Who still cares about Ayu?

[tsumekaze_]

I love her like the first day, 6 years ago, when I discovered her. I don't feel as excited as when I did when always finding new music etc but I love her so much in a different way. It's as if you were in a long term relationship with someone you love A LOT and who supported you in so many ways. The initial passion is not there anymore, because you know the other person and you basically found out everything about them and know their bad and good points by heart. Still you love them in a different and more mature way. I can't go on a single day without listening to ayu because she's what gives me support when I need it. I still think she's a goddess for what she has achieved, and couldn't care less about her decline. It doesn't erase everything prior to it. Plus she's human so her recent actions have never really impacted my fandom in any way...I just see her as a woman, someone like me, just older and perhaps wiser, perhaps not. I just know that her voice and lyrics Still speak to me today like the first day. She is my inspiration.

[~*Mabushii*~]

I still love her, but I'm not as excited as I used to be either.
Still, if she EVER did a concert in the states, I'd find a way to get there! :3 As I've gotten older I don't tend to obsessively love anything like that anymore.

[Minttulatte]

I started listening to Ayu in 2006. I listened to her like crazy between 2006 and 2007, but I completely fell out from the fandom in 2008 and had a hard time to get it back. It was because I was so obsessed with Koda Kumi and Namie Amuro back then. 2009 was also a year when I didn't care about Ayu much because that year I had to go through the worst shitstorm I've ever experienced on this one stupid forum. Those moments really hit my fandom hard and enjoying NEXT LEVEL was basically impossible. I still can't listen to it through without remembering all the shit I had to go through. :< These feelings showed up as hatred towards Ayu and her music so I pretty much got rid of all of her music I had downloaded 2-3 times I think.

And then You were... / BALLAD was released that year's December. I was so blown away by the amazeness of those songs and music videos that I started to wonder why my Ayu fandom died again. WHY did I let it die? I felt so annoyed because of that back then that I felt like crying. I realized how important Ayu actually is to me, and that why did I even let all bad stuff affect my fandom. It was then I swore to myself that I won't let go of this never again.

RnRC and Love songs made those feelings even stronger. Then I became a bit annoyed because of the overuse of ballads in 2011 and that's why FIVE didn't please me enough, but it did grow on me. Then Party Queen in 2012 amazed me again, and it kept my fandom going for a while. And then LOVE again happened a year later and it didn't amaze me lol. Too many ballads on that album and interludes which I don't like at all, haha. CoLOURS was awesome though Pray took me a while to like. But even if I did like CoLOURS, I still started to feel disconnected, bored and annoyed with her and thought, "This isn't Ayu. Something's wrong". And I pretty much stopped listening to her music altogether. And then she gave me Last minute and my love for her music was reborn. I have loved these 2015 releases so much. It feels like RnRC, Love songs and Party Queen eras all over again for me.

As a summary I'd say that my love for Ayu is a complete troll. There are eras I don't like and they hit my fandom in a bad way and then there are eras I love into bits. But yes, I do care about Ayu. A lot. She's actually one of those few Japanese artists I still listen to frequently. I have completely lost my interest in J-Pop apart from Ayu, Kuu, Namie and Hikki. I just don't care about anyone else anymore. If those four were to retire, I would probably stop listening J-Pop altogether because these are the best out there imo. Ayu and Hikki are also my biggest inspiration when it comes to my lyrics. They still inspire me a lot. Even as I write this, I wanna write something down so I'm gonna do so now~

//And when it comes to Ayu's new releases, I feel excited as hell. That's why I'm curious about what she's going to release next.

[pimenta]

I understand the feeling. Not related to Ayu in particular, but I have been feeling the exact same thing about other artists that up until last year used to be such a huge and important thing in my life that I actually got surprised to realize that I just don't care as much anymore. Even though I can honestly say I still love them, I'm just... not as interested in anything they do lately, even if I don't think their releases are any bad or that different than they used to be, I just don't really care that much anymore. I guess I just found other artists I'm more interested in listening to lately.

