Ayumi is going downhill...

[pyro2787]

EDIT: Since everyone's asking what I like about Ayumi...here it is:

I like to listen to Ayumi because she is the first jpop artist I got into. Her songs were catchy and her PV's were also different from the ones I've seen before. Also, I liked her because of her improvement since poker face. For example, her voice and vocals improved since poker face and now, I can barely hear any random sqeaks in her performances. Another quality I liked about her is her originality, all her PV's and songs looked different...with the exception of the PV for Startin'. Also, she is someone a person can look up to since after rising into fame, she didn't become ****ty and wear tea cloth sized clothing.

And another thing...yes, I like to listen to Rainy Day, Alterna, and Rainy Day, there were too many songs so I forgot to list them.

And for those who blame me for posting soooo many negative comments, you are blunt! Just because your a fan, doesn't mean you have to like everything she does, or what she wears, eats...etc.

Yukitora says: "If everyone was allowed to post their (often negative) opinions with no reason whatsoever, this part of the forum would have just died ages ago. You could atleast asked for other peoples opinions on how she is going."
"If you want good reponses, atleast be thoughtful."

Is there a rule about not posting opinions? Nope, therefore, I can post my opinions!
Have you've seen a forum die due to opinions?? This is a chat-room! Do you want the whole chat-room to be about gossips? "OMG! like, she has a humungo pimple...and it's like...so gross!" or "ooooh, who is Ayumi dating now???".....People should be able to express there opinion, you don't like it, don't read, simple as that.
And did I say that people can't post their own opinions? No I did not...people, post away! People aren't dumb enough so I don't have to ask them to post their opinions, in fact, they already are.
And I never said I wanted good responses, people have different thoughts, posts what ever you think is right...GOD!
And be thoughtful?...yeah, what's your definition of thoughtful? only saying good stuff about ayumi?
Sorry if this is harsh, but you like to jump into conclusions way to quickly!

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YAY! Jump for joy, you get to read me blab about Ayumi....Alright…you guys don’t have to agree with me, but this is what I think: Ayumi is slowly going downhill!!

K, I’m gonna talk about her songs starting from the song Moments to BLUE BIRD (not talking about all the songs and not going in order btw).

First of all, I thought that Moments was a great song because it sounded different from the rest of the songs that I have listened to before. I also really enjoyed the PV because it had many symbolisms within the music video, it was creative, different, and it suited the song very well.

I also thought the song GAME was also really good mainly because this song has more of a “rock” feel in it. Once again, I liked this song because it sounded different. The PV also made me like the song because this is the 2nd time that I see Ayumi as a “rock star.” Like Moments, the PV was different and fun to watch.

CAROLS was a sad song…the chorus got some getting used to due to the high pitch of her voice, however, it was a nice song. The PV was a bit boring, but matched the song nicely.

“About you” was also good, I remembered being so excited to listen to the song. However, I thought that the video was horrible and cheap. The setting looked like it was done inside a horror house from an amusement park and even though I don’t understand Japanese, I didn’t think the PV suited the song.

Walking Proud was a good song…horrible PV. It was soooo boring and looked cheap.

my name’s WOMEN?good song, weird name. The PV was good because it was different from the stuff that she did before…and if you haven’t noticed, I like different and creative ideas in the PV’s.

Inspire…the PV was nice, I liked her claws, but I didn’t really like the song.
Humming 7/4…yeah, I hated the song and the PV, I won’t even talk about it.

All in all the album My Story was not bad, but not as good as her recent works.

After that, I just stopped having interests in her songs.

Bold and Delicious and Pride was probably the worse songs I’ve ever heard. What was she thinking when she decided to begin the song with yaya gaga dada whoa whoa???? What a “great” first impression I had with this song. Pride was boring. Not only that, I PV’s were horrible; yes she looked good, but horrible and boring. Both the videos for Pride and Bold and Delicious looked a like < looks like she’s running out of ideas.

Fairyland, I didn’t like the song, but I didn’t hate it either. The PV was one of the most beautiful one I’ve seen her done. Cept there were some dumb parts like her standing and staring at the fire looking stoned.

Step you and is this LOVE? was not bad…but once again, I hated the PV’s made for these songs, they were so boring… whatever happened to PV’s like Surreal, M, Moments…etc. where she would dress in something memorable????

Heaven was a nice song…the PV was nice, the fake crying wasn’t as bad as HANABI ~episode II~ …that was the dumbest PV (in my opinion) ever made…she cried from the beginning to the end, if it looked real, the PV would be ok, but nope, the crying was really fake and how she forces her crying gives her a million wrinkles on her face and makes her really unappealing.

In conclusion, I did not like this album, the cover art was also bad.

