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This reminds me of a conversation I had with my boyfriend (who doesn't listen to many Japanese artists) recently.
Me: "I am loving LOVEppears at the moment...question, why don't you like Ayu? Though, I don't really blame you at the moment, her last release was terrible, and I love Namie's new album more."
Him: "To be completely honest, she's difficult to 'get into'. I prefer Namie too, she's a lot easier to listen to."
I agree with him on this. Ayu is a bit of an odd taste; you either get her, or you don't. But yes, coming from a person who doesn't listen much to either artist, he prefers Namie. I have to agree with him, Ayu is no longer a musical trend setter, she's not on the ball like she used to be. Once she could dictate what was popular, and now she cannot for reasons unknown (influencing choices) but related to her declining popularity as an artist (is it her promotional team? Is it Avex? Is it her own choices?).
Also, the quality difference is massive between Uncontrolled and Party Queen.
Uncontrolled seems polished to the max; actually, it reminds me of a generic dance version of MY STORY.
Party Queen...is just horrid. I haven't listened to that album in about two months, it just seems like 'cheap' pop to me, extremely ear grating. Sorry if that sounds negative, but compared to her past works that were crafted with absolute perfectionism, it's just...disappointing.
What is more depressing though, is that I actually prefer Namie's arguably-most-generic album, to a more experimental album from Ayu. In the past, it would have been so different.
The only 'cure' for her to boost her sales and overall quality is to follow the crowd genre/sound wise (like Namie) for a bit to restore her overall fanbase (casual listeners/fans/hardcore fans; particularly the causal listeners), and then release something a bit more experimental.
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