[News] New Album TROUBLE on August 15th ~III~ - Page 14 - Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai
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  #261  
Old 8th August 2018, 05:34 PM
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Today drama news on AHS:

- The argument of ayu latest release has not been stopped. It is getting hotter and soon we can see some pulling each other hair and smashing face scenes.

- What is "golden time" ayu? The hot debate is in AHS again.
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  #262  
Old 8th August 2018, 05:55 PM
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  #263  
Old 8th August 2018, 06:03 PM
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Initial thoughts: We are the Queens - I've always really liked this, even though it sounds kind of cheesy.

Words - just a so-so Ayu ballad for me; I've barely listened to it since it came out.

aeternal - Like it more than I thought I would judging by AX-WAT. I actually really like the second half of the song where it picks up tempo a bit.

W - Was really expecting to love this one based on the comments here but found it to be a bit underwhelming. It is in many ways the stand out of the album though because it's not SAFE sounding. I just wish she would cut down on the woah, woah, woahs and lai lai lais a bit. The mixing sounds flat for a rock song.

The Way I Am - So I actually think the acapella version is the superior version of the song, lol. But I really like it here as well and love the lyrics.

Overall, I enjoy the new songs, but am torn about this release in general.

pros: a new release after two years, love the covers, I at least like all the songs.

cons: only three new songs after two years, this is not an album, the songs are not all single quality as promoted, quite safe sounding without a clear direction

Quote:
Originally Posted by kotora View Post

- What is "golden time" ayu? The hot debate is in AHS again.
Hands down '02-'06 IMO.

Last edited by SunshineSlayer; 8th August 2018 at 06:06 PM.
  #264  
Old 8th August 2018, 06:11 PM
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What is "golden time" ayu?
1999-2002
  #265  
Old 8th August 2018, 07:33 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer View Post
Initial thoughts: We are the Queens - I've always really liked this, even though it sounds kind of cheesy.

Words - just a so-so Ayu ballad for me; I've barely listened to it since it came out.

aeternal - Like it more than I thought I would judging by AX-WAT. I actually really like the second half of the song where it picks up tempo a bit.

W - Was really expecting to love this one based on the comments here but found it to be a bit underwhelming. It is in many ways the stand out of the album though because it's not SAFE sounding. I just wish she would cut down on the woah, woah, woahs and lai lai lais a bit. The mixing sounds flat for a rock song.

The Way I Am - So I actually think the acapella version is the superior version of the song, lol. But I really like it here as well and love the lyrics.

Overall, I enjoy the new songs, but am torn about this release in general.

pros: a new release after two years, love the covers, I at least like all the songs.

cons: only three new songs after two years, this is not an album, the songs are not all single quality as promoted, quite safe sounding without a clear direction



Hands down '02-'06 IMO.
Definitely 2002 - 2006, dare I even say 2007. I believe the golden era ended with GUILTY.
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  #266  
Old 8th August 2018, 07:47 PM
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My favorite part of her career is between 2010 and 2016.

2002-2006 it's strong, but I dare say it's her 2nd safest moment.
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  #267  
Old 8th August 2018, 07:52 PM
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Her "golden time" as people keep referring to it, would probably fall anywhere from 2000-2012.

In my opinion, EVERYTHING in that time from had some value to it, whether being experimental and unique, high quality production and refining of her "safe" sounds, or what have you. Whereas future releases used to do her sound better than the previous, now her generic songs aren't even half the quality of the ones that came before. This, I think, is the key problem.

It's okay to be "generic", as long as you're constantly tweaking and perfecting that sound - not phoning it in, like most of her recent material sounds. And this is all thanks to Yuta Nakano phoning in his arrangements, so the fault lies just as much on him as it does on her for continuing to employ him.
  #268  
Old 8th August 2018, 07:56 PM
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  #269  
Old 8th August 2018, 07:57 PM
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She really started falling flat for me around Rock and Roll Circus. Ever since then it's been really hit or miss. What really pushed me over the edge though was the entire LOVE and again bullshit. I still won't ever forgive her for that lol

But 2010 was also the time my personality started to change (entering adulthood. Leaving my teen years behind) and with that I started getting out of Jpop as a whole so it wasn't just Ayu. It was everyone I listened to (Kuu, Ai Otsuka, BoA, Hikki, etc. The only one that survived was Namie lol). I've only just recently revisited Jpop but it's definitely not at the level like it was in the early 2000s. Back then it was because I wanted to be "different and cool" so I rejected American music but nowadays I prefer Western music more. (Hence why I loved it when Ayu did COLOURS and why I still listen to Namie).

Last edited by indigochild; 8th August 2018 at 08:08 PM.
  #270  
Old 8th August 2018, 07:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Andrenekoi View Post
My favorite part of her career is between 2010 and 2016.

2002-2006 it's strong, but I dare say it's her 2nd safest moment.
How do you figure may I ask? Rainbow, Memorial Address, and Miss Understood were all pretty experimental for her. For me this period is my fave for a few key reasons: her voice was the best imo by far, the PVs had the best production quality also by far, had some of her most creative concepts, and expanded her musical styles a lot. Everything just worked. It was a well-oiled, polished, and professional machine. btw, the only reason I don't include '01 or '00 in that is because her live vocals were kind of all over the place. Aside from that though, those years were just as strong as well.

