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

[panda♥]

There are more laughable things stated in that post than good points made. Honestly, I'm still enjoying Ayu and know I will with her future releases. I don't care if she sells the least, I'll still support her and continue to enjoy her music. All that matters to me is that she's still making music and enjoying herself doing so.

[happiholic★]

Originally Posted by InoriNoUta

^^^ Took the words right out of MY mouth (poor sifow ;~; )

I really do think people are spoiled by high sales, and I will NEVER understand why only Japanese music lovers put such a high emphasis on it. Nobody I know here in a America gives a **** about sales unless it's REALLY BAD -- like a total flop of less than a thousand, haha. Why, then, do people who love Japanese music OBSESS over how much a damn single or album sells? Who the hell cares, really? It's not like sales are any indication of talent, artistic integrity, or worth (let's all just take a good look at who dominates the charts time and again [coughboygroupscough] and REALLLY ask ourselves whether they're artists or just products with pretty voices [and faces~]).

I don't know why I'm wasting the time to post this, though, considering this person's probably a troll, copypasta'd this post from somewhere else, and is really obviously flamebaiting us all @_@

... The only good thing about this post I just made was that it made me an I am... Initiate

Actually, you bring up a very good point. In Japan CD sales are something that are considered very important (from what I gather, not being from Japan and all), and having a #1 streak seems to be something that people take very seriously. I think, and this is really just my random thoughts, that maybe it is because it's all just a part of the culture of Japan. Not just in music, where rankings and polls are super popular (Oricon's weird polls, anyone?), but even in schools. From what I can see they put the rankings of every student on a board where every student can see each other's results and who got #1. I guess raking is just something that the Japanese find important?

[ストロボ・EdGE]

...

Or maybe it's just the fact that she's been in the industry for over a decade, already puts out an album every year not to mention several compilations, people are tired of seeing her face everywhere, everyone knows she's half deaf, it's over obvious she needs a break for her health, and the voice she once had is completely gone.

You can't be a top seller forever after all.

EDIT: Then there's the fact that female solo artists are "out" and boy bands are "in". Everyone's sales have fallen in any case but Ayu still ranks as a top artist yearly anyway...

[lumieregrl]

How is one album more Ayu-like that another? All of her albums are Ayu, just different sides and at different points of growth. How do you know what sounds like "Ayumi" and what doesn't? Unless you know her personally. I'm glad she doesn't sound like she used to or use the same formulas that made her popular in the past. I would honestly get sick of her after awhile. Everyone grows and changes, thankfully.

And Namie...I could see hearing her songs on the radio here in the US, she IS Americanized (although I think she does it better). Ayumi...No, I hear nothing like her here. S/S, R/S, huh? who makes music like that in the US?

Kinda hard to take you seriously when you seem to think Guilty, Next Level, and Rock'n'Roll Circus are crap.

[waterballoon]

I lol-ed @ the replies more than the original post itself.

Anyway, besides the Americanization comment and the one about R'n'RC songs being as bad as NEXT LEVEL, I think you have made a good points here and there.

Like what all.night.raver said, the last song that has made my heart jump was Days... everything after that was good, nice, fun but nothing to make my heart jump.

I think my interest in her hit a rock bottom with the Sunrise single but it definitely went back up with You were...

What I want to say is, there's never a "right" theory on why a particular singer's sales are dropping... things are like this for a reason, and there are a 1000 reasons, but no right one because people all think differently.

Having said that, I think many of us Ayu fans are really spoiled by the fact that Ayu could sell millions in the past, that 380k is seemingly "bad". It's probably disappointing by her standard, but it's no means bad by the market's standards.

Currently, the only artistes (I think) who could really go near that million mark are GReeeeN, Mr. Children, ARASHI, EXILE and many a few others (sorry I'm not very familiarized with this)... it's not like everyone is selling a million copies except Ayu, lol.

There's this artiste whom I love a lot, Hata Motohiro... but sadly I don't think many in AHS know him, but yeah he barely broke a 80k or something in his latest single... if he could do half as well as Ayu's sales now I would die of joy lol.

I think we can only accept that Ayu is just doing well for a female solo artiste. Even if the sales figure or whatever are not to your liking... well unfortunately, it is considered good in this era, so yeah suck it up.

But I think the ultimate reason to her downfall is that Japan's just simply sick of her. She was overexposed from 2000-2002 and I think that really started a sort of, "Ayu again? Bleh." mindset in the Japanese, so yeah...

[lumieregrl]

Originally Posted by waterballoon

But I think the ultimate reason to her downfall is that Japan's just simply sick of her. She was overexposed from 2000-2002 and I think that really started a sort of, "Ayu again? Bleh." mindset in the Japanese, so yeah...

I agree. Most of the time I hear how she's considered 'old hat' and how they are tired of her. I imagine it must be like how I feel about Madonna. And as much as Japan seems to love switching out idols every few years, Ayu is a dinosaur. lol

[rainydayumi]

Originally Posted by lumieregrl

And as much as Japan seems to love switching out idols every few years, Ayu is a dinosaur. lol

and a very cute dinosaur

[truehappiness]

You can't be a top seller forever after all.

