I won't say anything about the music itself, as I agree with some of the posts, however...
We all know that image affects one's popularity these days.
(That's unless you're
very talented)
But regardless of that, when I look at this, I prefer the photo on the left,
Ayu had a zillion photoshoots, but this sweet, innocent facial expression continues to be recycled.
Yes, Japan loves cute, and cuddly. Britney was cute at the begining of her career, but I don't recall a trademark smile that would get on people's nerves as much as Ayu's pouty lips seem to.
Though it's useless to compare them...
Most of the time I'm pleased with Ayu's photos, but if you think about a country of 120+ million people, their tastes must vary.
And perhaps some women, whether younger/older, would like to see her behave like an adult?
Same goes for her male audience, maybe they would like to see the woman in her?
She had some adult-themed photos, but her face doesn't change. To some she may look like a little girl who is trying to be sexy. Maybe some people don't fancy a 30+ year old child lookalike, others may think she's desperate (Naked Talk?). In her older photos she looks relaxed, doesn't she? Some of them even express emotion.
If you were a 30 year old Japanese woman who's married and has children, how would you react to Ayu's behaviour on Heyx3 when she was interviewed with this actor(was it?)?
I can understand her excitement, but do others?
How about the cute segments of her performances?
They seem to become more childish with each year.
During one of them (I truly don't remember which one) they showed the audience on camera, and I noticed this really pretty Japanese woman who didn't seem very excited. Maybe she was disappointed?
In the past, she stood by the belief "I'm not a product".
Maybe some people feel that she's stopped fighting?
Now, I know this may be irrelevant, and I love Ayu just the way she is, but sometimes even if you enjoy the music, if the artist's behaviour isn't to your liking, there's a chance you'll stop listening to the music.