Your Relationship with Ayumi Hamasaki

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

For me, many of her recent albums lack concept, direction, and have no distinct "atmosphere" to them.

I just mentioned this in the FIVE thread, but I totally agree with this. I mean FIVE is mostly ballads yet the covers would have suited a Microphone single.

Originally Posted by haikudasai

I actually stopped posting here because whenever I posted a comment about something in particular that I didn't like I'm told to leave, I'm told to go listen to her old works, I'm told that I'm not a fan, I'm told that I always post the same thing when I rarely post here anymore, I'm told I'm a "hater".

I really think people should learn what the word hate means. Not loving does not mean hating. The world is not black and white.

This, too. I've even gotten a PM asking if I was "posting mean thing about Ayu just to get a rise out of fans." I mean, I know that I don't hesitate to voice my disappoint over anything she releases, but if anything I think that just goes to show that I hold her up to a higher standard than other artists because I really expect more from her.


When you look at Ayumi Hamasaki, do you see Ayu, the human being, or do you see Ayumi Hamasaki the Entertainer? Is there a grey area?
Honestly, I used to see her as an entertainer who was so good at what she did because she was so human. Even when she was performing, it just felt so real, because you could tell she was pouring her heart into every word she sang. Nowadays, it seems like everything is about putting on an entertaining show, which I find is just a lot less... well, entertaining. For example, her old performances of ASFXX still make me cry! But I can't even bear to watch that '08(?) a-nation performance of ASFXX because every single move was rehearsed. Basically, I view her more as an entertainer now because I feel like, in the past few years, she's forgotten how to put real emotion into her performances and everything is dramatized now.

How do you think that affects what you want from what she does? What do you want from her?
Right now, I just want her to put out quality music with good covers and PVs. Her covers since NEXT LEVEL have been (in my opinion, of course) really cheap, poorly planned, lacking concept, and ruined by bad, bad facial expressions, font placement, and background choices. If I didn't know who she was and I saw most of these covers, I would hardly be able to believe she was Ayumi Hamasaki, queen/empress/awesome legendary person in j-pop.

Anyways, I've given up even trying to watch her concerts nowadays since I am not at all entertained by the over-dramatized performances. So I don't expect much from her as far as concerts go. ^^;

Do you think that being so close to Ayu with social media affects your view of her?
Yes, and I don't even use Twitter or try to contact her. Like someone else said, I dislike how it takes away the mysterious veil around her (and other stars). I also don't like how she occasionally gets into the middle of the drama. In fact, I feel like I relate to Ayu a lot less now that she uses Twitter.

How do you feel about the way other people see Ayu?
I love seeing people praise her, even if I don't agree with it or think she deserves it for a particularly release. It really hurts my feelings when people hate her though. I can totally take it when her fans make fun of her, but not when actual haters bash her. It really offends me personally, which might sound weird or stupid, but whatever.

Are you a little pig-headed about your opinions?
Oh yes. My opinion is right 95% of the time. The good thing is, my opinion is very easily swayed. And while I apparently come off as a hater/troll/whatever, if you actually took the time to talk to me one on one, you'd see that my opinions aren't really that rigid or nasty and that I love Ayu like I love no one else.

[Coelacanth]

Originally Posted by Tom Punks

Nowadays, it seems like everything is about putting on an entertaining show, which I find is just a lot less... well, entertaining. For example, her old performances of ASFXX still make me cry! But I can't even bear to watch that '08(?) a-nation performance of ASFXX because every single move was rehearsed. Basically, I view her more as an entertainer now because I feel like, in the past few years, she's forgotten how to put real emotion into her performances and everything is dramatized now.

Yeah. BALLAD from AT10 is a good example. It was well-executed and entertaining... but completely contrived and overdone.

Originally Posted by Tom Punks

Right now, I just want her to put out quality music with good covers and PVs. Her covers since NEXT LEVEL have been (in my opinion, of course) really cheap, poorly planned, lacking concept, and ruined by bad, bad facial expressions, font placement, and background choices. If I didn't know who she was and I saw most of these covers, I would hardly be able to believe she was Ayumi Hamasaki, queen/empress/awesome legendary person in j-pop.

Like FIVE, for instance. First, it's called FIVE presumably because there's five songs on the mini-album. That's lazy... And like you said, the album is full of ballads and has this "fierce" glam-rock cover. It's obvious so far that there's no concept whatsoever.

