Has ayu lost her touch?

[GRACE]

I don't know if she realizes she's recycling stuff. She described You were.../BALLAD as a unique singe that sounded nothing like what she'd done before right? She mentioned how the stage for CDL was inovative and unique, right?

Exactly

[SunshineSlayer]

^ Yeah, that's why I really have to question her mental state sometimes. She really is her worst enemy sometimes because often the way that she hypes up and describes things isn't really accurate. Either that or we are getting very consistently bad and way off translations. I like You Were a lot, but it certainly isn't something new or innovative and neither was the stage.

[slavomiros]

she tends to use this "passage" reaching out into audience...didn't have that in the past...it's so "last year" to me...when she walks it with band members and dancers....
better have smth like during A-nation...like the coach that went around audience ;-)

[Yumsushi]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

^ Yeah, that's why I really have to question her mental state sometimes.

Maybe we should rename the thread to "Has Ayu lost her marbles?"

[FuNsTyLe]

Well someone should tell her... Or else it will become like the "Emperors new Clothes"




Who remembers when she used to do alternative live versions of her songs... Like...unplugged or acoustic versions... I'd love to see that again. There was a Grateful Days acoustic live she did on the beach, really summer-ish.. I loved it!

[taskinillusion]

"Lost her touch?" As what? There are so many aspects that you could look at this from...

As an entertainer? No. TIMES change, so she has to change along with it. But she's still an amazing entertainer. She's never been the strongest singer and has definitely sounded better before, but she still has her really "on" moments. No one sells as well as they used to anymore due to the economy changing and whatnot, but she still gets number 1's! I'm just extremely grateful that she's still out there doing her thing and trying. She'll never please everyone. People go through phases of liking a person, so the same people won't always like her and she'll still get new fans. All I know is, she's still out there trying and I'm very glad that she is. I will continue to support her and will always look forward to whenever she releases anything new!

[GRACE]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

^ Yeah, that's why I really have to question her mental state sometimes.

Originally Posted by Yumsushi

Maybe we should rename the thread to "Has Ayu lost her marbles?"

You know, it honestly surprise me if she was completely sane. I can't imagine her being after all the tragedy around her, plus being one of the most famous people in Japan.

[slavomiros]

just like taskinillusion said...she's still trying despite all those obstacles...
every once in a while i get totally freaked out when she has a smashing hit and my "ayu-diction" just keeps coming back and hitting me straight in the head big-time ;-)
she means to me so much and as i know what it means to "work hard"...i will accept whatever she'll have to offer to her audience and i'll try take the best of it for myself...for all the rest, there are threads on AHS to discuss ;-)

[emi♡]

Originally Posted by FuNsTyLe

Well someone should tell her... Or else it will become like the "Emperors new Clothes"

Actually, imo I think that's exactly how it is lol

And Japan, with their culture being the way it is...who's going to tell her any different?

Max?

Pff.

[slavomiros]

lol, we could SPAM her YouTube message box hahaha

[nanakopy87]

Originally Posted by taskinillusion

"Lost her touch?" As what? There are so many aspects that you could look at this from...

As an entertainer? No. TIMES change, so she has to change along with it. But she's still an amazing entertainer. She's never been the strongest singer and has definitely sounded better before, but she still has her really "on" moments. No one sells as well as they used to anymore due to the economy changing and whatnot, but she still gets number 1's! I'm just extremely grateful that she's still out there doing her thing and trying. She'll never please everyone. People go through phases of liking a person, so the same people won't always like her and she'll still get new fans. All I know is, she's still out there trying and I'm very glad that she is. I will continue to support her and will always look forward to whenever she releases anything new!

ya.i agree.although i don't really enjoy myself watching CDL09-10,but i'm still happy that she's trying some new thing like she's using maro&midori to replace ayu&shuya ; the hula hoop dance ; the alice in wonderland ; and my most favourite change she did is the PRIDE performance.this is more nicer than the AT06
i'm still enjoying most of her concert DVD than other artist!

[Yumsushi]

Originally Posted by GRACE

You know, it honestly surprise me if she was completely sane. I can't imagine her being after all the tragedy around her, plus being one of the most famous people in Japan.

