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When you look at Ayumi Hamasaki, do you see Ayu, the human being, or do you see Ayumi Hamasaki the Entertainer? Is there a grey area?
Well, IMO it's all a grey area... Ayu doesn't reveal much of herself, as expected for a jpop star... I'm totally aware that what we see on interviews, twitter, tv shows and etc is pretty much a "character". On the other side, her music, her lyrics, her concerts and her videos shows a lot of the real person there... IMO that's why she sometimes repeats herself so much, cuz it's the same person behind what was done back in 1998 and now. I would never love an entertainer if I couldn't see the person behind it anyway, as I already try to follow artists that I feel that really express themselves though their works.
How do you think that affects what you want from what she does? What do you want from her?
Well... what I really want is that she keeps it true to herself... A lot of her releases, being it live, music or pvs showed that she knows exactly who she is and what she is in the business... I don't like all of her releases, I don't like all of her music, but I understand that sometimes she needs to try something I won't like in order to do something really wonderful. IMO, even with the summer song, winter song and concert ending song that almost all of her albums (yeah, even the old ones) have, that are generally more mainstream atempts, she is always trying something new, and I get that we need some Blue Birds in order to have some Mirrorcle Worlds, cuz the girl is a pop act after all, and can't snob the mainstream. So, if she does something, I know that it was what she felt was more apropriate... I try to enjoy it for what it is, not for what I think it should be (sunrise was never meant to be deep and revolutionary, just fun, for example) and if I can't like it, I just let it be and wait for her next release.
Do you think that being so close to Ayu with social media affects your view of her?
I'm not close to her, I'm not her friend, I don't believe she really shows herself through social media, I mean, come'on... look at her lyrics, videos, pvs, it doesn't fits someone who farts glitter and rainbows like Ayu does on twitter. I actually find her Twitter persona to be as annoying as some of her fans who keep all day long trying to get some twitter attention from her...
How do you feel about the way other people see Ayu?
Most of the time, I don't mind, even if I do like when people who dislike her recognize her importance to japanese mass culture. But there are some stuff I find to be kinda odd... I like haters, cuz most of the time their jokes are in and they tend to be funny, but I hate obsessed fans, cuz they tend to have the bad habbit of acting like Ayu is the supreme god of the universe, until they get dissapointed by her, when she becomes the worst artist to ever breath on earth... Nobody MUST love Ayu if they don't like her works anymore, I myself abandoned tons of artists I loved once... But it gets annoying when some people (very few people, BTW, like, 2 or 3) starts comparing present Ayu to their perfect idealized old Ayu that never really existed outside their mind. I also believe that some (very few) people can't see the difference between the artist they are following and their idealized idol on their minds, what means they are both annoying when they LOVES what she did, and when they HATE what she did... Ayu is no spiritual guide to anyone, she is no best friend, she is no mother, she is no god... She is just a talented pop entertainer.
Are you a little pig-headed about your opinions?
A little, but most of the time I keep discussing is just that I really enjoy discussing xD Some people I had some big fights and disagree the most over here are among my most tresaured people of the forum, like Sunshine Slayer for example...
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