You were... / BALLAD information thread [IV]

[waterballoon]

Well yeah I was exaggerating but I don't think mass promotions would help much - since we do know the general census of the Japanese is that they're sick of Ayu, so yeah... this "we're not giving any info, suck it up!" thing is the new avex marketing strategy for Ayu. XD

[ayumisrael]

Originally Posted by waterballoon

Well yeah I was exaggerating but I don't think mass promotions would help much - since we do know the general census of the Japanese is that they're sick of Ayu, so yeah... this "we're not giving any info, suck it up!" thing is the new avex marketing strategy for Ayu. XD

I think that the "general public is sick of her" is also some kind of an exaggeration though.
Sunrise would never have TW... legal download's number if that would be the case, of course it's not millions but at least we know they are are not more sick of her than let's say 2007 and maybe even 2006. =P

She can bring a lot of people back, she just needs the exactly right songs.

[njanjayrp]

^ indeed. People don't need billboards to know she is releasing stuff, especially the ones who buy her cds.

[Kazeyomi]

Originally Posted by ayumisrael

She can bring a lot of people back, she just needs the exactly right songs.

This

I'm still optimistic about that.
I mean.. ok I love NL even if it doesn't outsell or reach the 500k like previous albums, but every fan would be happy if their favourite idol can reach high sells/positions.
BTW I don't know what avex will do with this single we must waiting, I think.

[waterballoon]

I do agree that Sunrise was quite a popular song, alongside Days and to a lesser extent Rule. What I was trying to say was the reason why avex isn't doing mass promotion for her is because the general public is "sick" of her (however true that may be)...

[tourniquet]

Originally Posted by ayumisrael

She can bring a lot of people back, she just needs the exactly right songs.

she's old, japan is so over her. you can't change that with just "the right songs". there's also a certain image attached to the trademark AH you can't just get rid off.

with her ever so enduring style I don't see her rebounce like namie. not that this would be a bad thing. most people here are totally disillusioned when it comes to sales and ~popularity~. she's still up there with the other big female solo artists. core audiences playing a major role or not. I really don't know what some of you expect.

come on, we're actually WAITING for her to take a break or just stop music altogether. but at this time I see her becoming the second seiko who still fills arenas with the same people 30 years ago.

all I hope for is that she abandons the NL/Sunrise route as it is major fail musically.

[ohsixthirty]

the thing with ayumi though is that she has a strong core fan base who will always buy her merchandise. even though her sales may not be huge, she will always sell a certain amount i think, even with very little promotion.

[waterballoon]

The certain amount being over 100k. She's very lucky though; I found Sunrise's sales to be really a big surprise. I guess it shows she still has some sort of an... "authority" I guess, for a lack of a better word, in the industry.

But this time it'll be interesting if she really faces off against the Fuku-guy... I really want to see a good fight from Ayu's side~

[Masamune]

I think Ayu will keep the sales of Sunrise/Sunset as a new standar of her selling power in physical sales...in digital sales she have good numbers so I hope that the next single will do well...

[ohsixthirty]

what i wonder is, how big is team ayu? how many members are there? and do they all buy her releases?

[waterballoon]

IIRC it's around 70k members but I think I'm wrong but really close lol... and ninjayap (was it him?) posed some link that most of the public (not sure about only TA members) bought the CD+DVD version of the Rule/Sparkle single...

[aura~]

^yeah.. ayu stated one year ago that there were around 70.000 TA members... I don't knwo if it has increased... I think yes... Ayu said in a recent message, some weeks ago, that she was so happy because this year a lot of new people joined TA (me yeah! XD)... I can tell thar through the history of TA there have been more than 185.000 members... (i'm 184.***). Of course numbers are not reused, so there have been people leaving and joining, of course ^^

[maze]

Originally Posted by identity

i wonder if the usual magazines ayu would be on the cover of will be taken over by Namie to promote her album

I dunno, I just hope we'll have a lot of ayu's photoshoots with her darker hair *_*

Originally Posted by waterballoon

Well yeah I was exaggerating but I don't think mass promotions would help much - since we do know the general census of the Japanese is that they're sick of Ayu, so yeah... this "we're not giving any info, suck it up!" thing is the new avex marketing strategy for Ayu. XD

bad strategy anyway! ppl need at least previews..
hopefully this week the covers will be out, then the previews of the songs and PVs =(
if not, then I think her weakest fans will not be interested in the single and it will probably affect her sales..

[Suteisi]

Lol I don't understand why you say "the general public in Japan is sick of her" because it certainly didn't look that way while I was in Tokyo for two weeks...

[GRACE]

I don't get where you get the whole "public is sick of her" either. imo, We don't know how the public feels about her either way unless we live in Japan.

[Lady_Eowyn]

^ Those comments are not meant to be taken as facts. They're opinions neffi. don't take them seriously

Ps.- oh, you won me Grace... but i agree with you 100%

[ayumisrael]

Originally Posted by tourniquet

she's old, japan is so over her. you can't change that with just "the right songs". there's also a certain image attached to the trademark AH you can't just get rid off.

with her ever so enduring style I don't see her rebounce like namie. not that this would be a bad thing. most people here are totally disillusioned when it comes to sales and ~popularity~. she's still up there with the other big female solo artists. core audiences playing a major role or not. I really don't know what some of you expect.

come on, we're actually WAITING for her to take a break or just stop music altogether. but at this time I see her becoming the second seiko who still fills arenas with the same people 30 years ago.

all I hope for is that she abandons the NL/Sunrise route as it is major fail musically.

