[Unconfirmed] Ayumi plans for 2015 World Tour and 2015 New Album, could this be a rumour?

[Isicio]

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Hikaru Utada, An Cafe, LM.C and more visual kei bands do European and American tours, if they can, why ayumi hamasaki, koda kumi and namie amuro can't do it? Obviously they don't have the same public number as in Japan, but people go to they concerts here in this part of the world.

So Japanese singers yes! they can come on tour! I was so happy when I was go to the An Cafe two concerts here in my country, was a dream come true

Maybe here are not interested in contract ayu, koda and namie, I don't know.

[ILoveGeniuses]

^I went to ONE OK ROCK's concert earlier this year in Toronto, ON. Just tiny question, are any of those bands under avex? Only avex artist I know of that came to US for a concert is Do As Infinity back in 04 when they did a show in New York. As for Ayu, out of her, Kuu & Namie I'd see Ayu as the best and most likely one to do it. Namie has always been shy and I bet she'd be even more so on a stage in front of an audience that isn't Japanese fluent. Kuu's always been super friendly and talkative but again, maybe it'd feel out of place for her to talk a lot like she always does to a group who don't understand her that well. Ayu however does speak English exceptionally well as a bonus upside, she's wonderfully friendly and very much enjoys interacting with her audience, band and dancers. She might have to teach some of them some english for the MC parts of the show though to do one here.

[Delirium-Zer0]

With the bigger artists who sell well in Japan, there's simply no REASON to take what they perceive as a huge risk and release things overseas - unless an artist has a huge built-in fanbase due to anime themes (like T.M.Revolution) or their sales aren't crazy huge in Japan, you don't usually see them come here... Koda Kumi DID come to Texas for an anime convention in the first or second year of her career, before she really took off. And DAI were never monstrous sellers, just reasonably successful, so avex probably figured it was worth a shot for them to perform here since "fukai mori" made them pretty well known among anime fans in the states.

But having an artist perform here DOES cost money (and, potentially, reputation - see Pink Lady for reference) for likely little-to-no return on investment, so Japanese labels don't see the need to branch out to to the west unless it's necessary.

Ayu's sales falling may be a blessing in disguise - if Avex feels the need to try and pimp her out a bit more on our side of the planet, they might suggest she do that.

[Isicio]

@ILoveGeniuses yes, is strange, avex artist don't see making tours out of Asia..I remember Perfume was on USA and Europe too, and Big Bang but maybe they come with they korean label, and 2NE1 too.

Maybe the reason is what Delirium-ZerO says.

But anyway here are people that go to the tours in Japan, and I think this experience is more better than go here in concerts of ayu,kuu and namie.
If they will do it.

[ILoveGeniuses]

Originally Posted by Isicio

@ILoveGeniuses yes, is strange, avex artist don't see making tours out of Asia..I remember Perfume was on USA and Europe too, and Big Bang but maybe they come with they korean label, and 2NE1 too.

Maybe the reason is what Delirium-ZerO says.

But anyway here are people that go to the tours in Japan, and I think this experience is more better than go here in concerts of ayu,kuu and namie.
If they will do it.

Problem is that not everyone can afford to fly overseas. I might be able to in a couple years, but right now a lot of personal issues are keeping me back. Also I dont like the idea of going overseas alone and I dont know anyone that's not frequently taken up by work and/or not scared to death of flying. However while I agree the shows in Japan are better I'd just be happy to be in the same building as them. I've had a total blast at both the Western and Asian artists concerts I've been to more locally... but I wouldnt really call my trip down to NY 2years ago for 2NE1 local. I always end up walking out of concerts unable to speak for the rest of the night due to the amount of shouting and screaming I end up doing. LOL
As for Ayu, I do hope she decides at some point to do a global tour regardless. And it was an old idea, but I was thinking maybe she would if we got enough people together and spammed her twitter for at least a few hours requesting one.

[DonkeyKongRemix]

Golly, I would love to see her live at least three different times in my life. If she did a world tour, this would be much more likely for me. Will it really happen? I doubt it.

