Interviews on being a product

[stepYOU1234]

I'm trying to find the quotes where Ayu mentions Ayu and Ayumi Hamasaki being different and that one is her and the other is the singer/product but I can't remember where they were published. Thank you so much in advance

[truehappiness]

I am pretty sure that she said these things in the 2004 Light and Shadow NTV interview but it's kinda hard to find the English translated version of that. I think Facebook may have it broken up into parts. She's also said similar things in some print interviews too.

[tenshi no hane]

I think she said "I'm a product" in the Time Magazine interview. In 2002 iirc.

[Uknow!]

She is complicit in the brutal arithmetic of fame: trading the freedom she cherished for the right to tell her story through songs. Indeed, she has transcended mere songstress status and become something even more venerated in our consumer driven society. "It is necessary that I am viewed as a product," she says. "I am a product."

You're known for spectacular image changes like that one. I suspect that helps fuel the perception that you're less a person than a product. How does Ayumi Hamasaki, the person, feel about Ayumi Hamasaki, the product?
We're similar, in some respects. It's my own image. It is necessary that I am viewed as a product. I am a product. The "Hi, this is Ayu" person on TV is the person I know they want to see. I understand it's my role to realize people's dreams. I'm okay with that so long as my songs are my own. No one can take my songs away from me. For instance, hundreds of people work at Avex. They work hard for me. I understand my words are not my own, that everything that comes out of my mouth affects them. But my songs are my own.

Time Interview

[stepYOU1234]

Thank you. I had thought the quote I wanted was in the Time article too but it's not quite the one I thought I wanted. I'm writing an article about people creating their own brands and the extent to which you are your brand so I am still searching for one where she has explained how she views 'Ayu' and 'Ayumi Hamasaki' are different people- one is the singer and brand while the other is the person. I'm sure I've seen her say this, I just can't find the exact quote

Edit: I think I just found it in the 2000 NTV interview

"When I’m singing, I’m the artist Ayumi Hamasaki
When I’m making songs, I’m Ayu
Because, you know, Ayumi Hamasaki is a product"