Why I think Ayumi's sales have fallen...

[Not~Yet]

Originally Posted by MidnightGirl

But about Americanized songs, I agree. NEXT LEVEL is an example of Japanese songs being influenced by americans. But this is not necessary BAD. Sparkle is popular between the fans and is good song, at least for me.

NEXT LEVEL was clearly influenced by japanese video games' 8-bit and 16-bit music though.

Honestly, I've never thought "she sounds westernized/americanized". In the end, how different can music even be? Of course she could use some old japanese instruments instead of i.e. piano, guitars and drums and sing only about sakura trees and stuff, but why should her creativity be shut out like that because otherwise she'll just be someone who 'tries to be american'? (I know you didn't say so but I read a few comments like that too.) What if she genuinely just likes poppy electro and hard rock songs (or whatever it is at the time) and doesn't think about appealing to current trends at all? I think it's obvious she's more of an "artist" thinker than "seller" thinker. Just look at her lyrics, the details in her songs, her interviews. It shows, to me, that she really puts herself into it and tries hard to achieve the ideal.

Originally Posted by MidnightGirl

I agree when people say "She lost her touch in songs", since I hate Rock 'n' Roll Circus. I want back LOVEppears, Duty or (miss) understood songs, because I can see originality there.

You see, here's the problem. Did you expect a second LOVEppears, Duty or (miss)understood? Are you still expecting? Well don't, because that'll never happen. She can't re-do those songs as new, she can't change them just a little when she'll just be cheating, and when you wait for something you call just "original" you probably don't know what you mean. Is Sexy Little Things not original to you? That song is not something I've heard before. It definitely isn't something Ayu has done before. I think you probably hate the songs on RnRC because they do not fit your personal tastes, not because they lack originality.

So I'll try to squeeze my point: She can't do something she has already done in order to be original. So of course she'll seek for new directions that she likes, but it doesn't mean that she is not the person she used to be or that she doesn't think her old stuff are good anymore.

Originally Posted by voltron

-- Previously she had a "cool" image, but for a while now she has been pushing this uber-girly image. She's not leading trends the way she once did. Her target audience now is young girls, and she even addresses that musically (i.e. Beautiful Fighters, etc). I think she has fans that have been fans all along, and little girls. She doesn't have a ton of male fans, and she doesn't have the music buying demographic of teenaged kids.

I think this too is a classic case of time turning memories to gold. There have been a ton of times when she's been way more girly than during this "era". HONEY, Angel's Song, Real Me, a lot of her tour/other outfits since the beginning to name a few. I don't find, say, Microphone and DLB PV's girlish in almost any way, same with a lot of songs itself from the album. Also her promotion image for You were.../BALLAD was very rockish and edgy. I actually think she hasn't been that girly for a while. Maybe she was really embracing her womanly side around GUILTY era, but girlish? No, I don't think she's been like that much.
And also about her doing stuff that don't fit her age: a lot of the 30-year olds that I know don't think of themselves as old or appear old. Why should they? I'm not even 20 myself yet but I've always seen 30 as an age which is a "final phase from youth to adulthood" thing. She's not even middle-aged yet.

And lastly about the diva attitude.. Have you guys watched her RnRC TV interviews? To me she couldn't appear more laid back and down-to-earth as she does in those. I admit she has her diva moments, but I don't believe that's all there is to her at all. Hasn't she already proven that to us?