[News] ayumi hamasaki 21st anniversary -POWER of A^3 II - Page 13

pedronekoi · #1 11th April 2019, 03:20 PM

The show I went in Nakano Sunplaza in February, her vocals were AMAZING. I was completely shocked of how good she sounded in every single song. And I think it was my favorite concert of her (I've been to 7 in total).

About the construction outfits I was shocked when I came to Tokyo and saw all this young guys wearing it. It's definitely the trend now. As someone pointed, Calvin Klein is doing it and also all the fast fashion brands released their version.

Chris85 · #2 11th April 2019, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pedronekoi

The show I went in Nakano Sunplaza in February, her vocals were AMAZING. I was completely shocked of how good she sounded in every single song.

Sounds too good to be true :-P Did you record audio of any song?

voltron · #3 11th April 2019, 04:04 PM

I've seen Ayu 5 times over the years, and honestly I've never been to a performance that her vocals were not good. In order of best to worst, I think I would rate them:

1 - TA 2015 (Birthday Date). She struggled a tiny bit with the high notes in Unite and maybe Heartplace was a little scream-y, but that was all.
2 - PoM 2018 (Fukuoka). Her vocals were great the entire show, and I can't think of a single song that sounded forced or like she was struggling.
3 - TA 2016 (Day Before Finale). Strong vocals again, but her voice was a little thinner on the acapella of Teddy Bear. She also relied on backing track a lot for this tour.
4 - TA 2016 (Finale). Not much change from the day before, but a little bit worse.
5 - CDL 04-05 (Day Before NYE). Her vocals were good here, but I think she lipsynced Duty and M pretty obviously (the sound levels were completely different). Her pitch was really good in this show, and overall I have no complaints...but she was sort of in a transitional phase of her voice where she was moving into her deeper register, but wasn't quite there yet. So while I love songs like Carols, I think they have a unique vocal quality to them that I can't quite compare to after this time when her voice settled in a deeper place.

SunshineSlayer · #4 11th April 2019, 04:56 PM

^ Interesting how people hear the same things but have different opinions.

I went to the exact same TA 2016 date and thought the vocals were just okay.

You are right about CDL 04-05 - It's one of my favorite countdown lives, but she did lip sync at least Duty and M. She is lip synching to the exact same recording that she used at the Asia Song festival for M.

I would have to say her best vocals that I saw live were in 2005 and 2006. 2007 had a sharp decline and since then I adjusted my expectations. Though she seems to have some random great years at times since then; 2010 and 2015 really stick out as being very vocally strong.

Chris85 · #5 12th April 2019, 01:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

You are right about CDL 04-05 - It's one of my favorite countdown lives, but she did lip sync at least Duty and M. She is lip synching to the exact same recording that she used at the Asia Song festival for M.

I wonder what was the reason for that in the first place. To let her voice rest a little bit, because she can't do a full show live? I understand why she does that if there's a dance routine or aerial stuff. It's interesting that there were cases when she rehearsed some songs live, but they went with lip syncing in the end.

voltron · #6 11th April 2019, 08:58 PM

^ Hah, I wonder if placement in the venue played into it at all. You were in the seats, right? I was right up at stage, so it's also possible I got more of backing track because there were speakers by my head. That said, it was definitely not as good as 2015, but I didn't find it to have any egregious problems.

And I think she's always struggled with back-to-back performances. I never thought the actual night of CDL 04-05 recording sounded as good as the night before when I saw her. It wasn't hugely different, but I could definitely notice a change on some songs.

mi|kshake · #7 11th April 2019, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

^Her dancers really are getting better choreography latelu! About the vocals, she most likely was sick or tired, as she sounded way better on the first date, so I don't think this is how she will sound from now on when she is healthy.

And the B&D + Btb... combo was used before on both POMs

Quote:

Originally Posted by attractive nausea

^ Don't worry it's not the norm, the shows I attended in 2016 weren't that great in terms of vocals because of the screaming but it was okay, however the shows I attended in 2018 had really great vocals.

