Ayu "versus" Koda Kumi

[se7entheaven]

Ok....first of all
no artist bashing here please.....lets talk logically...forgive me if i got some sentences out of mind or what...ok....
well...what i wanna talk now is about ayu's career and fame this yaer (startin from 2006)
So...as al of us had known that koda began to rise sooooooo high since the early 2005 (coz her secret album is the "best" sellin among her previous 3 albums rite)...for ayu herself...she's been hitting 1 million+ ever since her debut album (which is......great for a newcommer that time...if you compare to recent new comer)

SALE
we saw that (miss)understood sales are indeed LOW...really lame...according to me...I thought it'll make 200+ this week...but....judging from kinki kids who could just make 90,000+....so what......
my point is...comparing to what Koda Kumi's next upcoming album.....Koda will probably sell more...but I know ayu will "fight" till 1million+ !!! ganbatte ayu !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
one thing that makes me really surprised is.....ORICON daily chart (01/16) is STILL filled with Best~first things~ on the 3rd...YES IT's UP THIS WEEK...an almost past half year album.........could really stay well.......omg

hm......from the fans
koda fans is gettin "wild" increasing....nothenless...OMG...but I love koda also...despite from her too sexy style...which sometimes annoying me abit..
i think in one point why they started to love koda is that japanes music culture has changed a bit also.....in my country here...western music...commonly hip hop/rap is really popular like crazy...i think most of other parts of the world also influenced a bit...then
I'm not assuming ayu SHOULD change her style coz she's really good already
In fact...ayu has always changed her music style every year...which makes me happy (her vocals also)....that's the raeson why i'm currently crazy of Bold & Delicious which kept mumbled in my mouth everday (trust me !)

fans gettin bored of ayu.....?
not really...but surely some of her fans are gettin out of her....in so many reasons....we can't blame on them...it's just a matter of emotins of like and dislike..."high" and bored

hm...well then...i'm still thinking on what to say.....please speak your mind here

[bluegie]

like i said in another thread, the music direction keeps changing from time to time. We can say people in jpn like foreign music style at this moment (I dun think R&B is that hit.. if so I think groups like SOULHEAD should be popularity somehow..). Kuu's music surely has R&B ingredients, but her hits ain't R&B at all, such as real Emotion (dance?), Cutie Honey (kinda jazz), SHAKE IT (the pv... wow), and Butterfly (another jazz liked jpop). It's just at this moment sexy image is a big hit in Japan at this moment. And to be honest kuu looks better and better lately. She isn't that fortunate until now. Back then she has been called a **** for several years. I bet it's hard for her to struggle to this stage. i feel happy for her, and she looks sexy yet elegant now

no one really knows what type of music is the hit until you see which artist(s) is popular at that moment. Let's say in mid 2004 - mid 2005, Rock music was really popular (orenji renji). BUT we say rock is a hit because orenji is a hit. With the fall of OR's popularity, we say rock ain't that popular as well. So I will say it's the artists stirs up the heat of some types of music, not the vice versa.

That's why ayu's doing a wrong thing. Personally I think B&D is a good song, but it's not something the audience want from ayu. they rather want something that is between rock and pop from ayu (look at her hits between Duty and RAINBOW, most of them are poppy with some rocky styles). That's why STEP you was ayu's biggest hit. The only "out of the blue" from ayu this year was HEAVEN. It's something similar to her old stuff, and I have no idea why it suffered in the beginning.

oh one more point I wanna discuss. Popular groups such as B'z, Mr. Children, etc. they went through this stage as well I believe. Remember back then when hikki and ayu covered half of the music industry back then? Not many people would discuss the older groups. However, with a few hits they're still here. Ayu is going through this stage at this moment. I dun think ayu can cover half of the sky again, but at least a great hit will make her statue shinier. So right now... she should go back to her old music style. That's where people like her the most. (of course... it must be something she likes as well.)

[Mad_Cactuar]

Originally Posted by Rendy

we saw that (miss)understood sales are indeed LOW...really lame...

