[Sirea]

Ayu has definitely gone through many style and genre changes since her debut. Mainly though, there seems to be a single striking contrast between how younger Ayu sounded and wrote, and how more mature Ayu sounds and writes. What do you think are the main differences between the two, and which do you prefer?

For me, younger Ayu's voice wasn't as pleasant as it is now. It's gained a lot of power and depth. That, I think, helps her emotion come through more. And while I am a huge fan of songs like Moments, INSPIRE, and Free & Easy, I feel like her more current songs (especially those most recently released) have really helped her shine. Her lyrics though, especially if you look at songs like powder snow, used to be much more overtly emotionally-charged, whereas now they tend to have more ambiguity, and I don't think I have a preference for one or the other... depending on my mood I like both just fine. :]