Has ayu lost her touch?

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

I
When I dislike something she releases I just say "Don't like it", and that's it... I think it's strange when someone can't sleep at night cuz they disliked an ayu song or album (not saying this is ur case)

Exactly! It's a song, it's not a matter of life and death, you either like it or not, there is no need for all the extra drama such as "OMG GREEN - it's as generic as ****, I'm gonna go listen to SHINee"...

[non3ko]

njanjayrp
Seeing as I don't go through every thread and/or read all the posts I'm not sure what was really said throughout here. So the whole going in circles thing... I'm just stating my opinion, no one elses.

I know, I just mentioned what she'd been titled as. There are lots of pop artists that have different musical areas of focus. Ayu has dabbled in tons of different genres, but she's still a pop artist at the end of the day.

Andrenekoi
As far as her career, her sales have been declining. It's not something I'd like to see as she is my favorite artist, even if I don't like her recent music. My whole point is, even if it may not sit well with some people. We should still have the right to say whether we like something or not without people getting upset over it. So sorry for not liking every single release of hers.

Lol. I can definitely sleep at night.

[non3ko]

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

Exactly! It's a song, it's not a matter of life and death, you either like it or not, there is no need for all the extra drama such as "OMG GREEN - it's as generic as ****, I'm gonna go listen to SHINee"...

Don't think I've ever done or seen that.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by non3ko

Andrenekoi
As far as her career, her sales have been declining. It's not something I'd like to see as she is my favorite artist, even if I don't like her recent music. My whole point is, even if it may not sit well with some people. We should still have the right to say whether we like something or not without people getting upset over it. So sorry for not liking every single release of hers.

Lol. I can definitely sleep at night.

Well, they were going to decline at some point, people are over-reacting about this too... She started, she had a peak, she declined and she is stable now (I would say she is stable since Secret), having some minor hits on every album and some big hits now and them... even if she is not havin huge hits, those just don't happen as often as people over here likes to believe... This has more to do with being around for more than a decade than with releasing bad music

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by non3ko

Don't think I've ever done or seen that.

You weren't around while Luv was still here

[truehappiness]

Because honestly, looking at some of her lyrics now--I've seen them before.

I don't think that's necessarily because of a lack of inspiration, but more because she's writing about themes and symbols she likes to write about. (She also has waaaaay more tracks than the average J-Pop female soloist) And honestly, I don't think it really matters in the end if you view each song independently from the others. I would very much rather see her write about giving someone one last wing a few times than see her stoop to writing about putting on her favorite brand of lip gloss in the morning in a song.

[non3ko]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

I would very much rather see her write about giving someone one last wing a few times than see her stoop to writing about putting on her favorite brand of lip gloss in the morning in a song.

To change it up a bit in the lyric department, she could try writing about well... sex like Andrenekoi suggested. I think it would corrupt her though. I mean I know she's in her 30s but she just looks so innocent! It must be her doe-y eyes!

WHY?! Now that insufferable song is stuck in my head!

[Andrenekoi]

^I wouldn't be surprised if Ayu isn't virgin since mid teens if u ask me...

[Corvina]

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

As it was said, if there was something I could do I wouldn't sit and wait - considering you can't do a thing, talking about it all the time and repeating stuff in circles isn't helping anyone, but it sure gets annoying after a while.

But repeating in circles how awesome this song/album/shoot etc is, how she can't do anything wrong etc. is alright?
I don't want to be picky, but there are also those fans who are praising everything over and over. It's good if someones likes or loves her new stuff, but it would be enough to say "I like that, it's awesome" and go on. It's absolutely the same like the other way round. But AHS is a forum and everybody is free to discuss - how good or bad her new music is, it doesn't matter.
If something is getting annoying here, I just tend to ignore it.
It's the best thing you can do, just like in real life.
Cause you can't do anything about people going around in circles about some things.

My post isn't exactly a reply to yours, njanjayrp.
It's more directed to everyone from the last 2 pages.

[truehappiness]

But repeating in circles how awesome this song/album/shoot etc is, how she can't do anything wrong etc. is alright?

I guess the concept of having a fan forum having fans that love (almost?) everything she does and that being somehow not alright is just so very strange to me. Of course, not everyone is going to love everything, and that's normal. But it just strikes me as a little odd to discourage liking what she puts out and promote not liking it when fans of an artist usually like what they release, you know?

But maybe it's just me... hm.