*slaps until dead*

Anyway, I think its simple. Ayu losing popularity. T_T I think she should retire after another album and a greatest hits compilation. At least her greatest hits compilation in the future could sell 10 million and beat Hikki's Fist Love record.

Kumi although remotely good, is only recently picking up in terms of sales. Although her quality is debatable. You be the judge of that.

Instead of Koda Kumi replacing Ayu if ever, I'd prefer Ai Otsuka.

[ImpactBreaker]

Originally Posted by MC Tatsujin

*slaps until dead*

Anyway, I think its simple. Ayu losing popularity. T_T I think she should retire after another album and a greatest hits compilation. At least her greatest hits compilation in the future could sell 10 million and beat Hikki's Fist Love record.

Why should her retire? that makwes no sense. When she were to come back again her grave would just be dug up, because artists in Japan who take long breaks usually get lost into oblivion. Plus that's totally not "ayu", I mean she's not a coward.

Originally Posted by MC Tatsujin

But then she would keep on releasing stuff that don't sell very well and sales would keep on declining until Avex drops her. That's worse.. I dunno, Ayu hasn't told us how important CD sales is to her.

So What? artists like hitomi still produce music even though her singles sell as much as 3333 copies overall. No big deal. and avex hasn't dropped hitomi FYI

[elepop]

Originally Posted by ImpactBreaker

So What? artists like hitomi still produce music even though her singles sell as much as 3333 copies overall. No big deal. and avex hasn't dropped hitomi FYI

That's true. hitomi still makes music for her and her fans. Even though it might not sale that much. If she wants to make music despite the fact that it's probably never gonna hit #1, then that's great. What matters for her is not the numbers of sales. But making music is.

Originally Posted by Maiku

it shows that they have no faith in ayu at all..can we even call them Fans ? Rofl

I don't even know why they care so much about the sales... -__________-

[bluegie]

you really love ai chan.. MC... >> (i just saw your post about ayu should retire after an album and a best hit then this place will become Otsuka Ai Sekai.. LOL).

anywayz judging from the first 7 singles so far out of 12... the quality is quite good. (some songs are average, some are really good such as you, D.D.D., feel, and Birthday Eve IMO).

now i think.. (m)u is good qua as well... ><..

[Mad_Cactuar]

Originally Posted by bluegie

you really love ai chan.. MC... >> (i just saw your post about ayu should retire after an album and a best hit then this place will become Otsuka Ai Sekai.. LOL).

anywayz judging from the first 7 singles so far out of 12... the quality is quite good. (some songs are average, some are really good such as you, D.D.D., feel, and Birthday Eve IMO).

now i think.. (m)u is good qua as well... ><..

Lol, me too bluegie. xD Avex Ladies Sekai. I love her lots. Kingyo Hanabi has become my fave all time song! And her sales are very good lately. Planetarium is still in Oricon Top 20.

Yeah, the singles Kumi release are either good or average, nothing shocking. SO she comes across as bland I think. Nothing awesome or disastrous. I like D.D.D lots, especially the PV.

(miss)understood isnt good at all. Its perfection.

[bluegie]

(last msg before go to bed)

LOL right right right me bad for saying (m)u is good qua... it's superior

talking about ai chan.. it must be a shocked that she's not the next avex queen... i bet everyone would think that ai chan would be the 2nd most popular female artist in avex... even when Best~first things~ came out people just considered kuu was the third seat of avex. I believe the 12 single run really boosts up kuu's popularity at the end.

maybe ai-chan could do 4 single run in march using easter theme (her rabbit is the weapon LOL)... then 4 single during april (the april fool + children festival should be good cuz ai-chan is cute). another 2 single run in may + june for another happy days + smiley trends well she can't really copy kuu's 12 single run rite? 4 easter + 4 cute + 2 summer should work XDD..

now i go zzz and leave the rest for other people to debate hehe

[AyuGAME]

no doubt about my love to ayu...
about koda...i like some songs from her...but i think koda is really bland for me..her songs is generic sometimes..except her ballad...
i don't think she can replace ayu that easy..just look this year..and i think she can't get the same position like she has last year...i don't know why? but i think she hasn't have a star quality like ayu does...she is too western and japanese culture is really strong..so i doubt about her popularity
i believe ayu can hold her position right now...being honest its really imposible that she can get the same position like her 2001-2002 session but maybe there is a miracle (>_<)
and about her old stuff, i think [startin'] is really good sample for that. and i believe [startin'] will be a bomb when that single release...that song is really good...
about ai...i think she have something on her star quality more than koda but i don't think she can get higher position than she can get right now..

