What is the cure?

[RayJason]

She should get stricter with her team, if she wasn't already that is. So even little mistakes like promoting the album Party Queen as "Prarty Queen" on YouTube and confusion about "Shake It ♥" and Shake It♥" won't happen again. GO BACK TO YOUR "evolution", "M", "SURREAL" / "Days", "Mirrorcle World", "Rule" days! I adored that 1090 times more of what you've released the past 2 years.

Let Timmy go for a few eras and see how you'll rise again! I have nothing big against Timmy, but the majority does; the people who don't absolutely love his contributions tho. And I hate to say it but letting go of Timmy will do her only good. (I think...). WOW everyone with your ToX song and You & Me song. AND PLEASE DON'T FLOP with this lousy effortless A BEST SUMMER compilation album which you are releasing past midway of summer (so basically almost fall). edit; BTW they still haven't started promoting (seriously) yet. I think they want to let her flop.

This is my personal view.

[ayu_ready?]

I will have to agree with ll moments ll, Northerner, Aisha_Angel

[CatGirl]

Originally Posted by Northerner

This came from her November 2010 interview with Sweet Magazine:

Once again, what does 50th single "L" mean for Hamasaki Ayumi?

A: Overall, it feels like my last fortress. If someone asked me to give the single a Japanese title, I'd call it "Saigo no Toride" ("The Last Fortress). Though it didn't happen in the end, that's how I made the single.

What a deep answer!

A: The fans seem to have lots of speculations about this single too, like "what does she mean?" (laughs)

And "why is she suddenly so gutsy?" I feel so too.

A: Well, that's because I have built my fortress.

Why did you build the fortress? What commands are you going to give? Or is that a secret?

A: For now, I can clearly see what I want to do. What comes next will come.

The original thread: http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=105884

Awesome, thank you!! I really wish she had let on more about what she meant~

[LONJJONG]

Some million singers like Kuraki Mai and ELT have also been facing low sales after their peak.. so it is something like common issues... (I think)

[KarenPang]

Get an image overhaul . I'll be honest , I haven't been pleased with the magazine photospreads that she has done lately , she seemed somewhat plastic & not very relatable if not appealing to the general public

Wearing branded goods on yourself is 1 thing but don't let the clothes wear on you

[ayu_ready?]

I want G-Dragon to compose her a ballad, a midtempo song and a rockish song

[Ayuminaj]

Originally Posted by LONJJONG

Some million singers like Kuraki Mai and ELT have also been facing low sales after their peak.. so it is something like common issues... (I think)

You're right, ELT sales profile is quite common. Ayu is close to such profile. But how close ? And is Ayu a common artist ? Are her sales really so frustrating ? Here some facts. (in fact yes, her sales are frustrating)

Reading this thread, I wanted to create some charts that represent what we can call «Evolution of studio albums sales».
It doesn't count compilations, EPs, singles, remixes, live or accoustic albums. Half of the charts consists of virtual sales generated by simple average formula, in order to make lines continuous, and finally compare them.


1. Ayu and 90s big artists





2. Ayu and contemporary solo female singers

2.1. simplified chart



2.2. developped chart



I counted Kuu's Best 2nd Sessions as a studio album. Gaga's The Fame and The Fame Monster count as separated albums in Japan. I didn't count Utada's Precious album cause the curve was too weird and it lowered readability.


We see interesting things. Period is tough for female solo singers. Ayu does well compared to them overall. Yui, aiko and Kuu are expected to cross again Ayu's sales in a few years.
We also notice some unexpected (or not) random facts :
- Nana movies era saw Mika Nakashima lowest sales.
- Best sellers do r'n'b. But some r'n'b singers don't have such success : Kuu, Thelma Aoyama (not featured on the chart), ...

Compared to big 90s acts, Ayu does (a little) better than ELT and GLAY, (I took them for example but i could have taken a lot of other 90s acts). But she does worse than B'z and Namie. And far worse than Mr. Children who literally kill it.
We also see B'z and Namie clearly don't do as well as Mr.Children.

Next to acts above, we must mention the other acts who sell well today. They are Perfume, Kara and AKB48, but we don't now for how long. Artists we can guess they will still sell a lot next years are boys-bands/old-men-bands like Arashi and Exile, but they are the new SMAP or Kinki Kids. Nothing surprising or interesting in that. Greeeen sold well... but it's over while i'm writing.

