Why I think Ayumi's sales have fallen...

[love in music]

"But we can truly see why Namie is back in the limelight: her songs are not Americanized."

You lost me there. The reason I don't like a lot of Namie's new music is because it's wayy too americanized. I still don't think ayu's music is very americanized at all, and that's why I love it.

[AngelSenshi]

Originally Posted by identity

"But we can truly see why Namie is back in the limelight: her songs are not Americanized."

You lost me there. The reason I don't like a lot of Namie's new music is because it's wayy too americanized. I still don't think ayu's music is very americanized at all, and that's why I love it.

Thank you!

Man this person just comes in here and puts all this rubbish in one big post; it was exhausting to read.

All the beginning, about who was disappointed with what and all that; those are things somebody really doesn't have the right to say, not in that manner at least. The way it was said was as though this person got their opinion and claimed it was everyone's, when they have no right to talk about it like that.

Isn't it our own right to have our own opinions? To say it like it's everyone's opinion is bloody frustrating to me...

As for 'age-inappropriate' music; there really isn't such a thing. People are free to like what they like, and dislike what they like. It just depends on people. Of course this doesn't mean I expect little kids to listen to sexually-explicit lyrics or something of the sort. It means that an adult can like what they like; as playful, as silly or as mature as the content is.

As for people who think her sales are low...

That's because they were spoiled by the age of million sellers being the norm.

Nowadays, anything from 300-500k is hard to approach for most artists. Even HUGE artists like Namie aren't even at 600k right now. It's a bit sad, but why should sales really matter all that much anyway? (concerning Ayu)

People act like getting #2 or #3 is the end of the world, when plenty of artists would KILL to rank in the top 3. Artists would LOVE to sell 100k+ with a single when they're only selling 11k total. Heck, Ayu was even the highest selling digital female soloist for chaku uta last year!

It sometimes makes me wonder if people realize what a bunch of bull it is when they try pointing out just how "unpopular" she is.

As most of the time; th is right about this. And there are loads of reasons for sales not being high; illegal downloads, legal downloads, the economic state and so on.

Even if sales aren't the same as they were in the past; she'll always be up there as one of the best because she managed to do things few other women in music industry could do.

And to me, because of that reason and so many others, like her relatable songs, beautiful, touching, knowledgable lyrics and her down to Earth chracter and view of things makes me love her. Even if sales just declined, I'd still be a fan of hers. I'm not afraid to say if I don't like some of her songs, but it's the songs I love, and it's her, that I cherish.

[AyUta]

Originally Posted by identity

"But we can truly see why Namie is back in the limelight: her songs are not Americanized."

You lost me there. The reason I don't like a lot of Namie's new music is because it's wayy too americanized. I still don't think ayu's music is very americanized at all, and that's why I love it.

This. I started to lose interest in namie solely because of this.

[HELVENEUE]

Originally Posted by identity

"But we can truly see why Namie is back in the limelight: her songs are not Americanized."

You lost me there. The reason I don't like a lot of Namie's new music is because it's wayy too americanized. I still don't think ayu's music is very americanized at all, and that's why I love it.

Hahah, you lost me too. but I disagree on ayu as well, I think her songs have some american flavor, and I honestly don't see why it's a bad thing.

I read your whole post, I thought you had a very strong opinion, and I respect that.

Lemme say this, the reason I personally feel that her sales are low is because she's diluted the quality of her albums with the frequency of her releases. I'm not saying her albums suck, Rock'n'Roll Circus and NEXT LEVEL are good, but let's take Namie Amuro, again her album release are more sporadic, therefore an album release by her is big deal as it's a more coveted event, a more exciting release. Utada Hikaru also, her albums feel like major pieces of work due to the time the audience presumes were spent in the making. Even if that isn't the case, time between albums really can enrich the experience, making the album more powerful (and marketable!)

Where as it's kinda hard to be excited about an ayumi hamasaki album 'cuz ***** releases one every year

[elepop]

Originally Posted by identity

"But we can truly see why Namie is back in the limelight: her songs are not Americanized."

You lost me there. The reason I don't like a lot of Namie's new music is because it's wayy too americanized. I still don't think ayu's music is very americanized at all, and that's why I love it.

Namie's music is mostly urban. But it definitely doesn't sound like Americanized urban songs.

I don't really think that Ayu's music is too Americanized. Actually, it isn't at all. I simply think that she had lost her touch since "(miss)understood" and her music is getting more and more generic. They don't have that special something like it used to be.

[love in music]

Originally Posted by elepop

I don't really think that Ayu's music is too Americanized. Actually, it isn't at all. I simply think that she had lost her touch since "(miss)understood" and her music is getting more and more generic. They don't have that special something like it used to be.

ayu has original songs here and there, but the majority of her discography is generic imo, so that's nothing new to me. she just adds the ayu touch that makes me enjoy it more.