Yay…Startin’…maybe I was wrong about Ayumi going downhill.......or maybe not…

Although the song was really good and catchy…the PV made me not like the song as much. That was the most unoriginal PV I’ve ever seen. I thought I was watching a Britney Spears video, and I hate Britney. I like Ayumi because she didn’t turn ****ty after rising into fame. This PV was dumb, what’s with the butterfly mask? It made her face look like a frog! Motorcycle scene looked like Kill Bill and Britney’s Toxic fused together. And yea, if she actually danced, the PV wouldn’t be so bad…instead, she decided to have SEXY CONVULSIONS!!!! She just stood there and kicked her legs back and forth and waved her arms around.

I didn’t like the song Born to be but didn’t hate it either because it sounded too similar to her previous songs such as Fairyland. The PV was boring as hell and I could barely see anything since the back lights were on way tooooo dam bright. All I see during the whole PV is yellow light and silhouette of people.

BLUE BIRD…I didn’t like the song, it’s not catchy, sounds like Fairyland. PV was like Fairyland. I didn’t like this PV, looked like she got lazy and decided to film her vacation and turn it into a music video.

Beautiful fighters…the song was ok, I wasn’t excited about this song either. The PV was horrible!!! Come on, she’s like what? 28 or 29 years old and she acts like a teeny bopper during the car scene! It would’ve been better if the dance was more “advanced.” I mean come on, my lil sister could dance better, and she’s a horrible dancer. She could’ve tried a little more dancing like she did in Fairyland. The scene where she’s and her dancers are doing these odd jobs however was interesting and funny.

Hmm…well, to me, she’s going down, I’ve lost interest in her stuff after the My Story album was released. Hopefully I’m wrong since she’s really talented.

Oh yea, no BASHING! These are my opinions, not saying that you have to agree with me.

[ronin542001]

Well, my only complaint is you left out some of her really good songs from (miss) Understood. . And how could you forget about Will, Alterna, and Rainy Day? Those were all really, really good songs.

And worst of all, you missed Ladies Night! It's one of Ayumis best songs and has a very unique PV with symbolism, you should check it out.

I don't agree with you. But you basically just have a negative opinion about everything she's done for the past 2 years, what DO you like of her music?

[Yukitora]

I don't understand the whole point of creating a whole new topic just to voice some of your negative opinions without giving anyone at all any benefit at all.

"BLUE BIRD is crap". "Beautiful Fighters was so immature". "this is my opinion so don't bash me".

If everyone was allowed to post their (often negative) opinions with no reason whatsoever, this part of the forum would have just died ages ago. You could atleast asked for other peoples opinions on how she is going.

Anyway, I completely agree with you about the MY STORY album track PVs being rather cheaply made, but I personally loved her (miss)understood PVs. STEP you is far, far better than surreal, M and Moments in my opinion. I don't get how you think a normal wedding dress and the other boring dresses she wore in those PVs are more memoriable than her exotic STEP you ones

Bold & Delicious for me was her absolute best song since STEP you. Though I loved HEAVEN I was absolutely crazy about B&D. This is how I feel and it doesn't feel nice when you say it's a piece of crap and she should explode because of it. Btw I think you totally took the hanabi ~episide II~ PV the wrong way When people are emotional - they're not supposed to look uber polished and beautiful. I also loved that PV...

I may sound harsh but this is my own personal opinion and do not know you in real life so i'm probably wrong but from what I can tell, you look as if your VERY blunt. If you want good reponses, atleast be thoughtful.

[truehappiness]

....

If everyone wanted to say what they felt, we'd have hundreds of these sorts of threads..~_~



I wouldn't consider it 'going down hill' until people stop filling up her concerts.. xD

Hmm, I have a different opinion.

I don't think she's going downhill necessarily. I guess I don't like some recent songs too much. I didn't like B&D and Pride when I first heard them, but I got used to B&D, especially after seeing the PV. It wasn't anything special, but I thought it was different from what she usually did. It's not always dependant upon how much money she spends on PVs anyways.

I wasn't too impressed with her recent PVs either actually. I thought they were crap, especially BF. And I agree with you on that one. I hate how she tries to act cute. She reminds me of all those girls on myspace who have recently begun following the picture fad of holding up a peace sign and doing those pouty lips like they think it's cute or something. Ayumi was cute when she was younger and she can still be, but that really wasn't the way to go.

I do however notice something with her PVs. it seems to me, like a lot of her past PVs have been "dark" in a way. No smiling, some fake crying, or whatever. And her recent PVs, are like, happy go lucky, giddy, woohoo kind of. I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but it may be because a lot of people find the dark PVs boring and while they do have meaning, they're still...I dunno. I've read some people saying how they are sometimes unattractive because of their darkness and the whole dark scheme. So, the recent PVs are a change, IMO, to something happier, more girlish? Though I'm not sure.

I dunno. Maybe her PVs have changed and so have her songs, but I still like her songs. I like BLUE BIRD because it's nice. I don't think it sounds anything at all like fairyland and it's 'attractive' to me. BF is nice as well. It's different and I really like the robotic sounds.

