m-flo loves ayu in new album 『FUTURE IS WOW』

[stickyrice]

I actually really like it....

I honestly would love if she ventured more into Rnb/hip hop. Her rapping however (while not horrible at all)... Isn't something I would want her to continue with lol

[truehappiness]

Ayu isn't really known for just doing one thing. If anything, she's known for playing with everything. She has things that remain consistent but there are also things that are pretty far beyond her usual sound.

[TheReal]

i really don't like the m-flo part. ayu's part is nice, but m-flo's just sounds really dumb to me

[Zeke.]

She does jump around genres and always has, but it's more like incorporating elements into the Hamasaki ayumi sound.

Namie and Ku have been doing electro, but they still sprinkle in a little ghetto in the mix now and then.

Wake me up I do not believe was finished or "leftover" entirely. I believe the composition was lying around for a while and she finally decided to bring light to it. Not like it was set to go on a harddrive somewhere. I do believe she said that was the case with another track on LOVE again though...?

That being said, I feel Wake me up is one of her best songs. It's has the attitude of Sparkle, that Hamasaki Ayumi powerhouse fierceness, while still managing to sound innovative. She's had electronic elements in many of her songs, but Eake me up was just slightly different enough to set it apart.

=> It certainly was the most modern sounding production she's released in a LONG time that still sounded like her persona of classic material. The rest of LOVE again had very flat and stale arrangements.

[cosmicfirefly]

I love her vocals here, but the rap part sounds so cute I can't help laughing every time. I hope on her next album her signing vocals sounds as smooth.

[untitled-for-her]

Her actual singing is really good and she's hitting some high notes without sounding like she's in discomfort. So that's awesome. But I can't take her seriously when she raps. She just sounds too cute. Haha! Hopefully, I can warm up to this.

[truehappiness]

Wake me up was done for a while before they actually released it.

[pheonixflame15]

I like it. It's something new for her

[truehappiness]

I think Ayu's main thing is that she needs to push the arrangers harder or demand something else from them, because the lyrics are there... the compositions are there... but then the 'sound' could probably use some freshness. I think that's probably why a lot of people enjoyed Love songs since it was a fusion of her usual Ayu sound and the Komuro feel.

[mi|kshake]

I'm really liking what I'm hearing! Her voice sounds great on the chorus - can't wait to hear the full version. And maybe we'll get a PV?

[truehappiness]

The most likely scenario is a lyric video, I think.

[rikku1994]

Ugh, let Ayu do new things, this is "Party Queen" all over again. >.< Ya'll just a bunch negative bitches loljk

If Ayu does something out of ordinary people complain. If Ayu stick to her usual style, people complain. For short, she's f***ed either way.

[sesshy]

It has to grow on me but I'm glad she's trying something different.

[BlackSilence]

am i the only one that thinks she sounds absolutelly stunning during chorus. Her voice is so...easy on the ears and light. I love it. The song is not my cup of tea for sure, but i am hoping to hear more of her voice like that. Stunning. I might just be cutting of the chorus and the singing parts out & playing that on repeat xD

also i don't want her to stick to ballads or rock songs or whatever, i want her to stick to being epic and awesome.PERIOD.

[jbrat2219]

Oh my goodness...

When she's singing, she sounds heavenly. Her vocals are really good here. But, when she starts to rap... I can deny that an uncontrollable burst of laughter escapes me every single time. It's just so weird to hear! I like it though! I love it when she tries new things.

[ExodusUK]

LOL the people that dictate what genres Ayu should be doing are totally missing the message of the song~ she will always be the queen and she'll do it her own way~

[jyujiw]

About the "dated" sounding: let's put Xtina's Back to Basics into the trash then...

Geez, music doesn't really have a date if it's good enough to stand out.

[ayu-michan]

I think m-flo's part was a bit dull, but well Ayu's is stunning. I don't know if it's just me because Ayu's rapping voice reminds me of the early 2000's Ayu It's like hearing her younger self. I'm growing to love her part!

[Zeke.]

Just like Kumi's voice on "Simple & Lovely" - reaction was "is that really her??" I believe Namies voice was also a bit different in her track from the same album.

[tsumekaze_]

^ I agree! I actually liked this a lot. I cringed a bit at the "I will always be the queen", as someone said before (I think it was zeke?) I don't really like self proclamation that way. But I grew to not minding it somehow XD I love her rap part and for what I could grasp the lyrics are a shoutout to her haters. "I've being doing it my way up until now, and will do it my way from now on" "I'll always be the queen" etc. GO AYU TAKE DAT CROWN