a-nation 10th anniversary for Life information thread [I]

[Andrenekoi]

@Coelacanth
Concerning the latest TA post about this subject, she seemed more offended by people bashing Nao and Juno openly on Twitter, than to the disliking of the concert itself... What is a very good point: People are mostly bashing both guys, there are almost no coments regarding the concert and the music itself, mainly because the songs weren't even release yet, and most people complaining didn't even watch the concert to say if it's bad.

I would be as pissed as her if people started using my name to harrass and offend my friends, cuz it's exactly what those people are doing... using their Ayumi fandom as a reason to atack Ayu friends... crazy, hm?

Your opinions about how had her music evolved are just that, opinions, not facts or even something all of her fandom agree, so, I will not reply about that... U have the right to think she is on the same place, on the same way I have the right to find both Love Songs and Next Level to be among her best albums, and really love tons of tracks on everything she released after your favorite eras...

[Coelacanth]

Re-reading the entry again, I can understand why she chose to defend Nao and JUNO. She feels responsible for the personal attacks on them because she chose to collaborate with them. It's not that she's losing her thick skin, but that she wants to defend Nao and JUNO. OK, I see more where she's coming from.

Yesterday, there were tweets about Nao's voice being "noise" in my show.
Is that supposed to be just an opinion or criticism? Isn't that just vicious slander and violent words?

I wouldn't quite call that slander though. Harsh criticism, yes...

She's still putting too much unnecessary pressure on herself. Let Nao and JUNO deal with the criticism. It should only make them stronger in the long-run. She's implying that the criticism of Nao and JUNO is baseless, but well... we'll see about that, I suppose. People are too quick to say some fans are just being protective of Ayu and think she's some untouchable goddess who is too good to work with other artists and have these pre-conceived notions about everything. I've heard Dream ON. Honestly, that's all I need to hear to know I don't want her working with Nao, let alone sharing an entire set with him. If she and him end up doing something good, then that's great. But in the meantime, I'm gonna keep my expectations low and complain about him every chance I get, to be honest. And, since she chose to collaborate with him further, she's going to just have to deal with people criticizing him as well. It's as simple as that.

[Andrenekoi]

^I can only wonder how offensive can it be for a professional singer to have they voice called "noise"... I can totally see how can this kind of statement hurt...

[Coelacanth]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

^I can only wonder how offensive can it be for a professional singer to have they voice called "noise"... I can totally see how can this kind of statement hurt...

It is offensive. I guess if anything, it shows that a lot of people who like Ayu's voice/music really don't care for Nao's. In Japan, do Ayu and AAA even have mutual fans? These are some things that they should have thought about before collaborating.

I just don't understand the purpose of the constant collaborating. It seems like it has no artistic value to her, just something she can do to have fun and sing with one of her former dancers/promotion for him. The fans probably feel like this guy is being shoved in their faces. It's frustrating to me, I know that, and apparently lots of others feel the same way for it to come to this point.

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

It is offensive. I guess if anything, it shows that a lot of people who like Ayu's voice/music really don't care for Nao's. In Japan, do Ayu and AAA even have mutual fans? These are some things that they should have thought about before collaborating.

I just don't understand the purpose of the constant collaborating. It seems like it has no artistic value to her, just something she can do to have fun and sing with one of her former dancers/promotion for him. The fans probably feel like this guy is being shoved in their faces. It's frustrating to me, I know that, and apparently lots of others feel the same way for it to come to this point.

Wow, God forbid Ayu do something that's fun for her. God forbid Ayu make her music the way she wants to regardless of what her fans want. God forbid Ayu be Ayu.

This happens every year. Ayu does something fans don't like and they act like she's been doing it all her career and will continue to do it for as long as she sings. Why can't some fans just let her have this and move the hell on. If you don't like it, fine. You want to criticize her decision, fine. But don't act like she has to do whatever the hell we want all the time. If you're frustrated about her collaborations you don't have to listen to FIVE, you don't have to go to a-nation and you don't have to pay attention to it. Just wait for something new to come up.

[Coelacanth]

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

Wow, God forbid Ayu do something that's fun for her. God forbid Ayu make her music the way she wants to regardless of what her fans want. God forbid Ayu be Ayu.

This happens every year. Ayu does something fans don't like and they act like she's been doing it all her career and will continue to do it for as long as she sings. Why can't some fans just let her have this and move the hell on. If you don't like it, fine. You want to criticize her decision, fine. But don't act like she has to do whatever the hell we want all the time. If you're frustrated about her collaborations you don't have to listen to FIVE, you don't have to go to a-nation and you don't have to pay attention to it. Just wait for something new to come up.

