Quote:
Originally Posted by amorphose
The Kumi ones are sort of true, I think. I'm so disappointed about the route she went on after BEST ~first things~. Her music totally changed and it was all for image and sales. But I mean, hey... she wasn't selling when she was making her previous style of music so she was forced to reinvent herself.  |
You had me until you said that she was forced to reinvent herself xD
Koda Kumi has
always been about marketing and image. Of course she has a great voice and talent, but she has
never (and I've been following her since her debut) had the musical influence of Utada or Ayumi, who are the only female artistes of the whole decade who have had somewhat of a big influence on the conception of J-Pop and the musical trends that preceded them. Koda has always been a marketing product, designed to sell, to appeal to mainstream masses and to stay "safe" in genres and imaginery that were somewhat new to Japan, but totally overused in the West, and that frankly, did not add anything to the industry, generating lots and lots of performers that followed her style and time and were probably inspired by her (Maki Goto, Meisa Kuroki, etc.).
Also, she had her only peak at her time, and hasn't remained constant for 10 years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrenekoi
^I prefer Hikki over Ayu and I'm not in love with the article... It's not a matter of Hikki, or Ayu or Misono being named the most influential, it's a matter of bashing everyone else to make Hikki look good.
He even praised her by her failed USA career and used it as a argument to why she is better than the others... and Worst than that, Japan Times bashed TITO some months earlier as a sell-out
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misono lul wot?
Do you realize the importance of the fact of being able to crossover into a market (no matter the success) as different musically and aesthetically as Japan's as the US scene is? I don't think it's anything bad to say about her career, even if she flopped. And even if they say that TITO sucks, no one can deny that Exodus is, along with DEEP RIVER and Distance, the best Utada Hikaru album ever, on which she experimented, and she did it the right way, taking her music to a whole new level (ahem, Ayu anyone? xDDD that's a next level.)
The influence that Utada Hikaru has had on the decade, can't be questioned. Also, she has remained consistent on her artistry, even if you ignore TITO because of her questionable artistic value, you can see how her whole 2000s disography, from Distance till HEART STATION, has remained quality consistent over most of the time period, evolving her style and keeping things fresh and new.
Ayu has also had a huge influence and all that, and is 2nd in my list for this, but Utada pwns her anytime just for one word: consistency.
Ayumi was "on track" musically speaking, until (miss)understood or so. And she had some hit or miss moments before that, which are understandable because of her huge frequency of releases, but that sadly, decreases her chances of being considered as the most influential artist.