(I love girugamesh cause they've gone to almost every state in America, tons of other countries, just cause they love seeing the world and the fans they have scattered everywhere... And yet, not once have I ever seen them live either... >.>)

[orangeakira]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

With the bigger artists who sell well in Japan, there's simply no REASON to take what they perceive as a huge risk and release things overseas - unless an artist has a huge built-in fanbase due to anime themes (like T.M.Revolution) or their sales aren't crazy huge in Japan, you don't usually see them come here

Utada Hikaru performed in America. Didn't every venue sell out? She's a huge artist. Her worst selling Japanese studio album to date sold around 900,000 physical copies. Technically she didn't need to come to America. Ayu is a pretty huge artist. Even if she's not in her prime, I'm sure she'd still be able to sell out a pretty huge venue. Most people did get into her through anime. I first heard her song Dearest at the end of Inuyasha.

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Ayu's sales falling may be a blessing in disguise - if Avex feels the need to try and pimp her out a bit more on our side of the planet, they might suggest she do that.

If that's the case, I don't think I want her to perform a world tour, because her sales are so bad she's desperate. This shouldn't be a desperate attempt at making money. She should do this because she knows she's going to be successful. She should pay the rest of the world attention because of the whole "A world is one" idea. Not because we're her last hope and she's only turning to us for profit as a "plan B".

[ILoveGeniuses]

^Agreed 100%

[TeamAyu2004]

man, saw this and thought it was a new thread... lol.
Although if it is true world tour could just mean Asia because that is a lot of the world... lol. Wasn't perfumes "world tour" just parts of asia a few years ago?

[ILoveGeniuses]

^So was 2NE1's AON TOUR that just finished. Pissed off a lot of fans.

[Delirium-Zer0]

Originally Posted by orangeakira

Utada Hikaru performed in America. Didn't every venue sell out? She's a huge artist. Her worst selling Japanese studio album to date sold around 900,000 physical copies. Technically she didn't need to come to America. Ayu is a pretty huge artist. Even if she's not in her prime, I'm sure she'd still be able to sell out a pretty huge venue. Most people did get into her through anime. I first heard her song Dearest at the end of Inuyasha.

Before I say anything else, just know that I'm absolutely CERTAIN Ayu could sell out concert tickets. I just don't think avex is certain of that, which is the argument I'm making.

For one thing, Hikki herself wanted to come to the USA, not just for concerts so her fans could see her but actually pursuing a career stateside - Ayu has said in the past that she didn't really have an interest in doing that, even if she does do shows over here. Hikki got a contract here and toured in support of that album with a US label backing her. So it wasn't something Toshiba-EMI was taking a risk on, it was IDJ & Hikki taking that risk. Fans of Hikki's Japanese material brought their previously-resistant-to-Japanese-music friends, fans were willing & able to fly or drive from other areas of the country, and the venues she played in were fairly small (each fits about 1200 people max - compare that to stadiums that fit up to 18,000 people) so the tour easily sold out.

As for Ayu & "Dearest"... she's not as known for anime songs as some other artists are, given that that IS her only anime theme (unlike other artists - even non-anison-specific ones like L'arc, FLOW, Ajikan, etc. - who have all done multiple anime theme songs). Anime fans KNOW those names, they don't know Ayu's name, at least not anymore. And while she's done game themes (like Hikki has, and is reasonable well known for stateside), only the recent Tales of Xillia tracks were included in the US releases on games that sold well (while Depend on you WAS on the US release of Thousand Arms, it was a bit of a niche game being mostly a dating sim rather than a pure RPG... plus it did kinda suck). At this point, also, I don't know a single person who's played the ToX games and made the connection that Ayu did an Inuyasha theme as well. It's just been WAY too long. Most of the fans who were turned onto back Ayu when Dearest came out have since left the fandom. It's easy to forget how long ago "Dearest" and Inuyasha's height of popularity really was.

If that's the case, I don't think I want her to perform a world tour, because her sales are so bad she's desperate. This shouldn't be a desperate attempt at making money. She should do this because she knows she's going to be successful. She should pay the rest of the world attention because of the whole "A world is one" idea. Not because we're her last hope and she's only turning to us for profit as a "plan B".