But I'm not too worried, because, for me at least, I know those things come and go, and eventually those artists may release another fantastic album that will get me right back into their songs again. It has happened before. Same thing happened to be with Koda Kumi, I got completely uninterested in her releases for a couple of years (though I still loved her and was still "dedicated to her", as you put it), and, eventually, something changed and I came back to love her releases almost as if I had never stopped

With Ayu, though, even if I had moments I was a little more or a little less interested in her releases, I never really got to that point of loosing interest in her. Maybe because she's my top favorite and so important to me that she's been able to hold my interest stronger, or maybe because she keeps a nice balance between trying new things and keeping her "traditional Ayu sound" that works for me (or maybe simply because she still manages to 'wow' me with her new releases). I don't know, but I hope to never go through this with Ayu, because I don't know what I would do if it even happened...

[Delirium-Zer0]

In the last 15 years, my interest in Ayu has waxed & waned repeatedly, but in the end she's still the artist I keep coming back to. And she probably will be forever at this point.

I've certainly had times when I wondered why I was still a fan - and indeed very little of what initially attracted me to her & her work is still in place today. It's not even that she's changed, it's that she's an entirely different pop artist now except in name. The difference between "Duty" and "Love songs" is, to me, as drastic as the difference between "NOTHING FROM NOTHING" and "Duty." My lulls in fandom have a tendency to coincide with Ayu's transitions from one sort of artist to another. It's not that I lose interest, I just kinda... lose my footing and need to readjust.

I love Ayumi Hamasaki, but she's a different pop artist now than when I got into her. I love old ayu & new ayu for totally different reasons, but I still love her regardless.

[bluegie]

Originally Posted by mizuki-7

To be honest when you have been fan of her since the begining of her career or at least since her peak and when you see how she fell from grace in nearly all aspect of her career it's easy for a long time fan to give up on her...the majority of those who have sworn fidelity to her left of the decline starting to be felt ...

You're right on the money, or at least this is how I feel. Being her fan since 1999, I can say I've seen most of the ups and downs in her career. I don't really leave the fandom, but I haven't bought any albums since 2011. I just feel like her creativity sorta stopped after FIVE, or maybe I just can't connect to her "current" creativity. Nonetheless I still check her recent news from time to time, want to know what she's currently doing, etc. After all I've been her fan for almost... 16 years, it's hard to detach the bond and I don't think I ever will.

[melissalove]

I've been a fan since 2006 and ayu has changed no doubt but I still love her. Ayu is yet to release a song that I hate. Though I hate her new direction this year (too many dancers and over programming old hits while having plenty of new material to promote.) but that's ayu right, always changing.

[JinHamasaki]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

In the last 15 years, my interest in Ayu has waxed & waned repeatedly, but in the end she's still the artist I keep coming back to. And she probably will be forever at this point.

I've certainly had times when I wondered why I was still a fan - and indeed very little of what initially attracted me to her & her work is still in place today. It's not even that she's changed, it's that she's an entirely different pop artist now except in name. The difference between "Duty" and "Love songs" is, to me, as drastic as the difference between "NOTHING FROM NOTHING" and "Duty." My lulls in fandom have a tendency to coincide with Ayu's transitions from one sort of artist to another. It's not that I lose interest, I just kinda... lose my footing and need to readjust.

I love Ayumi Hamasaki, but she's a different pop artist now than when I got into her. I love old ayu & new ayu for totally different reasons, but I still love her regardless.

I think I am in the same boat as you. I fell in LOVE with Ayu during the "Duty-I am...-RAINBOW" era that really resonated with me. I love those classic songs and love the message she brings, but the me now wouldn't relate to those past messages.

The Ayu now is very different. And that is to be expected. We all grow and change. The industry now pumps one hit wonders like no tomorrow. Ayu knew this with "alterna"

[aliceshields]

I still care about her, still collecting her album and hoping one day I'll be in her concert... As I'll be moving to China soon (a year or two), I'm a bit worried how am I going to purchase her album And hopefully the Arena Tour 2015 bluray will be in my hand after I back from Korea.

