Your biggest Ayu disappointments

[isthisLOL?]

Originally Posted by [_jo_]

- Always same staff, I think new people around her will bring her better songs & shows.

She...is using new people at the moment. Leslie as PV director, Timmy as composer, JUNO as feat. partner...

And I personally think her worst era of "always the same stuff" was MY STORY cause the songs were just so damn boring on it AND the whole album seemed to only feature 2 genres. Especially the last 3 songs just...put me to sleep, with the exception of Humming 7/4, that just annoys me like no other song.

[Mintkisses]

I adore Ayu.. as a fan I've been following her and giving her stuff a chance in the recent years. I would have to say I started seeing her go downhill during Secret. I don't like the album very much.. but of course I don't hate it because of the masterpiece kiss o' kill. I never understood what was so special about JEWEL and even momentum.

GUILTY thankfully brought me back with it's single tracks fated and talkin' 2 myself. I also enjoyed The Judgement Day and Mirror as an interlude/intro. Unfortunately I was extremely disappointed in NEXT LEVEL. Though, I enjoyed the theme she conveyed and Sparkle and rollin' are INCREDIBLE. All the other tracks were very forgettable and too annoying to give a chance =/

R'n'RC I must say.. didn't live up to the hype. Microphone, Don't Look Back, and Sexy little things were the only tracks on the album I'll play more than once. Similar to what other users have been saying on here, the album was forgettable.. I can't remember any melodies in my head. I purchased the album because I was extremely excited to get the photo book and listen to the new tracks other than the promotional ones. I haven't listened to the CD since the first time I opened it.

Love songs.. ahh. Honestly to me this album is all dedicated to Mannie. For some reason that's how I feel when I listen to it. The theme is very nice and the sounds remind me of a first love. But again, not many songs really attached to me. do it again is the best song on the album, and even then I wish it wasn't monotone in some parts. Other songs that I did enjoy though that allowed me to not hate the album was sending mail, Last Angel, and Virgin Road. November is popular with fans and just like JEWEL I don't quite understand.

I haven't been interested in FIVE at all. It's really disappointing to me.. I would at least give her a chance but nothing has interested me except for BRILLIANTE.

Overall I miss the Ayu "spark." It doesn't seem like she has it too much anymore. I hate saying it but I won't deny it. I miss her memorable songs like evolution, SURREAL, TO BE, etc.

Other random "disappointments" would be:

- Naturally not given enough credit I LOVE this song!

- I wish she released more remixes on her SINGLES. And I wish they were GOOD. The last remix I liked from a single was the blossom remix off the crossroad single.

- Collabs -_-

- Not performing ever free.

- Meaningless PVs. BLUE BIRD, NEXT LEVEL, Sunrise/Sunset, decision, etc.

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by Mintkisses

- I wish she released more remixes on her SINGLES. And I wish they were GOOD. The last remix I liked from a single was the blossom remix off the crossroad single.

Just pointing out, crossroad was the last single with a remix on it, so it really means nothing to say "it was the last one I liked and I haven't liked anything since" when there was nothing since.

[bondingo]

Mintkisses: I agree with every one of your points 100%. I wish Ayu would actually take all that advice. I really just think she needs some inspiration/a break.

Originally Posted by [_jo_]

- Ayu producing shows, She needs new Ideas for her tours
- I think she needs a reload like Namie Amuro or something

YES.

[Mami-chan]

Actually I still love Ayu as I did before and none of her albums ever disappointed me, and I'm one of those people who really loved FIVE. Of course I'm not saying that I love everything she does, there are still songs I don't like (Beautiful fighters over anything!! Can't stand that song...), albums that I like less than others, lots of photoshoots I hate (love the latest ones though *_*). But I still love her and, though there are some things I don't like, she never really disappoints me.

The only thing I don't like about her at the moment is Mannie. I use to love them as a couple at the beginning, though I think they married in a really short time and it's not always good. But now it seems they almost forgot of being married. Yes, of course I'm not in Ayu and maybe they call each other every day... but I think there's no point in being married with someone who lives in the US when you live in Japan. ò_O I mean, people marry to make a family, to stay together.. not to separate right after the marriage to live in two different continents. You can do it for a while, but it seems that none of them is thinking of changing their lifestyle. And also, when was the last time they met? The spent more time separated after they got married than the time they actually spent together.
Of course I cant (and I don't want to) tell Ayu what to do and if she's happy like that I respect her decision and I'm happy too. I still don't like it though .__.

