Quote:
Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0
Ayu used to mention her drinking on TA often, and on TV she's mentioned having a mini-fridge just for beer... I guess if you really followed her alot, you knew she drank too much, but it was never really part of her image in a big way. The Party Queen album wasn't out of left field for me. I think the image didn't work because she never looks unhappy in the booklet. She has her big happy doe-eyes, smiles, etc. all through it. There's no darkness there - it just looks like "Whoo, she had a wild party last night!" And opportunities for the PVs to show the dark side of a partying lifestyle were lost - the NaNaNa video should have been her accompanying an OD'ing friend in an ambulance. The Shake It<3 video should have emphasized the low self-esteem ayu was really singing about. There should have been a Party Queen PV that showed a wild party, a depressed ayu cleaning up & taking headache meds & seeing an embarrassing photo of herself on an internet tabloid the next morning, but then drinking & partying again the next night anyway.
She tried to juxtapose fun & disaster, partying & loneliness on that album and she & her team simply did a bad job of it. It wasn't as much an ayu branding issue as it was a lack of direction.
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It really was, I agree with you. But ever since I actually got the message she was trying to send (about depression, loneliness, etc.), I don't mind the PVs anymore. Now I think of them as perhaps some sort of sweet illusion/outside cover, like um, a cake that looks really nice and sweet, but when you actually take a bite, it tastes very bitter.
And I've always thought Ayu was a drinker, ever since back then, but you're right it didn't seem to affect her image much until she did PQ.