Blogger at Japanator names NEXT LEVEL as one of the best albums of 2009 - Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai
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  #1  
Old 24th July 2009, 08:11 PM
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Blogger at Japanator names NEXT LEVEL as one of the best albums of 2009

Yay, NEXT LEVEL gets some recognition!

Not sure how big this blog is, but I know it's been around for quite a while..

Link to the blog entry

Quote:
Speaking of real, well OK, I can't really claim that everything Ayumi Hamasaki does is totally real, but her album Next Level does show off her singing skill, as well as a wide range of musical styles. She's one of the biggest idols of all time for good reason. Next Level jumps all over the pop map, from straight up dance, to guitar fueled electro rock and of course plenty of down-tempo ballads. Much of Next Level is actually pretty hard edged for a pop act, something sure to get more than a few fists pumping at her giant live gigs.
Quite nice. I've seen more negative than positive words about NEXT LEVEL, so it's refreshing to know that someone else out there [along with some AHSers] appreciate the album as much as I did, woo~

Last edited by truehappiness; 24th July 2009 at 08:44 PM.
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  #2  
Old 24th July 2009, 08:19 PM
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A lot of my friends who are are into mainstream western pop music love NEXT LEVEL.

Even some of my friends at work love it!
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  #3  
Old 24th July 2009, 08:28 PM
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Yay for good reviews~~ ( ) !
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  #4  
Old 24th July 2009, 08:30 PM
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that's cool. i think it's definitely the best album of 2009 so far most of the other artists i like who released albums this year were just mediocre imo. i love how if i'm disappointed in other artists, ayu is always the one i can count on to release top quality music that suits my tastes perfectly.
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  #5  
Old 24th July 2009, 09:26 PM
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I've been disappointed with my other favorite artists also. D:
Next Level was, at first, a disappointment. Now I've grown to love it! It's one of my favorites.
List of top 5 Fave Ayu albums:
(miss) understood
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My Story
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  #6  
Old 24th July 2009, 09:27 PM
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lol He's obviously never been to (or seen) one of her concerts. Most of the people at them are extremely into the concert and are "pumping their fists" a lot of the time.

I've never heard of this blog, though, and I don't know how big they really are (their website seems really crammed, though :/), so I'm not expecting this review to help garner her a few more fans. lol
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  #7  
Old 24th July 2009, 09:31 PM
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I don't think NEXT LEVEL is a bad album. If Ayu had just debuted with it I'd think it was the best thing ever. It's just... compared to her older albums I felt like this album lacked something. A lot of her older songs started out softly and then built-up and ended spectacularly. For NEXT LEVEL I felt like it was opposite. They all started amazingly and then after the beginning the song just kind of... repeated over and over. The best example I can think of at this moment is LOVE 'n' HATE. I loved the beginning but I could never listen to more than half of the song because by then it was just repeating itself without any build-up towards something better.

But like I said, had she not already had so many amazing albums I wouldn't have anything to compare this too and I'd love it .

I don't think I would consider it the best of 2009 though.
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  #8  
Old 24th July 2009, 09:47 PM
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Quote:
I've never heard of this blog, though, and I don't know how big they really are (their website seems really crammed, though :/), so I'm not expecting this review to help garner her a few more fans. lol
They seem pretty big.. probably one of the premiere Japanese-culture blogs out there, haha.
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  #9  
Old 24th July 2009, 10:45 PM
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I've never heard of this blog before, it seems pretty interesting. It's nice to hear some positive words about NEXT LEVEL. I, personally, love NEXT LEVEL. So, it's not as amazing as some of Ayu's previous albums, but it still delivers delicious music for me.

I also love how Kanon Wakeshima is directly under Ayu too. X3
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  #10  
Old 24th July 2009, 11:02 PM
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Oh my god, that's incredible
t4p i love next level too
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  #11  
Old 25th July 2009, 12:36 AM
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Nice, I like that .
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  #12  
Old 25th July 2009, 04:35 AM
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yay; NEXT LEVEL is really a spectacular album!
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  #13  
Old 25th July 2009, 05:20 AM
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the next level covers may be blah but i love the music!! (wait except for energize)
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  #14  
Old 25th July 2009, 05:58 AM
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I love everything about NEXT LEVEL!
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  #15  
Old 25th July 2009, 06:41 AM
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good one... i love that album too~
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  #16  
Old 25th July 2009, 06:54 AM
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Not the biggest fan of NL, but it's good to see Ayu's getting favorable reviews.
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  #17  
Old 25th July 2009, 07:04 AM
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I like NL for what it is, but it isn't one of my favorite Ayu albums. Glad to see the positive review though
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  #18  
Old 25th July 2009, 07:37 AM
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congrats NEXT LEVEL!!
and thanks for the info.
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  #19  
Old 25th July 2009, 08:26 AM
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NICE ^^ ~
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  #20  
Old 25th July 2009, 08:58 AM
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I cannot agree more
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