Ayu at 2018 FNS Uta no Natsu Matsuri July 25th

[Andrenekoi]

^People's voice gets lower as they age, her voice being thinner may have something to do with the difference in age too. There's not much she can do about it.

[cosmicfirefly]

I'm not very good at noticing changes in voice, but it seems like sometimes she just sounds more nasally than others. To me, that was the case more so on BLUE BIRD, and not so much Greatful days. I think overall she sounded pretty good though.

Her looking more bloated could be any combination of things, from her working out to medication. As long as she's physically healthy, it doesn't bother me at all how she looks. I like the dress, but the boots seemed too much for the outfit as a whole.

[EndOfTheWorld]

I just finished watching the performance and I really enjoyed it.
I got so excited when she started singing BLUE BIRD and there were no dancers in sight. It was refreshing to have just Ayu and the band. I appreciated the throwback denim dress but I think it was better when she originally wore it. I'm pretty sick and tired of talking about her weight and body so I won't be commenting on that. The vocals were good but I am having trouble deciding if she lip synced or not. Were the vocals live?
I did roll my eyes a little bit when Greatful Days started and the dancers came in with their usual tricks. But it is fitting to have them for Greatful Days. And as usual I didn't like Timmy's outfit. I just expect it now.
But I'm happy for this TV appearance I think it went well.

[hayasaki]

Ayu did so well!! but these days no matter how good she did people will always point how her voice changed and she's fat

[Refix]

Originally Posted by voltron

^ I think this is the heartplace outfit you were thinking of...I would've DIED if she wore this, as it is one of my favorite stage outfits she's ever worn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFFENr4vf4w

And I hope she doesn't explain or apologize for her look. Her face was a bit puffy as per usual (I think she gets filler before TV lives, and doesn't let them settle in properly before filming) - but nothing about her look was bad or needing explanation.

Oh yes, thanks for correcting.

[taskinillusion]

I am SO HAPPY with her performance!!! Not only did she look amazing with that throwback outfit and hairstyle, but she sounded wonderful! She controlled her voice really well, didn't yell and scream notes... it was so enjoyable! I'm really proud of her!

[wednesday]

I just watched the performance, and I was blown away!

At first I thought I was watching the wrong video, because Ayu looked so old-school (the hair, the make-up, the outfit), but then I saw Timmy in his haute diaper and knew it was the right video

All jokes aside, I really enjoyed everything. The song choices were spot on as Blue Bird was her current single when I first went to Japan, and I was given Memorial Address as a gift while I was there. Plus, those songs sounded even better with her mature voice.

[maririn]

So happy to hear the great pitch control and she really seemed to focus on tone rather than trying to belt all the time.

As for her "bloated-ness", yes maybe she's puffy due to whatever reasons (medications, fillers, lack of sleep etc.) But she's also at a much healthier weight (for her) than before (Ayu's own comments about how she was always hungry back then).

Her social media posts are likely edited (which is totally within her right), plus, she's selecting the best pics and angles. You can't do that with a live TV performance.

I read a couple of really positive Japanese posts on twitters (as opposed to the horrible ones) that commended her for appearing in the media confidently, even though she knew she would be heavily criticized. Another user commented that she's a perfectly normal weight and that cameras will make people look larger than they are. That same user also commented that there's an issue with too many stars being unnaturally thin which normalizes "skinny" as being normal and the expectation. (again, nothing wrong being naturally thin - but severe diets aren't normal). People also can't help but to continue to compare her to when she was in her 20s... which is not fair.


That being said, I think the dress wasn't tailored well. When something is too tight, it can make you look larger than you are. I think some tweaks with the fit and she would have been more comfortable and looked better.

[AyuCanada]

The woman is going to be 40 in 3 months, come on! I agree she was quite round at the pride event but on that new video, she seems like a normal size shape for a woman of that age. I think she looks very pretty.

[dez0424]

By fan standard, this is absolutely above the passing line.

