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

[Chris85]

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

Just watched the broadcast. There was obviously something wrong with her voice as she couldn't yell nor scream and she is good at that.

There were definitely many parts where she couldn't scream, especially towards the end, but there still were other parts where she did scream, like bits of Brillante.

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

I don't think it's the ears nor that there were tech issues, her voice was simply strained from either a cold, a night of drinking and singing or something worse. She was really trying her best, but it wasn't coming out the way it was supposed to. To an extent part of Me and HEAVEN benefitted from this as she couldn't scream through the chorus.

I agree with your points here.

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

I hope maybe they will go back and edit the vocals when her voice is in better condition (or maybe she sounded better on the first night and they can use that audio instead) because this is a show worth releasing on dvd/bluray.

Unfortunately they never do that, no matter how awful she sounds they edit what they've got and don't replace the vocals. I only remember several cases when they fixed wrong lyrics mistakes.

Originally Posted by Aderianu

For me it feels like ayu didn't hear herself

If that were really the case, she would be singing off-beat, which didn't happen.

Originally Posted by Katsuyuki012

it'll probably be drenched in autotune.

Yeah, remember Made in Tokyo CDL? It had similar problems, she sounded like a robot after they fixed it.

[EndOfTheWorld]

I was going to post a lengthy review of the show but there really isn't much to comment on. But I think this was a good show. It felt more like a normal concert that she would have done before 2017.
I liked the stage and the screens and lights. This show felt like it had a higher production value. The setlist was really great and I actually enjoyed having less classic songs for a change. Her vocals in my opinion were not quite as bad as some others are saying. She definitely was sounding a bit rough and struggled on some parts. I also thought that when she cried towards the end of walking proud it was genuine. The orchestra section was really nice and I loved the poker face tribute. I wish that Ayu would ditch the showgirl aesthetic but she still look great.
Are we all going to pretend that opening/intro didn't happen?
I have to say what the hell was that opening? It felt so out of place, like it didn't belong. I didn't get it at all. It just came across as bizarre and slightly creepy. Was that like Ayu's occult illuminati ritual for the new Reiwa era? They even walked together covering one eye.
Also that part when Timmy came out and was looking for "sexy boys" was so cringe. It made me facepalm. The whole skit. It didn't even feel relevant to the show.
But to end on a positive note, overall this show made me happy and I felt it was better than some previous concerts.

[Norrel]

Originally Posted by EndOfTheWorld

Are we all going to pretend that opening/intro didn't happen?
I have to say what the hell was that opening? It felt so out of place, like it didn't belong. I didn't get it at all. It just came across as bizarre and slightly creepy. Was that like Ayu's occult illuminati ritual for the new Reiwa era? They even walked together covering one eye.

To be honest, had the intro argued into BRILLANTE as the first song it would have made way more sense. I really didn’t understand why they opened with this theme, discarded it for whatever theming Duty and Microphone had, and then came back to it later in the show.

BRILLANTE into Flower would have SLAYED as an opening number, but I guess she really wanted Duty and Microphone to open the show :/

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by Chris85

There were definitely many parts where she couldn't scream, especially towards the end, but there still were other parts where she did scream, like bits of Brillante.

I skipped Brilliante as I knew she would have butchered it this time as her voice seemed pretty dead and the song is usually a hit or miss. I remember in 2016 during the first Osaka date she’s done it well, on the 2nd there was more screaming and it was the same last year in Saitama, where during the 2nd date she sang it a lot better than the first.

What I do appreciate is that she tried her best, like a pro and that she had a good attitude throughout the whole show even though she must have felt pretty bad.