(miss)information: Ayu Myths Checked

[elepop]

^^ I think Ayu once made 43% or 46% of Avex Trax's profits.

[meimeilai]

Originally Posted by jerms

I'm pretty sure ayumi does not lipsync.
.

make that definately doesn't!!!

i mean look at the concert countdown 04/05 where she sang inspire....

after introducing the band...music and lights off....one beam shining down on ayumi and she sang solo!!! no music or anything!!!!

i loved that bit!!!

Haha great thread idea! and i got cleared up on some stuff, too Thanks.

[Delirium-Zer0]

jerms: LOL thank you, I try to help. I just feel bad for n00bs who make fools of themselves asking about things most of us already know, and then there are even older fans who are totally convinced of some things that are just lies. I guess after being a fan for a gazillion years, I just got sick of seeing the same stuff getting asked (or stated as fact) over and over.

I'll get to all those you guys posted in a bit, btw.

[Raleigh]

I think this thread is very useful. Hmm.. how about the Namie-Ayu rivalry? I've read that it's not true however I'd love if you would clear it out for us.

[Piccolo]

Does not lipsync? Although I really hope she doesn't, some of her performances on DVD are questionable.... It would be difficult to tell if it is lipsync or just re-audioed unless you were actually at the concert.

[nmskalmn]

Originally Posted by Piccolo

Does not lipsync? Although I really hope she doesn't, some of her performances on DVD are questionable.... It would be difficult to tell if it is lipsync or just re-audioed unless you were actually at the concert.

Or you can compare the live broadcast to the DVD. I believe the audio on the DVDs is manipulated.

[Delirium-Zer0]

skal has it dead on. I'm gonna try to make sound clips of specific examples before addressing it in the thread though. But, take for example, at CT2000, Ayumi sings the intro of Far away with a slightly altered melody at "anatarashiku", but on the VCD and DVD she seems to be singing it the way the recorded version goes. In CDL 01-02, her mic cuts completely out during "Connected" and I would imagine that they'd have fixed that for the DVD release (though I haven't watched it).

Awesome post!

[yaten]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

..In CDL 01-02, her mic cuts completely out during "Connected" and I would imagine that they'd have fixed that for the DVD release (though I haven't watched it).

Yep deli, they fixed it.

The very best examples of the 'doctored DVDs' can be found in the CDL 02-03 concert - not only was ayu sick, but there were many technical issues (The mic cut out for the majority of everywhere nowhere)... A comparison of the original broadcast and the DVD is really something to behold o.o

And this is a fun thread, deli! I forgot some people believe this stuff! But you shouldn't disprove the refusing to bow story! LOL, that one's just too fun to believe.

Another one that I address often is the misconception that Ayumi's 'real name' is Kurumi. However, Ayumi is her real name, Kurumi was a (short lived) stage name.

A spin-off of that is the fact that Ayumi's first name is actually written in kanji (the character for "step") but she writes it with hiragana. This fact isn't particularly surprising or wide-spread. Why? Because it's incredibly common for Japanese celebrities to change their names in some way (switching a kanji to hiragana/katakana spelling, changing a kanji in the name without affecting pronunciation, etc)

[yaten]

It's also very typical for females to write their name the way ayu does.

surname kanji / given name hiragana, that is

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

I'm still looking that one up.

Also trying to find solid info on whether ayu was talking to a handicapped person or a bored avex executive up front at that one concert when she complained that they weren't standing up & having fun. I remember reading that it WAS an executive, but alot of people are still sure it was a handicapped person and ayu apologized for it later.

Okay, I found info on the Thailand thing. Posting it now.

Here's the situation as I understand it. Ayu heckled someone in the front row for sitting durring the concert and some Ayu haters ran with it on a bbs and made up the story that the person was handicapped. But in reality, the person was someone that Ayu knew and had gotten the special seat for and that is why she picked on them. There are a lot of different versions of this story though and I'm not 100% sure if this is the correct version - as far as I know, it is though.

