE (Post 2701757)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ストロボ・EdGE (Post 2701811)

And Madonna released Frozen in 1998. Remember that correlation does not equal causation. People draw inspiration from many sources and no one is truly original.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExodusUK (Post 2701664)

Smashing Pumkins' music wise, a lot of guitar riffs from Memorial Address especially sound like they could have been ripped straight from them.

Of course there's Infinite Sadness and then Endless Sorrow :p

Thats really interesting. I have to go listen to my copy and compare it to Memorial address.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mitkki (Post 2702685)

And Madonna released Frozen in 1998. Remember that correlation does not equal causation. People draw inspiration from many sources and no one is truly original.

? I'm not saying she completely ripped off Xtina, I'm saying that time wise it was completely possible for Ayu to have taken heavy inspiration from that song and video. No need to be condescending.

I don't really see anything in Frozen from ourselves musically or visually, except for the black hair really, anyway. If anyone, Onitsuka Chihiro completely stole the concept in Kagerou...

It's relative because I don't really see anything original from Fighter in ourselves or any other song/video for that matter. Then again I may be one of those "in denial".