[CHARTS + SALES] GUILTY -- ORICON STYLE

[Ayumiko]

Originally Posted by heartplace83

personally i dont care bout the sales. ayu is over tryin to make music that people all love (mainstream ones). shes gotten one of the highest selling album b4, shes gotten tonnes of no 1 albums n singles b4, shes made millions of people happy with her music b4. shes just doin what she loves now. so as long as she keep producing good stuff and keep feedin us with lovely music, all the other bulls dont matter anymore ;_)

very well said

[Coelacanth]

What's really sad is that this thread is going on 10 pages, while other news [such as lyric translations, mag scans, live appearances] can barely make 2 pages. Some of y'all need to really get your priorities in order. Most of you don't live in Japan, it's not like you have to deal with the "embarrassment" of having a favorite 'idol' with declining sales. The unnecessary shallowness of the international J-pop community makes me sick to my stomach, it really does. Moreso in the "Diva sphere" [Ayu, Koda, Utada]. I'm ashamed to be associated with it.

Maybe I'm just in a different boat than most of you. I'm not into the whole 'Queen of J-pop' thing. I'm just saying that from my point of view, it seems that some of you are extremely shallow beings.

[jasjasss]

but ppl think
if ayu doesnt sell well,,,
how is she going to support herself .. she wont have the money to spend again

[ayu_ready?]

second day-less sales!!!

[Coelacanth]

The PV's of fairyland, JEWEL, and my name's WOMEN were all made like 4-6 years after her peak. They were some of the most expensive PV's in Japanese music history.

I thought two of the three PV's sucked major balls and were a complete waste of money. Avex wouldn't just blow money like this if they didn't consider Ayu a valuable asset to their company. I think Avex has a lot of faith in Ayu's music too.

And have y'all seen the sales of the new B'z album? They have got to be, hands down, one of the most highly respected acts in Japan [plus the highest selling with over 70 million records sold!] Total sales [so far, as its only been out for three weeks] = 382,377. If Ayu can get close to that, then she's really not doing that bad... If she can exceed that, then I think she's doing pretty damn well...

[Not~Yet]

To put it simply, it doesn't matter whether she has some millions sales with this album or reaches #1, but as long as she is supported and happy with the sales and results herself (as all the songs are straight from her heart) everything's fine. It's not like her career or her contract with avex is in danger, since she's still one of the most successful singers in the whole Asia. But of course, as a fan, I, and all the others too who claim to be her fans wish for her to sell well. Please no arguing about this.

[Bad Wolf]

Originally Posted by jasjasss

but ppl think
if ayu doesnt sell well,,,
how is she going to support herself .. she wont have the money to spend again

Did you see how much money she made this year alone? That lady isn't gonna go wanting for cash for a long time. Don't worry.

Originally Posted by kyuutii_hanii

But of course, as a fan, I, and all the others too who claim to be her fans wish for her to sell well. Please no arguing about this.

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

And have y'all seen the sales of the new B'z album? They have got to be, hands down, one of the most highly respected acts in Japan [plus the highest selling with over 70 million records sold!] Total sales [so far, as its only been out for three weeks] = 382,377. If Ayu can get close to that, then she's really not doing that bad... If she can exceed that, then I think she's doing pretty damn well...

Wow, even B'z isn't selling well. That puts these sales into perspective.
Thanks Coelacanth, now I'm not really worried or whatever.
B'z is an extremely popular band in Japan and if they're sales are that low,
then it doesn't mean that ayu, another respected act, is in danger of anything.
Thanks a lot for this.

[Coelacanth]

Selling well.. sure it's an added bonus, but I don't think it will ever directly affect the quality of the music. So I'm just whatever about it.

[ayu_fan929]

Originally Posted by KaoriNeko

Wow, even B'z isn't selling well. That puts these sales into perspective.

B'z album isn't doing bad since they've been hovering around the 500k album sales mark with their last 2 albums. Given the natural decline, they're still pretty much selling the same since 2005.

[Lee_Hamasaki]

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

The PV's of fairyland, JEWEL, and my name's WOMEN were all made like 4-6 years after her peak. They were some of the most expensive PV's in Japanese music history.

I thought two of the three PV's sucked major balls and were a complete waste of money.

I think all of these pvs are amazing! my name's WOMEN is the best pv of ayu for me..


anyway the sales are

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

...I'm not into the whole 'Queen of J-pop' thing. I'm just saying that from my point of view...

Me neither. Shouldn't that really be for Japan to decide?

[Raleigh]

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

Selling well.. sure it's an added bonus, but I don't think it will ever directly affect the quality of the music. So I'm just whatever about it.

