Has ayu lost her touch?

[Crystal_Ageha]

Originally Posted by hanabiwings

I'm concerned about her overall health, specifically her voice. It appears that her vocal range has become quite restricted when compared to the first part of her career (notice that most of the songs she sings live now are in lowered keys) and she ends up singing even when not in top form (e.g. when she has a cold). This hasn't anything to do with losing her touch; it has everything to do with being made to be 'consistent' as a performer/product rather than doing what is best for her health. I think she is probably aware of this but has resigned herself to doing her best. I remember watching news from her 2001 concert and her injury while in Japan and thinking, "How can they ask her to perform after that?" She's a trooper; I hope it doesn't continue to injure her voice as it obviously has up to this point.

I'm not trying to say anything specifically against you or anything, but I hate whenever people assume that just because somebody's voice deepens and they can't sing as many high notes anymore, that means she is losing her range or even her voice in general.
For Ayumi - and many other people - she has gotten many years older, and her voice has changed drastically since her debut. No, she can't sing as high as she once could, but she can also hit more of the lower notes. This is the case with most people who's voices change later in life. Their ranges aren't necessarily getting worse (sometimes they do, but that's not usually the case), it's just that it's changing. It's normal, and it's not bad at all, let alone an indication of a singer's voice getting worse.

[hanabiwings]

Originally Posted by Crystal_Ageha

I'm not trying to say anything specifically against you or anything, but I hate whenever people assume that just because somebody's voice deepens and they can't sing as many high notes anymore, that means she is losing her range or even her voice in general.
For Ayumi - and many other people - she has gotten many years older, and her voice has changed drastically since her debut. No, she can't sing as high as she once could, but she can also hit more of the lower notes. This is the case with most people who's voices change later in life. Their ranges aren't necessarily getting worse (sometimes they do, but that's not usually the case), it's just that it's changing. It's normal, and it's not bad at all, let alone an indication of a singer's voice getting worse.

Certainly, that may be the case; however, the quality of the notes she is projecting is not as clear as it was perhaps 10 years ago. I'm certainly not suggesting that she cannot sing, nor am I criticizing her as an artist or performer. Please don't misunderstand: I'm very much a fan of Ms. Hamasaki's. However, I think that if you listen to performances of her songs from certain periods in her career (e.g. Ayumi Hamasaki Concert Tour 2000 Vol.1, Ayumi Hamasaki Countdown Live 2002-2003 A, Countdown TV Toshi-koshi LIVE 2002-2003), you can hear that her voice is not in good condition. She even commented on it during the 2002-2003 live, saying something to the effect of "I had no voice left, but I was singing in my heart." This is not a criticism of Hamasaki herself; it is a suggestion that what has happened as a result of her being made to sing during bouts with colds, bronchitis, and other illnesses is that her vocal range has narrowed. Even when singing under the best of conditions, singers lose some of their range if they continue to sing for long periods of time without rest.

Mochida Kaori is another singer who has clearly lost some range in her voice. She has even commented on the changes in her own voice because they have been brought to her attention. She came down with bronchitis during a tour and continued to sing. She has difficulties hitting high notes now that is very visible in the way she sings (and the expressions she makes while singing). Onitsuka Chihiro has to take time off from her career to heal after having a polyp removed from her throat; her voice has largely recovered but has been criticized by some, which is unfortunate because a) It is not her fault and b) She is a very talented vocal musician and songwriter. Celine Deon has faced the prospect of damage to her voice in the past as well as have a number of professionals who continue to sing today.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion in this matter. I do not profess any professional credentials in voice training or other musical or medical professions. However, I have a background in music and have heard enough from singers and musicians I know to understand something about the phenomena to which I have been referring. Certainly, people's voices can and often do deepen with age. Should this be the origin of the shifts in key in most of Hamasaki's repertoire, that is great news. However, considering the hoarse quality of her voice in some performances during highly active times of the year (e.g. sometimes during the end of the year), it is completely defensible to put forward the hypothesis that a burden has been placed on her vocal cords due to overwork. This is not a criticism of the singer; if anything, it is the concern of a fan and perhaps an indictment of Avex.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Crystal_Ageha

I'm not trying to say anything specifically against you or anything, but I hate whenever people assume that just because somebody's voice deepens and they can't sing as many high notes anymore, that means she is losing her range or even her voice in general.