It's not that it would be a desperate cash grab, far from it. It would just be EXTREMELY costly, so they'd need a damn good reason to do it.

It's not likely that she'd sell too much better than Hikki - figure 1200-capacity times 10 dates, same deal. That's 12,000 tickets sold. Ayu's shows cost between 60 and 90 dollars so let's split the difference and say $75. That'd be $900,000 avex could safely expect to get out of this, and that's GROSS income from the tour, NOT profit. If Ayu does, say, one or two shows in a big venue - because she'd want to do a BIG AYU CONCERT as opposed to a small, club-like show (like Limited TA Live Tour was) since that's what people have come to expect of her - she could at most expect about a $1.5 million return in ticket sales.

Which brings me to the other problem - ayu's shows are big. Hikki's shows did well, and alot of that $900,000 was probably pure profit for her, but they were small and not very showy. Ayu has dancers, special effects, special stage construction, etc. that Hikki didn't have on her US tour, and most of the bands & acts who come here don't (even bigger stars like L'arc don't have dancers - just fairly inexpensive lighting & pyrotechnics & video). Ayu would probably be operating at a loss if she did one or two of her big shows here, breaking even at best if they're very economical about it.

So why would they do it over here? Well, Ayu would probably be all for the idea, sure. But they'd only LET her do it if they really had nothing to lose. And given ayu's faltering sales, they really don't at this point. When she was a bigger seller, an Ayu show that flopped after a ton of hype would be embarrassing - and NEVER underestimate the importance of saving face when it comes to Asian entertainment companies.

And I hate to say it, the scant showing to the A3D and A3D II screenings probably isn't helping them feel more secure about the idea either.

[labello]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Which brings me to the other problem - ayu's shows are big. Hikki's shows did well, and alot of that $900,000 was probably pure profit for her, but they were small and not very showy. Ayu has dancers, special effects, special stage construction, etc. that Hikki didn't have on her US tour, and most of the bands & acts who come here don't (even bigger stars like L'arc don't have dancers - just fairly inexpensive lighting & pyrotechnics & video). Ayu would probably be operating at a loss if she did one or two of her big shows here, breaking even at best if they're very economical about it.

Reading this thread I was just thinking about how artists like Miyavi can come to Europe and the USA again and again and fill out venues. I have been to two Miyavi concerts and although the venues were small they were always filled to the brim. These concerts were great! He made it work!!
Now that Deli said it I noticed the reason why I don't think Ayu concerts would work overseas (of course only in my opinion): Utada Hikaru's(overseas) and Miyavi's concerts don't focus on a huge stage show. They focus on the music and performing that music.
I honestly think Ayu could be but isn't that kind of artist. She has so many dancers and costume changes and those stage sets that are just too elaborate for small stages like the ones I saw at those concerts. As mean as it might be Ayu isn't known for her amazing and stable voice, she is known for her lyrics and those great, big shows. For these kind of shows you need to be able to pull it off, your voice has to be the dancers, the fancy lighting, the costume changes. Her voice would need to make up for what she can't bring to those international concerts and I'm not sure if she could.

Regarding bigger stages and venues, as far as I know 2NE1 had two(?) US concerts and they seemed to have sold well enough. Those had the stages they also used in Korea I think, so they could be comparable to what Ayu would usually do (stage-wise). So Ayu might be able to do something similar, 2 concerts in big US cities.
A lot of fans came from around the country but honestly I don't see many doing that for Ayu. Many Ayu fans are just older, they have responsibilities and just not that kind of money to spare on a concert and a trip to a different city. I'm also not sure how many fans there are in comparison, k-pop has been growing over the years so I think that might be the reason it attracted a lot of attention. J-pop as far as I've noticed has never had that hype.

Anyway, I would love for Ayu to come to other countries but I'm not sure if it would work out, cost-wise as Deli explained but also show-wise.

[YUKARI]

Hamasaki could easily do a sold out concert outside Japan. She was a super-star, she might not be trendy anymore but I'm 100% sure that people would just come to see her, legendary ayumi hamasaki alive.

