Thoughts on CDL 09-10? - Page 8

amorphose · #**141** 3rd January 2010, 07:29 AM

^^I think I am..., Moments, About You and momentum had technical issues. The parts where her voice was drowned out, anyway.

Honestly, I couldn't hear much wrong with her vocals. Like I admitted before, I thought they'd been declining, but I thought post-AT09 they'd steadily been getting better. I may just be tone deaf though. haha

AyUmIXx · #**142** 3rd January 2010, 07:32 AM

hmm i don't know why i think she sang pretty great..not in every songs, of course, some songs she sang off key, but i think she has done her best..
i still think she has problem with her ear which makes her vocal sounds so bad sometimes.. she barely has a rest for a year or so to treat her vocal, her ear.. she's been working for all these years since CDL0708..

she really needs to take a rest for several years..and come back again...
if she really does this, we're going to have a long wait for Ayu to come back with a BETTER AYU

, the thing is, can we wait?

SunshineSlayer · #**143** 3rd January 2010, 07:43 AM

^ I agree. I could wait, although I'd say something more like 6 months to one year to really recharge not only her vocals (hopefully actually taking lessons), but to also give her other ear a rest for a while and to recharge her creative batteries. And hey, maybe concentrate on her personal life for a little bit. A few years would be too long - I wouldn't want to wait that long! haha. Also a break that long would probably totally kill her sales since Japan is very fickle.

Andrenekoi · #**144** 3rd January 2010, 07:56 AM

^imo she should take 1 year without album and touring (but anation and cdl), but obviously 1 or 2 singles, and after that, a really huge tour and a concept album...

even if i really like Next Level, imo Secret and Guilty could be a lot better...

emi♡ · #**145** 3rd January 2010, 07:58 AM

^they could ALL be a lot better lol

I agree with your idea though. I could do without an album from her for a year...

and I bet that CDL, as her only (full) concert for the year, would be totally awesome <3

miskiq · #**146** 3rd January 2010, 07:59 AM

isn't she worried that having more tours could also result another lost of hearing...she left one ear why risking another one...why isnt her avex advise her to rest or something...they are killing her

Andrenekoi · #**147** 3rd January 2010, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emiko

^they could ALL be a lot better lol

I agree with your idea though. I could do without an album from her for a year...

and I bet that CDL, as her only (full) concert for the year, would be totally awesome <3

Next Level its my 3rd favorite album from her... still, IMO Secret is the worst one

I wonder if her contract demands her to release one album a year... Still, I don't think releasing 1 album every 2 years would kill her career or anything like that...

AyUmIXx · #**148** 3rd January 2010, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

^ I agree. I could wait, although I'd say something more like 6 months to one year to really recharge not only her vocals (hopefully actually taking lessons), but to also give her other ear a rest for a while and to recharge her creative batteries. And hey, maybe concentrate on her personal life for a little bit. A few years would be too long - I wouldn't want to wait that long! haha. Also a break that long would probably totally kill her sales since Japan is very fickle.

haha see? that's the problem!
how long can we wait?
moreover, why can't we just appreciate her best efforts to entertain the fans? all she's been doing is for her fans..and for herself, since she loves it!
we want Ayu to rest to enjoy her personal life, but still, she doesn't want to.. she still wants to work extra hard to bring her best...
still, many people love her..
not that i want to defend her, but it's a fact that Ayu loves what she loves to do.. and it makes me think that, just let her be.. that's enough to show me that she's really a great entertainer..

GRACE · #**149** 3rd January 2010, 08:14 AM

I don't understand why anyone wants her to perform songs completely different everytime she performs them. Songs get a performance, and then she performs it the same way for them to be recognizable for the crowd. Stop making it about you and your petty concerns. You're watching the concert on your computer screens, get over yourselves. It's not about us, it's not even about the people watching it on TV. It's about the people in Yoyogi Stadium, and the people who've been posted that they had a wonderful time, and a lot of fun. So obviously she's doing something RIGHT, not wrong

Bad Wolf · #**150** 3rd January 2010, 08:18 AM

I liked it. I feel like the beginning few songs were fantastic, performance and vocal-wise. There was a bit of a slump in the middle during the ballads and where Ayu was really belting it out in a not-so-good way. I feel like that picked up nicely after "Because of you," but for the most part I was bored from everything starting with "momentum" up 'til "Because of you." However, she absolutely KILLED "teddy bear"--in a good way! Her voice was lovely, she refrained from screaming instead of singing--I thought she sounded pretty good, given that she was never the best singer.

Countdown Lives are never my favorite performances of Ayu's. They feel really rushed and slapdash for me, even if there are themes (Like "Future Classics" this time around..), and overall I just prefer the look, feel and production of her full tours. However, I liked this Countdown Live. I had to watch "I am..." three times because I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing.