[ayuuk]

Disappointments:
-Sunrise/Sunset covers
-crossroad covers (really don't like the CD+DVD one) >.<
-She never replied to my tweets (understandable, but kinda disappointed)
-HER LIPS (really hate her thick lips, they used to be pretty, sigh)

[LydenLeaf]

These:

Originally Posted by C+R+E+AYUMI

-she quit composing songs as CREA
-Sunrise/Sunset covers

Also add MOON/blossom covers (my least favorite of all her covers).

Originally Posted by Mr Jo'

too much ballades now...

I know it has to do with a mature image and stuff but I still want to hear more rock songs from Ayu.

Originally Posted by chikocchi

-progress PV
-marrying Mannie after only a few months (however I don't wish for their divorce)
-Shuya being the love interest in every dance and every pv.
-Peco and Princess didn't get the boot after one live

And of course, this:

Originally Posted by [_jo_]

- Always same staff, I think new people around her will bring her better songs & shows.
- Ayu producing shows, She needs new Ideas for her tours
- Ayu is not an International Artist after 10 years-

I've accepted that fandom comes hype and disappointment. Still, Ayu is my muse.

[LydenLeaf]

Originally Posted by ayuuk

Disappointments:
-HER LIPS (really hate her thick lips, they used to be pretty, sigh)

..I like the way her lips look. I think it's just the "fish pout" she does in her photos that I don't like very much.

[Suteisi]

Originally Posted by Mintkisses

I haven't be interested in FIVE at all. It's really disappointing to me.. I would at least give her a chance but nothing has interested me except for BRILLIANTE.

Overall I miss the Ayu "spark." It doesn't seem like she has it too much anymore. I hate saying it but I won't deny it. I miss her memorable songs like evolution, SURREAL, TO BE, etc..

This is how I feel 100%

I have no interest in FIVE, it's a REALLY boring release to me.

And like you said, I miss her memorable songs as well.

[orbitalaspect]

Most of these are just be rambling, and they're all very minor disappointments, just things I've noticed but didn't really affect how I feel about Ayu... and definitely nothing that's made me go WTH.



1. The release of A BEST. I think that this was a good financial move for Avex, but really left Ayu questioning her capability to make decisions for her music that her fans would appreciate.

2. That no PVs exist for HANABI and July 1st. These are two of the most incredible songs Ayu wrote during that time of her career, not to mention the last million-selling songs she's written, and I wish that we had PVs to help us see how Ayu visualized those songs.

3. JEWEL wasn't a single. I know a lot of Ayu fans who feel this would have been a strong single release prior to Secret. It's my favorite song from Ayu's entire discography, and I think it's one of the strongest both lyrically and production-wise.

4. The quality of Ayu's interludes since Rock'n'Roll Circus. One of the most awesome aspects of Ayu's albums were her interludes until the release of Rock'n'Roll Circus. On RnRC and Ls, the interludes feel like scraps from the cutting room floor compared to previous interludes from almost every album.

5. Leaving PVs off the single, but recording them for the album. This was just a disappointing move for me. Ayu did this with Sparkle and Last angel, and I felt like the fans got ripped off. She also kind of did this with blossom.

6. PVs are very uneventful these days. I can't remember the last time I saw an Ayu PV that shook me... in a positive, non-violent, non-convulsive way. Maybe GREEN or Days. But since those, I need a drink after new PVs. She's clearly not in a hoveround chair, so why is so little actually happening with her in the videos?

7. The PVs for Born To Be..., BRILLANTE, Sunrise/Sunset, You were..., blossom, and VR/Ls/La. Ok.

> I'm still trying to figure out what exactly IS IN the video for Born To Be.... I thought I saw a person doing stuff, or running for their life...? Too much light. I feel sorry for whoever had to pay the electric bill that month.

