Disappointing 10th anniversary.

[truehappiness]

Hm.. for the record, I don't think comparing Ayu to artists that actually "sing" very well technically and such is fair.. I mean, these are people who have been singing since they were born! Ayu was just kind of picked up.. and she's the only J-pop diva to have not really had a musical background before being thrust into the world of music..

[namiie]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Hm.. for the record, I don't think comparing Ayu to artists that actually "sing" very well technically and such is fair.. I mean, these are people who have been singing since they were born! Ayu was just kind of picked up.. and she's the only J-pop diva to have not really had a musical background before being thrust into the world of music..

True. I've always thought of Ayu as a singer MADE, not a singer born. I think it's a stretch to say that she's the ONLY J-pop diva not to have a musical background, but compared to people like Ai Otsuka, who's been playing piano since 4, she IS at a disadvantage.

However, I really respect her for that since she's made incredible progress in both her songwriting/occasional composing and vocal technique since her debut.

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by namiie

True. I've always thought of Ayu as a singer MADE, not a singer born. I think it's a stretch to say that she's the ONLY J-pop diva not to have a musical background, but compared to people like Ai Otsuka, who's been playing piano since 4, she IS at a disadvantage.

However, I really respect her for that since she's made incredible progress in both her songwriting/occasional composing and vocal technique since her debut.

Well, if you look at the different people who have had high sales / enjoyed success as a J-pop female artist, you'll see that they either had the ambition to sing / perform well since they were a child, or like.. they were born into it. [Hikki was born into a musical family, Namie went to an academy for training artists, Ai Otsuka's got the music in her and such, BoA was discovered in Korea for her dance/singing, Ami Suzuki [doesn't really count] entered an ASAYAN singing contest and won by like 370,000 phone votes, Yuming was a composer/arranger/pianist/singer-songwriter..] Ayu just sorta just got discovered and from there, she's evolved into one of the most popular female artists that Japan has probably ever seen in its lifetime..

I'd have to say that I don't think anyone who discovered her in 1998/1999 thought she would last this long. I mean, sure, some of the 80's idols had enjoyed some 5-6 years or so of amazing popularity, but they all fizzled out after a while, whereas Ayu still remains relevant. [though it is VERY difficult for her to gain a new fanbase since she's been around for so long.. but I think that can be solved with the right song and the right tie-up. Just look at Hikki and the sort of.. never ending "growth" of her fanbase. Kingdom Hearts, EVANGELION, Last Friends, random-tie-ups that boost the amount of people that are interested in her.. I wish Ayu could have that luxury.

[namiie]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Well, if you look at the different people who have had high sales / enjoyed success as a J-pop female artist, you'll see that they either had the ambition to sing / perform well since they were a child, or like.. they were born into it. [Hikki was born into a musical family, Namie went to an academy for training artists, Ai Otsuka's got the music in her and such, BoA was discovered in Korea for her dance/singing, Ami Suzuki [doesn't really count] entered an ASAYAN singing contest and won by like 370,000 phone votes, Yuming was a composer/arranger/pianist/singer-songwriter..] Ayu just sorta just got discovered and from there, she's evolved into one of the most popular female artists that Japan has probably ever seen in its lifetime..

I'd have to say that I don't think anyone who discovered her in 1998/1999 thought she would last this long. I mean, sure, some of the 80's idols had enjoyed some 5-6 years or so of amazing popularity, but they all fizzled out after a while, whereas Ayu still remains relevant. [though it is VERY difficult for her to gain a new fanbase since she's been around for so long.. but I think that can be solved with the right song and the right tie-up. Just look at Hikki and the sort of.. never ending "growth" of her fanbase. Kingdom Hearts, EVANGELION, Last Friends, random-tie-ups that boost the amount of people that are interested in her.. I wish Ayu could have that luxury.

Oh I see. You meant like...even those who wanted to go into music since they were young. In that case, yeah, it is pretty rare to find a J-pop diva who sort of just wandered into professional singing like Ayu.

Yeah, I got into Ayu's music late 2001/early 2002, but if I were to watch her career in 1998/1999 alone I don't think I would have that much faith in her longevity either, from a purely technical standpoint. Of course, the Song for XX/LOVEppears days were great too, but even avex themselves thought she was going to fizzle after 3 years, hence the pre-mature release of A BEST in 2001, right?

Yeah I don't know why Ayu doesn't have any good tie-ins either.

[Luv ~Venus~]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Well, if you look at the different people who have had high sales / enjoyed success as a J-pop female artist, you'll see that they either had the ambition to sing / perform well since they were a child, or like.. they were born into it. [Hikki was born into a musical family, Namie went to an academy for training artists, Ai Otsuka's got the music in her and such, BoA was discovered in Korea for her dance/singing, Ami Suzuki [doesn't really count] entered an ASAYAN singing contest and won by like 370,000 phone votes, Yuming was a composer/arranger/pianist/singer-songwriter..] Ayu just sorta just got discovered and from there, she's evolved into one of the most popular female artists that Japan has probably ever seen in its lifetime..

eh....Ayu was discovered at 15 by Columbia and givin' a [short-lived] record contract. =/ So she is in the category with them.

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by Luv ~Venus~

eh....Ayu was discovered at 15 by Columbia and givin' a [short-lived] record contract. =/ So she is in the category with them.

That joke of a record contract really doesn't fit in. How does a dinky recording contract that places her in a strange music genre put her in the same category as them? I mean, they probably barely attempted to promote it and it flopped terribly. I don't think that a song like NOTHING FROM NOTHING counts as having any ambition to succeed in the music business.

Also, she was 17 when she released it, so she was probably scouted around the same time. Oh, and I don't think anyone ever refers back to that period of time since it was so gross and "I DO NOT WANT TO REMEMBER THIS" [other than overseas fans of course..]...