Ayu ~Anything Goes XIX~

[EndOfTheWorld]

Originally Posted by pedronekoi

LOL Of course she get inspiration from western singers. What's so surprising about this?? zzz

I thought it was surprising because I never connected some of the similarities before. I always knew Ayu is inspired by western artists, that's not new news.
But I think that some comparisons are a bit of a stretch. I don't think Daybreak is similar to Madonna at all. The Carols artwork is only a coincidence. It's not like Kylie Minogue invented swing photos.
Also, many Jpop artists were wearing cowboy hats. Hitomi comes to mind. Actually I think Ayu started wearing them BEFORE Madonna did.
Looking back most Japanese artists in the 90s and 2000s had American influences.

[Gustavopc]

Some of these dont even make sense omg The comparison with Evolution is dull, there are tons of videos like that all over the world, and some like M are just too wrong??? The concepts in those videos was not the same at all, the scene with hands on water are totally different even in their meanings. Plus art repeats itself and everybody has been inspired by someone else already in a way... Those copycat stuff are just so 2004 it pisses me off lol

[Teppei-chan]

Many years ago I loved to look at comparisons like these and to laugh at many of them. "Wow they both wore something black, it clearly must be a 1:1 copy".
Yeah some pics looks like Ayu took inspiration from.other artists but I've also seen comparisons where other Artist "copied" Ayu. And like Gustavopc already said everyone takes inspiration from something someone else has done before

[thinkingoutloud89]

I do think that some of these are influences. If madonna wore a Cowboy hat and it was trendy, other famous people (like Ayu) probably did too. Or some directors were like "lets go for a style like the ... Video of ..." which is actually okay I think.

[Andrenekoi]

Ayu copied a lot from Madonna during the I Am... era (the most evident example being AT02, that is pretty much half Drowned World Tour and half Moulin Rouge), but that's pretty natural for any artist while forming their own aesthetic and not much of a big deal... Ayu is influenced by Madonna (and Seiko, Akina, Keiko, Yuming, etc) but she's has been her own artist regardless.

[ExodusUK]

The worst copying thing is the period late in the RAINBOW era when she went out of her way to copy Britney at the time with the strong tan and wavy blonde hair.

But the most blatant example of copying has to be when she was promoting Dearest and totally ripped off hitomi's Is It You? aesthtic which came out a month before.

[EndOfTheWorld]

I think another important thing to note is that sometimes when it appears that a photo or song or music video is a rip off of someone else, that isn't always the case. Often times, things look similar because whatever it is may have been directed or produced or styled by the same person. So it may seem like a copy but it's just done by the same creator who has a specific style with their work.

[pedronekoi]

Originally Posted by ExodusUK

The worst copying thing is the period late in the RAINBOW era when she went out of her way to copy Britney at the time with the strong tan and wavy blonde hair.

Yeah!! During Voyage lives, right?! The hair was the same as Britney during Stronger era. But that's totally accepted. I mean, Avex was trying to sell the image of Queen of J-Pop so taking inspiration from Britney and Madonna was very normal tbh. And let's remember that American Pop music was always an inspiration for every single country (there's a lot of brazilian singers that took inspiration from Britney and Madonna as well).

[YUKARI]

Originally Posted by ExodusUK

The worst copying thing is the period late in the RAINBOW era when she went out of her way to copy Britney at the time with the strong tan and wavy blonde hair.

oh my god, I totally hate that look from late 2002. she looked so bad that hair color, that fringe, that tan, hairstyle and make-up and her lace dresses.

[Xianghua]

I actually really like the rule/sparkle cover, but only the one that's a close up of her face. I think her hair/makeup and expression looks cool. I don't like the cover with the full body shots, looks awkward. And I think the carols cover is really pretty.

On the subject of covers, I was looking at the secret cd only version, and they photoshop her body too much. It looks really weird and it bothers me, the top of her is disproportionate to her bottom

[AyuWorld]

Memorial Address is for her dad right? Cant get over the lyrics, so deep and sad

[dreamalley]

Originally Posted by AyuWorld

Memorial Address is for her dad right? Cant get over the lyrics, so deep and sad

I thought Memorial Address was written by another artist and she was just covering it.

[AyuWorld]

Originally Posted by dreamalley

I thought Memorial Address was written by another artist and she was just covering it.

nope, it is the melody they took it from a japanese band,im not sure whether it is just a coincidence, but some AHSers here know bout this I guess, someone even uploaded the band version of MA

[relmy]

Lovers Sound Track was a band Tetsuya Yukumi was in. Memorial address has the same melody as their song Kumo, but Ayu wrote new lyrics. It's why for that song he's Tetsuya Yukumi from Lovers Sound Track in the booklet, not just Tetsuya Yukumi.

It's like what she did with the Sweetbox songs on (miss)understood, just took the basic song and wrote her own lyrics and used her own arrangers.

[280301]

What is everyone's favourite Ayu cover?

I recently decided it was LOVEppears for me. I love the way that she controls and subverts cultural conventions regarding nakedness by fundamentally positioning the camera so that it looks like she is looking at you, and not the other way around. It's as if she's 'baring' herself to you (a metaphor for the honesty and sensitivity of her lyrics), but in a way that is inherently non-sexual. It's very feminist, and so minimalist.

I hope her next album cover is more than just a fashion shoot. She still seems to have so much to say in her interviews, so it'll be interesting to see if she's going to continue to write lyrics about her fame. MIJ's covers weren't too nuanced despite having a promising concept, and I really want her to push for a solid release. MIJ was good, but felt incomplete.

[channy]

Originally Posted by 280301

What is everyone's favourite Ayu cover?

Album favourites:

NEXT LEVEL (all of them)
SECRET (close up one)
LOVEppears

Single favourites:

is this LOVE?
Terminal
glitter/fated (close up one)
BLUE BIRD (all of them)

... and actually many more.

[EndOfTheWorld]

Originally Posted by 280301

What is everyone's favourite Ayu cover?

I recently decided it was LOVEppears for me. I love the way that she controls and subverts cultural conventions regarding nakedness by fundamentally positioning the camera so that it looks like she is looking at you, and not the other way around. It's as if she's 'baring' herself to you (a metaphor for the honesty and sensitivity of her lyrics), but in a way that is inherently non-sexual. It's very feminist, and so minimalist.

I hope her next album cover is more than just a fashion shoot. She still seems to have so much to say in her interviews, so it'll be interesting to see if she's going to continue to write lyrics about her fame. MIJ's covers weren't too nuanced despite having a promising concept, and I really want her to push for a solid release. MIJ was good, but felt incomplete.

I don't think Ayu had any meaning by the Loveppears cover. I think she said she did it because she liked the idea and thought it would look good. Also that it was her being an Avex product. But I also love it too. It will always stand out in her discography.
My favorite album cover is RAINBOW.
That may be an obvious choice but I think it is beautiful. Ayu looks like a water spirit. I thought it was clever to have the back cover be her back side showing her rainbow hair. I was disappointed in the photos inside the booklet though.
2nd- Guilty
3rd- Secret
4th- Memorial Address
5th- I am...

[oaristos]

Originally Posted by 280301

What is everyone's favourite Ayu cover?

LOVEppears, definitely. Also: Secret (CD), SURREAL, Endless sorrow.

[RealLight]

The are a lot of covers I love, but the first that always pops up in my mind is RAINBOW's

[Zeke.]

A BALLADS.