[Eewyi]

Yes, of course there are times I'm hyped and not-as-hyped about her.
I still consider her my favorite artist, out of all of the countless Japanese artists I listen, or have listened to.

But with all my artists/groups I love, there are these "phases" when I want to listen to these certain ones a lot, just occassionally, or not at all for a while. But I think these hiatuses are just natural. It doesn't mean my love for a certain artist is gone forever, I just have so many great ones to choose from, and sometimes I want to listen to a lot of idol music, ayu or something other for example. But I will always consider Ayu, Namie and Kuu my Big Three Queens. That doesn't change. Ayu for example, has given me so much, and I loved her since 2006. I will never give up on her. Besides, I do lover her new music equally.

[jbrat2219]

I definitely still care very much about ayu. Ask anyone who knows me, a "hey how are you?!" is often accompanied with "anything new with ayu?" I think they like to ask and get it out of the way so we can talk about more pressing matters, hahaha.

I have noticed that I'm not shaking and crying every time there's the slightest hint of new music, I'm not breaking down AHS servers trying to get new information, I'm not like, "YAAAAAS AYU SLAYYYYY" when the cover comes out, I don't get knots in my stomach when I listen to her new music anymore, I don't hunt down the first person I can find and bombard them with a million reasons why ayu's new album is THE BEST EVER OMG. I may be that way here sometimes still, but hey, that's why we're all here: for ayu.

I think the biggest reason why this is is because... well, I'm old. I have been an ayu fan since I was a kid, I am almost 30 now. I don't have time to run to the mailbox every day waiting on my new ayu cd/dvd. I don't have time to even go to a quiet room and listen to her music anymore. I have to listen in my car on my way to somewhere. Heck, most of the time during that time I can only listen to half the album! I need to find some other time to finish the rest or start all over again. I haven't watched any of the DVD/Blu-ray content that came with the last... 3 albums (including minis). I still haven't seen some content from FIVE! I have concert Blu-rays still in the wrapper somewhere! And yes, I plan on buying the new one that just came out.

Am I worried that this is the state of my ayu fandom? Not really. I understand that my life has other priorities right now that are far more important that being an obsessed music fan. But ayu is still a big part of my life. I grew up with her. I'll probably be a fan to the grave.

[happiholic★]

I'm no where near as interested in her as I used to be. At one time she was my favorite artist, but now I don't even download her new stuff for free. I just don't like it much. However, I still love her past stuff and that keeps me checking in, even if I complain here and there I appreciate her, I think is the best way to describe my feelings right now.

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

I don't feel as proud of her work as I used to. Her releases used to be super on trend and had high production value. They were weird and cool and beautiful and thought provoking.

But tbh from 2008 onwards I'd say her quality deteriorated. It's as if she completely forgot how to act... She got very flamboyant in a stereotypical diva way.

However, I'm still very interested in her work.

[stickyrice]

I'm definitely not as obsessed with her as I used to be back when I was a teenager but that goes for Jpop as a whole. Being a part of this forum for so long, it just became second nature for me to log in and see what's up hence why I'm always in the loop with Ayu news but I don't have that same excitement anymore. Her music definitely did help me though during my angsty teen years and being able to relate to her lyrics so I'm glad I had the opportunity to discover her. It made me appreciate music even more.

[visionfactory]

I'm an ayu fan since 2003 so ayu has changed but so my tastes. Recently I started to listening to ayu again (I do this for each artist I like, I don't listen to them in a 2-3 months span so I don't get tired of their songs) and I felt a bit sad because I'm not feeling her old songs as much as I did when I was a teenager.