Haha, and this is the exact kind of response I expected.

Trust me though... if I had a TA account, I'd write to her about it. Most of us only have AHS to voice our opinions, so I don't know why if someone doesn't like something she does it can't be repeatedly discussed and brought up without this kind of "well if you don't like it, move on" kind of attitude. It bothers me that some fans act holier-than-thou because they see Ayu primarily as a human being and not as an entertainer. I choose to see her primarily as an artist/entertainer. There's nothing wrong with that.

I'm not trying to be forceful about my opinion at all. I realize that any opinion I have is not fact. I expect more people to disagree with me, because I tend to have unpopular opinions, and that's fine. My last thread was closed and I was basically called a troll, an idiot, and not a real fan just because I didn't like Dream ON and decided to make a thread about it. Ouch. Back in the day, there were pointless, rant-like threads like that all the time. If you guys can't handle a thread like that without getting riled up and offended, I'm kinda scared...

[jbrat2219]

No one is offended by your opinions but if you're going to post "unpopular opinions" as you put it, you're going to get a certain response. And maybe it's your attitude about Ayu that makes your opinions are so unpopular, I don't know. But at any rate, most of us - me included - do not like the fact she decided to collaborate with Naoya for the entire a-nation setlist. It's unexpected and for some it can be frustrating, I get that. But my own frustration comes some fans who treat Ayu like some sort of object who's sole purpose is to do whatever they like. They treat her like a brand and that's why it's so easy for some to compare her to things like Apple products (sorry maikaru, I love you but that's silly in my opinion honey xD lol).

Your previous posts made it seem like you dehumanized Ayu. Like what she's doing is selfish or some kind of promotional machine shoving Naoya down our throats when it is probably something that she wanted to do for fun or something she had to do based on the circumstances. Maybe I misunderstood you. But yeah, I choose to see Ayu as a human being because that is what she is. And she her musical direction is hers not her company's. So even if it upsets me that she's going this route, I know it won't last forever and it's something she enjoys. And after 13 years of excellent music I won't lose my mind over a-nation or the collaborations.

[Andrenekoi]

^ The troubles when an idol becomes an artist...

[kagami]

This is directed at no one in particular but I will never, EVER, understand how people don't think she continues to grow and experiment. Not with every release, sure (though I think that's a bit much to expect from anyone) but she definitely does. Her last two albums are full of songs that don't sound much like anything she's released before. And the lyrics to Virgin Road...when you consider the last song she wrote for her mum was (to my knowledge) A Song For XX, the amount of personal growth and acceptance between the two songs is amazing to me.

But anyway, this has nothing to do with a-nation XD

[Yukitora]

I wonder if ayu will attempt to avoid angering fans to "protect" her "troupe", or will continue doing what she likes and hopes her fans understands her, like her last TA diary entries suggest =\

[jbrat2219]

Oh well, I guess to each his own. I guess fans who went weren't motivated to take pictures yet lol. No pics, leaks or nothing. Hard to believe this time last year we were all waiting for crossroad!

[AyUmIXx]

if ayu want us to understand her, i guess we should try about that..
what's the most important is that, her own genuine HAPPINESS she feels when she's on the stage with Naoya or with anybody she enjoys working with.

can we just grant her one wish?

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

But really... having this amount of disappointment because of a 6 tracks setlist from a summer festival? Saying she should be trying to please us cuz we consume her work? There's no artist in the world that can live totally alienated from their public, but at the time an artist starts focusing their whole career into pleasing this public by releasing exactly what they think the artist should, the thing that made this artist being interesting in the first place is killed.

I think its very easy to say that from the perspective of someone who isn't going to/has no plans to go to A-Nation. After hearing about this setlist and performance, I'm glad I made the decision not to go to A-Nation this year. But I would imagine that Ayu fans who bought tickets would be very disappointed. Only 6 songs, two of which are duets, one of which is a cover song, and another is a medley performed the previous year. But on top of that, none were actually performed solo? For someone that is a solo artist, that sounds completely ridiculous.

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

I've always thought that in the latter half of her career, she's started to surround herself with "yesmen" or people that are simply unwilling to provide any criticism to her so they can keep their jobs, they're intimidated by her.. or whatever the case may be. She also seems like she is too good of friends with her staff. This is not good. She needs to separate her work and her friends.

Been saying this for years now. It's also why I think she is having trouble accepting criticism now. Of course that's just speculation though.