[Midori-chan]

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

Like FIVE, for instance. First, it's called FIVE presumably because there's five songs on the mini-album. That's lazy... And like you said, the album is full of ballads and has this "fierce" glam-rock cover. It's obvious so far that there's no concept whatsoever.

I'm just going to copy this from another thread: Today on twitter Ayu said there are many meanings behind the title "FIVE".

So far, there has been a concept behind EVER album and single Ayu released! Why should it be different for "FIVE"?!
Only because you can't see the concept right away doesn't mean it's not there!

Maybe the concept will come out after reading the lyrics to the songs...or watching the PVs...or maybe FIVE is short for something. I actually like to use my own fantasy, when it comes to such things.

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by Midori-chan

I'm just going to copy this from another thread: Today on twitter Ayu said there are many meanings behind the title "FIVE".

So far, there has been a concept behind EVER album and single Ayu released! Why should it be different for "FIVE"?!
Only because you can't see the concept right away doesn't mean it's not there!

Maybe the concept will come out after reading the lyrics to the songs...or watching the PVs...or maybe FIVE is short for something. I actually like to use my own fantasy, when it comes to such things.

I could name a possible concept for any Ayu album post-(miss)understood. The notion that she has absolutely no concept for her albums anymore is something I'll never understand. It's one thing if you don't find the concept incredibly deep or profound but to say there's none is ridiculous.

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

I could name a possible concept for any Ayu album post-(miss)understood. The notion that she has absolutely no concept for her albums anymore is something I'll never understand. It's one thing if you don't find the concept incredibly deep or profound but to say there's none is ridiculous.

Her albums have concepts for sure, but tbh a lot of her singles seem pretty concept-less. That or the concept is "this is the 50th single!" and "this mini album has 5 songs on it!" Which, for me personally, might as well not be a concept at all, because it has nothing to do with the actual music.

Another good example is crossroad. A ballad A-side with covers where Ayu is wearing a cool outfit and looking nice with a white background. @_@ Kind of the same (but not nearly to the same extent) is MOON/blossom, with the songs being ballad-y or mid-tempo and the cover is just her wearing a dress and making a cute face with a pink/yellow/orange background.

Like, if you looked at her older singles like Endless sorrow or evolution, the concept is REALLY obvious and the covers, PVs, songs, and themes all match up really well. Whereas nowadays, it's like... a song which generally matches the PV, and then a totally random cover that doesn't really have anything to do with either of them. And then throw in the fact that most of her covers are just a picture of her in front of a solid color background...

Anyways, this is all just my opinion, of course. But I really don't think she puts as much effort into planning a cohesive release as she used to.

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by Tom Punks

Her albums have concepts for sure, but tbh a lot of her singles seem pretty concept-less. That or the concept is "this is the 50th single!" and "this mini album has 5 songs on it!" Which, for me personally, might as well not be a concept at all, because it has nothing to do with the actual music.

Another good example is crossroad. A ballad A-side with covers where Ayu is wearing a cool outfit and looking nice with a white background. @_@ Kind of the same (but not nearly to the same extent) is MOON/blossom, with the songs being ballad-y or mid-tempo and the cover is just her wearing a dress and making a cute face with a pink/yellow/orange background.

Like, if you looked at her older singles like Endless sorrow or evolution, the concept is REALLY obvious and the covers, PVs, songs, and themes all match up really well. Whereas nowadays, it's like... a song which generally matches the PV, and then a totally random cover that doesn't really have anything to do with either of them. And then throw in the fact that most of her covers are just a picture of her in front of a solid color background...

Anyways, this is all just my opinion, of course. But I really don't think she puts as much effort into planning a cohesive release as she used to.

I feel ya. I wasn't thrilled about how the 48/49/50th singles were released either. But in my opinion, that's trivial compared to the their musical contents. I've noticed that a lot of fans here are about the total package where as I'm only about the music. Do I praise her when her concepts work out excellently, yes. Do I criticize her when they don't, not really. I've never understood why it was all such a big deal to the point people would be disastrously disappointed in an entire single when the music is great.

For example, Sunrise/Sunset etc. There was a concept for that one but it wasn't executed as great as it could have been. The covers were the worst in her career but the PVs weren't that bad but the music is great (in my opinion of course) so I love the single.