I was joking about the thread rename.
So she thinks that shes doing something awesome but in reality its far from that. I think theres a big difference between being delusional/in denial about the quality of your work and being insane. Saying shes even slightly insane is very harsh and unfounded.

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by Crystal_Ageha

I think you guys are overreacting a bit, with this "lost it" thing. :\ Something is a little off, I'll admit it... But she's not gone. Not to me, at least, and obviously not to all her true fans, who don't run into the ground every single thing she's ever done the past five years... (Really, hasn't she done at least a few things you've approved of..? If not, maybe it's time to move on, guys...)

I think out of this whole thread, you're the one who overreacted the most. And don't start with the whole "you guys aren't true fans because you don't like her recent works" crap.

[GRACE]

Originally Posted by Yumsushi

I was joking about the thread rename.
So she thinks that shes doing something awesome but in reality its far from that. I think theres a big difference between being delusional about your work and being insane. Saying shes even slightly insane is very harsh and unfounded.

I'm just saying, it would surprise me if she wasn't even slightly insane. There's no reason to call me "harsh"

It's not "unfounded." Someone with so much tragedy in their lives plus a huge(and it was definitely sudden) rise to fame is bound to have some issues

[Bad Wolf]

Originally Posted by zoomzoom

Not losing her touch, but getting more and more clouded in judgement. She seems to be relying too much on her staff, the people around her, who are now very much her friends. Friends and work rarely work out great.

There's the Kazuyoshi example. Clearly they are great friends, have fun together and all. But seriously, he, as a professional photographer, must have seen that the results they came up with together just weren't that great. It's possible he just wanted to get paid and kept his mouth shut, but also possible that he didn't want to hurt her for her modeling ability with him or whatever.

On the other side of the coin, ayu might honestly have thought that the pictures, like the S/S covers, were great. I do believe that to be the case, unless she's become a compromising person. But there's also the theory that she's friends with this person and doesn't wanna scrap a whole photoshoot they worked on, basically telling him he wasn't able to come up with the result she wanted.

In my opinion, she needs new people around her. People who can help her constantly improve, not stroke her ego. Tell her what's good and what needs improvement. An artist is only as creatively amazing and innovative as his/her team.

Precisely. I wonder if she'll start to rely more on herself again, and not on her staff. I mean the whole reason she took everything on herself in the beginning is because she had a very particular vision and idea of how to do things. Basically, she couldn't trust or know that the people around her were going to match up to what she wanted. Now, I feel like Ayu has reached a point where she trusts her staff enough or they're familiar with her after all these years so they know what to expect or aim for with their product. That seems to be making Ayu happy, hence why CREA hasn't made a peep since, what, 2003? The danger with that is the end result: similar themes, comfort zones, stagnation, etc.

The dramatic way to solve this is for Ayu to ditch her staff and do it all on her own again. Have every rein in hand and command each thing. The less dramatic way is for her to get more involved, little by little, with the creation process. She could sit down with her composers/arrangers and either be a "back seat" composer, giving suggestions, etc. I have no doubt Ayu picks the songs she likes NOW, but I don't know how involved she is with the actual creation process. I think that would be a key thing.

And the photoshoots--dear lord. How is possible that Ayu emotes more feeling and strength from the "I am..." cover and stills than she has in the past like, 6 covers she's done her her singles? Seriously, go back and look at Ayu's photoshoots for her singles/CDs from early/mid 2000s. Strong presence and emotion in several of them. Hell, even MY STORY had great covers. After that... I'm not sure when this Kazu dude appeared on the scene but he is sooo not helping Ayu at all. And if Ayu's being complacent and easy on the guy just because they're friends, I'm sorry but that's sad. :< I don't care if he's your friend, if he's contributing to crappy product (or allowing YOU to make crappy product) then you both have to be more assertive and honest with each other. Work first, friendship second.

As for Ayu saying You were.../BALLAD was a new thing from her, I feel like that was a bit of a lie. Not that I'm accusing her of BEING a liar, but it's not exactly true, is it? You were... is a rehashed winter ballad seen in Together when..., HEAVEN, momentum, JEWEL, Close to you, no more words, POWDER SNOW... It's Ayu's "theme," which is fine, but new? Come on now. The ONLY thing new about that single was BALLAD (she's only done, to my memory, two "traditional" style songs [theme of a-nation 03 and GREEN]) and the music box mix of You were...