[LacusClyne]

i had to agree that ayu's popularity is indeed slipping a LOT in japan.it could be due to the influnce of amercian music,that's why kumi gets noticed when she just started. her music and pvs are not something you would expect from japan artists.
this might be able to explain why ayu let amercians to handle her album this time round. but somehow, it does not seem to be working out well, at least from what i had seen and heard.
people are crtizing those songs written by sweetbox, though there are some who love those songs. you gotta admit that although there are past ayu's songs that people don't like, the dislikes are nothing compare to this year's works. what had gone wrong?

[jasjasss]

hmm i think Koda n Ayu both have different styles so i can't really compare her. I love Ayu coz she is the elegant type whereas Koda she is like the fun type of singer. I just recently like Koda's Songs .. i think her songs are improving .. i dont really like her old songs ... "you" is a really really good song.

Not to be mean or anything i think Koda's popularity will nto last long .. i think its just seasonal ..
and also i think that Ayu's popularity has fallen. I just dont like her recent released single Bold & Delicious / PRIDE .. but her album (miss)understood is the bomb !!

[Mad_Cactuar]

Originally Posted by LacusClyne

...you gotta admit that although there are past ayu's songs that people don't like, the dislikes are nothing compare to this year's works. what had gone wrong?

Yeah, its because her work is more capable of dividing her audience since they're more powerful. For every good thing, there's always detractors.

I should add why I think Ai would do a lot better.

Albums
LOVE PUNCH (March 31, 2004) #3 over 665 000 copies sold (73~ weeks spend in chart)
LOVE JAM (November 17, 2004) #1 over 625 000 copies sold (40~ weeks spend in chart)
LOVE COOK (December 14, 2005) #1 over 669,451,copies sold (3 weeks spend in chart, still charting)

At 3 weeks, Love Cook outsold ALL its predecessors. Which is crazy. Imagine if it was running at 30 weeks. Surely it'll hit a million. Maybe even 2 but thats being very optimistic.

[andre2907]

Originally Posted by MC Tatsujin

Yeah, its because her work is more capable of dividing her audience since they're more powerful. For every good thing, there's always detractors.

I should add why I think Ai would do a lot better.

Albums
LOVE PUNCH (March 31, 2004) #3 over 665 000 copies sold (73~ weeks spend in chart)
LOVE JAM (November 17, 2004) #1 over 625 000 copies sold (40~ weeks spend in chart)
LOVE COOK (December 14, 2005) #1 over 669,451,copies sold (3 weeks spend in chart, still charting)

At 3 weeks, Love Cook outsold ALL its predecessors. Which is crazy. Imagine if it was running at 30 weeks. Surely it'll hit a million. Maybe even 2 but thats being very optimistic.

It's impressive, but it's not that unusual. Duty first week sales were bigger than My Story total sales...

[*Petit*]

I never really saw how koda was RnB.She has released a couple of RnB like songs, but most of her stuff is more or less disco-pop with a bit of funkiness. Like, how many of her limited releases are truly Rnb?

One thing that isen't metioned is that her voice also sets her apart from the rest of japanese artists. She doesen't sing in the really high pitched idol voice that most pop-artists do in Japan. Her voice sounds more "earthy".

Compared to Ai Ootsuka who has a more or less "traditional" sound.

