Ayu and her influence on her peak

[Evolution7/4]

^No its true! I asked my Japanese friend about this and he said that fashion magazines and such had headlines like "The end of blondes in Japan" and such

[TeamAyu2004]

lol, thats funny.
I forgot all about the tail thing! I wonder where that came from actually.

[ayu_ready?]

^ the tail thing came from Ayu collabo with a fashion brand, don't remember the name though. after the collabo was announced the tails were immediatly bought & brought up all across Japan and sold tons.
she promoted them in photoshoots/lives/shows during A BEST era
also became avaliable at her DOME TOUR selling venues during the tour

[isthisLOL?]

Originally Posted by Kana×Shin

why do you people always have to bring Kana in this kind of topic...this is getting ridiculous >_>

Because she looks and sounds like Ayumi at her peak and has a fairly similar image. It's pretty obvious really. She is what Ayumi was 10 years ago, music, fashion, image, success, influence, updated to the 2010s.
And no, this is NOT an insult towards her so please don't take it as that.

[mizuki-7]

it's so funny for the dark hair lol i've read somewhere that when ayumi change her hairstyle the next day the hairstylists are overrun lol

Though Kana hasn't the same style of music of ayu ! i think that Kana has the same little/child voice of ayu in her early twenty's if it's the same kana voices going to change lol

[TeamAyu2004]

You know looking back at what Kana wears and everything it is similar to what Ayumi did back in her hey-day.
I wonder if Kana is/was a fan of that ear... How old she is?

[ayu_ready?]

^ of course she's her fan. to me it seems pretty obvious. her hair & everything
Kana did came out with gyaru style. maybe not now, not that much as during MAKE-UP release for example, and she has friends among gyaru models. gyaru=Ayu, almoust all the time

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by ayu_ready?

^ of course she's her fan. to me it seems pretty obvious. her hair & everything
Kana did came out with gyaru style. maybe not now, not that much as during MAKE-UP release for example, and she has friends among gyaru models. gyaru=Ayu, almoust all the time

It may also be the agency molding her closelly after Ayu as a better way to place her on jpop market... If so, she will most likelly have a big image change once she is not on the very top of the game anymore...

Still... Kana Nishino, Ai Otsuka, Koda Kumi, Rina Aiuchi, Alan, Aya Matsuura... all of them have strong Ayu influence over them on a way or another, mostly image-wise. Even post TK Namie has a little influence here and there... On the same way Ayu is strongly influenced by Seiko Matsuda, Akina Nakamori, Yumi Matsutoya, GLOBE, TRF and a little by TK era Namie...

This is very normal, expected and not a bad thing... it just reiforces that the artist that influenced what came after her was big enough to do that during their prime...

Originally Posted by TeamAyu2004

You know looking back at what Kana wears and everything it is similar to what Ayumi did back in her hey-day.
I wonder if Kana is/was a fan of that ear... How old she is?

Kana is 23 years old now...
ofcourse she knows Ayu since they showed short video clip at music station during BIRTH YEAR SONGS

CNN said that she was the favorite singer of teenage girls in Shibuya, Tokyo

maybe that's how she got popular

[ayu_ready?]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

It may also be the agency molding her closelly after Ayu as a better way to place her on jpop market... If so, she will most likelly have a big image change once she is not on the very top of the game anymore...

Still... Kana Nishino, Ai Otsuka, Koda Kumi, Rina Aiuchi, Alan, Aya Matsuura... all of them have strong Ayu influence over them on a way or another, mostly image-wise. Even post TK Namie has a little influence here and there... On the same way Ayu is strongly influenced by Seiko Matsuda, Akina Nakamori, Yumi Matsutoya, GLOBE, TRF and a little by TK era Namie...

This is very normal, expected and not a bad thing... it just reiforces that the artist that influenced what came after her was big enough to do that during their prime...

of course there's a big part of agency & marketing strategy involved, I believe!
I think they make her cute vanilla for 16+ girls. she wears a lot of LIZ LISA, popular gyaru kawaii brand and is just super cute. it works best for Japanese audience, all time

I don't agree about Namie & Kuu, though. Kuu always stated she is inspired by Mariah Carey & Christina Aguilera, I do not know about now, though, but she does seem to be much westernized. her image is not of Ayu (kawaii style) by any means

and Namie is also very different to me. hip-hop/hip-pop & her music now & then is more of western type. as much as her image, J-Lo much?

agree on Ai Otsuka, Rina Aiuchi, Alan, Aya Matsuura

[isthisLOL?]