And maybe you're right, maybe she isn't putting as much effort in planning cohesive single releases anymore. But the music (again in my opinion) has not suffered and her albums are flawless. Isn't that what it's really about?

[Coelacanth]

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

And maybe you're right, maybe she isn't putting as much effort in planning cohesive single releases anymore. But the music (again in my opinion) has not suffered and her albums are flawless. Isn't that what it's really about?

Well, I agree to an extent. I don't think she releases many truly "bad" songs. I really tried to just focus on the songs she releases individually and tried to ignore her PV's, covers, and overall lack of cohesiveness. That doesn't work, though. It's hard to ignore that there was a time in her career where seemingly everything worked and fit together.

So... maybe I should stop caring and if she releases an amazing PV like "Don't look back" once in a while, fine. The real question is, why can't she give every song she makes a PV for the same creative energy?

[Corvina]

When you look at Ayumi Hamasaki, do you see Ayu, the human being, or do you see Ayumi Hamasaki the Entertainer? Is there a grey area?

Mostly as an entertainer. There is a grey area though, nothing is just black and white, and every artist puts a part of her/his own personality in her/his work, cause there wouldn't be something like art in the world without it. I believe no artist should reveal too much of the own personality and feelings and keep a distance though. So in the last years Ayu got more and more a human being for me, cause she also more and more communicates about it. Probably also because she already wrote about everything she was troubled with and experienced and likes to share her happy times.
I also feel she has somehwat lost inspiration for her work and is waving more and more her not so deep feelings in her work, cause she hasn't really something to write about. But I will go on with that on another question.

How do you think that affects what you want from what she does? What do you want from her?

What do I want from her? Good music, to put it simple. And PVs and concerts, cause it's a big part of the way she portrays her music. Does it effect me that I see her more like a human being now than earlier? Of course, it irritaes me like others mentioned already.
And I don't want her to cross that mark about private life and her career - like she sadly does with most of her concerts lately. a-nation is just one negative point there for me. R'nR'C tour is another example, Ayu never being alone on stage, sharing her place as an entertainer with her friends and people who seems to be closer to her. That's too much for me, I wanna see her as an entertainer, as an solo artist she actually is.
Not to mention that it can be dangerous if she let affect the opinions about her work and her decisions for work her emotions. Her music is her life. But she has to keep a distance for her own health.
On a contradicting note, I dislike how she acts dramatic or puts the performances in a too dramatic way. Like BALLAD from last years tour, was already mentioned.
That's how I mostly feel about Ayu nowadays - contradicting. MOstly because of that gap private matters - show from the entertainer Ayu.

Do you think that being so close to Ayu with social media affects your view of
her?

Yeah, it does, cause I get to know more things about her, just like I stated in the question before. I don't want to know that much, cause I'm not her friend, I don't know her personally - it is irritating cause you never know how she is in real life.
Guess I have not to read too much of her twitter etc. But she posts infos about her works, so I'm always curious.
And in the TA posts she share so much of her insights etc. Sometimes I really don't wanna know, feeling like a stalker.

How do you feel about the way other people see Ayu?

It's troubling me sometimes, lol.
I don't like people praising an artist like " a goddess, not from this world" etc. Or loving ever single songs, pic ... That's just weird! XD
Not only with Ayu but with any artist. I'm a big, big fan of other artists, too, but I would never praise them, cause they're all human beings and there are naturally enough things, enough works, I dislike.
I almost lost my connection to Ayu's music, I don't know, I just don't feel the same for her newer stuff than her older and middle works.
For example progress.
I don't feel anything listening to it.
Absolutely nothing.
And others are like "oh wow, this is the best she ever made!!" and I'm feeling like sticking out like a soar thumb. XD It's great others like it, I don't have anything against it. It just feels weird. Which leads me to another point - the expressions most fans seem to use. I feel like it's going in extremes - always the best or the worst. Or heavy words to describe why you dislike or like something or being defensive - almost like bashing.

Are you a little pig-headed about your opinions?

Yes, I sometimes am, but I'm just that kind of person.
I'm pretty stubborn sometimes, so it might be that I'm trying to convice somebody if I get heated up. Lol, I'm sadly not somebody who don't care about other opinions.

I wrote so much, might be pretty confusing.
Even for me. XD
But overall I just can agree with most people who already posted in here.