Phew, that's good to know! I was starting to think this was the beginning of the end for her.

xLuna&1LOVE · #8 11th April 2019, 10:06 PM

So sad to read that she struggled with vocals on the second day. All the pictures from the concert look so good, that I'd hoped that this was a great show nobody would've wanted to miss it. I still think that these pictures show how gorgeous Ayu is, and how spectacular her show was. I love the costumes, stage, setlist.. everything! Then it is really upsetting that Ayu's vocals were bad on the second day. But she is doing her best! This shows proves that Ayu is creative and a living legend!

ddggcw · #9 12th April 2019, 07:11 AM

^ this was 4.6, right? I don't have the videos to that song but it sounded a lot closer to the version I heard in the arena than the one that I watched online

Chris85 · #10 12th April 2019, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddggcw

^ this was 4.6, right? I don't have the videos to that song but it sounded a lot closer to the version I heard in the arena than the one that I watched online

No, it's pitch-corrected vocals from 4.7.

ddggcw · #11 12th April 2019, 07:15 AM

how do they manage to do this even? she sounded like her throat was totally dehydrated.

Chris85 · #12 12th April 2019, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddggcw

how do they manage to do this even? she sounded like her throat was totally dehydrated.

Filters and reverb, I guess. I noticed they fixed lyrics mistake at the end of second chorus - these vocals are from somewhere else, but the rest seems to be from 4.7, just edited.

Deep snow · #13 12th April 2019, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris85

I noticed they fixed lyrics mistake at the end of second chorus - these vocals are from somewhere else, but the rest seems to be from 4.7, just edited.

I noticed this too

great job, editors! holy_arrow also uploaded an AWA rip of this track on the Ayu Downloads page

ddggcw · #14 12th April 2019, 09:42 AM

Sigh I hope the covering tracks are from 4.6... It feels less of a lie since it's still from the Saitama concert

relmy · #15 12th April 2019, 01:15 PM

She sounded so good in 2015, does she just not have a vocal coach now? Or was the one just exceptionally good for her?

ayuinh.k? · #16 12th April 2019, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by relmy

She sounded so good in 2015, does she just not have a vocal coach now? Or was the one just exceptionally good for her?

She took vocal lessons in L.A with Liz Lewis, but the issue with her voice is that she needs to give her vocals a rest and also her vocal range has changed since debut

Chris85 · #17 13th April 2019, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ayuinh.k?

She took vocal lessons in L.A with Liz Lewis, but the issue with her voice is that she needs to give her vocals a rest and also her vocal range has changed since debut

I went back and listened to Arena Tour 2015 A Cirque de Minuit show I attended. There were many beautiful vocal moments, but there were tons of screaming and usual off-key moments as well, and of course singing out of her vocal range. A Song for XX sounded way worse than in 2013's shows. So in the end I don't know what her coach taught her, as there was not much improvement. I remember Ayu saying in an interview that the coach just said "wrong" when she was trying to sing, and that she didn't really explain much.
I wonder if Ayu is indeed surrounded by yes men, because nobody seems to tell her that she at least doesn't have to scream when she is thanking public/saying something to public, not to mention when she's "singing". No voice will remain the same after straining it like that for years.

ayuinh.k? · #18 13th April 2019, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris85

I went back and listened to Arena Tour 2015 A Cirque de Minuit show I attended. There were many beautiful vocal moments, but there were tons of screaming and usual off-key moments as well, and of course singing out of her vocal range. A Song for XX sounded way worse than in 2013's shows. So in the end I don't know what her coach taught her, as there was not much improvement. I remember Ayu saying in an interview that the coach just said "wrong" when she was trying to sing, and that she didn't really explain much.
I wonder if Ayu is indeed surrounded by yes men, because nobody seems to tell her that she at least doesn't have to scream when she is thanking public/saying something to public, not to mention when she's "singing". No voice will remain the same after straining it like that for years.

It's unfortunate that she hasn't fixed the screaming and off-key moments. People have been speculating her team is full of yes men for a long time, especially during Colours Era

SunshineSlayer · #19 13th April 2019, 12:33 AM

I thought she sounded infinitely better in 2015 as compared to '13. 11-13 were some of her worst imo.

Chris85 · #20 13th April 2019, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

I thought she sounded infinitely better in 2015 as compared to '13. 11-13 were some of her worst imo.

Interesting. Probably depends on what dates people attended.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

About the "yes men", do you guys forgot the "lol ayu y u fat" issue?

I don't recall that.