Ahh... Ayu. Our dear Ayu. Very dear to me as she was my first J-pop artist, and has led me into loving Ami Suzuki, Hikki, Namie, Ai Otsuka, Mi, LIA, Aiko Kayo, SCANDAL, and Stereopony, among a few others. All in the course of.... a year, and.... wow. A year and a half, almost exactly. It's been quite a journey. I've been a music buff nearly my whole life, apart of a family very big on music. I grew up on generations of my mom's music, my sister's music, and now... I've found my own interesting tastes in the J-pop industry.
I first discovered Ayu through my best friend. I mentioned it maybe once before, but it all started in an art class we shared together. We had this art project which involved picking any one picture we wanted of someone, or something, and blowing it up with a grid system, and drawing it. Most of us did pics of ourselves, or friends, or iPods, but she was doing.... some Asian girl? It was bothering me quite a bit, I didn't know what she was up to, so I finally asked, and she was like, "Ayumi Hamasaki". Now, before this, I'd kinda known she was into Japanese music, but I didn't pay much mind to the names. I was like, "A-yume Hamazaki?" (for the longest time I couldn't say "amasaki" and I kept saying "ay-yume", not "eye-yume" xP so ignorant, or uncultured)
It took me a few weeks of her saying, She's really good! You should listen! And a few brief listenings of the songs before I finally took it in my own hands to discover more about her. I first delved into Rainbow, and... I just loved it. The next school day, I came to our class together and just raved about her.... Sure, I don't always understand her songs entirely (I have to look at translations quite a bit), but.... they're so catchy, and beautiful... and so amazing. I was entranced. And from there my interests eventually branched out with the help of some download blogs.
What was the overall community like?
To be honest, I was so shocked to find out how tight-knit and intricate they are. I'd posted frequently at a couple other forums before AHS, but that was years ago, and it was about a TV show. I felt intimidated by how every one member contributed so much for each other, and always had something intelligent to put in... so at first I was hesitant to post. And when I did, I felt like an idiot. Here I was, a new member, and a newbie fan as well, posting with a bunch of senior members, and longtime fans.
And with AHS, and with the severe popularity Ayu has, it wasn't too hard to find info on her.
What confused you?
What confused me... Well, her lyrics. Even translated, they're still so.... deep and well thought out. I must admit, in America it's hard these days to find really good quality lyrics that have deep meaning - what with all the pop stars and rappers and such (not that I don't like them, but Ayu's lyrics are so wonderful). I was just confused as to how she could have so many fans around the world, in Europe, all over Asia, American and Canada.... and is so beloved, and yet... I dunno. I'm just astounded by the massive, global fanbase Ayu has.
What excited you?
Everything about Ayu and J-pop. It was a whole new world of music for me. I've been into the Japanese culture ever since living on Oahu for a great many years. I took Japanese lessons, and was just surrounded by Japanese culture. As of a few years ago I've been into manga and anime, and I've been trying to teach myself more Japanese. So, getting into Japanese music isn't really that strange for a really white American girl like me.  People think I'm insane sometimes for listening to music I can barely understand, but... her music holds a lot of memories for me. Not memories of the times I listened to her in this last year and a half, but... I just relate to so much of her music. And she reminds me of all the good parts in my life, somehow. Her music makes me feel good. People will never really understand why a girl like me would listen to Japanese music.
|