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  #61  
Old 8th March 2021, 04:48 PM
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Originally Posted by tokyoxjapanxfan View Post
When Max was involved with her releases, I truly believe he had a huge influence on what she did and didn’t do. That and the team that he would have brought to the table.

I do think that when his finesse of her releases was pulled back is when her release pattern and quality really started to get... iffy.

That’s not to say that she -can’t- do it by herself, but it’s certainly more mentally draining.
I see it a little bit differently myself, though I do agree that I think Max was a stabilizing energy for her. If you watch her very early in her career she DID handle everything herself. She had very strong opinions and was actively involved in every part of her artistry. Check out the first NTV interview and you see her doing her own make-up, cutting up the pictures to make the Ayu-mi-x album art, etc. If anything, she was keenly aware of what she wanted the Ayumi Hamasaki brand to be.

It was later when she started handing off responsibility that things changed. She has said multiple times over the years that she got to a point that she was able to trust others who she deemed experts or skilled in an area, and let them guide things. This may have been a good thing at first, but it has also perhaps led to some stagnation at times because she tends to rely on the same people for everything instead of pushing boundaries.

I also think that, at her heart, Ayu is a rebel. So her changing release patterns, etc. is because she hates to do something just because it is expected of her. When she was no longer AVEX's main income source and had some more say in what she did, she pushed back hard.
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  #62  
Old 8th March 2021, 05:14 PM
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I don't know what Ayu could meant in her blog, but i'm just happy for her.
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  #63  
Old 8th March 2021, 10:45 PM
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I got chills reading this. I'm so, so thankful for ayu and her work. she's a blessing to this world.

thanks koumori and remove-mom!
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  #64  
Old 8th March 2021, 11:24 PM
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Originally Posted by voltron View Post
I see it a little bit differently myself, though I do agree that I think Max was a stabilizing energy for her. If you watch her very early in her career she DID handle everything herself. She had very strong opinions and was actively involved in every part of her artistry. Check out the first NTV interview and you see her doing her own make-up, cutting up the pictures to make the Ayu-mi-x album art, etc. If anything, she was keenly aware of what she wanted the Ayumi Hamasaki brand to be.

It was later when she started handing off responsibility that things changed. She has said multiple times over the years that she got to a point that she was able to trust others who she deemed experts or skilled in an area, and let them guide things. This may have been a good thing at first, but it has also perhaps led to some stagnation at times because she tends to rely on the same people for everything instead of pushing boundaries.

I also think that, at her heart, Ayu is a rebel. So her changing release patterns, etc. is because she hates to do something just because it is expected of her. When she was no longer AVEX's main income source and had some more say in what she did, she pushed back hard.
I strongly agree with that final part. About pushing boundaries, I think it's more complicated. A lot of the works she actually did push boundaries were actually very poorly received, like Bold & Delicious, Party Queen or Colours. In the end of the day, a good part of her fandom says they want her to do creative stuff, but they actually want her to release yet another take on the stuff she is always doing.

The rebel appears again everytime she shoves on her public face exactly the stuff they complained the most about, like Bold & Delicious, Shake it, Lelio and XOXO becoming concert staples.
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  #65  
Old 9th March 2021, 07:12 PM
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Wow this was such a meaningful, important post for her. I was in shock towards the end when she admitted she needs to "bring Ayumi Hamasaki back to Ayumi Hamasaki." Even though we all adore her, it was obvious she wasn't feeling as passionate about things the past couple of years. I couldn't blame her as she's been working hard all of her life. A burn out is to be expected. Anyways, really happy to see this and can't wait for the release!
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  #66  
Old 10th March 2021, 08:44 AM
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I think her bringing Ayumi Hamasaki back to Ayumi Hamasaki is actually represented in A Ballads 2 with thee covers. Back in the early 2000s, Ayu was always talking about Ayu the product and Ayu the person being two different personas. This can be represented in the covers for the first A Ballads. I think with the second album, it is almost as if she is coming to terms that they are one in the same, and they need to be. Her thoughts here strongly convey that.
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  #67  
Old 10th March 2021, 07:05 PM
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Originally Posted by Ashen Twilight View Post
I think her bringing Ayumi Hamasaki back to Ayumi Hamasaki is actually represented in A Ballads 2 with thee covers. Back in the early 2000s, Ayu was always talking about Ayu the product and Ayu the person being two different personas. This can be represented in the covers for the first A Ballads. I think with the second album, it is almost as if she is coming to terms that they are one in the same, and they need to be. Her thoughts here strongly convey that.
I don’t know if I’d say A BALLADS is the manifestation of that. I think she conveyed that’s what A ONE was all about.
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  #68  
Old 11th March 2021, 02:40 AM
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I'm happy that she's feeling happy again with her music.

Geez, she's in the industry for more than 20 years, it's absolutely normal that she would get tired at some point. Thus, we received less releases, singles, TV lives, magazine shoots and such along the years... but I think I'm part of the fanbase that has the utmost respect for her legacy and even not liking so much of one music or another in the recent years, I'm always pleased to see her back with something new to present. It's like an old friend that I'm always glad to encounter even if we're not talking that much hehe

By no means I think she was being lazy or the latest releases were bad. She is a force to be reckoned. She's one of the most workaholic artists that I know and I was really glad that she took some time off to enjoy her life and have a little fun (and babies ) and now I'm excited to see what's coming next from my colleague.

I just think some people in this forum need to adjust the level of expectation in everything she announces and remember that she's a human as well as us. The way some critics were thrown to her in recent releases wasn't very gentle. It's always about the form a critique is written, not exactly about its content at all.
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  #69  
Old 11th March 2021, 03:54 AM
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^Yes, so much yes! I completely agree with you
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  #70  
Old 11th March 2021, 02:52 PM
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A really meaningful and insightful post, thank you for sharing Still waiting on that official TA translation haha

There are times that I feelt ayu kind of phoned it in but I don't think that she's ever been creatively bankrupt. In the last few years we got some amazing songs like The way I am, FLOWER, Last minute, TSMGO, W, WORDS, Summer Love...several different concepts in the concerts... If this is passionless then what am I doing with my life?

You can't force creativity and if she's actually rediscovered her passion while recording this cover then what's to come is going to be powerful.

Sometimes I have to actually remember what year it is, that Ayu experimented with all sorts of genres during the 2010s from country to dubstep and it's probably her most impressive decade creatively. She's also battled a number of health issues with her declining hearing, knee issues if I recall correctly and two pregnancies in recent years!

But look at what she's done in that same time!! Just thinking about the albums I'd consider the "strongest" in concept and content of the last two decades you have 2010s: MADE IN JAPAN, TROUBLE, A ONE, FIVE, Love Songs as a romantic concept album vs 2000s: I Am..., RAINBOW, MY STORY, NEXT LEVEL, Memorial address and (miss)understood as a Western concept album.

If NEXT LEVEL hadn't came out in 2009 and tipped the scale I think the 2010's would be the strongest release period in her career despite the low output.

Some concepts didn't really hit as well as they could like RnRC or Colours but the only time I think she really blundered a concept in her career was the Party Queen covers. The photoshoot hasn't grown on me in 9 years so I don't think it ever will LOL

Ayu really increased my expectations for this release though so hopefully it's actually worth all the excitement and we get some good material in the months or year to come.
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  #71  
Old 13th March 2021, 02:21 AM
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Wow, thanks for sharing!!
Been away for so long, this release bought me back, such a great and meaningful process !
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