> BRILLANTE was beautiful until someone pointed out that the girl is a boy. I'm gay, but this was too much. People get very insensitive views of people like me *because* some people go over the top, to the point where it becomes very uncomfortable for others to watch these things. I understand he was playing a role, but if you're going to dress and behave like a woman, you should cover your chest too. Androgyny is gender illusion, but at the end of the video Tim is clearly a wolf in sheep's clothing. (I know some people will say that there is freedom or that I'm being fascist about this, but equality isn't making people choke on your values. If people like me ever want that respect, we have to come at this from respect for the values of others first, and have patience by allowing people to close the gap between differences in their own time.) I'll say it alongside a number of others: The gay thing is OK once in awhile but I'd like to see it used in a tasteful way if it is used, and rarely if ever, and never like this again.

> Sunrise/Sunset. I would have loved to be there for the shoot, but it's definitely not the same experience to watch it. Not even from a distance. And when you do this with two significantly underwhelming songs, it just makes it worse.

> You were... a crazy doll iceskating around with a bra on its head? I like experimental things, but this wasn't an experimental song. The dress was pretty, but I wasn't sure if I was watching a horror movie or an Ayu PV. The only amazing parts for me were the dress and the initial dark shots of her face.

> blossom. I'm still trying to figure this out, so WHY is Ayumi not in the PV? Why was this filmed like a stale K-drama?

> The Virgin Road, Love song, and Last angel series was deeply confusing. Which starts where on what timeline where who is doing what with who in order to accomplish which purpose? What was the message, or the point of all the plot of the videos? And why did Ayumi move around in the ballad videos, yet stand around in the epic trance video?

8. Thank U, glitter, BLUE BIRD, My All, momentum. I'm still trying to figure out how they aren't all the same song.

9. MOON, You were..., together When..., beloved I'm still trying to figure out how they aren't all the same song.

10. Last Links and count down. She did the two things I really didn't expect. She gave us 10 seconds of auditory abuse as an intro to a song (count down), and I have no clue what her creative process for Last Links was... probably something like "I just saw MTV Unplugged... and I want THAT."

11. SEVEN DAYS WAR I don't mind cover songs... from Matsuda Seiko. In all honesty, I would rather hear Matsuda do a cover song instead of a '(1.4 x (10^80))th Party!'. I know that Ayumi has not ran out of songs to write. When she hits album #22, nobody will really care if she does a cover album. But for right now, she's still relevant... and cover songs are about as interesting as an A KARAOKE release.

12. The Judgement Day Um... Ayumi... You forgot to include the rest of the song? (I really wanted this to be a full-length track like Mirror.)

13. No A BALLADS 2, 3, 4, 5...19. Ayumi does A LOT of ballads. Where is another A BALLAD compilation? Why has this concept been swept under the rug since 2003?

14. Up until Love songs, there was a recent disturbing trend of boring songs. Almost everything Ayu's released as a very epic feel to it, like there's a deep story to the song. Much of Secret, GUILTY, NEXT LEVEL, and Rock'n'Roll Circus was like standard J-pop. Then when Love songs came, she went back to her element of having beautiful intros to most songs and very drawn out experiences. progress and BRILLANTE and maybe beloved are like this, but the other 2-3 songs on FIVE are typical pop stuff that I wish Ayu would go back to doing only once in awhile instead of jamming a slew of them into her records.

15. a-yu-mix 7 Only a handful of newer songs were included. (Hi Ayumi! You've released more than the same 40 songs in your career, please remix some of the other songs!)

16. Ayumi hasn't rapped since 1996. If Ayumi could get a mini-album of rap music put out in the 90s, she can probably still rap today. I want to hear her do this again before she retires. I don't want an album, just a song. And I think this would be a great way to tie in some relevance of NFN to everything she's done since.



OK...... So I know it looks like a lot. And there's some sarcasm in there...... But for the most part, I've never really been truly disappointed in Ayu or her career. There are definitely things I think could have made a big difference, or changed the direction she ended up going in, but those are and will always be my little observations.

Except for the thing about BRILLANTE. That really was a bit over the top, and I'm sorry for those of you who were uncomfortable because of it.

[ayu_ready?]

Originally Posted by Mintkisses

- Naturally not given enough credit I LOVE this song!

me too!
and I don't like her lips since crossroad. I'm 100% sure it's not the new lip product, because I bought this rimmel stuff and other stuff like that, it does work but it doesn't make your lips like twice bigger than they used to be
I hope it would be botox that lasts 7 month or less but looks like it wasn't?