Last edited by SunshineSlayer; 8th August 2018 at 08:03 PM.
  #271  
Old 8th August 2018, 08:26 PM
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Am I wrong, or is this the first album where there are no music videos for any of the songs?
  #272  
Old 8th August 2018, 08:35 PM
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I'd probably say 2000-2005/6 are the "golden years" for Ayu, but not all equally so. In hindsight, there's a lot of really great stuff from that time from tours to albums to videos, etc. However there's almost always been SOMETHING that didn't sit well with everyone...when Rainbow came out, her decision to use English was a really polarizing thing for people. I also remember thinking how hoarse her voice sounded vs. I Am, for example - it was a huge sonic change for her.

I think Dome Tour aside, the first half of that period is where her music really was the strongest - unique, strong lyrics, quality productions, cohesive albums, etc. The latter half is when you see her transforming into more of a stage performer. My first Ayu concert was CDL 04-05 which was her last "scaled down" CDL. Arena tour 2005 My Story was really the start of her grand shows with lots of stage value, in my opinion.

I like (miss)understood and secret, and they both have tons of gems on them. However, to me, they didn't age well, and they're almost too over-produced. I compare them to Mariah Carey's E=MC2 album - everything was super high quality, but it lacked a certain rawness to it.

Since then, Ayu has had a ton of highs and some lows for me. But I don't think she's ever done anything that's just straight up bad, and that's really a feat for 20 years in the industry.
  #273  
Old 8th August 2018, 09:39 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by njanjayrp View Post
Definitely 2002 - 2006, dare I even say 2007. I believe the golden era ended with GUILTY.
Yes, that's what I figured out for myself as well. Personally, I consider "A Song for XX" to "GUILTY" as the most relevant part of her discography.
  #274  
Old 8th August 2018, 09:44 PM
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  #275  
Old 8th August 2018, 09:50 PM
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Unpopular opinion; although Ayu used to release stronger singles, I prefer her post 2010 albums. A7 Winter Diary is by far my favorite album and I’ve been a fan since 2002 so I think I’ve experienced the same nostalgia as a lot of others.

Sure, the production values have gone downhill drastically, but A7 proved the only thing Ayu should reconsider are the arrangements. Her acoustic orchestra versions of later songs are equally as amazing in my opinion as a lot of her older stuff. If she would bring back ethereal song intros like she used to have with Ever Free, No More Words and Rainbow etc I think people would be a lot more positive and receptive. Less windchimes, more harpsichord and dance beats and she’ll be fine.

People are overreacting: this woman released more albums than artists like Kate Bush, Namie Amuro, Madonna, Tori Amos and so many more artists that have been around for much longer. It’s impossible to like everything an artist puts out. And both Madonna and Tori Amos had impressive albums (Rebel Heart and Native Invader) after over a decade of average at best albums. So don’t burn your fancards just yet. People are sad about having to wait for two years for five songs. Last time I checked western artists take about 3 to 4 years between each album. Just look at the discographies of Katy Perry and Gwen Stefani for example. People here are spoiled with such an immensive backlog of songs.

TL;DR: Ayu and her songs have remained unchanged imo- the only thing that has changed are production values of arrangements.
  #276  
Old 8th August 2018, 10:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kotora View Post
- What is "golden time" ayu? The hot debate is in AHS again.
2010-2014
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  #277  
Old 8th August 2018, 10:28 PM
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How do you figure may I ask? Rainbow, Memorial Address, and Miss Understood were all pretty experimental for her. For me this period is my fave for a few key reasons: her voice was the best imo by far, the PVs had the best production quality also by far, had some of her most creative concepts, and expanded her musical styles a lot. Everything just worked. It was a well-oiled, polished, and professional machine. btw, the only reason I don't include '01 or '00 in that is because her live vocals were kind of all over the place. Aside from that though, those years were just as strong as well.
This was the time she was re-releasing the same songs every winter and summers and when her concerts pretty much reused a similar formula starting in AT 03-04. I also feel a lot of the interesting stuff she did were sometimes just aesthetic and lacked depth because this was her at her full pop superstar diva mode.

I would say her most experimental was from the LOVEppears to I am..., when she was all over the place looking for an artistic identity. This is to me her at her wildest.

RAINBOW was a transition. You got experiements with eletronica, but also an overlook of some of her frequent formulas for the years to come.

Starting from Memorial Address to NEXT LEVEL she defined her aesthetic and formulas. Now every album had a summer up beat song, a winter ballad, a concert ending track, a sassy girl power track, etc. IMO this is Ayu at her most comercial.

During the RnRC era (and i hate the album) her lyrics started getting a sense of maturity they lacked before (sometimes I felt like Ayu was a 25 years old teenager).

From Love songs to Love Again her albums got really cohesive and the concepts got more and more complex, linking music, videos and the concerts. This is to me her at her most artistic.