I'd give it an 85 out of 100 (lol weird ranking I know~). Her voice could use some work on a few songs, and she really needs to tone it back with screaming during ballads (again, "teddy bear" was perfect IMO but "You were," "momentum" and "Pride" were so... blah) but other than that, it was a good show. I enjoyed it.

My other grievance were the flux of heavy/rock songs in the middle. I felt like it wasn't really.. balanced? And this is coming from a person who LOVES Ayu's rock songs. I just was feeling a little "meh" about them, and slightly bitter that "alterna" wasn't included XD

love in music · #**151** 3rd January 2010, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loo-chan

To everyone complaining about Ayu's vocals in this concert: I'd like to refer you to the TV version of CDL 07-08. Before the vocals were fixed for the DVD release, I swear it made my ears bleed. There's a reason it took so long for it to make it to DVD.

In comparison to that, this is really not that bad. Sure, she hits a few wrong notes, and a vocal coach certainly wouldn't be a bad investment at this point, but the concert definitely had its high points. Her stage presence carries her through the weak moments and she fakes her way through it all. Yes, in Because of You her singing is so flat you can hardly stand it, but she still walks proudly up and down that ramp (with that really cool microphone) like absolutely nothing is wrong, and you can't help but feel it with her. To be honest, I've never thought of Ayu as a musician or a singer - she's a performance artist. She's a presence, an image. She just happens to promote that through music.

Also, I don't understand the hate for the pink dress/About You dress. The About You dress may have been my absolute favourite of the show, in fact; I love love love love loved it. However, I'm a sucker for ruffles and gigantic bows, so maybe that has something to do with it. :| If anything I thought the Pride dress was the worst. I hated it the first time I saw it, and I hate it now.

Also, I'm so jealous of the studded CDL shirts that Ayu and her dancers wore in the encore! :O That had to have been done custom; I want one!

ETA: The one thing I will say about Ayu's concerts is that, unfortunately, they've become incredibly predictable. She needs to find a way to reinvent herself, and soon. If I have to sit through one more ballad-section-in-a-white-dress-while-ayu-cries-and-reaches-out-to-dancers-who-never-quite-reach-each-other-no-matter-how-hard-they-try, I might scream. I skipped momentum/You were... for that reason. D: Which made me sad, because momentum is one of my favourite songs and I would have loved to see it get a decent performance.

At least some of the costumes were new and original for this show...

I agree with all/most of this. But you should watch the "You were..." performance that you skipped, there was no reaching out to shuya or any ridiculous facial expressions, it was such a relief for me because I was getting tired of that too.

Bad Wolf · #**152** 3rd January 2010, 08:29 AM

^ I agree. I really liked how she changed up her usual ballad performance for "momentum." For the first time Ayu wasn't the center! I'd prefer it if she utilized that more often: Ayu singing the "theme" of someone else's sad distraught heartbroken dramatic dancing with scarves and flowing skirts.

AyUmIXx · #**153** 3rd January 2010, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GRACE

I don't understand why anyone wants her to perform songs completely different everytime she performs them. Songs get a performance, and then she performs it the same way for them to be recognizable for the crowd. Stop making it about you and your petty concerns. You're watching the concert on your computer screens, get over yourselves. It's not about us, it's not even about the people watching it on TV. It's about the people in Yoyogi Stadium, and the people who've been posted that they had a wonderful time, and a lot of fun. So obviously she's doing something RIGHT, not wrong

I'm so with you~
i felt the same way when i watched Ayu's Asia tour 2007 and 2008..
all of us felt the hype up..

AyuWorld · #**154** 3rd January 2010, 08:41 AM

finally,i agree with AyUmiix and sunshine, eventhough i cant wait for too long XD but if it's good and what she really needs,wht not just a lilttle scrifice then.Ayu should take a personal vacation somewhere in the corner of world,far from her fans and specially from her dancers,band,and avex's stuff.then she might find something fresh and new for her career...Ayu i'm saying this cos i love u ^^

@Grace, i'm with you,i've read all the post and i see that the people who had watch it live enjoy the show very much,that's what is more important.the feeling beeing there in the Yoyogi watching Ayu's performing in front of me of cos totally different when i just watch her on myb14 inch pc screen!

foxhana · #**155** 3rd January 2010, 09:44 AM

Watching CDL0910 now, and its great!! I love it completely.

I never understand why people said she isn't good, but, she is great in here. At least better than last year's CDL.. O_O last year's constumes were a little.. O_o

I also think that people who criticise are pretty selfish. Because we are outside of Japan, we don't know how Japanese think, much. And you must know that her base is in Japan, so what she does is for Japanese first, then us.

Still, Ayumi is great.