I think the influence Ayumi had on Kuu is mainly found in some of her ballads and a couple of her cute songs/performances. The sexy stuff is of course not typically Ayu at all

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by ayu_ready?

of course there's a big part of agency & marketing strategy involved, I believe!
I think they make her cute vanilla for 16+ girls. she wears a lot of LIZ LISA, popular gyaru kawaii brand and is just super cute. it works best for Japanese audience, all time

I don't agree about Namie & Kuu, though. Kuu always stated she is inspired by Mariah Carey & Christina Aguilera, I do not know about now, though, but she does seem to be much westernized. her image is not of Ayu (kawaii style) by any means

and Namie is also very different to me. hip-hop/hip-pop & her music now & then is more of western type. as much as her image, J-Lo much?

agree on Ai Otsuka, Rina Aiuchi, Alan, Aya Matsuura

Namie IMO has a very few things here and there about some concepts, themes and one or another outfit... Nothing really remarkable, a minnor influence absorved cuz it was/is trendy at the time. Koda on the other way, IMO (and let me reiforce this is just this, an opinion), on most of her cutest and rockish releases, some love ballads and the most theatrical aspects of her live performances (mostly because they are too japanese in nature to be Mariah or Xtina IMO). But of course, it's her own take on it. The sexy part, not Ayu at all.

Rina Aiuchi is mainly an Ayu clone (to make pair with Giza's Hikki clone, Mai K)

[Evolution7/4]

ABout Kuu and the sexy stuff compared to Ayu, many Japanese fans have told me while Kuu goes for the sexy-kawaii style, they see Ayu as someone who pushes the envelope more in the power of sex. For example, the Loeveppears cover, the Rainbow cover, some of her PVS, etc.

[Andrenekoi]

^Well, Ayu tends to sell sex on a far more japanese way... She goes directly to japanese fetish and have some really perverted kawaii stuff... Not that different from AKB48, actually o.õ It's no accident her cutest performances has the less fabric on the outfits

[Evolution7/4]

^LOL

[sugarbasil]

My understanding was that she was a major influence during the gyaru era with para para and all that. She's referenced a number of times in the "Gals" manga...

[ayu_ready?]

Originally Posted by isthisLOL?

I think the influence Ayumi had on Kuu is mainly found in some of her ballads and a couple of her cute songs/performances. The sexy stuff is of course not typically Ayu at all

Kuu started with R&B, remember, so there isn't much connection to Ayu I can see there, because ballads are R&B & soul, though after a bit of time they did become pop. yet, they're just 'Japanese ballads', they do not look 'Ayu style, Ayu compositions kind' to me at all
all Japanese pop songs are still of similar style to me. Ayu's July 1st or Kuu's Lady Go!etc

idk, cute can be just 'cute', since Japanese cultivate 'kawainess' that much it doesn't necessarily means that only Ayu invented it. she did use it 1999-2000 as the central part of the image, then in 2001 she did drop it up, without getting rid of it completely though
but Kana seems to be holding to that 'sugar cute' for a way more years then Ayu had

[Evolution7/4]

Remember HAL's band and how the singer/music video was a carbon copy of Ayu in evolution?? Which was really weird considering HAL arranged that song and were and continued to work with Ayu. I love HAL but that was so weird, its like, ok Ayu our band's singer is just going to be you haha Nami Tamaki's voice always reminded me of Ayu (although only one of her songs RESULT sounds like an Ayu song IMO. Its verse is essential Unite's)

Here the HAL PV for references:
http://youtu.be/bUeh71p3yJo

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by ayu_ready?

Kuu started with R&B, remember, so there isn't much connection to Ayu I can see there, because ballads are R&B & soul, though after a bit of time they did become pop. yet, they're just 'Japanese ballads', they do not look 'Ayu style, Ayu compositions kind' to me at all
all Japanese pop songs are still of similar style to me. Ayu's July 1st or Kuu's Lady Go!etc

idk, cute can be just 'cute', since Japanese cultivate 'kawainess' that much it doesn't necessarily means that only Ayu invented it. she did use it 1999-2000 as the central part of the image, then in 2001 she did drop it up, without getting rid of it completely though
but Kana seems to be holding to that 'sugar cute' for a way more years then Ayu had

There are several ways of using the kawaii aesthetic... Most of the recent jpop stars way really reminds me of Ayu (and Ayu's remind me of Seiko, who most likelly popularizated it on the idol image).

About Kana sticking it with the Kawaii image longer than Ayu... usually when an artist borrows aesthetic inspiration from others, they take like, a part of it, not the whole thing. Gaga takes a lot from 88-91 Madonna, but almost nothing from the rest of her career, for example...

[Evolution7/4]

^ Right. Like an artist with use a similar voice. Similar hair, etc.