ayumi hamasaki 15th Anniversary TOUR ～A BEST LIVE～ V

[Misa-chan]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

^To be fair, she is having a ton of arena dates by normal jpop standarts... She could cut a few dates, sell out everything and still have longer tours than most.

She's always been having this many tour dates, I think. A BEST LIVE currently has 28 shows, HLS last year started out with 27 before expanding into the fall with 34 shows in total. Also, since it's the big 15th, it won't have made sense for her to cut down on dates..

I guess what went wrong is probably what everyone's already talking about... The scandals, the rehashed performances, the general lack of fresh material.. Even the tour goods this time seemed half-heartedly done with a used-before theme. The only thing that saved it (for me) was the tour visual (she looks gorgeous there), and even that doesn't make me want to purchase any of the goods.

But I don't agree with the idea that she should do away with the dancers and her team (at least the on-stage people). She's been pushing them to the forefront for years now, and it's evident that quite a few of them have become fan favs. I dare say that some fans attend concerts to watch their fav dancers as much as to watch ayu. Just take a look at any photo on the A BEST TOUR blog. Almost half of the handmade uchiwas the fans are holding bear dancer/performance team member names. They may only be back-up dancers, but they do have a substantial fanbase, and getting rid of them is simply not a wise option. For another example, anyone remember the huge outcry that happened when Subaru pulled out of PoM tour for personal reasons? He made a comeback in the next tour much to many fans' pleasure (my own included haha), and one really does wonder why he would return unless it was due to fan demand.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by Misa-chan

She's always been having this many tour dates, I think. A BEST LIVE currently has 28 shows, HLS last year started out with 27 before expanding into the fall with 34 shows in total. Also, since it's the big 15th, it won't have made sense for her to cut down on dates..

I guess what went wrong is probably what everyone's already talking about... The scandals, the rehashed performances, the general lack of fresh material.. Even the tour goods this time seemed half-heartedly done with a used-before theme. The only thing that saved it (for me) was the tour visual (she looks gorgeous there), and even that doesn't make me want to purchase any of the goods.

But I don't agree with the idea that she should do away with the dancers and her team (at least the on-stage people). She's been pushing them to the forefront for years now, and it's evident that quite a few of them have become fan favs. I dare say that some fans attend concerts to watch their fav dancers as much as to watch ayu. Just take a look at any photo on the A BEST TOUR blog. Almost half of the handmade uchiwas the fans are holding bear dancer/performance team member names. They may only be back-up dancers, but they do have a substantial fanbase, and getting rid of them is simply not a wise option. For another example, anyone remember the huge outcry that happened when Subaru pulled out of PoM tour for personal reasons? He made a comeback in the next tour much to many fans' pleasure (my own included haha), and one really does wonder why he would return unless it was due to fan demand.

I know she had longer tours on the past... I believe she still has to beat AT10 numbers... But 28 dates on arenas, what means +-280,000 sits still is HUGE to jpop standarts, considering it's not a big country... Not to bash la Koda, but if I remember it right, even with the "queen of live" thing she never really had the same tour going through this number of dates (someone correct me if I'm wrong). I can't think of any female soloist but Namie and maybe Yuming having tours this with a similar attendance nowadays.

If she toured for 25 dates for example, it would STILL be huge and probably sold out. This is what I meant.

About things needing to be huge because it's her anniversary... She is basically reminding the public she is old news, being it huge or small... Once she makes her 20th, 30th, 40th anni we can start talking about classic and things get better.

[BlackSilence]

Originally Posted by Misa-chan

She's always been having this many tour dates, I think. A BEST LIVE currently has 28 shows, HLS last year started out with 27 before expanding into the fall with 34 shows in total. Also, since it's the big 15th, it won't have made sense for her to cut down on dates..

I guess what went wrong is probably what everyone's already talking about... The scandals, the rehashed performances, the general lack of fresh material.. Even the tour goods this time seemed half-heartedly done with a used-before theme. The only thing that saved it (for me) was the tour visual (she looks gorgeous there), and even that doesn't make me want to purchase any of the goods.

But I don't agree with the idea that she should do away with the dancers and her team (at least the on-stage people). She's been pushing them to the forefront for years now, and it's evident that quite a few of them have become fan favs. I dare say that some fans attend concerts to watch their fav dancers as much as to watch ayu. Just take a look at any photo on the A BEST TOUR blog. Almost half of the handmade uchiwas the fans are holding bear dancer/performance team member names. They may only be back-up dancers, but they do have a substantial fanbase, and getting rid of them is simply not a wise option. For another example, anyone remember the huge outcry that happened when Subaru pulled out of PoM tour for personal reasons? He made a comeback in the next tour much to many fans' pleasure (my own included haha), and one really does wonder why he would return unless it was due to fan demand.

THIS.They all are as Ayu says herself a part of a show and a part of "Ayumi Hamasaki". Fans got used to them and have their own favorites. They became a huge family and friends. So it's all not just about making money, but also making memories together. Fans wouldn't appreaciate if someone dissapeared. Even i wouldn't. I mean if Yo-chan would be gone, what's left of the epic guitar intros in the concerts? ._.

and i never really got a problem with dancers. most of her concerts have plenty of Ayu there, i really don't see what other see in that departament *shrugs* maybe less Shu-ya poping out of nowhere and flailing cuz i dn't really understand that as dancing lol but i guess people in Japan like him, so i really don't care xD

[Chris85]

Originally Posted by artcika

and i never really got a problem with dancers. most of her concerts have plenty of Ayu there, i really don't see what other see in that departament *shrugs* maybe less Shu-ya poping out of nowhere and flailing cuz i dn't really understand that as dancing lol but i guess people in Japan like him, so i really don't care xD

As I listen to fans' reaction at the concerts I can tell that Shuya, Subaru and Jin always receive loudest cheers.

Originally Posted by Misa-chan

They've posted the updates for the shows at Yokohama, Osaka, Aomori, Fukui, Hiroshima and Shizuoka. That's 12 out of 16 shows so far which did not manage to finish selling tickets.

Wow! and I was so happy to see that every single seat at Osaka concerts was taken...Maybe they had to give away some of the tickets to achieve that... :-((

[Earth_maiden]

Originally Posted by artcika

THIS.They all are as Ayu says herself a part of a show and a part of "Ayumi Hamasaki". Fans got used to them and have their own favorites. They became a huge family and friends. So it's all not just about making money, but also making memories together. Fans wouldn't appreaciate if someone dissapeared. Even i wouldn't. I mean if Yo-chan would be gone, what's left of the epic guitar intros in the concerts? ._.

I don't appreciate that Gomi is gone. He was my absolute favorite dancer, hands down.