I actually don't think her voice got deeper, she always has had a deep voice, you can hear it even in her idol on stage days. I just think that she has somewhat lost her high voice - her lower voice imo really hasn't changed much at all.

[primavera♥]

^ thats what i worry too. its impossible how she goes on and on. its why im so grateful to her

[everlastingRAINBOW]

I think her voice sounds good at the moment, imo. In the past two years some of her performances have been a tad bit shaky (due to her hearing loss?), but even in her not so amazing performances her voice still comes through. I think that with her new music they are trying to get it more in her range (a tad bit deeper), so she'll be able to do well in her lives. Seeing the AT09 performances really blew me away, she sounded excellent pretty much through the entire show

[truehappiness]

Mochida Kaori is another singer who has clearly lost some range in her voice. She has even commented on the changes in her own voice because they have been brought to her attention. She came down with bronchitis during a tour and continued to sing. She has difficulties hitting high notes now that is very visible in the way she sings (and the expressions she makes while singing).

I've heard that Mocchi had surgery at some point to attempt to correct the problems, and her voice changed completely because of that...

I still love her voice though. In CHANGE and moka it sounds so nice!
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/BMTHg7B_avc/ - CHANGE preview crossfade
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/cYbKniODH2g/ - weather from moka

With regards to Ayu, I find that her voice ends up very worn out after long bouts of singing during tours, so I'm not really sure why she's having such long tours when she should spread things out more... aie. Ayu CAN still sound good, and I know that. It's just that she's really been performing WAY more than she should. [see AT09...]

[ayu99persen]

i only get bored when that sunrise-sunset out.but after You-were/Ballad (such a perfect single to me) and now rock on roll circus,im getting so freak about ayu MORE.... i dont know why,maybe ayu had planned about this too,look around,everything seems so perfect now.

now i can hear ayu's song ONLY for about this month.... its great actually

for the PV - well yeah,,,why not using the greatest director such as wataru,kouki tange or tetsuo inoue.... *kazu is good only as a body language director*

for the voice.... ayu ,remember how sweet your voice in 2002 to 2005,because you didnt force your voice too much.... try to back at that era,remember how nice your voice when singing dearest in AT 2002... ???

for the music... keep it up!! still the best music

for the costum.... well being minimalist is good,but we are used to be see your uniqe style,but,,,i think your style now have been satisfied me ^^

for the hair...... arghhhh...i really love your ash-blonde hair...love it alot.and nice medium hair cut too

oh yeah..... about the vibrato... i notice she always change ,rainbow ,MA ,MS,MU,Secret,Guilty.... they have all different style of singing...

maybe we dont know all about Ayu's

what we do now is just TRUST HER,that she would die for everything to make her fans happy

[Andrenekoi]

^I still think that the way she sang on the begining of her Avex career is not healthy for the vocal chords...

[GRACE]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

^I still think that the way she sang on the begining of her Avex career is not healthy for the vocal chords...

I've thought the same thing tbh. Some of the notes on ASfxx and LOVEppears sounded painful, and really out of her range, like she was struggling to hit them. But that's the vocal style that was popular in the 90s, so thats why I think she did it. Her voice was lower on NOTHING FROM NOTHING and her idol days

[gallowsCalibrator]

Does she strain herself to hit those really high, squeaky-sounding notes, or are they natural? I've always wondered that... If she does strain herself, then that really will affect her vocal cords, but if it's natural, then I don't see what the harm is Her voice has matured a lot, so it's gotten much deeper, so I don't think that she forced her squeaky voice back in ASFXX era... But that's just imo, I'm not sure what the real facts are

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

I actually don't think her voice got deeper, she always has had a deep voice, you can hear it even in her idol on stage days. I just think that she has somewhat lost her high voice - her lower voice imo really hasn't changed much at all.