Andrenekoi · #**156** 3rd January 2010, 09:50 AM

Watched the cutesy part, about you, you were and half of I am (damn dial up conection xD)

People made her voice sound far worst than it was... I loved that finally she is changing the arrangments for performing songs live! Yay! It was entertaining, but nothing outstanding... her voice was ok... and there was sound problems at some parts... The low parts on the first half of I am... for sure wasn't her fault as a vocalist...

About EnergizE being lipped... REALLY?! ARE U NUTS?! The girl started singing on the wrong part of the song and it was lipped?! She started singing "Put..." on the instrumental bridge xD

asmAyumi1992 · #**157** 3rd January 2010, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AyuWorld

finally,i agree with AyUmiix and sunshine, eventhough i cant wait for too long XD but if it's good and what she really needs,wht not just a lilttle scrifice then.Ayu should take a personal vacation somewhere in the corner of world,far from her fans and specially from her dancers,band,and avex's stuff.then she might find something fresh and new for her career...Ayu i'm saying this cos i love u ^^

@Grace, i'm with you,i've read all the post and i see that the people who had watch it live enjoy the show very much,that's what is more important.the feeling beeing there in the Yoyogi watching Ayu's performing in front of me of cos totally different when i just watch her on myb14 inch pc screen!

Yay!

emi♡ · #**158** 3rd January 2010, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Watched the cutesy part, about you, you were and half of I am (damn dial up conection xD)

People made her voice sound far worst than it was... I loved that finally she is changing the arrangments for performing songs live! Yay! It was entertaining, but nothing outstanding... her voice was ok... and there was sound problems at some parts... The low parts on the first half of I am... for sure wasn't her fault as a vocalist...

About EnergizE being lipped... REALLY?! ARE U NUTS?! The girl started singing on the wrong part of the song and it was lipped?! She started singing "Put..." on the instrumental bridge xD

You havent seen the worst vocal parts yet, thats why it sounds like we're overreacting XP

And about Energize...I don't know...my faith in her doing the chipmunk voice naturally is very sparse lol

Neko★munication · #**159** 3rd January 2010, 11:59 AM

Hands down one of her worst concerts evahhh!

And I'm a hardcore Ayu concert fan, I watch/rewatch all of them about a million times and listen to the Live rips more than the actual songs

Best performances, imo, were STEP you, About you, Pride, teddy bear and RED LINE. The rest were pretttttty much horrible, and yes, worse than CDL 07-08 TV Ver. At least she had some stellar performances there (Sotsugyou Shashin, Together When..., etc.). This concert had tolerable ones, such as the ones I listed above, but no stellar ones. I don't even want vocal rips, and that's a first.

I really liked STEP you/EnergizE simply because she did something new with the Clown theme. Everything else was horribly rehashed. Idk, it's like, she decided to choose some of the noisiest and most vocally demanding songs for this concert instead of songs she can, y'know, actually sing. I've been a stern believer in Ayu's vocals going up since CDL 07-08, which has been mostly the case, but now they're back to that level. And like... it wasn't even just one or two performances, it was a lot of them. The only really noticeable flat note we had to endure in PCDL was at the end of POWDER SNOW (if you watched the TV Ver), but in this concert there are too many to count.

And no, I don't think I'm being selfish for criticizing Ayu, and I don't think anyone should ever feel selfish for criticizing. I'm not asking her to cater to my whims and needs, but I'm basing my opinion on past concerts and stating that her vocals were really really off and that kinda ruined the concert for me. I don't think asking her to sing well is being selfish

P.S., for those who don't know me well, please don't peg me as a huge Ayu-hater based on this post. You wouldn't BELIEVE how much I love Ayu's live concerts, I can probably accurately say that I live for them.

Bishi · #**160** 3rd January 2010, 12:48 PM

I was really lucky to actually be there for the CDL09-10 on the 31st and I just wanted to post that I really thought it was amazing. I've been an Ayu fan for years now and always wanted to go to one of her concerts and when I have this chance, I took it like white on rice

I think my favourite song from this concert was 'I am...', the opening. The crowd was wild, they had the drums similar to what they did for Evolution live during her 2004-2005 CDL, and the orchestra was strong. A lot of people complained that in the TBS live you couldn't really hear her voice (which is true) but it wasn't like that at all during the concert. Her voice was the strongest during this song than any other part of the concert and it was just so so so amazing to listen to.

During the middle of the concert you could hear Ayumi was having a lot of trouble and her voice went completely flat, but I didn't come to her concert expecting perfect. I was expecting her to give me a live performance, which I think she did wonderfully. If I wanted perfect, I would have gone somewhere else where they would have given me lip synching crap or just waited for the DVD to come out.

Overall, it was probably the best way to experience the New Year and I'll be back for more!!