Do you think Ayu is too westernized?

[ストロボ・EdGE]

Sometimes I feel that she's just too "westernized", don't you think so? I mean, as everyone here knows, America, Americans, English or anything with blonde hair is cool in Japan, but sometimes I think she overdoes it...

I wish she'd die her hair black or something, I'm kinda tired of her blonde hair, and how about at least one song with a Japanese title? The only ones that have a Japanese title are HANA, HANABI and HANABI~episode II~ and even those used roman letters!

Then again, most singers in Japan constantly use English cause it is "cool" or whatever but still. The last time she had dark hair was during the (miss)understood period... I love her either way but

what do you think?

[panda♥]

for some reason i doubt she dyes her hair blonde because she thinks it's "cool" and more "western." english titles could just be a thing she started with since the beginning and maybe she doesn't want to title many of her songs in Japanese, i have no problem with it and i don't think she's too westernized.

[ayane4ever]

Originally Posted by MYV*izm

for some reason i doubt she dyes her hair blonde because she thinks it's "cool" and more "western." english titles could just be a thing she started with since the beginning and maybe she doesn't want to title many of her songs in Japanese, i have no problem with it and i don't think she's too westernized.

^I agree...I like her the way she is....She looks Nice...I like her being a little different
i also like the songs titles to be english..its always been like that with ayu & I LUV IT!!
I like her with light brown hair......

[ストロボ・EdGE]

Originally Posted by ayane4ever

^I agree...I like her the way she is....She looks Nice...I like her being a little different

The thing is... although I love Ayu to death and I think she is very original in many ways, her blonde hair and English titles are everything but original, imo.

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by ストロボ・EdGE

The thing is... although I love Ayu to death and I think she is very original in many ways, her blonde hair and English titles are everything but original, imo.

Everything but original? What hair color could you have that's really "original" though? I mean, black, brown, red, and anything in between would be no more "original" than blonde. And what about English titles? Would having the titles in Japanese be more original? No... It's not like no one in Japan has Japanese song titles..?

I don't see how having song titles in Japanese and having a different hair color would make her more "original". That's just not the right word to describe it.

Though I do admit I'm tired of her hair being blonde for the past 50 years.

[sanzo2011]

Yes ! my sister said she looks like"Madonna" ( but i don't thinks so ) ! she has big eyes , blonde hair and that 's all makes she doesn't look like japanese . And i really don't want she uses japanese title for her songs ! i think english title'll be very easy to find.

[Aisha_Angel]

I don't think so.

I think Ayu was one of the few artists to start the trend of roman-titled songs. And she remains one of the few who continues to do it. For me, memorizing Japanese song titles is hard. I can only remember easy ones like "ai no uta" and "wasurenaide". If it exceeds that length, it really doesn't matter how good the song is because I won't remember it from tomorrow.

One of the reason's why I love Ayu's western-thinking is because I'm a westerner by fact, and her music is western-friendly.

Ayu's hair color...I think she looks good with the honey-blond color she rocks, but I would like to see her with a different color every now and then. And no, that does not include that FUGLY red wig she wore for the (miss)understood tour, nor the platinum blond that makes the lighting effect from "Born to Be" cringe in horror. I'd like to see her in black, or even the color she wore during the Bold & Delicious/(miss)understood promotion.

She may not have looked like Ayu, but I thought it was a great change. It was fresh and she looked very cute when it was in pigtails. ^_^v

[ストロボ・EdGE]

Originally Posted by Aisha_Angel

I think Ayu was one of the few artists to start the trend of roman-titled songs. And she remains one of the few who continues to do it.

I'm not trying to be rude, but what the heck are you talking about? JPop artists have always used English, way before Ayumi. And even now, go to iTunes Japan and you'll se that 80% of the songs on the top 100 are English-titled.

