[News] New Album TROUBLE on August 15th ~III~

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

I wonder what is the measurement being used to decide if the crying is real

It’s very subjective. Ayu isn’t that good of an actress. It is also very obvious when she is doing it as a part of the performance. As I said I find it hard to belive that day after day and year after year after performing a song so many times it gets you so emotional and at the same point.

There are times when it seems more or less genuine and at times it’s real, but as is everything else during her shows, most of those tears are staged and over exaggerated.

[summerain]

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

It’s very subjective. Ayu isn’t that good of an actress. It is also very obvious when she is doing it as a part of the performance. As I said I find it hard to belive that day after day and year after year after performing a song so many times it gets you so emotional and at the same point.

There are times when it seems more or less genuine and at times it’s real, but as is everything else during her shows, most of those tears are staged and over exaggerated.

Well, I disagree about her acting skills. It's not a naturalistic take, it's very theatrical, but she delivers.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by summerain

Well, I disagree about her acting skills. It's not a naturalistic take, it's very theatrical, but she delivers.

Taking a naturalistic take on acting on a stage doesn't even make sense

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

I wonder what is the measurement being used to decide if the crying is real

It’s evident when going to multiple dates of a tour and witnessing her “breakdown” at the EXACT same portion of the song, almost as if it’s timed, right down to her body movement during the “cry,” her facial expressions, and the lyrics she omitts.

[FoxyPinkGirl]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

I wonder what is the measurement being used to decide if the crying is real

for me personally, most of her crying seems staged. which I don't mind most of the time. especially when she's reaching her hand out or "running" after a male dancer portraying as her love for that performance is definitely staged. the most convincing staged cry one ever for me is during Ballad in the 2010 RnRC tour. I've cried during that performance. but you can tell when it's real and she gets really choked up with tears. in those instances I believe it's a moment she's experiencing like in an encore of her final show or a certain song or event. but yeah I'd say most of the time it is staged.

I do also feel her voice is very hoarse after watching the clips. I can understand that because she was touring soooooo much last year and barely had time to rest her voice. I'm definitely not digging that performance of "I am". she looked gorgeous and was a great performance, but musically I really am not digging it. I don't like it when she messes with the octaves of the originals. "I am" is my most all-time favorite song of her's. I can understand where she has to lower the octaves of songs because she wouldn't be able to hit notes anymore. but it's my favorite song lol it sounds better in it's original octave. and the hoarseness made it meh to me. I would've thought avex would fix the vocals at times when they release DVDs of her performances. hmmm.

[ayuinh.k?]

Originally Posted by FoxyPinkGirl

for me personally, most of her crying seems staged. which I don't mind most of the time. especially when she's reaching her hand out or "running" after a male dancer portraying as her love for that performance is definitely staged. the most convincing staged cry one ever for me is during Ballad in the 2010 RnRC tour. I've cried during that performance. but you can tell when it's real and she gets really choked up with tears. in those instances I believe it's a moment she's experiencing like in an encore of her final show or a certain song or event. but yeah I'd say most of the time it is staged.

I do also feel her voice is very hoarse after watching the clips. I can understand that because she was touring soooooo much last year and barely had time to rest her voice. I'm definitely not digging that performance of "I am". she looked gorgeous and was a great performance, but musically I really am not digging it. I don't like it when she messes with the octaves of the originals. "I am" is my most all-time favorite song of her's. I can understand where she has to lower the octaves of songs because she wouldn't be able to hit notes anymore. but it's my favorite song lol it sounds better in it's original octave. and the hoarseness made it meh to me. I would've thought avex would fix the vocals at times when they release DVDs of her performances. hmmm.

I thought I was the only one who thought her voice sounds very hoarse! She hasn't really had much time to rest her voice after AT15. I watched a few clips of the Okinawa performances and was surprised that didn't they try to make her voice sound less hoarse.

[maxikot]

And here I am, having "W" as my most played song from the album so far xD Love the drums there(I do air drumming with this song!), lyrics too. Maybe a bit too much woo woo, but it doesn't bother me.

[oaristos]

So... after almost three entire threads, I finally had the opportunity to give TROUBLE a careful listen and I thought I'd share my opinion here.

I have to admit that this is, in my opinion, one of her most disappointing releases ever. I haven't been expecting much from Ayu since 2010-11, but she always manages to surprise me once in a while—with Last minute, FLOWER, Mad World, and all songs from sixxxxxx, for example.

With TROUBLE, I just don't feel... anything. I'm not mad because the EP doesn't sound terrible, but I'm also not excited because there isn't anything groundbreaking or remotely interesting about it. Sonically speaking, the songs are bad but æternal and The way I am sound like leftovers from A ONE, while W is a bit too cluttered. I still bought the EP on iTunes because I enjoy Ayu's voice and I think I'll be listening to TROUBLE in between her old albums. In the end, I just wish I even had more to write about it, but with only three new songs, no clear concept, and no videos... I can barely have a long conversation about this release.

Anyway, I'm definitely interested in seeing how TROUBLE performs on the charts, especially now that Oricon counts digital sales!

[chu-lips]

Originally Posted by oaristos

Anyway, I'm definitely interested in seeing how TROUBLE performs on the charts, especially now that Oricon counts digital sales!

Waitt...
Oricon now counting the digital sales???