Maybe to AYU it was totally new, on a level we won't understand unless she explains it to us, but yeah.. not really seeing the innovation here anymore.

[Yumsushi]

Originally Posted by GRACE

I'm just saying, it would surprise me if she wasn't even slightly insane. There's no reason to call me "harsh"

It's not "unfounded." Someone with so much tragedy in their lives plus a huge(and it was definitely sudden) rise to fame is bound to have some issues

Why the assumption? I think many people who have had tragedy in their lives can overcome these issues and become stronger, more mentally composed and not degenerate. In Ayu's case when there is no actual evidence to the contrary, it is unfounded.

[tourniquet]

Originally Posted by GRACE

It's not "unfounded." Someone with so much tragedy in their lives plus a huge(and it was definitely sudden) rise to fame is bound to have some issues

I don't think she's been through more than your average person in her personal life. if you think otherwise it's maybe because you're still relatively young.

being the biggest female solo artist since the glorious days of seiko is another matter entirely. the background noise of stardom and the responsibility for so many people (all the people who work in the 'ayumi hamasaki industries' + her fans). that one guy from TA committing suicide surely didn't help.


just watched the CDL 09-10 and found myself humming to a beautiful piano melody while maro? showed a little choreography to the audience. at first I thought it was an older ballad like teddy bear or Who... but then I noticed it was Sunrise.
I think the problem of her new stuff is the execution. the songs written for her are insane material.

[theSKYBLUETIES]

I'm still mesmerized by Ayu so I don't think she has lost her touch.

[aura~]

Originally Posted by Crystal_Ageha

Spoiler:

Okay, I haven't read every single post, but I have read most of them, and what bothers me most is the people saying that all her music sounds exactly the same......

Are you serious??? Every single song sounds the same--Or, every song of a certain sub genre sounds exactly the same? Somebody above said that Because of You and Rule and 1 LOVE all sound the same, because they are dark rock (which, it's actually dark POP rock, of course, at best).... Are you ****ing serious!? Several other people have said similar things...
You guys must just not like that sub genre, then, or at least not those songs, because, for example, those three songs CERTAINLY do not sound alike. Nothing is the same, other than the freakin' guitar. They don't even have the same themes. Some of her songs, of course, do have similar chords or instruments or whatever, but she has a crap load of songs, so a few seasonal songs sounding similar to one another, out of how freakin' many, is not a big deal. Even Sunrise, one of her newest songs - and a seasonal one, at that, sounds distinct from, say, fairyland or BLUE BIRD. And You were... does remind me of No way to say, but no way would I confuse them...............Unless, I just hated her ballades, or never really took the time to listen to them.

I think some people's problems are, a lot of you just don't like pop anymore, at least not regular pop. (Or maybe you never really did, you just liked Ayumi? Whatever, I don't know.) And in general, that's what Ayumi is. Granted, she's one of the most experimental singers I've ever seen - even though she's always pop, she has incorporated every other genre various times, as well - but in the end, Ayumi is still pop.
So maybe you guys should not only try a different singer, but a different music style all together, and stop hating on something just because it isn't your taste. Specifically, try listening to hip-hop more often, because that's what most of you seem to like best, especially Western hip-hop. I mean, you go on to say that Kumi's Hashire! pretty much sucks balls, yet ECSTASY is one of her best songs ever. Or, TABOO is, not Butterfly. Or you say that Namie's new album (which I actually like and think is a very fun and catchy album--this is coming from somebody who hates her with a passion, by the way) isn't that great, after listening to it a few times, but Queen of Hip-Pop is amazing. Coincidentally, a lot of you tend to LOVE what the Western fanbase would love (heavy beats, regular rock, whatever), and hate anything that would be Japanese-pop-y-stuff. Which, a lot of you are Western, so this is natural. But for the love of God, it's so annoying to see you constantly bash something, simply because it's obviously not your taste. At least admit it, and then things wouldn't be so bad.


