Do you think Ayu is too westernized?

[rusuke]

Well, for me ayu's just being westernized by her artistry like image, etc.. But ayu's songs (except for English titles) and lyrics are still like Japanese... But yeah.. sometimes it's quite tiring to see ayu in blond-colored hair...

[ayupan90]

when my dad saw the cover of A Complete he said 'I thought she was Japanese' XD

[chogokin]

I don't think she's too westernized but it rather calls International.

English title is easy to remember from her fans all over the world.

[Yum!Fruit_Salad!]

Originally Posted by emiko

Maybe they teach them to say that at some convention.

Did you have AP?

No, but I should probably be in AP. She's the kind of teacher to input her opinions on almost everything.

[Rainbow141]

I think darker hair on Ayu is too sharp for her delicate features, tbh. And also, blond hair doesn't necessarily make her too western... O_o

And anyhow, so what if she uses English in her titles? Many other J-pop artists do the same, you even admitted that. O_o

[dawnss]

I know that you wanted to explain to woman that they are beautiful, but the problem is, is that blonde hair does not make someone Western or the use of English titles. Although Ayu has blonde hair and double eyelids, a term I find offensive, she really does not look too Western compared to other artists who are Japanese. Look at Sifow with her very tan skin and blonde hair (she did at least in 2006), what about Koda Kumi who had her provacative dance moves, clothes, some what tan skin, dyed hair, and then there were those lyrics. Then there is Namie Amuro who someone people can say that because she is a 30 something woman who is somewhat similiar to older women who has a child and who want to still look sexy, think about those stereotypical women in Orange County. Yet, I came to realize that many American woman do the exact same thing they get surgery to have smaller noses, larger hips, bigger breasts, fuller lips (look at the cosmetic tips in Cosmo, teenvogue, ym, seventeen magazine, cosmogirl, elle, and etc); I do not want to sound blunt or rude but women around the world do this. I have to ask the question is Utada Hikaru more Japanese and hence more relateable to the Japanese public because she appears to have had no cosmetic surgery, she has black hair, and she wears jeans often? If so, then maybe we all need to take a look at the stereotypes that we perceive to be true and get over the fact that their not true. Those artists that I mentioned have there personal styles and all of those few styles that I mentioned are representative of the japanese culture and its many people, not the Western world, just because you think they are only present in your country.
Concerning Ayu's lyrics how in the world is someone considered Western because they use English words in the songs or song titles. A friend of mine explained to me that English lyrics are used because it is a way for artists to express themselves. Are spanish speaking artists (whether they are Dominican, Mexican, Cuban, Latin American, Spanish, Guatamelan) because they choose to speak in English? No, they are using English to express themselves, which is very interesting if you are a fan of lyrics. I like how Ayu uses English lyrics on Masa's website there is an explanation of the English lyrics in Real Me and how they are an exaggeration when compared to the Japanese lyrics. Or look at the English lyrics in Heartplace or glitter which I find interesting because Ayu had broken up with her boyfriend at the time yet she talks about still believing in love, even though she felt that her and her boyfriend were better off as friends. Instead of mentioning that she is Western because she has English song titles, why not mention that her song titles tend to relate to her songs, and then remark on the fact that she is one heck of a song writer because frankly it would appear that she would not even be able to speak English, because she is Japanese. Also liked that waterballon mentioned how Ayu rarely uses her song titles in her songs which I find even more interesting to analyze. I just wanted to say that I did not want to offend anyone and that if I made any generalizations I do not support them, however I do know that most people believe them.

[jimex289]

Very well said, dawnss. She might display some "western-ess" in her but no where near enough for me to consider her that.

[visionfactory]

You forgot Sot(something) Shashin from A BALLADS and kanariya

[jimex289]

Sotsugyou Shashin?

[kirei_ayumi]

one can never be too westernized
it just goes to show that western styles is appealing and may seem more modern for her...

[jbrat2219]

I would love to see Ayu wear a kimono all the time and perform the way she does now! All her dancers would look like samurais and the stage would be set up like ancient Japan all the time. I think that would be funny xD;....

[jimex289]

I think it's really a western style with her own unique fashion sense mixed in, giving way for something totally new.