[Corvina]

I know what you mean, but it's this kind of repeating that gets really annoying, isn't it?
To be honest I don't wanna read pages and pages of people praising the stuff an artist is doing - or destroying it. A nice discussion is something different than "going in circles". You know what I mean?
But that's something that will always be in a forum, cause there are so much people here and of course people will repeat their opinions, good or bad. And it seems Ayu is in a state now where more and more fans are disappointed. And that's maybe the reason some of you find that annoying.
Really, the best thing you can do is to ignore this or at least the too harsh or unfair posts about Ayu. As long as you like what Ayu is doing, you shouldn't be too troubled.^^

[njanjayrp]

^ to be honest you rarely see people repeating how they love/like something all the time

Anyways, as someone said Ayu isn't that innocent and I'm sure she could write about sex if she wanted to and it's not really like she didn't as you can pretty much see that my name's WOMEN, Sparkle, ourselves and a few other songs have some pretty obvious sexual/physical references, of course I don't think she should ever do a typical sex song with loads of meaningless English phrases such as "boy you're so fry" xD

[bluegie]

^ there are a few members keep on their repeat buttons lol, and those are the ones who love her recent works. Nothing wrong with that IMO, cuz it is her newer materials dragging them into ayu sekai.

Originally Posted by non3ko

As far as her career, her sales have been declining. It's not something I'd like to see as she is my favorite artist, even if I don't like her recent music.

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Well, they were going to decline at some point, people are over-reacting about this too...

I know how you feel non3ko, but like Andrenekoi said, every artist will face this path eventually. It just depends on if they can stop/slow the decline, and luckily bounce back to the top at some point. I've seen hikki (one of my beloved artists) being able to bounce back (ULTRA BLUE --> HEART STATION). I kinda hope ayu can at least manage to get her album sales back to ~600K one day (note: not by making 10 covers tho...)

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

A lot of people who turned into or became Namie fans during the past 2-3 years want her to change her image into something more "urban" and "sexy", but to be honest after being an Ayu fan for 5 years now that would be the only thing I couldn't imagine her to do, as I think her music goes a bit further than that of a simple pop star

She can be really sexy. Don't forget about her LOVEppears/Duty/I am... covers. They maybe more about fashion, but a hint of sexiness also presents in those covers.

I can't relate ayu to urban though...

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by bluegie

She can be really sexy. Don't forget about her LOVEppears/Duty/I am... covers. They maybe more about fashion, but a hint of sexiness also presents in those covers.

I can't relate ayu to urban though...

Yeah, I know but I wasn't really referring to images, but her lyrics, I didn't say she can't be "sexy" or whatever just that I have troubles imaging her singing something like Some Boys Touch!, JUICY or FAST CAR (not that I have something against those songs ^^). The same way Koda tried to sing an etno ballad with classical music and imo pretty much failed (even though Alive was nice over all), as a song like that would suit Hitomi Shimatani way better~

[truehappiness]

I kinda hope ayu can at least manage to get her album sales back to ~600K one day (note: not by making 10 covers tho...)

I think at best, she'd be able to get to 400-500k at the very most...

If someone as big as Namie right now is only able to manage <600k with an original album (which is what Ayu was able to do in 2006 with Secret and then some with 666k) at this point in time, where does that leave Ayu? I hope that with the upcoming album, she is at least able to sell as much as NEXT LEVEL did in the first week.

Regarding Hikki's "comeback", perhaps it had a lot to do with the very strong drama tie-ins (the songs themselves were also easy to digest) that album had? But overall, I don't think Hikki really ever has much to worry about because she has such a strong casual fanbase that she could avoid releasing an album for the next 5 years and it's still possible that her album afterwards will be able to sell a 900k+. It's scary. As for Ayu's album, musically, I really wonder where Ayu will be going with the next album, and hopefully it'll be a sound that the public can enjoy. Judging from S/S and Y/B, the songs will be traditionally Ayu, but since when have the first two singles ever dictated how the album will sound? Haha.

You know, in order for Ayu to sell more copies, she's going to have to reach out to the public when releasing an album. Go on more shows, promote on the radio, be on more magazine covers, and actively try to gain more casual fans. It seems almost as though she's simply keeping the 300k+ who are hanging on from the 1.1 million from MY STORY/Memorial address instead of trying to attract new listeners. That's one of Ayu's biggest issues right now when it comes to selling more. There's a possibility that she feels that she has already oversaturated the market and doesn't think it's necessary to continue getting more fans, but I really hope that's not how she feels. Doing ARENA TOURS in place of the usual methods of promotion just doesn't make sense to me. If that's what's going to happen this year, I hope the promotional schedule for the album isn't as barren as it was for NEXT LEVEL.

[Andrenekoi]

^IMO it still is kinda early for her putting her face everywhere again, considering her super-exposion on the past decade

[bluegie]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

I think at best, she'd be able to get to 400-500k at the very most...

Regarding Hikki's "comeback", perhaps it had a lot to do with the very strong drama tie-ins (the songs themselves were also easy to digest) that album had? But overall, I don't think Hikki really ever has much to worry about because she has such a strong casual fanbase that she could avoid releasing an album for the next 5 years and it's still possible that her album afterwards will be able to sell a 900k+. It's scary. As for Ayu's album, musically, I really wonder where Ayu will be going with the next album, and hopefully it'll be a sound that the public can enjoy. Judging from S/S and Y/B, the songs will be traditionally Ayu, but since when have the first two singles ever dictated how the album will sound? Haha.