Those charts don't give me clear explanations right now. I thought they could, but I also made them to see artists destinies. Those charts show something clear : artists have very different fates, some unique. And I know if there's an artist who can make history again, do something nobody ever did, it's Ayu.

Originally Posted by ayu_ready?

I want G-Dragon to compose her a ballad, a midtempo song and a rockish song

A BIG BANG collaboration could do her no harm.

EDIT: I added a more accurate chart for female singers, but let the first one for more clearness.

[jessicar]

For the longest time I thought she needed a break, before it wasn't really because of her music but because of her ear and just how she overworks herself but now I feel she really needs it because of the loss of inspiration and lack of creativity, also I think maybe the divorce with Mannie didn't do her so well for her music, I just have hopes that her next album will be much better because though I do quite like PQ and actually listen to it, I still feel like there was something missing, I feel like after Tell me why it was like ok.

[Delicious n Bold]

Originally Posted by ayu_ready?

I want G-Dragon to compose her a ballad, a midtempo song and a rockish song

Fixed: I want Crea to compose a ballad, a midtempo song and a rockish song.
Don't you agree?

[ayu_ready?]

Originally Posted by Delicious n Bold

Fixed: I want Crea to compose a ballad, a midtempo song and a rockish song.
Don't you agree?

I do, but now I'm only speaking of GD. because CREA won't come back, but GD is here & now

[Delirium-Zer0]

Originally Posted by Ayuminaj

Reading this thread, I wanted to create some charts that represent what we can call «Evolution of studio albums sales».
It doesn't count compilations, EPs, singles, remixes, live or accoustic albums. Half of the charts consists of virtual sales generated by simple average formula, in order to make lines continuous, and finally compare them.


1. Ayu and 90s legends or cult acts





2. Ayu and contemporary solo female singers



Those charts don't give me clear explanations right now. I thought they could, but I also made them to see artists destinies. Those charts show something clear : artists have very different fates, some unique. And I know if there's an artist who can make history again, do something nobody ever did, it's Ayu.

Given Japan's status as a single-based market for such a long time during these particular artists' careers, do you think you could do a version that displays data on singles as well, just for comparison's sake?

[Ayuminaj]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Given Japan's status as a single-based market for such a long time during these particular artists' careers, do you think you could do a version that displays data on singles as well, just for comparison's sake?

I'll try. I didn't do this cause task seemed too big, but you asked kindly and the question is relevant. I wondered about the link singles-albums while making those charts so I searched some kinda proportional correlation. For what i've found, it doesn't seem fairly related.

Not that it isn't related. I mean you're right : all successful 90s artists i checked had huge singles in the bedrock of their album success. But it doesn't seem so unavoidable in the 2000s.
Well, we'll figure it out by making something with the singles. I think there's some interesting things to do and find out. I've got some idea that could work. If i die at the task, i'll warn you

Anyway meanwhile I made a more accurate charts for female singers in 2000s, with all the most important singers. I've edited my post to add it.

Spoiler:

It confirms period is tough for female singers.
And we catch some random infos, some unexpected, some not :

Originally Posted by Ayuminaj

- Nana movies era saw Mika Nakashima lowest sales.
- Kana Nishino so called "success" may not be so obvious, and may even become a damp squib
- Best sellers do r'n'b. But some r'n'b singers don't have such success : Kuu, Thelma Aoyama (not featured on the chart), ...

It still lacks 90s female singers. I want to add some to show a drop à-la-Namie was already common in the late 90s.

[Bigtop]

Originally Posted by Ayuminaj

1. Ayu and 90s legends or cult acts

What are cult acts?

[Ayuminaj]

Originally Posted by Bigtop

What are cult acts?

For me ELT is more like cult than legend because legend last while artist i call "cult" are those we know they had success for only some short period of time, but still were representative of that period and still respected for that. I only made such difference cause it seemed weird for me to call ELT a legendary band. But it's not important, I simply should write "big artists" for all.

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Given Japan's status as a single-based market for such a long time during these particular artists' careers, do you think you could do a version that displays data on singles as well, just for comparison's sake?

it doesn't work. I can't get a readable chart.