[oneheart]

I think...That Ayu is not westernized at all. I mean she has her eyelids and her dyed hair, but who doesn't? If you mean lyrically of course, well then I'd have to say a definite no. I do not think Ayu would be able to make a successful debut in America. The styles just don't match. Of course I'd loved to be proved wrong!

[Corybobory]

I think what people term 'western' does not belong to just western culture- someone above mentioned 'global culture'. I think the styles shown by pop stars around the world have many similarities, and 'the west' is not the source of many of them anymore. English is no longer a purely 'western', as is it a first language of many people in countries from Singapore to Nigeria to India. And the current fashions are influenced from celebrity and styles from many places all over the world, not sourced exclusively from America or Europe or wherever, so I'd argue they are as much a part of Japanese culture as anywhere else. To me Ayu is pretty Japanese... not at all 'western', which I would argue is a term that cant really be used anymore these days.

[rakeru]

naturally, she has western influence, but i don't think it crosses a line like Koda or many of the Japanese R&B/hip-hop artists that blatantly try to sell themselves to a market of American pop-culture wannabes. that wasn't too harsh, was it?

[Ayumi27]

Originally Posted by rakeru

naturally, she has western influence, but i don't think it crosses a line like Koda or many of the Japanese R&B/hip-hop artists that blatantly try to sell themselves to a market of American pop-culture wannabes. that wasn't too harsh, was it?

I gotta agree with you on that... Many j-pop artist are way more westernized, as they copy american rhythms and use a lot of english in their lyrics
And yeah, Koda Kumi is one of them, just take a look at That Ain't Cool

[ayumisrael]

Originally Posted by rakeru

naturally, she has western influence, but i don't think it crosses a line like Koda or many of the Japanese R&B/hip-hop artists that blatantly try to sell themselves to a market of American pop-culture wannabes. that wasn't too harsh, was it?

That's all true x 10000 times.
Take some of the other popular singers for example.
hikki who came from the US to Japan and brought the R&B style to Japan along with her, kumi which her style is very westernized, even without the collaboration with Fergie, her image, Namie's hip-hop style and image are million times more westernized than ayu's styles.
imo it's not a bad thing though it always depends on what we are talking about.
Specifically talking about ayu, she is not awfully westernized and I think she is well balanced and versatile with that.
You won't find english lines or words inside of most of her songs' lyrics.
Asking her being less westernized is like asking her to appear in kimonos, sing enka music and dye her hair black.
The fact that she doesn't name her songs in japanese (even the ones that are in japanese and not in japanese letters) is just ayu's way to put her songs to the fans/crowd, Like most artists/popular artists. At least inside of the songs (which is what more important) she has less english than others. For some reason, "don't judge a book by its cover" fits here.

[Keiichi_JPU]

read only first and last page so maybe this has been said a 100 times already, but...

Could you imagine Ayu WITHOUT blond hair and large (sometimes blue) eyes?

I cannot, she wouldn't be ayu!

It's her image to look international. She wouldn't be Ayu if she looked Japanese. (there's nothing wrong with that of course, look at Hikki I love her to bits)

And even with black hair she still looks very not-Japanese, look at the Bold & Delicious vid xD

[panda87]

considering how she rarely uses [complete] english phrases in her lyrics, that alone convinces me she isn't westernized unlike other artists who have at least two in every other song. like *rolls eyes* i hate that.

and besides, do all asians have to be forced to have black hair and chinky eyes?

plus, she doesn't [suck up] to the westerners like Utada and BoA who let 'em degrade them by taking over their talents. i don't mean to offend anyone, but some artists try too hard while Ayu seems to respect her roots and at the same time, she treats internationalism very wisely with guarded interest.

[jimex289]

Lol "chinky eyes". That might offend some people. The only album where she used a significant number of English phrases was RAINBOW. If I recall Heartplace and Real me had the most lines of English and they were quite complete. I believe that the English lines were necessary in Real me, as saying it in Japanese probably does not drive home the point as well. Heartplace is up in the air for me since the chorus is basically the English and it does sound irregular. In the end the only real English words she common sings is "wow yeah yeah" lmao. She's true to her music and uses the language she knows best to convey her thoughts best. It's intriguing how 99% of her song titles are in English, but there's no mention of any of it in the actual lyrics, with the special exception of the songs in the RAINBOW album. Of course, this is not nearly enough to make her "western".