Ayu isn't really known for just doing one thing. If anything, she's known for playing with everything. She has things that remain consistent but there are also things that are pretty far beyond her usual sound.

Actually, on recent years they do more electro rather than urban (and it's understandable since it's more popular on recent years), but ayu pretty much owns in the electro, and that's just thinking on Sparkle alone. It's just that ayu doesn't do enough of it... Most of ayu's recent stuff were rock, mid tempo and ballads with an electronic song occassionly. I think she needs an album with more up beat or electro stuff, or not necessarily electro, but I actually like this m-flo song so I wouldn't mind some songs of that style. And Feel the love, personally for me, is a slayer as well.

Oh and Wake me up. Yes, ayu slays on the j-electronic pop scene. Even if she does it less than the peers and differently from yasutaka nakata and perfume or even a bit different than western usual electro club hit. The "problem" is that her albums are not full of these stuff.

I love her vocals here, but the rap part sounds so cute I can't help laughing every time. I hope on her next album her signing vocals sounds as smooth.

Her actual singing is really good and she's hitting some high notes without sounding like she's in discomfort. So that's awesome. But I can't take her seriously when she raps. She just sounds too cute. Haha! Hopefully, I can warm up to this.

The problem is Ayu's attempts at EDM are always 5 years late. Every EDM track she tries is dated long before she even releases it... Wake me up is so 2008 it's almost painful.

Wake me up was done for a while before they actually released it.

i really don't like the m-flo part. ayu's part is nice, but m-flo's just sounds really dumb to me

I like it. It's something new for her

It doesn't matter if it still sounds that good! It's like you will stop listening to music that was released before 2014. The dated thing is overrated. People still love A Song for xx and that was "dated" even at the time as well.

As long as the song are slayers, from what year the style is, doesn't really matter. She can release an 80s EDM for all I care. If it sounds good it's welcome in my book.

Besides, I wouldn't exaggerate with Wake me up, it doesn't sound that old. With Feel the love, it has beats that I'm sure that even David Guetta still uses nowadays. It's just that they don't make it sound like what are on the radios, or Rihanna-style. And maybe it's better, since maybe it's a sound ayu wants for herself, for others it can sound dated, or whatever. Dunno. Feel the love doesn't sound like JLO's Waiting for tonight.

I actually don't mind music sounding dated generally. LOL I love the production on my name's WOMEN for example even though it too was 5-6 years behind in a lot of respects. Wake me up is just too generic for my taste, coupled with the fact that it was a leftover from 5 years prior makes it being dated somewhat unforgivable to me. I'd love if Ayu did an 80s throwback song, though. I'd kill for it tbh.

I think Ayu's main thing is that she needs to push the arrangers harder or demand something else from them, because the lyrics are there... the compositions are there... but then the 'sound' could probably use some freshness. I think that's probably why a lot of people enjoyed Love songs since it was a fusion of her usual Ayu sound and the Komuro feel.

I'm really liking what I'm hearing! Her voice sounds great on the chorus - can't wait to hear the full version. And maybe we'll get a PV?

The most likely scenario is a lyric video, I think.

She does jump around genres and always has, but it's more like incorporating elements into the Hamasaki ayumi sound.

Namie and Ku have been doing electro, but they still sprinkle in a little ghetto in the mix now and then.

Wake me up I do not believe was finished or "leftover" entirely. I believe the composition was lying around for a while and she finally decided to bring light to it. Not like it was set to go on a harddrive somewhere. I do believe she said that was the case with another track on LOVE again though...?

That being said, I feel Wake me up is one of her best songs. It's has the attitude of Sparkle, that Hamasaki Ayumi powerhouse fierceness, while still managing to sound innovative. She's had electronic elements in many of her songs, but Eake me up was just slightly different enough to set it apart.

=> It certainly was the most modern sounding production she's released in a LONG time that still sounded like her persona of classic material. The rest of LOVE again had very flat and stale arrangements.

Ugh, let Ayu do new things, this is "Party Queen" all over again. >.< Ya'll just a bunch negative bitches loljk

If Ayu does something out of ordinary people complain. If Ayu stick to her usual style, people complain. For short, she's f***ed either way.

It has to grow on me but I'm glad she's trying something different. :)

am i the only one that thinks she sounds absolutelly stunning during chorus. Her voice is so...easy on the ears and light. I love it. The song is not my cup of tea for sure, but i am hoping to hear more of her voice like that. Stunning. I might just be cutting of the chorus and the singing parts out & playing that on repeat xD

also i don't want her to stick to ballads or rock songs or whatever, i want her to stick to being epic and awesome.PERIOD.

Oh my goodness...

When she's singing, she sounds heavenly. Her vocals are really good here. But, when she starts to rap... I can deny that an uncontrollable burst of laughter escapes me every single time. It's just so weird to hear! I like it though! I love it when she tries new things. :)

LOL the people that dictate what genres Ayu should be doing are totally missing the message of the song~ she will always be the queen and she'll do it her own way~

About the "dated" sounding: let's put Xtina's Back to Basics into the trash then... :puke

Geez, music doesn't really have a date if it's good enough to stand out.