Japan is over her is a harsh thing to say and not that accurate.
It's true that since her peak her sales decreased steadily and all but she is still the best selling solo female artist this year and that's without 10 albums or 10 singles and stuff like that.

No one really expects anything, I think that people that discuss here are more going with the flow and want to see how things go and what will happen before japan will be really over her for good.

Comparing her to seiko is nice on the tours side, but sales wise ayu is still one of the tops (and in overall even could be the top female seller of this year).

Also, a lot of people say that, for example, miliyah kato is gaining popularity, which it seems that it's true, but ayu still has a better sales (at least in albums and some singles) than a star that started to rise.
Therefore it's too harsh to already negate her and say that Japan is over her.
But of course she might not gain popularity again but at this point it's not that clear as it might seem to be.
Japan is not over her at this point, yet, at least.
And bounce like namie? The Japanese liked Sunrise more than namie's WILD/Dr. this year as the difference in physical sales were around 8,500 and Sunrise did way higher better than namie's WILD/Dr. digitally (and of course it might be just for that single, not going to say it shows a popularity increase or anything).

NL/Sunrise is your personal idea.
The japanese public liked Sunrise more than even glitter and even more than Days (or at least as Days).


As for me Sunrise is a lot of fun, and the energy it gives is great, though her summer singles were always my least favorite from a year (except for the triple A ones which were awesome).

I wouldn't mind for a change, but as long as the songs still sound good I will like them (and I would honestly never say no for another Sparkle style song).

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by tourniquet

come on, we're actually WAITING for her to take a break or just stop music altogether. but at this time I see her becoming the second seiko who still fills arenas with the same people 30 years ago.

all I hope for is that she abandons the NL/Sunrise route as it is major fail musically.

Who is WE? A break? Stop making music? Ah?

Just because you don't like something that doesn't make it a "major fail".

And I wouldn't want Ayu's popularity to raise if she was to get anywhere near to the style that Namie Amuro currently does. It's not that I don't like it, but it simply is not what I think Ayu should be doing, as that would make her just another mediocre pop star. I am perfectly fine with the way things are atm, she is doing what she likes regardless of what the majority of people in Japan might be thinking, she is way past the stage where she needs to prove she is successful. Regardless of where her sales may take her, I'll be willing to follow her as long as she stays true to her music.

[Paparazzi]

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

Who is WE? A break? Stop making music? Ah?

Just because you don't like something that doesn't make it a "major fail".

And I wouldn't want Ayu's popularity to raise if she was to get anywhere near to the style that Namie Amuro currently does. It's not that I don't like it, but it simply is not what I think Ayu should be doing, as that would make her just another mediocre pop star. I am perfectly fine with the way things are atm, she is doing what she likes regardless of what the majority of people in Japan might be thinking, she is way past the stage where she needs to prove she is successful. Regardless of where her sales may take her, I'll be willing to follow her as long as she stays true to her music.

This. +1

[aura~]

Originally Posted by ayumisrael

Japan is over her is a harsh thing to say and not that accurate.
It's true that since her peak her sales decreased steadily and all but she is still the best selling solo female artist this year and that's without 10 albums or 10 singles and stuff like that.

No one really expects anything, I think that people that discuss here are more going with the flow and want to see how things go and what will happen before japan will be really over her for good.

Comparing her to seiko is nice on the tours side, but sales wise ayu is still one of the tops (and in overall even could be the top female seller of this year).

Also, a lot of people say that, for example, miliyah kato is gaining popularity, which it seems that it's true, but ayu still has a better sales (at least in albums and some singles) than a star that started to rise.
Therefore it's too harsh to already negate her and say that Japan is over her.
But of course she might not gain popularity again but at this point it's not that clear as it might seem to be.
Japan is not over her at this point, yet, at least.
And bounce like namie? The Japanese liked Sunrise more than namie's WILD/Dr. this year as the difference in physical sales were around 8,500 and Sunrise did way higher better than namie's WILD/Dr. digitally (and of course it might be just for that single, not going to say it shows a popularity increase or anything).

NL/Sunrise is your personal idea.
The japanese public liked Sunrise more than even glitter and even more than Days (or at least as Days).


As for me Sunrise is a lot of fun, and the energy it gives is great, though her summer singles were always my least favorite from a year (except for the triple A ones which were awesome).

I wouldn't mind for a change, but as long as the songs still sound good I will like them (and I would honestly never say no for another Sparkle style song).

AMEN to that....

Phisical sales have been decreasing since Duty, but the same for the rest... except for the boybands, if you see the year ranking of albums this year is like looking at the singles year ranking for 2001... And as Ayumisrael said, she's in the top of the solo female artists! It's not like she has disapeared...

Look at Hikki, This is the one sold 1/2 of what NL did... where are her fans who made HEART STATION sell 900K just a year before? And I think no one's gonna say that Hikki's popularity has decreased, and that Japan is sick of her... etc... And the same for Kuu and other artists...