[ayuuk]

^Yeah, I really don't like her lips since crossroad. So scary... Sigh

[Mintkisses]

Originally Posted by Tom Punks

Just pointing out, crossroad was the last single with a remix on it, so it really means nothing to say "it was the last one I liked and I haven't liked anything since" when there was nothing since.

Oohh I worded that a little weird anyways, but thanks for the correction =)
I meat to say, that remix is the last one I've enjoyed since the I am... single remixes. Though, Rule/Sparkle single had a couple good ones (Days in 8-bit~)

[ExodusUK]

Originally Posted by ayu_ready?

me too!
and I don't like her lips since crossroad. I'm 100% sure it's not the new lip product, because I bought this rimmel stuff and other stuff like that, it does work but it doesn't make your lips like twice bigger than they used to be
I hope it would be botox that lasts 7 month or less but looks like it wasn't?

It might help if you had a professional makeup artist, real makeup, correct lightening, photoshop, etc instead of consumer retail makeup.

[brener]

the lack of originality in her last releases... her latest albuns could be divided in two halfs: creative ayu and generic ayu.

the only creative song in FIVE, imo, is BRILLANTE and maybe the featured songs..

[Deibel]

- She's not CREA anymore U_U

- Peco & Princess... ugh

- meaning of Love, Thank U, Beautiful Day... I hate that kind of songs (meaningless, in my opinion)

- "Love Songs" is almost forgotten for me, except a few tracks. I can't listen the whole album!! Don't like it at all.

- I really LOVE RnRc, and I love most of its tracks, but it is supposed to be a rock album, so.. why is moL, RED LINE, You were or BALLAD on it? Breaks the whole atmosphere!

- The fact that she has lost good part of her taste, talent and/or originality.. Which was her last BIG hit? Most of the songs are usually forgotten by the people so easily.. (Nevertheless, I think that progress is a good try, and BRILLANTE too! I hope she continues that line)

- Talking about FIVE, I only like 2 songs.. that's a bad balance xD

- Urata Naoya, JUNO or somewhere who wants to do 'ANother duet' with her xDDD

- The last CDL was a good try of making things different, and I really hope that she continues doing it, 'cause.. she needs a new revolution in regard to concerts.

- Shuya is quite boring at this point.

- Something I really HATE and can't understand is why she always sings the same 4 or 5 songs in her concerts!! I mean evolution, Boys&Girls, SURREAL... Ok, they are good songs, BUT YOUR DISCOGRAPHY IS BIG ENOUGH TO FIND ANOTHER GOOD SONGS THAT YOU HAVE NEVER PERFORMED BEFORE xDD

- She needs a break. Not a "hikki-break", but yes a break of a year.

- She never performed outside Asia, and after all those years.. I think it's time xD

- Why the booklet of the DVD concerts are always so similar? In that way, they lose a good part of interest to me.

- She's a 32 years old woman, and she's still very young! But please, 32 years isn't 15 years. Sometimes, she seems to forget that.

- Most of her latest covers are forgettable, something that shouldn't happen..

- I'd like she could meet new photographers, directors and make up artists, that she could see another way of doing things with the intention of get back her inspiration. When a person travels, and meet new people, often changes his way of see the things too, right? But when ayu travels, she always goes with the same people, and they go to the same places. The only time they changed the destiny, London, they could make RnRc, an album with really interesting songs and PVs! (Sexy Little Things and Microphone FTW).

- Something I like from her is that she dares to sing songs in different styles, but I think that she can make a step forward singing something with a jazz essence without leaving the pop style, for example (she always do that with rock. Just trying to do new things and refresh herself!

Hmmm I think that's all by now xDDD

But anyway, in a post of "what do you like of Ayumi Hamasaki?" I could post a bigger list than this one, for sure! I totally love her =)

[ayu_ready?]

Originally Posted by orbitalaspect

1. The release of A BEST. I think that this was a good financial move for Avex, but really left Ayu questioning her capability to make decisions for her music that her fans would appreciate.

2. That no PVs exist for HANABI and July 1st. These are two of the most incredible songs Ayu wrote during that time of her career, not to mention the last million-selling songs she's written, and I wish that we had PVs to help us see how Ayu visualized those songs.

3. JEWEL wasn't a single. I know a lot of Ayu fans who feel this would have been a strong single release prior to Secret. It's my favorite song from Ayu's entire discography, and I think it's one of the strongest both lyrically and production-wise.

