Has ayu lost her touch?

[AyUmIXx]

for now, let us support what Ayu does.. and hoping that she will come with greater Ayu~

[njanjayrp]

I personally liked what 2009 brought to the Ayu World, even though NEXT LEVEL took a few weeks for me to fully appreciate, I really loved Sunrise and You were.../BALLAD was also another solid single. The tour was a bit different and in a way cool, so the only thing that would've made the year better would've been the European tour

[Ayu_no_tenshi]

for all of you that keep complaining...maybe you should read the translation for the February 2010 issue of SCawaii that Misa-chan did. the interview is great and maybe it'll give you some insight into what's going on with ayu. then again...with how a lot of people act here, i wouldn't be surprised if it gives you more to gripe about. *rolls eyes*

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showth...15#post2208515

[emi♡]

^what is your problem? If you don't like these discussions, then don't come in here.

Regardless of anything Ayu ever says, it's not going to change how I feel about her, her music, or her performances. Honestly, that interview actually showed me a little more of how she actually is in her comfort zone, utilizing all these same people for everything.

Ayu always, ALWAYS has all these high hopes and dreams for her new music, and is always talking about them, and how they are apart of her and sincere.

They're nice reads, and I do believe what she's saying, but it doesn't really change much.

[Zeke.]

After reading the interview, I am actually rather excited for the album. She said it's more of the past so I can imagine others will cringe... but NEXT LEVEL was pretty new and different. I really enjoyed it, but I am eager for the new album and sort of relieved it is not another new direction.

Although I really wish Ayu would put out another STEP you!

[zyoeru]

It's true, just listening to Ayu's words isn't really enough. I've so far loved everything with the exception of 3/4 songs.

But if you're fed up of her music then you're fed up, right? You just gotta wait until she "wows" you again, if she ever does. Sad, but that's how life works.

[emi♡]

Originally Posted by all.night.raver

After reading the interview, I am actually rather excited for the album. She said it's more of the past so I can imagine others will cringe... but NEXT LEVEL was pretty new and different. I really enjoyed it, but I am eager for the new album and sort of relieved it is not another new direction.

Although I really wish Ayu would put out another STEP you!

I'm actually really excited too~ I kind of hope she'll blend things more with this album and make something that'll bridge the pieces of who she is together.

Musically, I can only hope for the best lol I'm excited for the tracklist with the composers and arrangers to leak!

[Insanity1240]

Well I still consider myself to be a bit of a "newbie fan" I've only been a fan for about 2 years, and you have to understand that she's the only J-Pop that I listen to, other than a few Kuu songs which I didnt really like... I'm not sure why I feel that Ayu hasnt lost her "touch"; instead to me its more of a "You long term fans have seen ALOT of the stuff she has done in the past 10+ years". PCDL was the first countdown that i watched of hers and that and this years CDL are the only ones I have watched.
I'm starting to ramble...
Anyway, BALLAD and You Were... (BALLAD alot more than You Were...) REALLY touched me, about the same as alot of her other stuff has and I've heard almost every song of hers. So I dont think she has lost her touch at all, its just...people expect too much from her when shes basically "already done it all".

But maybe this is all because I havnt known her for the amount of time as these hardcore Ayu fans have known her for =\
I still listen to Ayu almost every day and I thoroughly enjoy her music, and BALLAD PV is one of my favorite PV's ever<3

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by all.night.raver

After reading the interview, I am actually rather excited for the album. She said it's more of the past so I can imagine others will cringe... but NEXT LEVEL was pretty new and different. I really enjoyed it, but I am eager for the new album and sort of relieved it is not another new direction.

Although I really wish Ayu would put out another STEP you!

I liked that part of the interview too. Honestly I don't know how seriously to take her comments though when it comes to the music because she is her own best salesman and often times the product in the end doesn't allows align with how she describes it. (maybe only in a round about way) So I'm just going to wait and see on this one and hope for the best.

[truehappiness]

Hm, perhaps rather than saying Ayu has lost her touch, it should be said that some fans might be losing touch with Ayu?

Many of us are older fans, and it appears that many of those who feel dissatisfied with Ayu want her to be like how she was in 200X, or 199X in terms of music/style/whatever... but somehow it seems a little unfair to be so hard on her when she had set the bar so high for herself so early on in her career. Not everyone can stay revolutionary for a few years, let along a decade! But she's come pretty close to it with what she's put out so far (live/music-wise) since then. I have to admit that in the area of music videos and photography, things have gotten quite shaky over the last 5 years, but those things really come second to the music/performances anyway. (which imo have been great, if not fantastic throughout her career)

I think that all some fans might need to do is reevaluate why they fell in love with Ayumi Hamasaki, and perhaps they might be able to rekindle the spirit that they had when they first discovered her. Heck, every so often, I have periods where I just don't really feel interested in Ayu, so I don't really pay attention to her for a few weeks/months. But eventually, she brings me back every. Single. Time. As long as she's able to do that, she hasn't lost her touch at all in my book.