And the whole thing about Startin' and the PV being all britney spears-y, I don't know how anyone relates it, unless you actually watch/listen/pay attention to her. So while some people are saying that it's a rip off of B.S., I don't see it. I just think it's some weird cowboy movie. Though I guess I don't like it either...cause the motorcycle scene is gay. So is the part where she's all like, "ew don't touch me. *kick*" (and of course, it's the black guy first lol). Though I do like her butterfly sunglass..things =/

I think she's still got some stuff left in her.

[truehappiness]

I think that despite what people's feelings are, her music definitely has not gone down in quality.

I mean, some people love alterna, some people hate it. Some people adore fairyland, and others despise it.

If you look at it from a musical perspective, her music has certainly retained its quality and production value, right? :]

[/pokes at the GEO versions of the (m)u tracks]

[kiseki89]

All you have mentioned are some of the bad songs like B&D, but other great songs were left out - like Rainy Day and those ronin542001 has mentioned.

It seems to me there's nothing that you like of her songs. Everything seems horrible and dumb to you -even the names of songs you have opinions. I do not deny that there are some bad songs to me, but mind you, it's difficult to be a singer. It's not like you see the same person getting the same best singer awards in VMAs, or other award shows.

I agree with truehappiness. If her concerts are still blooming with fans annually, and that's downhill - we sure have different definition of that word.

Also if all of us say out our demands to ayu's next song, I wonder if there will be a song where no one can find fault in. Heh dont say ayu, you might try other singers' songs but i doubt it.

[sora2522]

well, B&D was copied (w/permission) from sweetbox, and they had originally the ya go da wo, so she just copied the feel, tune, and extras, while adding her own lyrics and remaking it. heaven, loved the song. never noticed she was fake crying. startin' pv scared me O.o;;;. born to be was too bright. bb i liked. bf didn't reeally mind the pv. also, dun leave out the really good songs! (including (m)u itself XwX)

[Ndaa-LuvAyumi]

Maybe she is going downhill cause her age, not the song. I agree with you in my story, the PV was look cheap, but not all people look from PV, right?

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by kiseki89

I agree with truehappiness. If her concerts are still blooming with fans annually, and that's downhill - we sure have different definition of that word.

Well, full concert halls in Japan are a bit different than elsewhere. For example, someone like Seiko Matsuda (extremely popular in the 80s and early 90s) - her new albums and singles don't sell well anymore, yet she is still able to fill up the arenas every year based on the strength of her past songs. So while people aren't exactly eating up Seiko's new releases anymore, they still go to her concerts anyway.

[Mad_Cactuar]

Thank god it's only YOUR opinion and not most of ours. Her music has only been more polarizing and diverse.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by MC Tatsujin

Thank god it's only YOUR opinion and not most of ours. Her music has only been more polarizing and diverse.

Well, it is obviously more than just the opinion of one person since her CD sales have taken a drastic drop in such a short period of time.

[Mad_Cactuar]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Well, it is obviously more than just the opinion of one person since her CD sales have taken a drastic drop in such a short period of time.

Blame downloads?

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by MC Tatsujin

Blame downloads?

Downloads have been around for years. They didn't just suddenly pop up with the release of B&D.

[Mad_Cactuar]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Downloads have been around for years. They didn't just suddenly pop up with the release of B&D.

Utada's music single sales have also fell sharply over the years, but apparently she's still well thought off and her album is selling a lot now too.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by MC Tatsujin

Utada's music single sales have also fell sharply over the years, but apparently she's still well thought off and her album is selling a lot now too.

But I'm not talking about the course of years, I'm talking about the course of months in Ayu's case. Heaven came out and sold over 300,000, then shortly after B&D fails to reach 200,000, then m(U) comes out and is her first album to not sell 1 million copies, then Startin' comes out and also fails to sell 200,000. That's a worrying pattern right there and says to me that perhaps the sharp sudden drop has more to do with the quality of the product as percieved by the public more so than anything else.

[thinkingoutloud89]

I think everybody has to high expectations of Ayu...lok at Namie ...she dancing and dancing but I still love her like the first day...and the only thing I hate about ayus newer stuff is the cover art of (m)u and the PV of Born o Be...(even if its is much better in DVD Q)....on the other hand...STEP you and further made me like ayu, so why should I hate it? STEP you is still my all time favoruite. At the End I wanted to say, if you really like ayu, you should not think of alltime good PVs and songs or something "Never-Was-There"-thing oon evry new single or a deeper meaning of every PV....sometimes I enjoy a "Just-PV" like BB....It even looks like Ayu enjoyed it herself^^

Ah and about B&D/Pride...it was just to close to the album...but still very good songs...ayu doesn´t have to write them all the time and she made the translation herself^^

[icy_iven]

to me, i have to agree that music quality after MY STORY, instead it was after STEP you/is this love single that i find that ayumi's song quality is going down since then... i was waiting for a maxi single that contains real nice songs... i have not listened to blue bird/beatuiful fighters cuz my computer loudspeakers are spolit... so i will wait to see if this single is good... if not, i will wait for her next album!

[Ndaa-LuvAyumi]

mybe she's losing her teen taste in makin songs?