Originally Posted by Piccolo

Does not lipsync? Although I really hope she doesn't, some of her performances on DVD are questionable.... It would be difficult to tell if it is lipsync or just re-audioed unless you were actually at the concert.

From the two times that I saw her live (on consecutive nights), I am 99.9 percent sure that she sang live. I'm also going to see her this March on the 11th and 12th, so I will keep an ear out then too. However it is true that Avex sometimes alters the dvds to cover up technical problems and sometimes they redub things for god knows what reason. Also, keep in mind though that when comparing the TV to the DVD version, the TV version will naturally have sub par audio in both the vocals and music. This is because it seems like the tv versions are just recording the sound as it comes through the speakers, where as the DVD takes the audio directly from the soundboards. (much clearer, sharper etc)

I like this thread.

[Delirium-Zer0]

Wow, there's almost too much input for me to catch up with! I really didn't expect such a response!

Okay, here's what I'm working on next:
-The front-row heckling
-The DVD audio doctoring
-Kurumi Hamazaki
-Namie vs. Ayu

I'll probably post my answer to the Kurumi Hamazaki thing first since I already know that for sure, but the rest I'll need to research so it may take a few days XD

[Tasked]

Believe it or not, Evolution IS tied-up with .hack. The official IMDB website says so: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361140/fullcredits

Their information is always 100% true. Evolution may have been feautured in the background somewhere, or in a later edition. Or as short promotional material. Whatever; but Evolution and .hack DO have a connection.

[orenji_jaro]

he has alot of mistakes when she sings on stage that proofs that she is not lipsynch!! ^^ she sometimes do this *cough* *cough*
kekeke ^^

[truehappiness]

Not really. imdb at times is terribly wrong! Sometimes, totally false castlists are posted there.

Anyway, from what I've heard, I thought the fan-in-the-front thing was a total fake thing started by Ayuhaters?..

Anyways. Wow~ STEP => Ayumi => STEP you.. O_o Weird xD

Zeo

lol, is there any clearing up that can be done on the surgery issue at all? [hopefully no one asks about the smoking.. >>] What I believe is that she lost fat in her face and stuff [she's skinnier now than she was pre-Avex] ~______~

[Tasked]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Not really. imdb at times is terribly wrong! Sometimes, totally false castlists are posted there.

Anyway, from what I've heard, I thought the fan-in-the-front thing was a total fake thing started by Ayuhaters?..

Anyways. Wow~ STEP => Ayumi => STEP you.. O_o Weird xD

Zeo

lol, is there any clearing up that can be done on the surgery issue at all? [hopefully no one asks about the smoking.. >>] What I believe is that she lost fat in her face and stuff [she's skinnier now than she was pre-Avex] ~______~

It's 100% true. I've got a video of Ayu and the Handicapped person in the audience. it was a (miss)understanding

[*Petit*]

I've read somewhere that she was responsible for 25- 40 % of avex income and that she was responsible for about 15 % of total sold Cds in Japan at her peak. Now obiously the numbers are VERY different.


TimeAsia.com, the old ayumi article in english from

Though she writes her own lyrics and has even begun to compose, Hamasaki lacks the vocal pyrotechnics of Hikaru Utada, the dance moves of Amuro, the supermodel allure of Hitomi. Yet she outsells them all. Her record sales hit $189 million last year, more by half than Utada, her closest competitor.

Avex, her record label, is all too aware of Hamasaki's extraordinary power over the company's fortunes. Her record sales account for a stunning 42.6% of Avex's overall revenues, according to Oricon Global Entertainment, Japan's version of Billboard. That makes her largely responsible for its Japan-leading 14.8% market share. Its reliance on one monster star leaves the company vulnerable: last summer, Avex stock tumbled on the news that the release of Hamasaki's latest album would be delayed until this January. "Right now, Ayu equals Avex," says Katsuya Taruishi, chief analyst for Oricon. "If Ayu goes, so does Avex."

I don't know if this article is a reliable source, but it's probably not that off.

[Neo Daydream]

wow! thanks for all this information! ^^