2021: Reflecting on Ayu's career

[mizuki-7]

Originally Posted by Chibi-Chan

But they also often assume she isn't active anymore, because during the last years she was most often over the news for her private life and not for her music. It's safe to assume they don't know any songs after BLUE BIRD.

Yes and sadly it didn’t help that during the last decade most of the time when she was on TV it was for singing her popular songs instead of her newer ones... to me she should’ve refrained herself to do that because this has cemented this image of diva of the past and considering her voice couldn’t handle these songs properly it only make it worse for the public. I don’t like to make comparaison with Namie Amuro but she was clever to stop going on tv shows because her vocal cords was destroyed (she said it herself).
its useless to try rewrite the story but when I think about it im always a bit sad how things tourned .

[!Lawi!]

^It makes me sad, I love her early days but most of my favourite songs are probably post Secret at this point!

For people having a better understanding of how she is perceived in Japan, do you think Haru yo Koi could have a significant impact on her image? Is it really that big a song or was it blown out of proportion in our circles by the 2003 performance?

[voltron]

^ It is one of Yuming's biggest songs, together with Sotsugyo Shashin.

That said, I don't think it's going to have a huge impact on how Ayu is perceived. It may subtly give a more positive image in some of the public's mind, that she's done something so mature and lovely - but for a lot of people I think it will just cement the idea that she is a hasbeen - she's covering a famous song vs. getting publicity for her own, and it's an old song at that.

I think the only thing that might make a difference is if Yuming made some public comments about the cover that were favorable, but I don't see that happen with artists in Japan so much - even when they have officially released tribute albums.

[KPL]

Originally Posted by voltron

^ It is one of Yuming's biggest songs, together with Sotsugyo Shashin.

That said, I don't think it's going to have a huge impact on how Ayu is perceived. It may subtly give a more positive image in some of the public's mind, that she's done something so mature and lovely - but for a lot of people I think it will just cement the idea that she is a hasbeen - she's covering a famous song vs. getting publicity for her own, and it's an old song at that.

I think the only thing that might make a difference is if Yuming made some public comments about the cover that were favorable, but I don't see that happen with artists in Japan so much - even when they have officially released tribute albums.

Lol that is definitely not going to happen haha! Yuming is famous for making pithy and mean comments

[ayu_fantasy]

Originally Posted by KPL

Lol that is definitely not going to happen haha! Yuming is famous for making pithy and mean comments

Really???

[barisuta53]

Originally Posted by ayu_fantasy

Really???

I don’t know any specific comments but I can believe it. She’s a public supporter of former prime minister Shinzo Abe who is a huge nationalist.

[KPL]

Originally Posted by barisuta53

I don’t know any specific comments but I can believe it. She’s a public supporter of former prime minister Shinzo Abe who is a huge nationalist.

I vaguely remembered that there was something like a talk show/radio show many years ago where people asked Yuming to comment on various famous people in Japan. And her comment for ayu was something along the lines of "her mascaras look like fly's legs" lol

[Andrenekoi]

I don't really think Haru Yo, Koi was meant to be big, anyway. A Ballads 2 seens to be a test to decide where to go next.

[Andrenekoi]

^^That's pretty funny, actually. xD

There's this interview one had with the other, I believe Ayu was the one being interviewed, and she was TOTALLY starstruck lol.

Yuming is a big name in the industry and she is around since the 70's. Her comercial peak still was way into her 40's. She can say pretty much whatever she wants lol

[Katsuyuki012]

^yup

[MKAyu]

You know, for me, among the great Heisei Utahime (Koda, Utada, Nami, Ayu), I like Ayu and not the others because I like Ayu's music best.

Nothing against the other three. It makes me happy to see them succeed, especially now that they're getting older in an industry that refuses to let anyone, especially women, get old. But I don't like their music. I'm more into rock and Ayu does great rock-laced music. I heard "Pride," which blew me away, and became a fan. I wasn't aware of any of the drama until years later!

BUT. The more aware I am, the more I adore her. The general public is cruel to her, everyone from people on the street to tabloids that hold polls like "What about Ayu makes you wince?" They shame her for daring to be sexy--doesn't she know she's so gross and fat and old? They scream at her having relationships and then kids without being married--doesn't she know she's a whore?

And while they rage, she keeps making music. She stands on stage and writes lyrics and experiments with different kinds of music and communicates honestly with her fan club and lives her damn life.

I don't blame anyone who doesn't like how flashy she is or doesn't like certain music or doesn't like her PR style, as others have mentioned. She's made plenty of errors. But I will never, ever stop being proud of her. She is Ayu, and she is the most badass person I've ever stanned. I've never loved any one public figure so much beyond their art.

[Lyssayu]

Originally Posted by MKAyu

She is Ayu, and she is the most badass person I've ever stanned. I've never loved any one public figure so much beyond their art.

Amen to that!
totally same here - even if some of her late work doesn't do it for me as much as the old stuff, and she did lose me a bit for the last 2-3 years, I always go back and the fact that she is still going says a lot!

That said, I hope a new era is coming because, well, it's time!

[ayu_fantasy]

Yup!!! Well said everyone. I was a real huge fan from 1999- 2009. It was a great time cos ayu was still at her peak. I didn’t really listen to her works after rock and roll circus. But i was back into ayu for the past 2 years. ��. Ayu is still my no.1 artist.

My friends all thinks that ayu is someone of the past. They knew her, but she’s just someone who’s big in 2000s... even if I intro they ayu stuff, I don’t think anyone seem to be of interest.

[saseal]

18years fan here. The bad press from 2008 onwards which caused the bad public perception has got to do what she did earlier in her career. If you look at her songs like "real me", "my name's WOMEN", you would realize that she is advocating gender equality, which is not something that the men in power look forward to, this is probably worse than promoting LGBT rights in their mind. There's are also other things that she did that is very "un-Japanese" like Max-Tom Avex CEO saga and some of her MV that outright diss her own company.
She was sitting on that powder keg for really long, and the deafness/voice is the spark that ignites it.

In the last decade, she is releasing way fewer songs and putting in less and less effort into it than ever for a simple reason: it's not going to make much money compared to holding concerts.