[Aisha_Angel]

Originally Posted by ストロボ・EdGE

I'm not trying to be rude, but what the heck are you talking about? JPop artists have always used English, way before Ayumi. And even now, go to iTunes Japan and you'll se that 80% of the songs on the top 100 are English-titled.

True-true, but perhaps I didn't explain myself very clearly.

To me, Ayu is one of the few to consistently use romanized titles. With only one song, a cover as one written in pure Japanese. Most artists that I am aware of flirt with english with titles like ENGLISH no SOMETHING-JAPANESE, chose a roman title every now and then and again, or use Japanese text.

But that's just my opinion...I'm not an expert on J-pop History or anything like that. I just know based on the 80s-90s J-pop I listened too, a lot of it was kinda mixed...But Ayu consistently used roman lettered titles. Maybe there are other artists who did the same, but I think in the end they followed a few trends here and there and screwed with the flow.

[prussian blue]

isnt thats the style that attract many of you?

for me, yes i found many of japanese youngster likes to be westernized, and that process making another fashion line through asia. i like it, and i think they are really cool

[yoshino]

hahaz. I like the way she is now. I never thought that she is too westernized.
And I like her titles in English too, yeah it'll be easier to rmb and find

[amorphose]

About the English song titles...
Can many Japanese read roman lettering?

If not, how the hell do they manage to know what songs they like? XD

[noidea]

Originally Posted by amorphose

About the English song titles...
Can many Japanese read roman lettering?

If not, how the hell do they manage to know what songs they like? XD

they learn english in school nowadays and many people learn german, too, so they can read it


about the topic: I don't think shes too westernized, but i think she could wear her dark hair more often, i LOVE her startin and angels song hair

[jimex289]

Originally Posted by amorphose

About the English song titles...
Can many Japanese read roman lettering?

If not, how the hell do they manage to know what songs they like? XD

Other artists use English song titles as well. Usually next to the English song title, in parenthesis, it's written in katakana so people can read it if they didn't know what it said. Also, don't forget kanariya; add that to the list of her Japanese song names, even though it too is romanized. I really don't mind at all; she looks good with any color hair. Black looks really nice though. She should change it up at random times of the year.

[ren0210989]

Originally Posted by amorphose

About the English song titles...
Can many Japanese read roman lettering?

If not, how the hell do they manage to know what songs they like? XD

all japanese people can read roman letters exept maybe some very old people. they are learning them from a very young age.

anyways, i don't think she's too westernized. it's been know for a long time that they use english names for their songs so that everyone can understand them. it's just easier that way.

and Ayu looks beautifull with all of her hair colours (again, exept the red wig she had on tour) but i like her with brown hair the most, the one she had in GAME PV was perfect!!!!!!!!! but she can't always have the same hair colour, so she changes it a lot.
i agree that it's been a some time since she had black hair, but i don't mind^^

[asmAyumi1992]

I love everything she's done on her hair or songs. But, I still really love her black and original hair.

[alternarist]

she did have black hair during pre-Duty era.. and also during Bold & Delicious times.. i mean hair colour doesnt determine whether one person is westernised or not. Many other Japanese singers have blonde hair too!!

and regarding titles, i guess it's ayu's preference.

Nonetheless, i must say that it's true that ayu loves the US a lot. Just look at how much time she spent in the USA during 2004 and 2005 (LA, Hawaii, NY).

She is also pursuing her own happiness. so i am fine with that. If she is westernised, i suppose she will begin talking in english in ALL MCs of ALL concerts.

[ArchangelLegend]

Dying hair and using English in songs are common in Japan. Being a huge fashion icon, it's normal for Ayu to constantly change her hair.

The word "westerner" is so broad to me that I don't see a significant difference of that from a non-westerner, especially because there is a lot of cultural diversity and cultural change within the West and the East. The word is used very loosely and can lead to certain ideals or stereotyping.

[kenniFlyHigh]

I think she looks better with lighter hair

i wouldn't take it against her that she has her hair color the way she wants it

I think she's fine the way she is tbh.