[panda87]

its been awhile since i felt any closeness to Ayu. her music has seemed so superficial with redundant sounds... and her image now... just so dolled and perfected i can't bring myself to have some kind of relation to feel drawn to her anymore... but i'll still keep up with her and her creations just because she's still my number 1. but i think i'm no longer her target market. but i mean, its not like she's serving me. she can do what makes her happy and supposedly what she thinks makes her current fans happy. but she no longer has that spark anymore. it's fading for me.

[Bad Wolf]

I think Namie and Ayu are two totally different artists to compare sales, or at least to consider the sales of one with the sales of another. Namie's appeal is very different than Ayu's, so naturally the attention her work gets will lead to a difference in sales.

I also think it comes down entirely to a matter of perspective as far as Ayu is concerned (this is disregarding sales). People say NEXT LEVEL was a great album, but I find it to be one of her absolute weakest since there's really no consistency in the tracks or how they flow. Love songs had a greater track by track sound style -- even Last angel, the arguably most "techno" track on the album didn't stand out like a sore thumb.

To go back to sales: It also has to do with the music one makes and what people want to hear. Namie makes music that's more listener friendly. That isn't to say her music isn't good, or that there isn't value to it (there definitely is, and a lot more than just how "in" it is right now), but it's something people want to hear so of course it's going to sell well. Ayu's music seems to be a bit too experimental for a pop star. That can be a definite hit or miss with the public at large and with some fans.

At the end, that's really what it comes down to: what the public wants to buy. Namie's hit it big with having the sort of stuff people want to hear coupled with music that she likes. Ayu (and Kuu, not to forget her awesome self) also use music that they like in their albums, and in my opinion since both have branched off from a strictly pop/R&B style their sales have been a bit iffy. Kuu is using varied elements of pop, R&B, and rock in her music and her sales have been a bit strange, too.

I think the public needs to alter what sort of music they place monetary value on more than the artist needing to adjust herself to what the public wants. I can and do easily say this about western artists as well, since I've seen some of them horribly lament how the public won't accept work they put their heart into -- and others completely disregard what people want to hear and stick entirely to what THEY want to make.

[Pieces_of_SEVEN]

Get new photographers also! Or at least, use the right photos! That whole You & Me cover thing is ridiculous.

[Delirium-Zer0]

Ayu needs to be more hands-on with her visual presentation again. You can tell she's leaving it to other people (who are in turn probably leaving it to interns).

[SKYia]

I never ever thought I'll say that but Namie's album quality is so much >>>>>> than Ayu's including songs (not one crap song IMO, all HQ and entertaining to me), promotion, covers, PVs. Recently I feel like Namie's using 150% of her potential and Ayu only like 30% meaning she still is capable of high sales, I still believe that, but not with this attitude.

I started to listen to Ayu when she was like ~28 I guess and I was 21, now I matured and she started to hit 20 year old girls :| I need her to mature with me (mature doesn't mean getting serious, I still love her energy and sense of humour) but her life style and look is way too inappriopriate for me.

As for music, when I started to listen to her her music was 98% of my tatste and now she changed so much that I can only describe it as 7-10%. She used to be so close to perfect and now I just tolerate her ideas still believing she'll do something I'll be proud to show to my friends again.

Namie and Kuu on the other hand improve themselves all the time, they get better and better, at least in my opinion, it's so hard recently to name Ayu as my fave singer, she really doesn't deserve this title anymore, she only keeps it because of her earlier work which still is truly amazing and unforgettable.

[kinix]

Unless ayu can dance along with a song and comes up with a visual appealing PV (refer to namie's new PVs.). I'm sure she can fight back.
Given an option for a PV with generic storyline and a PV with great visual appealing and dance. I'll definitely choose the after. They might have no storyline, but it's just something that will make u keep repeating the PV. It's what people are looking forward for now.
And as for ayu vocal, I still believe that she could sound just like the studio vocal sound. But she just need to keep her emotions in order. Sometimes in live she just went over emo =.= sometimes it might be good but it'll definitely affects the way she sounds.
And for photo shots, please keep the fish lips off... It might look good for angelina jolie and those natural thick lips person. but for ayu.... it's seems way too fake and annoying =.=
Song wise, I think most of ayu's song are over 4-5mins. I think it might be a bit too long. I cant really tell why, but I think 3-4mins song will have a deeper impact to people.
As long as she keep things this way, I think it's pretty much safe.