I'm also sure that if she ever wanted to make a show in US or Europe she would do it long time ago. Who cares about the dancers & effects if they can see and hear real physical Ayu? She could do an "unplugged" live concert if she wanted.

I mean I just think that she actually never wanted to make a present to us, overseas fans by doing a concert. Otherwise she could do it long time ago.

And now as she keeps losing her Japanese fans, the management could possibly think about making money on overseas fans as Hamasaki now lives in LA and could easily arrange a concert there. That's actually sad. And something tells me that in 2015 she will hold an overseas concert and I'm not sure if I feel happy or biased about it.

[TeamAyu2004]

Actually she could do it if she wanted too, but the question is... does she want to?
A world (asia) tour is long and time consuming... tiring...
I dont think people realize how much time and effort goes into stuff like this.

[SKYia]

I wonder why can't she just do what Gackt did, take few band members (or like he did hire some just for world tour) and do some modest non-show, hall/club tour, he managed to fill quite a few halls Ayu would definitely fill more, it didn't ruin him and he sells much less than Ayu in general.

[Delirium-Zer0]

I think that would absolutely be the way to go... Ayu & her band doing a VH1 Storytellers/MTV Unplugged type series of small venue shows, playing the part of a singer/songwriter rather than a huge showy pop star, letting her voice & charisma (and maybe a cool outfit or two) be the "show" rather than relying on dancers & staging.

I think Ayu underestimates how riveting she is to watch on her own - Concert Tour 2000 held my interest far more than most of her later concerts have, because watching HER was entrancing. Her facial expressions, her dreamy eyes, the way she'd lean forward to push notes out, that tap of the microphone when she lowered it after each line. That stuff gave her such presence and character, but she's replaced it with choreography. When she DOES emote more naturally on stage, it's - in my opinion - a far more engaging performance, and it's just as interesting to watch in the moment as anything with dancers or effects.

But again, I don't think Ayu realizes that's the case. I don't think she realizes that I'm SAD I never got to see the early, barebones stages of Power of Music and only got to see the "full show" from the Limited Edition leg of the tour. With each tour, she only ever presents us with this polished package that's kind of buffed all her edges & flaws out - she's hidden behind the choreography and effects and lighting, you often literally can't see her behind her dancers. And she only gives us the big shows too - she never released the UC Card-sponsored 2000 Winter show, she never released Akasaka Blitz, she took AGES to release any of Limited TeamAyu Live Tour. Even now she doesn't give us the MC anymore, when it's just her being natural on stage. She just keeps hiding more and more.

So no, I don't think she'd do a show over here - doing a show here would necessarily mean that she can't hide behind a big production.

[Zeke.]

Power of music was perfect as is in the final release. The extravagance and elegance of it all, it truly represented the POWER of music.

[orangeakira]

I think an unplugged/stripped down concert would be amazing. If she did do a tour here I hope she would do 0% of anything she's done before. No tissue dances, clowns, singing a ballad while wearing a huge dress while crying while a male shirtless (for some reason) dancer longs for her, no dancing on poles, cages, chairs, etc.

If she ever did do a tour around the world I want her to actually think about what she's doing. I feel like everything at her tours is recycled. Everything. Every outfit is reminiscent of another outfit. Every prop and song section is similar to another tour. Even when she tries out new stuff, she ends up falling into the same routine. It's like a habit she can't quit.

I really really really would have loved to see POM from the early stages.

[JinHamasaki]

I think if Ayu held an a-nation Singapore style concert worldwide it would sell out and be successful. The Marina Bay Sands has a max capacity of 1680, and with Ayu's style of stage probably yield 1400 seats. From reading everyone's reviews online, it seems like the overall reception was extremely positive.

Seats in US and Europe are usually variable price (the closer you are, the more $) so avex can recoup a lot of money from front row seats that I'm sure some fanatics will be more than happy to pay ~$250+ .

So realistically she could have a show(s) in Singapore, HK, Taiwan, China, NY, LA, London. Maybe even Seoul and Brazil (large Japanese population).

[jpopfan018]

With the launch of global TeamAyu, Avex can consider a global "Limited TA Tour", perhaps a stripdown version of her concert (similar to a-nation) will help to keep the cost low?