The public felt alienated during that phase so moved to a try and error of mixing her artistic vision and the market trends (her PVs are either bold as fuck or flavor of the week pop, her sound never been safer, lyrics are on point and mature, her concerts are still pretty conceptual, etc). I don't know what will be result this time, but she seens to be transitioning to become an old popstar, like Yumming, while using her legacy to grab attention like Seiko Matsuda and following the trends to not become obsolete like Namie did. To me this is her at her safest.

But just to make it clear, Ayu was never safe and most likely will never be. Being her sound, her lyrics, her performances or her image, Ayu at her tamest still is pretty out of the norm.

I'm comparing her to herself only, not with her peers.
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Last edited by Andrenekoi; 8th August 2018 at 11:03 PM.
  #278  
Old 9th August 2018, 01:01 AM
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Originally Posted by Andrenekoi View Post

Starting from Memorial Address to NEXT LEVEL she defined her aesthetic and formulas. Now every album had a summer up beat song, a winter ballad, a concert ending track, a sassy girl power track, etc. IMO this is Ayu at her most comercial.
I agree with this, yes. But that's one of the reasons why I cut it off at '06. The summer winter ballad thing hadn't become repetitive yet or at least not so much so that it became annoying and formulaic. For me that's '07 onwards.

Totally disagree about Love Songs and Love Again though. I mean, I actually don't associate those two albums together at all even. Love Songs came out less than a year after Rock n' Roll Circus, so I felt those had much more in common with each other. Love Again was just a mess and I try to forget it happened, haha.
  #279  
Old 9th August 2018, 01:12 AM
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I agree with this, yes. But that's one of the reasons why I cut it off at '06. The summer winter ballad thing hadn't become repetitive yet or at least not so much so that it became annoying and formulaic. For me that's '07 onwards.

Totally disagree about Love Songs and Love Again though. I mean, I actually don't associate those two albums together at all even. Love Songs came out less than a year after Rock n' Roll Circus, so I felt those had much more in common with each other. Love Again was just a mess and I try to forget it happened, haha.
I see Love Songs - Party Queen - LOVE again as a trilogy, as the 3 of them deal with Ayu's feeling towards her own views on romantic love and love life, something she had not explored as much before, and in that sense, IMO La is the conclusion she got out of what she started reflecting about during LS.

But I also think La is interesting as a package. Isolated, most of the songs are far from her most interesting.

In a way, La is also the album were Ayu's aesthetic gets less dream-like and more realistic. Girl became a cynic
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Last edited by Andrenekoi; 9th August 2018 at 01:17 AM.
  #280  
Old 9th August 2018, 10:24 AM
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Originally Posted by thomas View Post
TL;DR: Ayu and her songs have remained unchanged imo- the only thing that has changed are production values of arrangements.

Speaking of which.
The promotion strategy this time is so disastrous that I suspect that avex took all her staff away.

1. 6 Days till release, there's still no sight of a tracklisting on the official site and salespoints like HMV/Amazon. Is this the first time it ever happened?
2. They knew this "album" won't sell as much as last time, and yet they put in so much production cost in manufacturing a BOX and printing photo cards, which are exclusive to the DVD/Bluray version only purchasable from Mu-mo/TA. How are they going to expect the general population to buy the profitable version if they aren't placing them in stores and online? I can't understand this sales strategy.
3. The whole album is available on streaming before the physical release. It is understandable to push steaming subscriptions (which according to IFPI's 2017 report, subscription sales now takes up the biggest slice of the pie, and digital purchase also out run physical sales), so why care to manufacture 4 versions in the first place? If people were to be satisfied by streaming the songs, why not make the profitable physical version more accessible?
4. They're keeping up with the pace of SNS promotion, but their methods are so old-fashioned. What is so special and flattering of watching ayu doing her pretentious stunt of "listening to a mysterious new song on her phone and walking back and forth" when the song was already "leaked" on streaming days before that video?
5. Other basic strategies are also pitiful. They should've removed unnecessary costs from the limited edition and place it in in-store promotions. Take a look at Perfume who are also releasing an album on the same day. They're only streaming 1 new song from the album, collaborating with Tower Records in giving out freebies for those who pre-purchase and purchase in-store, doing fierce promotion with instagram story in person, and to be doing a live streaming after the release date (yes ayu did a LINE Live but she always seems to be unprepared). Every step is planned to boost album sales physically and digitally.


Btw, how much longer could ayu make a living for her band and dancers?
According to the concert ranking from 2017. She had 205k attendees with 43 shows.
V6 as a comparison, they took 260k attendees with 21 shows.
That's half the manpower for the same outcome.
The team really needs to consider new gimmicks apart from "hey we did a lot of shows".
How could they feel contented with 38 shows at pitiful Halls across the country with the cost of transportation,
instead of doing just 5 shows at a few arenas which would draw the same amount of income?

Note: I'm a fan since A BEST and I've been to her shows and will try to get to the TROUBLE tour. But her team's effort behind the scenes really frustrates me, because they could have done so much better and so much more. they're avex!!
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