Not trying to be anti but would really wanna look deeper into this.
Coming back on TV after such a long time and before an album release, it should have been for her upcoming album promotion. From past examples, she usually do an old song followed by a new.
(Yes it's a summer theme show, but not all songs were related to summer)

Instead, avex chose 2 old summer songs, plus this nostalgic outfit. It's an obvious move to gain attention of ex-fans and general public.
Yet I suspect that it's not her will to sing these, since avex has been trying to push AWA once again by promoting through ayu's site recently.
Is it just me? or some of you also noticed ayu seems to be looking at a screen at the start of Greatful days for lyrics, and most of her expressive actions in Greatful days are very repetitive (acting like an aeroplane / bending forward with hand on hip). She tried hard to be 15 years ago, but she didn't evolve.

It's true that people only remember the ayu at her peak condition.
The choice of songs and the "old-style" exaggerated act of cuteness definitely reminds everyone of the old days. If exposure was the aim, they did it well. But they did just that.
When you try to make her appear as if it was 15 years ago, which she physically and vocally isn't, there's gonna be a backlash.

If avex wanted to promote the album, simply sing a new song. Everyone knows who ayu is, the public doesn't need Blue Bird / SEASONS / Evolution to remind them of her.
If avex just wanted to gain exposure, being on so little TV is not enough. Just look at her list of exposure on her site. It's pitiful!

avex and her team really needs to do something when her concert tickets aren't even helping her earn enough money!
With this scale of a team on the front line, I just can't see how she feeds them with this income.

[~angel*ayumi~]

We allready know she will be on Music fair in August and singing a new song there,
So I guess this is just a reminder that Ayu is still there with choosing well known summer songs from her peak and then promote the album with music fair.

[truehappiness]

She -did- do another show specifically for new album stuff, it's just coming later. It's even on the same network and was announced before FNS!

[Aderianu]

Hosts didn't even mention new album. That was summer special and ayu sang two famous summer songs. That was good reminder that she still exists

[ayumint]

I think she wanted to promote her launched summer playlist on music streaming in this event. kinda summer is Ayu!

The date was too early for new song to be on aired since there is nothing much in public to indicate that her new stuff is coming. yeah we are her fan club, we knew it.

She made the right choice tho.

[hayasaki]

Originally Posted by dez0424

Instead, avex chose 2 old summer songs, plus this nostalgic outfit. It's an obvious move to gain attention of ex-fans and general public.

I believe its the TV show who ask her to sing these songs. And correct me if i'm wrong but last night's FNS focused on memorable summer songs/summer songs which made an impact to people.

[truehappiness]

Often the shows have themes too but SOMETIMES there are new songs that fit the theme too. I think a few groups got to sing their latest songs?

[Chris85]

Originally Posted by thinkingoutloud89

hmm glad everyone likes it, I do not. She ruins every song for me with her TV-lives. But its okay I guess.

What did you not like?

Originally Posted by Machiko

How they weren't that great? She pretty much sounded like she was just lip syncing, pretty much perfect vocals here

Exactly. Her technique might not be perfect, but in terms of pitch her vocals were perfect.

Originally Posted by Machiko

I mean compared to the recorded track itself, I couldn't hear any off notes.

Indeed, there were none.

Originally Posted by yamadashun

She really sang well! For 1 sec I thought it's pre-recorded. But her lack of big movement made her look uneasy or something. Maybe this is the reason she had a better vocal?

It was pre-recorded. Performances that were broadcast live had "LIVE" logo on the screen, pre-recorded ones didn't.

[Aderianu]

Originally Posted by Chris85

It was pre-recorded. Performances that were broadcast live had "LIVE" logo on the screen, pre-recorded ones didn't.

didn't pay attention to what. So maybe she recorded both shows at he same day

[rikku1994]

She looked a little bloated which is something that I just gotta accept, tho that dressshe wore was a great throwback but I couldn't help that it looks too tight, which makes her even larger than usual, tho I'd rather see that than ger looking too thin during A SUMMER BEST era. B

Btw, oh my god she actually sounded good there! Like some off notes here and there but like at least she is not yelling or flailing around lmao. I love it!

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

I’m pretty sure that was live?

They showed Ayu and Timmy chatting before the commercial break prior to her performance...