I think a lot of people have equated the ballads from TROUBLE as representative of her ballads as a whole for a certain period especially since she only has had those songs to represent new music since 2018. It’s a shame though that A ONE and the two releases that came after are so easily overlooked.

I really wouldn't count Last minute, Mad World and Sorrows as ballads tbh but I'd have to disagree about them and the other tracks being equal as her classics.

What counts as "classic" era? Debut to I am...? Because if so, her ballad quality has increased exponentially, in my opinion. To me, her recent ballads blow them out of the water. I don't listen to any of her ballads pre-MY STORY with the exception of maybe Who..., scar and HANABI.

Then what does? She has had output that is just as strong as some of her older tracks on recent albums but it’s often disregarded due to simply being newer. This has happened with basically every Ayu release after I am... then people come around on the newer stuff like when a large percentage hated RAINBOW back in 2003. NEXT LEVEL also had to deal with a large amount of negative reception until lit had been out for a while.

I believe Ayu's output from Memorial Address to Guilty, the time spam a lot of her overseas fandom was formed, was pretty safe and low risk. As she started experiementing again, people tended to mistake not liking something at the first listen to disliking it, and some of her work actually needed time to digest.

Starting from A One, her sound became safer again, and people warmed up a little.

idk I love it and listen to it everyday lol

Totally agree on this, it is a difference of opinion after all, and thanks god we don't all love the same thing, life would be SO boring... :)
If I may complete this awesome quote and just add this last part :

I feel this sentence is now more balanced and both feelings are legitimate... ;)

As for what is classic Ayu / ballad, to each one his definition, so keep in mind there's no right / wrong in this field
(I personally don't see the point in looking for "the factual classic Ayu songs" when this is such a subjective issue and there'll be no definitive answer, but whatever, just my opinion...)

This new song will never make it to my playlist, but I'm just happy to listen again & again to "my classic Ayu songs" (Mirrorcle World, Song 4 u, alterna, M) and "my classic ballads" (HANABI, RAINBOW, CAROLS, Together When...) :D #queen

I think all in all the general consensus here is that she should fire Yuta Nakano and hire someone who’s a tad bit more sonically adventurous. It’d be cool to see her collaborate with Clarence Clarity tbh but still with compositions from Japanese composers. Like I’d absolutely PAY to hear it.

I don't think Yuta is the problem though, he is rather good at doing all kinds of things but it hinges on what Ayu wants from him. That's why he's the one that has stuck around for this long somewhat but tasuku also does good work. We've seen him do all sorts of different arrangements with Ayu so it's not like he has been doing the same thing from the start, in fact he was probably the part of H/\L that did the most for her sound which is why he was able to split from them and do it on his own. To me, this kind of 'problem' is similar to the people who don't like what Timmy wears or looks like in Ayu's concerts. Ayu is the one who decides that for Timmy and in the same vein, she is the one who dictates the sound that she wants from Yuta.

I think it's a bit contradictory in that sense because the people who don't necessarily like the arrangement too much have also said it is sort of the 'classic' Ayu sound. It seems to depend on what you think of as classic to begin with. Is it a song or sound that is timeless and encapsulates her best work? Or is it one that is representative of a standard sound she goes back to?

Also, I don't believe that anyone who does like the song feels it's a masterpiece or anything but it's just something that they've enjoyed. It almost feels like liking the song somehow ended up getting equated with thinking it's a 'new classic' (in the sense of being among her best work) in her repertoire but it's two separate feelings about the song. The sound that people are talking about has become a bit of an Ayu staple in these last few albums so in that sense it is hard to argue that it has not been typical Ayu which is also valid as a definition of classic.

The classic comments are referring to the song in the second definition which is basically universally agreed upon.

I think ballads aren't Yuta Nakano's strengths. He has uses the same formula of arrangements for ballads minus a few exceptions: Curtain call, BALLAD, hbya, Sweet scar

Also ayu probably likes the generic ballad arrangement which is probably why Yuta Nakano applies it to her songs even though its gotten very repetitive (ex. Walk and Anything for you)

It is more that the team isn't diversified enough, I suppose. At this point Yuta takes on nearly all the songs Ayu does with tasuku taking a few here and there and the remnants of H/\L on even less than tasuku. Yuta is basically the only one touching most songs so it's easy to blame him. The solution is probably to bring back some other arrangers or just not to push it all on Yuta, but it seems unlikely given how long he's been the "her" arranger.

One thing I saw recently was that CMJK was helping with rearranging for POWER of A^3 and TROUBLE tour, so it's possible he could be back soon.

Nothing can beat her classic ballads: End roll, TO BE, Who…, SCAR, SEASONS, teddy bear, Dearest, Endless sorrow, HANABI, Voyage, RAINBOW. I mean, it's just my taste. No one needs to agree with me. And I absolutely adore her ballads from the albums MY STORY and (miss)understood.

I think some recent ballads that pack a punch are like... Out of control or Shape of love. That period specifically had some really strong work overall.

I think no matter your tastes, when ayu finally retires her music will be sorely missed as I don't think anyone right now holds a candle. But admittedly, I haven't been checking out any current or upcoming acts.

Who else wants more like Terminal? A bop. A masterpiece. Hope she brings something in this vein for the upcoming projects.

Yeah, a lot of the acts that are pretty "hot" right now are either groups or male soloists. There's a few artists that have been making slight waves and are sort of considered J-pop darlings by the overseas community but none of them quite have the impact Ayu did/does.

With the presence of Dave Rodgers, I wonder if there'll be a Eurobeat flair to some upcoming music. Daisuke Suzuki also has done a lot of that kind of "hi NRG" type feel stuff and he was present too.

for me she has released some of her best ballads with her most recent outputs. Pray, Anything for You, Walk and You are the only one are examples.

I don't know why Anything For You isn't more popular, its probably one of my favourite ballads of the last few albums. Maybe people just don't like the long run time? It clocks in at 7 minutes.

I think it's pretty often compared to Walk and between both, people choose one or the other.

I love it! Especially the key change at the end! It's like it changes the mood of the entire song and makes it completely different. It IS a bit long though lol. I love all the songs on A ONE, even The GIFT (which is one of my favorite songs of hers in general).