[koumori]

I don't get this question at all ~! ^__^

Alright, I'll stop being patronising.

Ayumi is just doing what she is doing, and that's all there is to it. She made music how she wanted to pretty much from the start. If there's anything she's ever been not happy with, she's said so. She's making music she wants to, so if we're all complaining about her lack of inspiration now, then it's not that she's lost her touch...she just has less to write about. XD We have to be honest, it must be hard to write ANOTHER ballad...when nothing particulary sad love-wise has happened in seven years...etc etc...

It's just concert/performance/concert/performance/NEW SINGLE/ALBUM PROMOTION/PV shoot/performance/photoshoot/magazine articles...and repeat

She has nothing to write about cause it's all the same.

As others have said, give the girl a break! :/

[AyUmIXx]

Originally Posted by Insanity1240

Well I still consider myself to be a bit of a "newbie fan" I've only been a fan for about 2 years, and you have to understand that she's the only J-Pop that I listen to, other than a few Kuu songs which I didnt really like... I'm not sure why I feel that Ayu hasnt lost her "touch"; instead to me its more of a "You long term fans have seen ALOT of the stuff she has done in the past 10+ years". PCDL was the first countdown that i watched of hers and that and this years CDL are the only ones I have watched.
I'm starting to ramble...
Anyway, BALLAD and You Were... (BALLAD alot more than You Were...) REALLY touched me, about the same as alot of her other stuff has and I've heard almost every song of hers. So I dont think she has lost her touch at all, its just...people expect too much from her when shes basically "already done it all".

But maybe this is all because I havnt known her for the amount of time as these hardcore Ayu fans have known her for =\
I still listen to Ayu almost every day and I thoroughly enjoy her music, and BALLAD PV is one of my favorite PV's ever<3

i'm glad that Ayu gains lots of new fans

[Midori-chan]

Originally Posted by Ayu_no_tenshi

i agree 100% with both GRACE and Ayumi626. i would especially like to elaborate on the the statement from Ayumi626 about us (the fans). in the early part of her career, it was more about 'me me me'. singing was her escape and her way of confronting her issues and healing herself or even coming to realize something that she hadn't really known before. she's even said that she was writing for herself and trying to find her place in the world. it was all about discovering herself. then she got to a period to where things were great. she had her newly found success and her wonderful relationship and she started to change. i honestly think that's when she looked at her life and thought "wow...after all i've been through and the darkness i experienced, my fans were always there for me" and that caused her to be more conscious of us and what we want or things that we might be going through. these days, it's almost like she shoves her needs aside in order to please us. she's said several times in interviews that she feels in this day and age, it's her duty to deliver messages of hope to lift people up, keep them strong and help them go on. i can't think of any other artist out there that is as closely connected to their fans as ayu. eastern or western. while this is wonderful and it's definitely one of the things we've all come to love about ayu...it certainly doesn't help her out as much as it does for us. don't you think that we, as fans, have been a little too selfish and way too demanding of her? of course there are some of us out there that wish she'd take a break but i remember when she hurt her hand and almost canceled PCDL. a lot of people were furious. that's insane, if you ask me. her health and well-being should be our main concern. same goes for the voice complaints. i consider myself an extremely devoted ayu fan but i will be the first to admit that her voice has been off and weak lately in her live performances but that doesn't anger me and it doesn't make me upset with her. it certainly doesn't make me like her any less. what it does do, however, is make me worry. i'm really concerned about what's going on in her life. she's had a LOT of bad things happen over the course of the past two years and just as Ayumi626 said...she hasn't really allowed herself time to really think about those things and heal. she just always bounces back immediately with that "GOTTA GO ON!" kind of attitude so that we are not disappointed in her. we sit back and admire her for that and think "wow, she's so strong!" but really we need to know that it's ok to be weak sometimes. she's sacrificed a lot for the sake of her fans. she has all this bottled-up pain and it's completely thrown her off. everyone has their ups and downs. i truly believe that this is just a slump for her and she will get through it eventually. i have a feeling that the next album, or possibly the one after that, is going to be super amazing because everything that's building up inside of her right now is going to overflow or explode and she's gonna finally release all of her emotions and focus on healing herself again. she really needs to take it easy. anyway, as we all know...she just recently wrote and released a song specifically for US. "RED LINE ~for TA~" has some of the most beautiful and touching lyrics. it's all about offering us strength and hope. she's always there for us...how about we be there for her for a change??

