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For me Timmy's best work was HBYA and after that he really peaked. I think he's still got it in him to take Ayu in new directions but I don't feel like that will happen this side of my lifetime.
Personally I find that his vocals really overpower Ayu's (but in some lives they can pull the harmonisation in HBYA off well) but sometimes his crazy getups really distract in her performances. That's probably what bothers me the most. With the dancers and even Peco and Princess they were vocal but visibly just there in the background blending in...with Timmy he's so visible that it's often distracting.
I can't deny he has a lot of talent for songwriting but I feel he's over-represented and it's not always to benefit A Troupe or Ayu herself. When I watch her perform and I can't spot Timmy like a sore thumb I think "oh thank god for that" but I really shouldn't have to do that.
I don't mind Timmy being there and I don't mind him popping up from time to time but I wish it was toned down a lot more. As much as Ayu in recent years has talked about how "Ayumi Hamasaki" = Ayu + friends that's not the "Ayumi Hamasaki" we've grown up with and it's not the "Ayumi Hamasaki" who's carried us so far with her words and inspiration.
Ayu is Ayu and A Troupe is A Troupe. There can be a healthy balance between the two entities.
When Midori and Licco got to feature in her PVs it was a nice change.
Pecco and Princess as backing vocals could be really nice. When they got too out of control it would make a song sound awful.
When Ayu did a peach/orange pastel photoshoot for her single cover it was a nice change but when she made all but two of her covers since then be variants of the same colour scheme it became infuriating.
When Ayu made fish lips one time it was "matching trendy poses in Japan". When her face stuck that way in almost every professional photo for the next 4 years it also became infuriating.
When Shu-ya was the main dancer it was nice for a while but it became overdone when he was her 24/ companion, was virtually the only male dancer she paired with and was featured in PVs as well.
When Mannie featured in his first PV it was a nice change. When he featured in more PVs it was too much.
When Maro was a main dancer it was a nice change, but when he was on the cover of her album and suddenly the main dancer in A Troupe and starring in Pvs it was too much.
When Timmy is a composer and backing vocal it is nice but when he's not just a backing vocalist and is a main vocalist who drowns out Ayu, features in PVs and takes attention away from Ayu in an Ayu song it's way too much.
Everything just needs 150% more moderation...although I don't know if a tour with the word "cirque" in it could understand the definition of moderation lmao
I'll still retain high hopes from this tour and I feel like regardless it'll be special to me since it's the first I'll see live, but I have a wishlist for what I want to see hahaha
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