[Yagami Raito]

Originally Posted by chu-lips

Waitt...
Oricon now counting the digital sales???

Oricon counts digital sales but in a separated category: "digital ranking".
Physical and digital sales are not all put together in the same ranking.


https://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/dia/w/2018-08-13/

[hud]

they deleted all of æternal demos from Spotify (and also from apple music i guess), including the poetry reading. nice to see they're keeping her streaming page organized.

[KarenPang]

Much as I like æternal & The way I am , I feel that TROUBLE is just a typical mini album release , not something memorable that commemorates Ayu's 20th anniversary

I know Ayu has been having problems with her hearing but as a long time fan , I felt a bit short changed on this . Even the TROUBLE photoshoot for once didn't wow me a lot

Just like oaristos , I've been keeping my expectations on Ayu quite low over the last few years but yet she still can surprise me in a good way from time to time

But with TROUBLE , I didn't had a big pow wow impression on it and that's unfortunate :x

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by KarenPang

But with TROUBLE , I didn't had a big pow wow impression on it and that's unfortunate :x

I feel the same way. However, I am looking forward to what comes next! With this out of the way as a (mini) album, there's no reason to believe any of it will be on a future release.

[KarenPang]

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

I feel the same way. However, I am looking forward to what comes next! With this out of the way as a (mini) album, there's no reason to believe any of it will be on a future release.

If TROUBLE will be the only mini release Ayu put out this year that will be really disappointing :x

2018 hasn't end yet so there might be a possibility for her to put out something else before the year ends , I hope

@ Chibi-Chan - agree with you on that . You see artistes that've been around even longer than Ayu but their releases don't sound stale to me and I still like what they put out even as their discography grows

[cosmicfirefly]

Originally Posted by KarenPang

If TROUBLE will be the only mini release Ayu put out this year that will be really disappointing :x

2018 hasn't end yet so there might be a possibility for her to put out something else before the year ends , I hope

I would love it if she released something else before the year ends, but between a-nation, then almost immediately having to rehearse for the new tour starting in October until February, it seems unlikely we'll get anything else this year :/ I'm just hoping that after the TROUBLE tour, she'll release a proper full album, and not just wait a few months before going on another tour with no new releases.

[Chris85]

Originally Posted by snowo

they deleted all of æternal demos from Spotify (and also from apple music i guess), including the poetry reading. nice to see they're keeping her streaming page organized.

Does anyone have full version of AX_YUKU_0592 NKN_arr#2.5 (3 minutes long)? I'm missing this one.

Originally Posted by Aderianu

Oh god... how much I hate vibrato at Last Minute

Her voice sounds so low in this clip. I wonder if that's how her real natural singing voice sounds like when she's not trying to alter it or to sound cute.

[EndOfTheWorld]

I haven't listened to TROUBLE since it's digital release. I gave it a few repeat listens but haven't felt any desire to return to it. It's Ayu's weakest release for me as well. I still like the songs but that's it, they are just pleasant. Nothing remarkable or interesting. The strongest element of TROUBLE are the lyrics. I don't understand the title or the concept at all. I hated the promotion too. It was so frustrating. I guess they wanted to be mysterious but to me it all came across as weird. Just the whole release seems bizarre to me.
To be honest, I would rather listen to Party Queen. That album at least is interesting musically which is what I care most about. My least favorite album from Ayu has better songs than TROUBLE. I would rather listen to Party Queen, NaNaNa, call, Letter, reminds me, Return Road, Tell me why than any song on TROUBLE. Or really all the tracks from Party Queen. That is a very strange feeling to me.

[Chibi-Chan]

Until yesterday, I still was debating with myself if I should just go into the store and buy the mini, because buying an Ayu release early in an actual store was always something I wanted to do. In the end I didn't and even though I listened to the mini now a couple of times, there is nothing to enjoy.
It's by far her worst release ever. It's boring and uninspired, there is no magic going on.
Songs like aeternal, WORDS and The way I am already exit in her discography a dozen times, just better and the only reason I can tolerate W is because at least it doesn't put me to sleep.
It's the first time I don't enjoy a single song on an Ayu release and it is disappointing to see how are releases have gotten weaker and weaker over the last couple of years and how a lot of her albums are just a bunch of songs she basically already released.
I listen mostly to artists who are 20 years+ in the business already and all of them put out a release at one point or another I didn't like, but Ayu is the only one who, besides at one point being the Queen of reinvention, stopped trying to give her songs some magic and is just rehashing old sounds besides very few exceptions. I guess this is what disappoints me the most, it seems as if she, as an artist, has completely lost her vision and in the end doesn't even care about it. She already trolled us with LOVE and again, but TROUBLE simply feels as if she just had finished three songs and threw them in with the other two and released it.

[aliceshields]

The clips she sounded hoarse, and some notes can’t hit. “I am” is one of my all time favourite and I felt sudden sad after I watched the clip (I know is unhealthy to feel sad or crying over this, like my husband said “21st century stress”)...

Thou what I’ve heard (seen) can’t be unheard (unseen) , so I am now looping the CDL 2009-2010 version of “I am”

[Corvina]

As it was released early digitally (on Saturday) Trouble is charting on the chart for last week.

It sold 856 digital copies in its first three days and is ranking on #12.