You know, in order for Ayu to sell more copies, she's going to have to reach out to the public when releasing an album. Go on more shows, promote on the radio, be on more magazine covers, and actively try to gain more casual fans. It seems almost as though she's simply keeping the 300k+ who are hanging on from the 1.1 million from MY STORY/Memorial address instead of trying to attract new listeners. That's one of Ayu's biggest issues right now when it comes to selling more. There's a possibility that she feels that she has already oversaturated the market and doesn't think it's necessary to continue getting more fans, but I really hope that's not how she feels. Doing ARENA TOURS in place of the usual methods of promotion just doesn't make sense to me. If that's what's going to happen this year, I hope the promotional schedule for the album isn't as barren as it was for NEXT LEVEL.

Yeah my original thought was 500K, but I typed 600K because I have a higher hope. I know probly it's a bit silly, but who knows?

And I agree that hikki has a larger casual fanbase compared to any female artists. That is why her digital sales are ridiculously high compared to other females (and probly to the male artists as well). Hikki isn't doing something to please the public either, somehow her songs are fresher. Probly because hikki hasn't made too many songs yet. As for ayu... I really think she should work with new people. Like you say, she's trying to keep the hardcore fans instead of keeping them while inviting new ones at the same time. I dun think she's oversaturated yet IF she makes some new ayu-liked with new tune. And AT doesn't look like a promoting method anymore in Japan. Back in 2007 or so, I thought hikki's ULTRA BLUE sales would reach million copies with a boost of her national tour. But the sales wasn't affected by the tour in the end. Ayu really should do some more promotions instead of just appearing on the ViVi, (S)Cawaii, and music station. I know she was overexposed before, but right now she's a bit underexposed.. Also, use a composer that has never worked w/ her (hikki will be a great composer ).

[njanjayrp]

^ The only thing that I could disagree with is the statement that Hikki isn't doing anything to satisfy the public, wasn't the whole purpose of creating This Is The One for public to easier accept her music, as opposed to EXODUS which was more or less experimental? HEART STATION was also very poppy sounding and it had an over all more positive feel to it (that imo UB didn't have), UB and HS are imo pretty similar genre-wise as Utada also developed a recognizable sound over the years, sure she doesn't have as many songs as Ayu and to casual listeners her music might seem more fresh, but I've been listening to her since 2002 and yes her music did have some obvious changes and freshness to it at least back then, but in my opinion she has been running in circles since Keep Tryin' the same way Ayu has since Memorial Address.

[tommy96814]

Originally Posted by se7entheaven

Evenbefore this CDL, everyone has been complaining about her. Whether it's the costumes, vocal, tour, etc etc.

After watching this CDL, I got this feeling that ayu somehow lost her 'touch'. I don't really feel it anymore. Everything is starting to get boring. Considering ayu produces her tour and everything, kuu-chan who produce he own tour always has creative ideas, dare to do sth different, be it song arrangements and performance-wise. ayu sometimes looks as if she's rushing everything...she's even not as busy as before...

1. Stage-wise (I know the concept of this CDL stage and AT stage with the steps are good) she's been using this design for like...3-4times???

2. Costume-wise, ok she have had a lot of costumes, and I must admit she recycled the design by adding different details and stuffs, coz Namie do it as well (think Namie's infamous short dress/skirt/schoolgirl outfits, she has like 1000 different versions each tours), but ayu....doing something different won't kill you. Performing Pride doesn't mean you have to wear HUGE dress, for example.

3. Performance-wise. Like how many times has she repeat the same thing again and again? why can't she just sing 1LOVE with the bands? I'm sick of the cage thingy and all the same antics that she do for the songs. you get the idea.

4. and more...

I'm sorry I'm just tired of seeing the same thing again and again...even NEXT LEVEL tour didn't surprise me that much, let alone this CDL, we've seen the same antics since 07-08, 08-09, and now this.

i think is because her voice changed big time.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

^ The only thing that I could disagree with is the statement that Hikki isn't doing anything to satisfy the public, wasn't the whole purpose of creating This Is The One for public to easier accept her music, as opposed to EXODUS which was more or less experimental? HEART STATION was also very poppy sounding and it had an over all more positive feel to it (that imo UB didn't have), UB and HS are imo pretty similar genre-wise as Utada also developed a recognizable sound over the years, sure she doesn't have as many songs as Ayu and to casual listeners her music might seem more fresh, but I've been listening to her since 2002 and yes her music did have some obvious changes and freshness to it at least back then, but in my opinion she has been running in circles since Keep Tryin' the same way Ayu has since Memorial Address.

I would say neither Ayu or Hikki are really trying to satisfy the public... what is good actually, cuz it makes ur music generic... The more poppish and easy their lastest releases were, besides ayu seasonal singles and Hikki drama tie-ins, they aren't stuff that people really put their faith on as good sellers

But still, Ayu needs her summer/winter singles in order to do her less generic stuff, and so does Hikki with her bitter-sweet break up ballads for dramas...