"The Ayu Starter Kit"

[AnteaterAdvance]

So a friend of mine at work heard my iPod dock blasting Ayu in our cash office a few times, and he expressed interest in her. When he asked me to give him a burn to get into her, I was happy to oblige with this "starter kit:"



The next time I worked with him he gushed about HEAVEN, which surprised me (he first heard & liked Microphone). That's a turnaround that normally doesn't just happen. This morning, 5 days later, I get a text message, "I think I'm in love with Ayu."



AWESOME.
I picked my solid, high-repeat favorites (with the exception of STEP you: I included it because it gets rave reviews in the community...I honestly like it only in PV-form, because the STEP you PV MAKES that song).

What do you normally give your friends as an Ayu "Startin'" kit?

[Calico]

I usually recommend her most popular songs (evolution, M, SEASONS, Boys & Girls, etc) and others depending on their tastes. If they like rock I send BoY, Rule, Microphone...ballads I suggest HEAVEN, No way to say, HANABI(s), Moments...Sparkle and Naturally are also up there.

Otherwise I just send them an album. If they're not picky I usually send I am... or mu since those are her most diverse and approachable albums imo. If they like POP pop/electronic I go with LOVEppears or NEXT LEVEL. I guess it just depends on how Itry to appeal to the person's usual tastes.

[pommy48]

I usually just suggest either STEP you or is this LOVE? and sometimes HEAVEN and rainy day (haha you can see which album I'm biased towards )

[ohsixthirty]

I've never had the experience, bit I think your list is pretty good!

Totally off topic, but where do you work? I worked in the cash office at Whole Foods and one of the store managers uses to jam to Ayu-mi-x VI.

[Picaflor 7/4]

I have never had that experience. But I would probably give them my top 5 favorite ayu songs ever. alterna, Connected, STEP you, Real me, Endless Sorrow. I would never give them songs like sexy little things, Rainbow, bold and delicious, free and easy, etc. All of the "love or hate" songs. I wouldn't want to end up giving them songs they dislike. I'd start them off with something easy.

[primavera♥]

oh thats such a cool story!!!!

i would just give appealing to their tastes. but i RARELY have to T.T
i wish i could enlighten the world with ayu XD

[YuriChan]

I techinally started off with Depend on you when she was new! But my best friend actually got me started at around 2003 with evolution! ^^;

[JackieRos]

I give em Dearest and say it was a theme song of Inuyasha.

[ownsarai]

Usually let them listen to the popular songs like Dearest, evolution, M, then just progress from there.
Most people already know Dearest from Inuyasha, and some even know Depend on You from Thousand Arms.

[Delirium-Zer0]

I tailor-make CDs to my friends' tastes, usually. if I don't know their taste (which is REALLY unusual) I choose a nice mix of my favorites & fan favorites, keeping in mind what's turned me & others into fans.

[noisy_harmony]

I have never had that experience, but I probably suggest them to listen to her BESTs. The most simple way in my opinion.

[Bubbly]

I depends on the person.
For example, a friend of mine totally loves France, so once I showed her Mirrorcle World PV and she also liked that song lol
I would check what kind of music the person usually likes and then see which songs could fit into that genre. If it's one of those "I listen to everything" persons I would pick my personal favourites.

[ストロボ・EdGE]

I think A BEST 2 White and Black is the perfect "starter kit."

You get her bubblegum pop, emotional ballads, rock songs, and others that don't fit into her typical categories. A BEST would maybe be good, but I think many would think the songs sound outdated while 2 is a lot more first time listener-friendly.

[sugarbasil]

I had to make one for a friend of mine that was dabbling with jpop at one point. It was a pretty big zip file, and I just went through every album and put on the songs I really like or liked at one point.

[Mirrorcle Monster]

I give them is this LOVE?, HEAVEN, STEP you, A Song for XX, Rule, Sparkle, 1 LOVE....and if they like them other songs more "japanese"

[love in music]

whatever i do, i never give them her older music. it turns most of them off instantly because of her voice. (i usually only let them listen to her older ones to show them just how much her voice has improved and they're in shock at how different and better she sounds now). i give them anything past 2005~ usually the fierce tracks and epic ballads.

[Midori-chan]

A few months ago, I gave a friend Ayu's "(miss)understood"-album and she loves it. She will never turn into a die-hard fan (like me! ), but she reli likes Ayu's music now.

[AyumiAi]

definatley up beat songs they can relate american music to,
my friends who hear my ringtone every day
are starting to like Glitter, and i show them stuff like Sunrise, STEP you, EnergizE, Fairyland, BLUEBIRD, Boys and Girls
and those ;p
then if i see that they dont mind the language barrier ill give them ballads

[jon_the_d]

please tell me how old this friend is? it's a big factor in how awesome this story is...

but good work! we should do more ayu converting, you know, get out into the community, go door to door...

[tetsuo69]

thats really great, now get him to join AHS ^^