Now I feel more attached to the grown up ayu, the woman that she's now with a stronger voice and bold sounds like Mirrorcle World, GREEN, Last angel, BRILLANTE, Lelio, XOXO, Movin' on without you, You & Me, etc. I still feel connected to her old gems but I completely lost interest in some rather weak songs like Trauma, Fly high, AUDIENCE, etc. or some safer sound albums like Love songs.

In the moment that ayu had around 100 songs I was excited for songs like AUDIENCE just for the fact of being ayu songs. But now that she has like 250+ songs I only listen to the best I like. So if she's releasing a new mini I do a quick listen and pick up only the songs that really add something to her discography.

And even in the case that I'm not listening to her music, I still pay attention to whatever she does because she's a person that I look up to.

[NintendoHTF1242]

Originally Posted by stickyrice

I'm definitely not as obsessed with her as I used to be back when I was a teenager but that goes for Jpop as a whole. Being a part of this forum for so long, it just became second nature for me to log in and see what's up hence why I'm always in the loop with Ayu news but I don't have that same excitement anymore. Her music definitely did help me though during my angsty teen years and being able to relate to her lyrics so I'm glad I had the opportunity to discover her. It made me appreciate music even more.

Are you me? You literally described my feelings and attitude towards J-Pop, music, and Ayu lol

[love in music]

I still care about her. I don't really get into her personal life and drama like some fans like to anymore though. I just wait for releases, appreciate the good ignore the bad.
I'm still a dedicated fan and probably always will be

[koumori]

Originally Posted by tokyoxjapanxfan

I don't feel as proud of her work as I used to. Her releases used to be super on trend and had high production value. They were weird and cool and beautiful and thought provoking.

But tbh from 2008 onwards I'd say her quality deteriorated. It's as if she completely forgot how to act... She got very flamboyant in a stereotypical diva way.

However, I'm still very interested in her work.

This is a good summarisation of my thoughts too. I used to be proud to show Ayu latest works to people, but these days it's pre-2010 stuff if the subject of J-Pop ever comes up. I just think her more modern direction is less in touch with the unique aspect of her which made 'Ayumi Hamasaki' relatable.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by visionfactory

I'm an ayu fan since 2003 so ayu has changed but so my tastes. Recently I started to listening to ayu again (I do this for each artist I like, I don't listen to them in a 2-3 months span so I don't get tired of their songs) and I felt a bit sad because I'm not feeling her old songs as much as I did when I was a teenager.

Now I feel more attached to the grown up ayu, the woman that she's now with a stronger voice and bold sounds like Mirrorcle World, GREEN, Last angel, BRILLANTE, Lelio, XOXO, Movin' on without you, You & Me, etc. I still feel connected to her old gems but I completely lost interest in some rather weak songs like Trauma, Fly high, AUDIENCE, etc. or some safer sound albums like Love songs.

In the moment that ayu had around 100 songs I was excited for songs like AUDIENCE just for the fact of being ayu songs. But now that she has like 250+ songs I only listen to the best I like. So if she's releasing a new mini I do a quick listen and pick up only the songs that really add something to her discography.

And even in the case that I'm not listening to her music, I still pay attention to whatever she does because she's a person that I look up to.

This, pretty much. I, at 27, also feel far more conected to her recent lyrics than I do to her past ones, even those I felt conected to when I were younger.

[Delirium-Zer0]

I am right there with the rest of you guys. At 31, I relate FAR more to the lyrics Ayu's been singing about since... 2011, probably. Even when Ayu sings about her career, that stuff can easily applied to things like my coworkers, my career development, and my friends. The feelings are far more in line with how I feel as an adult. I can listen to ayu's older lyrics and remember when I had those feelings (and admittedly some of her older songs still apply to me, but they apply to things I'm seeing a psychiatrist for, so... yeah), but I don't feel that way as a rule anymore. When I was a teenager, I related to teenage ayu. As an adult, I can relate very well to adult ayu.

And adults, well, we don't have too many pop stars whose lyrics speak to us, or represent how we feel in any way, so it's definitely something I appreciate!