The thing is though is that she's still a top seller, ohohoho~

[ストロボ・EdGE]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

The thing is though is that she's still a top seller, ohohoho~

Yeah and that's great! Just because she isn't #1 yearly anymore doesn't mean she's at the bottom. Last year she was the top female artist again~

But I mean more the fact that no one will ever be super popular on top of the world forever and it's the same in Ayu's case which has already shown its evidence.

I think Ayu fans need to have some balance in it; we can't be naive to think that she's this amazing mega-star anymore (it ain't 2001 people) but we can't think of her current status as a failure either because like someone else said earlier, other artists would die for her sales. She's already accomplished so much anyway.

[pchan1986]

i believe some quotes you said are true. like next level was a total ..BORE and the concert became that way as well.(don't get me wrong but i love a few songs) i think the reasons shes not selling or creative as before is that:
1. shes getting much older her style of music is always changing
2. since we got to the digital world, cds are considered old.
3. truthfully when i first heard a couple tracks in RnR i was dissappointed, but i repeated them all n' now i adore the album

ill always be a fan of hers no matter what her ups and downs are.

[freedreamer]

Originally Posted by PaPaRatZi

he only has made 1 post in the forum.. attention seeker.

yea. Feel so too. But what he said...Some parts, i agree. But then again, it's something everyone of us knows already.

An empress will always have her name in history But she passes on the baton ultimately.

[Zeke.]

This is not a complete garbage post. It's a theory and definately has some good points. I can understand where people disagree, but I hate it when they allow the bias to take over the disagreement. My God, I love Ayu and seriously don't even begin to tell you how much of a fan I am of hers, how much I think of her and listen to her on a daily basis, how much I blew without second thought to see her in concert for the first time... The list goes on. But I am not as blinded as many AHS-ers around here. I knew everyone would freak the -bleep- out.

Namie's music is definately westernized, but that doesn't mean there are not good points or that him/her bringing up her concerns or feelings regarding Ayumi, as a FAN, makes him/her a TROLL. Jesus.

Originally Posted by Crystal_Ageha

Troll...? Simply an idiot, maybe....? You also pretty much lost me when you said Namie Amuro isn't American-ised, considering Namie's music style is supposed to be WESTERN HIP-HOP/R&B--DUH. But stupid me, I kept reading, just to find other points nearly as bad.... I don't have the energy to type out everything wrong with this post; I lost all my energy - and probably some brain cells - just reading this crap.

No need for name calling. This was not a blatant bash-Ayu post, so don't get so damn hostile. I'm sorry but ignorance is the one thing I hate on this board! When fans hype up every single thing and are afraid to even explore conversations such as these annoy me almost as much as complete Ayu-bashers. Damn, she could make a song compiled completely of farts, burps, animal noises and alarms, and give out used toilet paper fragments and there would still be the fans that would say "OMG IT IS BOMB! DON'T EVER DIS AYU SHE IS GLAM AND YOU TROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLL!!"

[rainydayumi]

^ thats all fine but id take him more seriously if he wasnt a troll.. 1 post count, and no follow up. hes just posting that for reaction. i bet hes laughing at us all right now!

[shizukanaotoko]

I don't see much Westernization playing a big role in Ayu's songs besides in, say, Sparkle(though I love that song!) and Bold & Delicious~

Honestly I think Ayu just hasn't been releasing "fresh" enough material... From around 2004, Ayu began releasing formulaic songs (mainly Summer Pop songs and Winter Ballads) and a large number of similar-sounding rock songs, which we Ayu fans love but could potentially be a turn-off for casual listeners... I've been reading plenty of reviews on HMV, Amazon etc. from non-fans expressing strong dislike for age-inappropriate overly poppy songs such as Sunrise/Sunset and trite ballads like You Were...

Ayu's releases were much more distinct from one another up until (miss)understood, with exception to Next Level tracks which were a little too different to be appreciated by the masses. Sadly, to be popular and sell well, a singer must have songs that appeal to a wide audience and Ayu's basically just singing to her, albeit relatively large, niche nowadays.

I've successfully resisted the urge, so far, to listen to Rock'N'Roll Circus so I cannot fairly judge everything on the album but I do think Sexy Little Things is a well-done departure from Ayu's normal style and will win the hearts of many, fan or non-fan.

[tetsuo69]

Well she still ranks top 5 solo female, that should count for something in any case shes done what no other female artist in japan has done in over 10 years.

[lumieregrl]

Originally Posted by shizukanaotoko

I've been reading plenty of reviews on HMV, Amazon etc. from non-fans expressing strong dislike for age-inappropriate overly poppy songs such as Sunrise/Sunset and trite ballads like You Were...

What is age-appropriate music for 31? o.O

[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.

[rainydayumi]

we should stop replying to this.. hes obviously having fun reading all these

[AngelSenshi]

Originally Posted by PaPaRatZi

we should stop replying to this.. hes obviously having fun reading all these

I know, right? Damn attention seekers, and they just love to get people all riled up...

[ren0210989]

i don't agree with the first post.

first of all, GUILTY is my fav album! i adore rock! and so does Ayu, but it didn't sell so well because Ayu's fans in Japan aren't so much into rock, simple as that. interludes have nothing to do with it.

the rest... i didn't even bother to read...