[bondingo]

I really don't know if I can see Koda taking Ayu's place. I know that (miss)understood's sales aren't anything spectacular but she's still selling much more than many other artists. And like it was said before, Koda's Best album sold much better than a regular album would because it is a best album and those always sell very well. Look at Ayu's A BEST. Sure, Ayu's peak may have been back during I am times, but I'm sure that she isn't going to just fade out. I do like Koda though. She has a great voice and her whole sexual image is entertaining (I never get tired of the Shake It PV), so maybe with Japan's ever-changing pop culture she may dominate the market. Only time will tell ^_^

[LacusClyne]

Originally Posted by bondingo

And like it was said before, Koda's Best album sold much better than a regular album would because it is a best album and those always sell very well. Look at Ayu's A BEST. Sure, Ayu's peak may have been back during I am times, but I'm sure that she isn't going to just fade out.

maybe if ayu had another best-album, she could gain more popularity? best album can do wonders, since it's a compilation of the best songs, people who never like ayu before might just get intersted. like me, i start to be an ayu fan when A-best was out.

[m-ayu]

Originally Posted by jasjasss

hmm i think Koda n Ayu both have different styles so i can't really compare her. I love Ayu coz she is the elegant type whereas Koda she is like the fun type of singer.

yup. i feel the same way too. ^^

as for Ayu's popularity being decrease, well it's like Madonna imo.
she might not as popular as in the 80's and beginning of 90's but she still exist don't she?
so i think that's what happened to Ayu. she might not as popular as in I Am.. era, but at least she still exist and still well known by people.

and (miss)undestood is da bomb!

[sexysaucestar]

Originally Posted by m-ayu

as for Ayu's popularity being decrease, well it's like Madonna imo.
she might not as popular as in the 80's and beginning of 90's but she still exist don't she?

I'd have to say I agree with what you've said; here in the US at least, Madonna isn't as popular as back in her heydays, but...I mean...still, a ton of people know who she is and still like her, ya know? So I think it's the same for Ayu--she might not be as popular these days, but she's still pretty well known! =)

I personally like both Ayu and Kumi; they both have their unique musical styles so you can't really compare them too much. I think it'd be nice for Kumi to ascend to the "throne" of J-pop/Avex because I believe she has a very good voice and a lot of potential.

[Qt Mashi]

yeah i agree, she's losing some popularity every year bit by bit, it's sad but true

Originally Posted by MC Tatsujin

(miss)understood isnt good at all. Its perfection.

Originally Posted by bluegie

LOL right right right me bad for saying (m)u is good qua... it's superior

lol when i read the first part i was like and after that i was like

[Maiku]

ok other than the Best of things(best album) that sold over a million can you name me another big hit from kumi?

ayu 2005
heaven- over 300,000-iTunes Best of 2005 Charts rank no.7
Step you-over 300,000
fairyland over 300,000-iTunes Best of 2005 Charts rank 13
Bold & Delicious- over 100,000 mainly cuz of thew new album being release in a month or so

MY STORY / Hamasaki Ayumi 1,131,776- i dont think this should count as a 2005 release as it was release in 2004 not 2005..

kumi koda
secret / Koda Kumi 505,607
BEST ~first things~ / Koda Kumi 1,207,793 (best albums always have huge sales) Secret pretty much screams it out.
i cant get any number for any her singles as they didnt make it to the top30 on oricon (The Annual Top 30 Oricon Chart 2004-2005 )

ayumi may longer have sales of 500,000 - 1,000,000 in singles or albums sales of over 2 million but she still holds her own against most of the new faces...

another good example is ken hirai

Ｋｅｎ　Ｈｉｒａｉ　１０ｔｈ　Ａｎｎｉｖｅｒｓａｒｙ　Ｃｏｍｐｌｅｔｅ　Ｓｉｎｇｌｅ　Ｃｏｌｌｅｃｔ ｉｏｎ　’９５- it will soon reach 2millions(it will most likely end up with 2.5 Milllion or even 3millions ), and i dont think any of kumi 12 singles thing going on have even reach 200,000 correct me if i'm wrong ..

Miss understood might take its time to reach the million mark but it will still out sale any original kumi album release up to date..