I'd never ever call A BEST her dissapointment because it was truly her best time and era and her peak. although I do get your point
agree for JEWEL. I'm not a big fan of it, I prefer it's PV & when she sings it live to the song itself, kinda.
oh yes no PV for HANABI is very dissapointing, because this songs is her masterpiece.

Originally Posted by ExodusUK

It might help if you had a professional makeup artist, real makeup, correct lightening, photoshop, etc instead of consumer retail makeup.

I still think it's surgery as much as I think she had her nose done during NEXT LEVEL...

[Tom Punks]

I just randomly thought of this, and it's kind of minor butttt... One of my "biggest" disappointments is that she's gotten into the habit of saving a single song's PV for the album (Together When..., Sparkle, Last angel, and I guess blossom). It's just like one more way to procrastinate (since it's pretty obvious she does everything at the very last minute nowadays), and it takes the place of an album song getting a potential PV instead.

[Andrenekoi]

^She usually releases 2 pvs for album tracks for almost every album...
Love Songs got 2, Next Level got 2, Guilty got 2, (miss)understood got 2 and Memorial Address got 2

Rock n Roll Circus gost 4, My Story got 3 (and a 4th one when Step you single was released), Secret got 3 (but it seens like 2 were planned to be a single) and Rainbow actually got only 1.

People should understand that interludes are not taking place of a full song, if she cut the interludes, we would most likelly get the same number of songs... If she releases the PV when she is releasing the single, it doesn't mean she will do one more PV when the album comes out...

BTW, Together When... was released on TV and for download at the same time of the track (it was a digital single, so, it obviously doesn't have a dvd of it's own) and Blossom was released on Crossroad single

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

^She usually releases 2 pvs for album tracks for almost every album...
Love Songs got 2, Next Level got 2, Guilty got 2, (miss)understood got 2 and Memorial Address got 2

Rock n Roll Circus gost 4, My Story got 3 (and a 4th one when Step you single was released), Secret got 3 (but it seens like 2 were planned to be a single) and Rainbow actually got only 1.

People should understand that interludes are not taking place of a full song, if she cut the interludes, we would most likelly get the same number of songs... If she releases the PV when she is releasing the single, it doesn't mean she will do one more PV when the album comes out...

BTW, Together When... was released on TV and for download at the same time of the track (it was a digital single, so, it obviously doesn't have a dvd of it's own) and Blossom was released on Crossroad single

I typed out this really long response, reread it, and realized it made NO sense... So I'm just gonna make a bullet list of my thoughts in response to this. lol

• I don't remember Together When... being released on TV when the digital single was released. Actually, as far as I can remember, we didn't even see a preview of it until the album (?) CM came out. I remember everyone was trying to figure out if the scene shown in the CM was from Together When... or Marionette's PV. I don't remember how long before the album the CM came out, but judging from Ayu's track record, I doubt it would have been around the time TW... was released? In fact, I remember the PV coming out only very shortly before the rest of the album PVs came out. Maybe someone else can come and clear this up, because my memory of this is totally different from what you're telling me.
• I know blossom was released on crossroad, but since it was postponed from its own single, I thought it should count. I know it definitely didn't take the place of a SEVEN DAYS WAR PV, but I still think it reflects poorly on her... time management? Idk.
• I'm not counting RAINBOW, since it didn't have a CD+DVD version and came out before album-only PVs were commonplace, so out of the other eight albums you listed, six of them had at least three album-only PVs. So, imo, the trend isn't "2 album track PVs per album" but more like "3 new PVs per album." There really doesn't seem to be any real trend in the amount of album tracks that get PVs.
• Anyways, the actual point is, regardless of trends, interludes, whatever & etc., whether or not a single track's PV being an album-only PV has any effect on how many album tracks get PVs... it does make her look really procrastinative (I know that's not a word XD) to CONSTANTLY put off single PVs until the album. Especially when it's happened not just once, but a handful of times now.
• Since you brought up interludes, I have to point out, I absolutely hated the fact that GUILTY and NEXT LEVEL were so padded with interludes. No, I don't think that they took the place of full songs or anything like that, because I really don't think she would have released more than ten full songs for those albums either way. It bothers me for totally different reasons. >_< And this is from someone who adores practically every interlude she's made except the R'n'RC ones.

Holy crap, that was a lot longer than I expected. X_X