[Not Fade Away]

Honestly, I only listen to Ayu's older discography....that was the only reason I even started to like her really (and trust me, it was NEVER about her vocals in the start) but the song compositions back then really defined JPop because they had transcended anything I had ever heard before.

Everyone keeps saying she needs to promote herself more, but I honestly think it's a situation where she is over-promoted and people are just getting sick of her. I know I am for the most part. I feel like every time I come back to the forums it's like "Ayu, new music...blah blah". I know I'll probably take some heat for saying that, but it's true.

Don't get me wrong, I still love Ayu and I always find 2-3 gems on each album of her recent works, but for the most part she never makes me miss her or long for her music.

Meanwhile, if Utada composed a 30 second commercial jingle I would probably buy three copies of it because I miss her and she is pretty much under-promoted in comparison to Avex artists.

Even Namie takes a crap load of time in between albums (though she has enough singles in between to compile 2 greatest hits albums for the most part), and so it keeps me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what she'll do next. She even decided to take a step back in her promotions - she even said as much in an interview (I don't remember what interview) - and only do things that interested her or that she thought was 'cool'.

I feel like sometimes Ayu grabs onto any opportunity for promotion that is thrown her way, imho.