I haven't read all of her TA posts or twitter posts about this, but what I have read (and from what I know of the Japanese language) she is often coming off as petulant. The quote posted earlier in this thread from twitter, when a fan asked her if she was banning people who were criticizing her, actually read more like this: "I haven't banned people, but believe whatever you want to believe." I'm not saying she can't show her true feelings but, she isn't exactly coming off as professional right now. However, if she is prepared to deal with the consequences of that, then it's fine. It's her choice.

[Eewyi]

Originally Posted by AyUmIXx

if ayu want us to understand her, i guess we should try about that..
what's the most important is that, her own genuine HAPPINESS she feels when she's on the stage with Naoya or with anybody she enjoys working with.

can we just grant her one wish?

Yes, I agree with this! And even more because I actually [from the very few people] love the things she is doing now.
Don't you wanna see her enjoying the things she does?

And @Coelacanth, I must say, although I like Nao, I can respect your opinion not liking him. Because really, I know that it's pointles [and super stupid] to say things like "I like Nao, so you must like him too!" It's not like that.
You say you have unpopular opinions. And I can see why. Again, I'm not saying you have to change it, but still. Treating a human being like an merely object or just like a some kind of machine, let's say iPod which only purpose is really just entertain you, is kinda rude.
Just like jbrat said. And for that reason, I'm not gonna respect that part of your opinion, sorry.
And also, in the past, ayu said, that she feels like an object. That she should be treated like a brand. But nowadays, it seems that she has gotten over that feeling. Isn't it great? Shouldn't we all feel happy for her, because she actually feels like she is just human being? And if she is happy, happier than she has ever been with her current decisions, should we at least try to understand her? All of us must not agree with it, but just understand.

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

No one is offended by your opinions but if you're going to post "unpopular opinions" as you put it, you're going to get a certain response. And maybe it's your attitude about Ayu that makes your opinions are so unpopular

THIS is obvious.

Some people just have the need to criticize something they don't like that much a thousand times more than the things they really like.


And wow, what if whoever has any problems with ayu and her decisions just tell her directly instead of just whinging about it in here, many of us don't care what you think now, because she already gave an explanation about it.

Wanna take it further? Just go on Twitter, enough said.

[lividlillies]

Originally Posted by SURREAL__RAINBOW

Just go on Twitter, enough said.

Isn't that the problem in the first place, that people are taking this to Twitter? Though I agree, saying it once is more productive than saying it over and over again in a place where no one with any power is going to notice it.

On a slightly different note, sometimes "mistakes" or huge flaws draw a lot of attention, even from outside the fandom, so this might work well for her in the long run. Or it might be a crippling blow.

[ExodusUK]

I love AYu no matter what

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

Originally Posted by lividlillies

Isn't that the problem in the first place, that people are taking this to Twitter? Though I agree, saying it once is more productive than saying it over and over again in a place where no one with any power is going to notice it.

On a slightly different note, sometimes "mistakes" or huge flaws draw a lot of attention, even from outside the fandom, so this might work well for her in the long run. Or it might be a crippling blow.

The problem isn't Twitter, it's people and how they have an emotional breakdown when they don't like something and they say horrible things without even thinking.

This didn't just happen in Twitter, but also through TA, and through many other places.

And I'm sure many weren't fully satisfied with her message, and they kept on bugging her about it, through TA or wherever, but she said what she had to say, if you still don't like it... deal with it I guess? It isn't the end of the World lol

[emi♡]

lol whatever you guys do, just always remember that, Ayu has her bubble and circle of people around her that she likes to work with. She always likes to be positive about her work, and believe that everything is okay in the garden, even when people are telling her to her face that it isnt....

So...if you want her to be happy, you'll save your negativity for here, and not tell Ayu ;P Because honestly, she DOES NOT like it. And you can believe whatever she says about " accepting criticism"...but...uh...yeah

And sure, she'll listen to you, but it won't matter. She'll continue to do things her way, just like she has her entire life, because she's an extremely headstrong person.

It's just one of her character traits that produces both good and bad results.


who knows, maybe she needs more people yelling at her, to actually change...but it's always been my philosophy to just, keep her happy, and not really tell her the truth.

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

Ehh I don't agree with everything you said, it sounds a bit too patronizing, "let's put her in a box" kinda thing.

She has the right to know and get some feedback from her work. She's been around for way too long to not now how it feels to be criticized, but yeah, criticism does not feel good to anybody.

I also think that being a "headstrong person" is part of the culture.

And who wouldn't feel positive about their work?? You have to be proud of what you do, no matter what other people think If she wasn't positive about her work I don't think I would appreciate her as much as I do.


Interesting though to see how we all see her and think of her, because anyway we are not her personal psychologist or therapist to know how she really is.