Ayu ~Anything Goes~ XVIII

[AyuConcertinLosAngelesPlease]

What's the chance of Ayu having a world tour for her 20th anniversary? So many Jpop artists have had concerts in the US - Utada, B'z, babymetal etc. Ayu is THE biggest Jpop ever, I'm sure she won't have any problem selling out a concert or two here.

[Katsuyuki012]

I don't think so tbh. Maybe during her 10th Anniversary she could've done it but I doubt it to happen nowadays...

[CatGirl]

Yeah, I don't think it'll happen either. Her stages seem a bit too elaborate to bring overseas, and I don't think she's as popular as she used to be. It seems to be all about groups now (Perfume, BABYMETAL, etc)

[oaristos]

I don't think she'd have an audience big enough if she did a world tour. So, that's very unlikely to happen.

[Evan Odinson]

Yeah, if she does a world tour it'd be probably a small one, like TA Tour, but travelling for such a small amount of tickets on each country wouldn't be a good commercial move, so I don't think so

[Andrenekoi]

Maybe a TA style tour or a big concert somewhere fans from several locations would find easy traveling too. I bet she could sell out an Arena on the USA or Europe, but I don't think she could put out a whole Arena Tour.

[oaristos]

For some reason, I don't even think she could sell out a single arena in the US or Europe. Even among the fans of Japanese music and culture, they tend to dislike her and ask "in which anime she sang" or "if she's still alive and releasing music." To sell out an arena a lot of people would be necessary, including those who are not Ayu fans but are generally interested in Asian artists.

That's why I can see a J-Rock band or a singer known for anime/video game tie-ins having a small tour in the West (which already happens once in a while) but not Ayu.

Maybe a single concert like the size of her last TA tour (which, to be honest, I'd be very happy to attend).

[EndOfTheWorld]

Ayu would have to have a very small venue in order to sell all the tickets. I truly don't think enough people would go. Maybe she could in the 2000s but no way now. Ayu doesn't have a good image in the US at all sadly. People have either forgotten her, don't even know who she is, or think she is washed up and has a terrible voice.
As much as I want her to come do a tour here, I think it would only hurt her in the end. It would spark conversation of Ayu versus Utada, her vocal performance will definitely have many critics, it may hurt her image if not enough tickets are sold as well. Giving more proof to the haters that Ayu's career is over.
What Ayu could have done is, back in the early to mid 2000s she could have performed Dearest at anime conventions across the country. That is what she is most known for here anyway. But it is too late now.

[pedronekoi]

I really think that a TA Tour in Europe would be successful! A day in London, another one in Paris and maybe one in Berlin. Europe is a nice and easy place to overseas fans go to so I totally think she would sell out in those place with a smal venue and small concept (just like TA Tour).

[Evan Odinson]

^Agree! I think Latin America would work as well, she has a really good amount of fans here, specially in brazil, peru, mexico, argentina and chile, something like a TA tour could totally work here

[chocopockymaster]

I've had Mad World on repeat since Inauguration Day...it's eerily appropriate.

We are well and truly screwed.

[CatGirl]

Originally Posted by chocopockymaster

I've had Mad World on repeat since Inauguration Day...it's eerily appropriate.

We are well and truly screwed.

It really is appropriate. Whenever I listen to Mad World, I can't help but think that Ayu had an awful 2016 too

[oaristos]

Originally Posted by Evan Odinson

^Agree! I think Latin America would work as well, she has a really good amount of fans here, specially in brazil, peru, mexico, argentina and chile, something like a TA tour could totally work here

That's funny, I'm from Brazil and I barely know anyone who likes her there (except by people online, of course) And I've studied Japanese in college, therefore have always been surrounded by people who are very interested in Asian culture in general (some of them even lived in Japan), and none of them liked Ayumi. The question was always the same: "is she still making music?."

[Andrenekoi]

^ I know among 10 people in person who know her and probably would go to a concert, those among the ones I didn't know through J-Pop ^^

She could sell out an arena in the West, but it would need to be a concert announced early so people could organize themselves to travel, something like a year in advance. An USA concert would be far easier for someone in Latin America to go than a date in the East, for example.

[dreamalley]

As I said in another thread: I'm sure Ayu could sell out small venues if she toured in Europe. Particularly in cities like London, Paris or even Rome.

Even in my country, which is small and doesn't really have Jpop fans, I see some unknown Jpop and Jrock bands coming to perform. And people go and it sells out!
The audience is like 10% actual jpop fans, 30% anime fans and 30% KPOP fans and 30% curious people who go to everything.

Ayu could do a small tour with a small stage like TA Limited.

[280301]

Just watched CDL2016-2017. Gosh, what is happening with Ayu's concerts at the moment? I know they've been visually opulent for a while now, but everything just seems so messy with her hoard of dancers and very 'hit and miss' vocals???

I compare it to her earlier concerts, and the magic just seems to have...gone? Perhaps as her earlier concerts didn't exacerbate her 'flaws' (like her dancing - her dancers are great, but she herself stands out as 'awkward' in contrast to their skills- and not the endearing awkward that she portrayed in concert years ago) as her current ones do.

I don't mean to be a downer - I liked A ONE, and I liked MIJ, but it feels like Ayu isn't really...focusing on her music at concerts anymore? It's like, it's the visual performance that is important, and her music is simply a backtrack.

[Norrel]

I think the past year as just been really strenuous for her. As I understand it, she did an Arena Tour, a TA tour, and then the Countdown concert. Between all that, she released an album, and she may have even been working on some new material for her next release. She didn't have too much time to dedicate toward CDL 2016-2017, but I'm still happy with what we got, vocal issues aside.

In regards to the music itself, I think it's just a matter that her music is taking a new direction. I stopped listened to her after Guilty, and only just started to listen to her again recently. and picking up where I left off. MIJ is in my opinion her best album since NEXT LEVEL or Secret. Everything in between seemed terrible.

As a whole, she's probably in the same lull as Madonna where she's no longer as popular as she used to be. It probably doesn't help that Ayu is reaching 40, so I imagine there is some ageism tied in.

However, if you're afraid that her concerts are no longer as opulent, watch Arena Tour 2015 A Cirque de Minuit, and be blown away. As a longtime Ayu fan, this was imo one of her best produced tours since her Arena Tours for My Story or (miss)Understood.

[Beauty4123]

Just re-living the masterpiece that was "Microphone" & those videos shot in London, back during the Rock'n'Roll Circus era. Those were the days!


Sorry for randomly being nostalgic.

[Uknow!]

CDL2016-2017 re-edit version is up on jpopsuki

[Norrel]

Any major differences between that and the TV version?