In response to the topic, I don't necessarily think she's lost her touch. I am annoyed by the recycled performances (not costumes), but whatever. I'm a fan because of her music, and because of her, not her performances. I also think it seems as though she's having great problems in her personal life, as far as: she definitely needs a break, and is obviously a workaholic; she may be having even deeper issues, as well.
But I loved NEXT LEVEL. identity, Days and Sparkle are three of my all-time favourite songs. She changed things up a bit, but kept that Ayu-feel. And her music is still good, even with the past few singles. (No, I'm not big on Sunrise, but it certainly isn't bad, and You were... has become one of my favourite Ayu ballades, so no problem there.)

I think you guys are overreacting a bit, with this "lost it" thing. :\ Something is a little off, I'll admit it... But she's not gone. Not to me, at least, and obviously not to all her true fans, who don't run into the ground every single thing she's ever done the past five years... (Really, hasn't she done at least a few things you've approved of..? If not, maybe it's time to move on, guys...)

I have a really similar opinion...

I haven't read all post, but I see which is the general opinion...

First I think that sometimes people react in a really dramatically way... why have this thread been created?? Because of CDL 09-10?? What happened?? The sound wasn't right, I don't think we can't judge Ayu's voice there... I can say that the last part of INSPIRE and BoY were bad, yeah... But I can't see why this CDL is that bad that everyone is so disappointed... I think that there's always something that makes people react this way and say ayu is almost over or something.. But then we have something good and everyone is: ooh ayu's back!!

And the similar thing to Ageha's post I want to say... Well, I don't think people doesn't like Ayu because we are western xDDD But I do think that people tastes change, if you feel you don't like Ayu is because you don't like Ayu anymore... I don't like when people starts talking about the past, that Ayu has to do something... Well I see that Japanese love Ayu, maybe the problem isn't Ayu, maybe the problem is with you. I have a friend, who was a big fan of Ayu, and now he seems to not like her as much as before, and he keeps saying she makes bad music... hello? Maybe you don’t like Ayu anymore, he now prefers LadyGaGa, prefers namie... so that's the thing, you prefer other things... let's search them and stop saying Ayu does bad music...

Of course I think she can change some things, but not music-wise. I do think that she should take care of her voice and take lessons again; I do think that she should try to change a bit her performances... I didn't like how they did the same camera movements with moments at the screen (mirror effect) I didn't like how she did the same for 1LOVE, and I would also prefer her to change that "my lover is gone" thing for her ballad section... But in order to change that she should take more time on creating new dance routines, BUT it's impossible to create 18 new routines in 1,5 months for Ayu and dancers while promoting a single and making a new album, it's easier to make only little changes... so ayu should change the work patter she has..

But a part of that Ayu is the same... OMG how can you see Teddy Bear performance from this year CDL and say Ayu has lost her touch???

And then people ask her to change, that her music is always the same.. OMG and then she does NEXT LEVEL and everyone got mad because that album was the worst of her career... so what are we asking?? We are asking ayu to be another artist? She is Ayu.


Well.. Everyone has different tastes.. There are people who love what ayu is doing right now and others don't... this tastes change, people change, I'm not the same I was 5 years ago and I don't like the same things... And I'm not saying that people who don't like the stages, the performance and dance routines or think that she should train her voice are not her fans, because these are things that are surrounding the "artist" and the "musician", but people who don't like her music, her lyrics and her stage presence, should think that maybe they don't like Ayu anymore. It's ok if you love her past works, but that's the Ayu we have now, I don't like something because in the past I loved it, that was then, now is now, and maybe you will love ayu again in some years...

And I'm talking about people who don't like anything she is doing now, because it's normal that not everything Ayu does has to be perfect. I don't like Sunrise, energize, beautiful days, born to be, beautiful fighters, glitter... but the problem is when you don't like anything... that's what I'm talking about...


Ok... well XDDDD long post... but well... everyone will keep thinking as they want, and everyone has different opinions, but I still think that music wise Ayu has not to change, she has to keep doing what she wants, on her own way, and anyone can follow her path if they want...

[emi♡]

@GRACE and...that discussion lol: i dont think she's completely insane...but she certainly does not live or think on the same plane as everyone else lol

she seems a little...like in a dream or something the way she goes through things sometimes.

I personally wouldn't think anything of someone saying she has lost her marbles...I would say, yeah she probably has lol