About JEWEL

[Axel_Grease]

ROFL. She had a chair to sit on during the performance. With that aside, such a beautiful song. And after reading the lyrics, makes the song even better. (*_*) But in the beginning of the performance, I was kinda 'eh...' Made me feel like I set my expections too high, but later in the song, felt way better.

[darkswordz]

Stunning and mesmerising ayu have not made us waited for so long in vain

[Nu-NRG]

The moment I heard the preview from Panasonic CM
it reminds me of Dearest+No way to say
and now....the full version...it even sounds alot like it
the beginning with the piano parts is like Dearest and the beats is sorta like No way to say
I like it

[Tasked]

Remember when the MOMENTS CM was out and it was this elegant ballad; and then when she released it the whole sentiment of the song was changed? I feel like JEWEL kind of has this Moments-CM feeling.

[truehappiness]

The ending of the verses reminds me of some other song I can't put my finger on.. o_o

[Tasked]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

The ending of the verses reminds me of some other song I can't put my finger on.. o_o

I have the same thing. I think it's the last note of CAROLS...

[Ayu_desu]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

The ending of the verses reminds me of some other song I can't put my finger on.. o_o

perhaps teddy bear?

[darkswordz]

JEWEL is like forgiveness+moment in my opinion

[truehappiness]

It really could be CAROLS..

teddy bear is a bit too gentle..

[kiseki89]

The panasonic cm really does this song no justice. It sounded not very good in that version. BUT with this performance, and the wonderful lyrics, this has become another great ballad that i like very much, and one that i'm willing to wait for.

wait a min, can this song be called as a ballad?

[immel]

Originally Posted by kiseki89

wait a min, can this song be called as a ballad?

Everything about this song screams ballad at me, at least.

[truehappiness]

Well, I do think that her vocals are really good and I really like them.
It's just people do have a point when she's all over the place vocally..

[even though I do love her voice <33]



By 'professional singer', I guess I meant.. the type of person you would imagine to be the loud, amazing voice like Yuna Ito or something that are born to sing. Ayu's come a long way since 1998 and I think that she's evolved tremendously as a singer. Her singing style has changed so much every album or so. RAINBOW to Memorial address showed a change.. something about her voice.. and from MY STORY to (miss)understood it changed too, I think. She's been singing in a deeper register (at least that's what I think it is.. hm..)

[truehappiness]

Well, if it's not a ballad then what is it? :|

[YumeHamasaki]

her vocals seemed kinda like a mix of her best vocals, and her old school vocals, (you know, were she'd kinda sqeak or sing some notes really high and it's hurt like grr) but it sounds REALLY good. I love this song, and it makes me think that the reason she's doing a mini album is because she's too filled up with emotions to sing and perform and crap. aWWW, Ayu-sama in lovey dovey!! (ew...that sounded creepy)
Yall think Ayu looks like she gained weight? hmm...i personally think it's the style of the dress she wore when singing JEWEL. Btu if she did, it's about time, she needed a chicken wing or two...

[ruixiong89]

"Never since the fall of the Berlin Wall has there been such major upheaval in the Ayumi fanbase!" - from a friend of mine

LOL, haha, haven't heard the song yet but from what I can see, everyone's full of praises for it. Can't wait!

[immel]

Originally Posted by ruixiong89

"Never since the fall of the Berlin Wall has there been such major upheaval in the Ayumi fanbase!" - from a friend of mine

That's just hilarious.

Too bad Ayu was still in school around this time, I think.

[Coelacanth]

I love it. It's such a brilliant song. I get goosebumps. I like how the arrangement is nice and soft like 'teddy bear', and I definitely think this the studio version - I can't imagine it with a fuller arrangement. The lyrics are amazing too. This song is making me look forward to the minialbum a lot.

JEWEL:
Born to Be...:
Startin':
BLUE BIRD:
Beautiful Fighters:

[immel]

Your dislike for Beautiful Fighters, do you think it would maybe change if the arrangements was different, and that electronic voice was removed?

The song is pretty good I think, but the arrangements do annoy me.

[Coelacanth]

Originally Posted by immel

Your dislike for Beautiful Fighters, do you think it would maybe change if the arrangements was different, and that electronic voice was removed?

Yeah, probably. I like that part, but it's too repetitive throughout the song. The arrangement is the main problem for me too. They should have made the song either with all real instruments and no synth, or vice versa, the mix of the two is not working for me with this particular song.

It could definitely grow on me (I love Beautiful Day now), but even the lyrics can't save BF. It just gives me a headache.

JEWEL is her least chaotic song of the year, that's why I really love it.

[truehappiness]

I'm guessing that the intent of Beautiful Fighters was to be a more recent 'cheer song' a la independent / flower garden. :|

After all, there was 'cheer assistance' from this one group of cheerleaders. LOL

As for this album as a whole:
Speaking about that, has anyone tried playing JEWEL in the confines of a fanmade tracklist with the singles so far?