Quote:
Originally Posted by namiie
True. I've always thought of Ayu as a singer MADE, not a singer born. I think it's a stretch to say that she's the ONLY J-pop diva not to have a musical background, but compared to people like Ai Otsuka, who's been playing piano since 4, she IS at a disadvantage.
However, I really respect her for that since she's made incredible progress in both her songwriting/occasional composing and vocal technique since her debut.
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Well, if you look at the different people who have had high sales / enjoyed success as a J-pop female artist, you'll see that they either had the ambition to sing / perform well since they were a child, or like.. they were born into it. [Hikki was born into a musical family, Namie went to an academy for training artists, Ai Otsuka's got the music in her and such, BoA was discovered in Korea for her dance/singing, Ami Suzuki [doesn't really count] entered an ASAYAN singing contest and won by like 370,000 phone votes, Yuming was a composer/arranger/pianist/singer-songwriter..] Ayu just sorta just got discovered and from there, she's evolved into one of the most popular female artists that Japan has probably ever seen in its lifetime..
I'd have to say that I don't think anyone who discovered her in 1998/1999 thought she would last this long. I mean, sure, some of the 80's idols had enjoyed some 5-6 years or so of amazing popularity, but they all fizzled out after a while, whereas Ayu still remains relevant. [though it is VERY difficult for her to gain a new fanbase since she's been around for so long.. but I think that can be solved with the right song and the right tie-up. Just look at Hikki and the sort of.. never ending "growth" of her fanbase. Kingdom Hearts, EVANGELION, Last Friends, random-tie-ups that boost the amount of people that are interested in her.. I wish Ayu could have that luxury.