THIS!!! I agree 110%!!!

[Ayu_no_tenshi]

^ good! thanks~ i wish more people would see it that way.

Originally Posted by emiko

^what is your problem? If you don't like these discussions, then don't come in here.

i don't have a problem and i never said i don't like this discussion. obviously, i wouldn't have written that really long comment on page 16 if i didn't wanna be involved, so please don't tell me what to do. that would be like me telling the people on here that constantly talk crap about ayu to not visit the forum, period. my point in suggesting for people to read the interview was to offer them a little insight and maybe to help them understand a little more. a lot of people here just rant on and complain about things just because they can. they expect (and even demand) too much of her. if you don't like her, that's fine. everyone has their own opinion, and there is nothing wrong with that. however, there is no need for people to be so harsh and say the hateful things that they do. no one is gonna stay fresh and completely on top of their game for all eternity and regardless of how people feel...she still tops the charts and remains a very influential figure in the music industry and with fashion. i think a lot of the issue is because the overseas fans don't get to see into her life as much and they don't see her on tv, read her interviews, and the like. the language barrier, along with living in a different part of the world where you aren't exposed to her in the media creates a sense of detachment and can make people unappreciative.

[ayu_ready?]

I read the interview in Scawa and it made me even more scared for the future releases

on the other hand, I'm so glad she has finally found balance & harmony

[foxhana]

If you think 2009 is bland, I think not, she has loads of singles, and concerts. So no bland. Bland only because we are outside of Japan, unable to experience what people in Japan does. The reason why I want to live in Japan.. and yet feel unsafe about their security. Ohhhh another topic. hahaha.

2009 is not bland. Bland is what having a single only is, and nothing much to go on or to look forwrad to. Like NEWS boyband, a single.... a charity show... then done. nothing more. eeks.

by the way Koumori I like your avatar. I wanted to have that hairstyle ayu has in there lol. thanks for the inspiration. XD

[noidea]

No...I think I got the simplest answer in this complete thread.

[AyUmIXx]

Ayu still can gain new fans from her recent works, isn't that great enough?
even though she can't really gain bunch of fans like she used to be (well, that's because she was still new at the time)... but she's been great enough her music still can attract new people to listen to that's why her popularity is stable in Japan.. not at her peak, but not downhilll as well~

[love in music]

Originally Posted by Koumori

I don't get this question at all ~! ^__^

Alright, I'll stop being patronising.

Ayumi is just doing what she is doing, and that's all there is to it. She made music how she wanted to pretty much from the start. If there's anything she's ever been not happy with, she's said so. She's making music she wants to, so if we're all complaining about her lack of inspiration now, then it's not that she's lost her touch...she just has less to write about. XD We have to be honest, it must be hard to write ANOTHER ballad...when nothing particulary sad love-wise has happened in seven years...etc etc...

It's just concert/performance/concert/performance/NEW SINGLE/ALBUM PROMOTION/PV shoot/performance/photoshoot/magazine articles...and repeat

She has nothing to write about cause it's all the same.

As others have said, give the girl a break! :/

I think she does come up with good things to write about though. I really enjoyed all of the lyrics on the YW/B single.. and identity, Rule, rollin', GREEN, LOVE'n'HATE, MW, and Life contain some of my favorite lyrics from her. Her lyrics are definitely not an issue for her, imo.

[waterballoon]

Originally Posted by foxhana

If you think 2009 is bland, I think not, she has loads of singles, and concerts. So no bland. Bland only because we are outside of Japan, unable to experience what people in Japan does. The reason why I want to live in Japan.. and yet feel unsafe about their security. Ohhhh another topic. hahaha.

2009 is not bland. Bland is what having a single only is, and nothing much to go on or to look forwrad to. Like NEWS boyband, a single.... a charity show... then done. nothing more. eeks.

by the way Koumori I like your avatar. I wanted to have that hairstyle ayu has in there lol. thanks for the inspiration. XD

She only has Sunrise and You were... as singles in 2009. That's not "loads" lol. Maybe we don't feel a "hype" cos we're not in Japan, but she rarely appears on TV or billboards nowadays anyway...

Originally Posted by identity

I think she does come up with good things to write about though. I really enjoyed all of the lyrics on the YW/B single.. and identity, Rule, rollin', GREEN, LOVE'n'HATE, MW, and Life contain some of my favorite lyrics from her. Her lyrics are definitely not an issue for her, imo.

Yeah. Her lyrics always have been top-notch for me... the best aspect of her.