[tabloid] Ayumi loses her shine

[fierce]

http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/waiwai/face/index.html


Polished Ayu losing her shine.

Diva Ayumi Hamasaki's reign as the queen of Japan's charts appears poised to pop, according to Shukan Jitsuwa (12/30). Rumors she was shunned by the Japan Music Awards she has dominated for years, troubles within her record company and loss of a long-time endorsement contract have given voice to whispers that Ayu's long-time dominance of the Japanese music scene is now on the wane. Some reports had Ayu saying she would refuse to accept if she won this year's Japan Record Award, probably the country's top pop music prize. But the organizers of the awards said they had not heard anything formally from Ayu or her record company Avex, and now some are saying she was never considered for the prize in the first place, anyway. "This year's contest has always been about Kiyoshi Hikawa and Mr. Children. Ayu wasn't in the running from the start," an entertainment beat reporter tells Shukan Jitsuwa. "Having won the past three awards in a row worked against her. Some say many people voted against her simply because they wanted to see somebody else win." If that wasn't a slap in the face, being dumped as the main poster girl for cosmetics giant Kose -- a position Ayu has held for many years -- could well have been. What may really hurt, though, is that Ayu was replaced by 18-year-old Beni Arashiro, a new face on the Avex books that Hamasaki has supported for years. "It's not like Ayu was bad or anything, but Kose wanted to make sure consumers weren't getting bored because she'd been doing it for so long. She's basically reached her use-by date," an advertising agency insider tells Shukan Jitsuwa. "If you think about it, if the company is starting off an ad campaign focusing on a new direction, Ayu doesn't have much impact." Even Ayu's biggest fans -- top Avex shareholders -- may not exactly have turned against her, but have spoken out publicly with concerns that the company putting all its eggs in one basket by focusing on the 26-year-old's career could be dangerous if her shell starts to crack. A letter Avex President Masato Matsuura sent to Ayu to soothe her following shareholders' complaints may also have backfired. "It's not the right behavior for the president of a major record company listed on the stock exchange to show in relation to one individual on its books. Doing so would only make her feel more than ever that she is the reason the company is getting by," a music industry source tells Shukan Jitsuwa. "Many in the industry are worried that other singers will start copying Ayu's behavior, while there are quite a few saying that Ayu should be put back in her place because she's become too big for her boots."

[thejadedangel]

All i can say is "ugh"

[Bishoujo Ayumi]

"put back in her place"

ugh..that's pretty harsh.

If any of this is true, it is pretty harsh. I don't want Ayu to start going downhill only so long after I started listening to her. I don't want to believe that her place at the top is being overthrown because people are sick of her.

[mckezik]

hhmm... interesting...

[Nu-NRG]

....eh
that is harsh if is true...

[zeroshin888]

that's mean......

[JinHamasaki]

Wasn't this the same site that made up the story about the rivarly between Namie Amuro (referred to as The Monkey in the article), and Ayumi Hamasaki (referred as make-up monster in the article).

[DarkAyumi]

Beni Arashiro... I've heard of her, she's just released her third single hasn't she?
I'm pretty sure she's 18 too. Oh well, if that's how things are working for Kose I don't see anything wrong with it. I think she'd be fine without the endorsements though, she still has Panasonic right?
Either way her music has to stand on its own now, which could be good or bad.

[CREA]

It is avex's own fault that ayu has supposedly "become too big for her boots." Back during her peak, she was responsible for almost half of their profits. They are the ones who became too reliant on her, it wasn't her pushing them. They milked her for everything they could.

It amazes me how stockholders are supposedly complaining about avex putting everything on her. She practically releases like a 'regular' artist now. We don't get a new single every 2.5 months anymore. It hasn't been that way for a long time. And I find it amusing how just a few months ago, when she threatened to leave with matsuura, and the stocks dropped. So apparently the stockholders do have a dependance on her as well.

And the Kose contract, who really cares at all. The new girl she was replaced by can't hold a candle next to ayu. I doubt ayu is very torn up about that at all. She's still the spokesmodel of Panasonic, which I'm sure grosses WAY MORE every year than Kose could imagine.

Avex put her where she is, there needs to be no "putting back into place." She's been at the top since forever, and the only way she'll diminish is if she quits. And I'm sure if reports like this continue, she might just give the stockholders a little more than what they wanted, if you know what I mean.

[*hearT_Place*]

"[...]there are quite a few saying that Ayu should be put back in her place because she's become too big for her boots."

that always makes me shudder when someone says that.

So I was reading some of the other articles from the side column, and they all have a tabloid-y "I-just-want-to-get-a-story" feel to them. The reporter doesn't list any sources, only says "a correspondent from the music industry" or "a...insider tells..." No names, no nothing. No credible sources.

Actually, the reporter really reminds me of Rita Skeeter from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

[starr5245]

I dunno how to say it, but Ayu is really losing her popularity...but I hope, not yet...not for years..

yeah yeah whatever, blah blah *tosses article in bin* ok im over that.

[elaniel]

its all lies.

no proof or anything of sources.

also have you seen the sales of my story? proof.

[RebornLS]

I think I hear a hiatus coming. I think this is the best for Ayu.

[lizziemeister]

its so sad how the entertainment industry has to be so cruel.. sigh.. i guess we can only wait to see what happens next.

[Bishoujo Ayumi]

I was beginning to think if this was some kind of tabloid story that was put out just to spite her after her recent Album release.

You know how in the US when Actors/Actresses come out with new movies they're in the tabloids about something or other? This is what this reminds me of, and what it probably is.

I hope for the best, there were very harsh words used there, but some if it seems so fakey to me. I wouldn't advise any of you take this stuff seriously, unless it's proven sometime in the future..which I doubt.

[Coelacanth]

They must be desperate for a news story...

[mui-gei-tal]

oh dear...

[Larisa-chan]

articles like this depress me because it reaffirms that it's not only about the music... Ayumi is in an unenviable position.

[kournikova]

i just dunno why people always make a problem if ayu goes down.. to me personally i dun care if ayu go down or she doesnt shine as she usually does... coz she already shines in my heart n it wouldnt go down... ()