I think you made a lot of valid points here. In the end most artists in Japan cannot maintain their high sales if they've been around for a very long time. We can see how artists like Ami Suzuki (who competed with Ayu back in her Sony days) now has to struggle to surpass 10k with an album. Namie too was a legend at her time but now it's impossible for her to reach the same figures even if her new album is probably one of her best works.

In the end an artists' hype can only last for so long. And unless the album isn't jam packed with something that really appeals to people (Like Kumi's pv overload and concert extra) only the normal fanbase is bound to purchase an album from an artist who's been around for so long. I'd say Ayumi's fanbase who occasionally purchase her stuff is probably around 300-400k.

Personally as long as her music has high quality I will be happy. Usually her highest selling singles are her summer releases and that's because it's got this happy and mainstream feeling that Japan loves so much, but the summer singles end up my least favourite ones. I liked her post t2m releases because they sounded more personal and reflected more her emotions. I'd take that any day over the typical overproduced, shallow and commercial music.

[Coelacanth]

Originally Posted by austin. ♥

Me neither. Shouldn't that really be for Japan to decide?

Exactly!

Originally Posted by Demure_Dusk

Usually her highest selling singles are her summer releases and that's because it's got this happy and mainstream feeling that Japan loves so much, but the summer singles end up my least favourite ones. I liked her post t2m releases because they sounded more personal and reflected more her emotions.

I agree. I understand that songs like glitter and BLUE BIRD are Ayu staples, and I do enjoy them sometimes. However, I prefer.. I don't want to say darker music.. but music that comes from the heart. B&D is such a tacky song, and I guess I can understand why people hate on it. But Ayu's presence in that song is so great, I can't help but love it.

[Raleigh]

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

I agree. I understand that songs like glitter and BLUE BIRD are Ayu staples, and I do enjoy them sometimes. However, I prefer.. I don't want to say darker music.. but music that comes from the heart. B&D is such a tacky song, and I guess I can understand why people hate on it. But Ayu's presence in that song is so great, I can't help but love it.

I enjoy them too but not as much as her "more honest" stuff. Like her summer singles are usually about happy feelings, lost innocence or love. They're fun for summer and summer wouldn't be summer without them. However I also love her heartfelt songs where she puts an effort to display her own true feelings.

With B&D you either love it or hate it, especially since the style is quite different from anything she has released. I liked it too because it has a lot of attitude and had its' own unique charm.

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by jasjasss

but ppl think
if ayu doesnt sell well,,,
how is she going to support herself .. she wont have the money to spend again

LOL Ayu can retire and she won't ever have to move a finger, she is loaded with money ^^ So as long as she releases stuff we like, another 10 pages like these posted here are SOO UNNEEDED ^^

[naxxo.licious™]

Originally Posted by cttncandy

Oh I know hehe I am just like so sick and tired of hearing people complain about how the CD or the Singles have low sales but yet they don't go out there and support Ayu monetarily. I don't really care for sales I buy her singles and cds because I genuinely enjoy her music. But it just irks me when someone who is just sitting at home comfortably clicking the "download button" complains about people not buying the album hellooooo u are doing the same thing !!! lol

Actually, i have already preordered my copy. It's been very little since i discovered ayu, so it may take me time to buy all of her cd's (but i'll do). Maybe you missunderstood my comment. I didn't want to offend anybody. Sorry if i offended u and some others who answered to my comment. Really, if i did it i apologize.
The only thing i want to repeat, is that we must support ayu. If we cannot right now, there's no problem (i don't any of us is Bill Gates XD) but little by little we can buy her stuff, so that we can have more of her in the future

[catur]

it sells better in 2nd days X)

[4ever*ayu]

Oh I know hehe I am just like so sick and tired of hearing people complain about how the CD or the Singles have low sales but yet they don't go out there and support Ayu monetarily. I don't really care for sales I buy her singles and cds because I genuinely enjoy her music. But it just irks me when someone who is just sitting at home comfortably clicking the "download button" complains about people not buying the album hellooooo u are doing the same thing !!! lol

that's pretty much what i have in mind (about the "clicking download button" thing)!

like some of us said : let the Japan decide about the sales number and chart on Oricon!

the only thing we can do now is keep supporting ayu no matter what happening with the sales in Japan as long as ayu still CREAte wonderful songs and music, keep buying her original stuffs (for them who has the money), and hopefully attend her concert in the future(my wildest dream!!)

[octocoffee]

Rinoa, you've always got good points ^_^ And we all know that Ayu would rather die than live without music. So there isn't anything to worry about, because Ayu isn't going anywhere, low sales or not. So us fans are good to go for quite a while.