It may not have gotten but it definitely sounds different. Maybe the tone of her voice changed? I mean in her idol days she was super young, your voice changes as you get older, ne?

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

It may not have gotten but it definitely sounds different. Maybe the tone of her voice changed? I mean in her idol days she was super young, your voice changes as you get older, ne?

Right, but what I mean is that even in her Idol on Stage days, her voice was very deep actually - especially for her age and it was clear that it is where she was the most comfortable singing. So I just disagree with people saying that her voice changed to deeper now - it actually didn't get deeper I feel, she just uses her deep voice more often now than before because that is easier for her to sing.

[*Petit*]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Right, but what I mean is that even in her Idol on Stage days, her voice was very deep actually - especially for her age and it was clear that it is where she was the most comfortable singing. So I just disagree with people saying that her voice changed to deeper now - it actually didn't get deeper I feel, she just uses her deep voice more often now than before because that is easier for her to sing.

Yeah, it's a big surprise hearing her sing in those old videos, actually she never sung like that ever again. I sounds like she used her voice technically more correct back in those days as well. I don't know why she changed, it might've been avex advice making her sing more high pitched, even though I was under the impression that she rather quickly had some sort of control over both song selection, arrangements and composition. TThe high pitch craziness reached its peak with kanariya and listening to it, it does sound like her voice has been altered for the highest parts of the song, I don't think she ever really reached those notes. Sort of makes you wonder what the purpose of it all was...

Actually, looking at her performance of haru yo, koi, it's like seeing her performing voyage that many years later in 2002, even her hand gestures.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by captain-kawaii123

Does she strain herself to hit those really high, squeaky-sounding notes, or are they natural? I've always wondered that... If she does strain herself, then that really will affect her vocal cords, but if it's natural, then I don't see what the harm is Her voice has matured a lot, so it's gotten much deeper, so I don't think that she forced her squeaky voice back in ASFXX era... But that's just imo, I'm not sure what the real facts are

IMO lots of her notes on her 4 first albums sounded really painful... If u ask me, she was totally out of her range

[primavera♥]

either way i think her voice with the higher notes or deeper notes is fine ^__~

[Cherry Dynamite]

I can't even sing like that xD I also think that's bad for your voice in the long run

[Lady~Deviance]

I actually prefer her current vocals over her previous. Especially when she belts out those rock ballads...Ohhh child!
Despite the constant overuse and abuse of her vocal cords, homegirl's voice IMO has aged gracefully over the years like fine cheese and wine.

She just needs to learn how to preserve her voice properly.

[gallowsCalibrator]

^ They did sound a bit painful, so perhaps she was straining herself to hit those high notes when her voice was actually much deeper... I remember in her idol days her voice was quite deep... So I think you're right, because as you get older, your voice deepens, it doesn't get higher.

[Crystal_Ageha]

^ I've suspected for a very long time that they purposely tried to make her sound EXTREMELY high pitched in a lot of songs, especially back in the day. Like you said, kanariya..... Wow, lol. >_>'

[nanakopy87]

Originally Posted by GRACE

Have you been to any of those concerts? No? Then stop.

I can't say what she has, because I haven't been to the concert. I can make comments about what I see but that's it, I'm not going to say whether she's lost it or if she has it because I don't know. All I can say, is SHE'S having fun, even a fool can see that, and the crowd is having a blast. And in the end, that's all it's about

i don't know if this is true or not.but the audience isn't that hype in CDL 09-10.i can see people are screaming from the beginning till end of the show on PCDL08-09 but i don't see this happen on CDL09-10.there is.like teddy bear.the audiences screamed.but not all...so,thats my opinion