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I hope she will make more music and not going to stop..
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^that's actually what i am scared of. Those long lonely eight years (minus Sakura Nagashi) was unbearably tbh. I'm just curious to know what's next after Fantôme. Well, the spaces between her releases are always huge anyway.
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Sometimes she released album really quick though.
Distance (March 2001) --> DEEP RIVER (June 2002) ULTRA BLUE (June 2006) --> HEART STATION (March 2008) So I hope she's not going to hide for another eight years for the next album. I can bear for 2 - 4 years, not more than 4... |
As long as she continues to make great, well thoughtout, well made music I don't care how long I have to wait. The hardest part of these past whatever years, for me, was actually just the last two weeks or so before the release because it was so close. But before that I was patient. Ready. But patient because I knew whatever she'd bring to the table would be well worth the wait.
And it so was. This album is still on repeat and I usually tire of listening to new albums within a week or so. |
She might release another English album in the next year or so! Exodus was meant to come out in the latter half of 2002 originally, but was delayed and This Is The One came out only a year after HEART STATION.
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yeah. BTW i can still remember the news during the time she'll enter Hiatus that HIKARU UTADA is going to be her name for all the releases be in japanese or English. What ever happened to that.
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yeah i'm just hoping she's doing the theme songs for the final EVA movie and Kingdom Hearts III...so we can expect a new album in 2-3 years at least :laugh
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__________________________________________________ ___________ 10.10: No. 1 - 13,155 Still going steady. I think she will have at leat 60 - 80K this week. |
Fantôme reached #1 for the week on the Billboard World Albums chart! It also still hasn't dropped off the iTunes US Top 200 Albums chart yet, at #96 currently.
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Alright after giving myself a couple days to digest the album
Michi - Really fun track. Loving the positive vibes and the chorus is infectious. My favorite part of the song is when she sings the English lines in the pre-chorus. The layering is SO good. Ore no Kanojo - I have a love/hate relationship with this song. The whole jazz thing isn't my cup of tea, but the melody is incredible and the last two minutes of the song is flawless. Hanataba wo Kimi ni - Between this and Manatsu, Manatsu was the better track. But this track is still great. Nijikan Dake no Vacance - Love love LOVED this song the first time the PV came out. Still an amazing track. Shiina compliments Utada so well. Match made in heaven right there. Ningyo - I'm a sucker for harps. The song is chill. Nothing too mind-blowing but a good listen. Tomodachi - I looooove the vibes. The male singing with Utada is pretty good too. Manatsu no Tooriame - Beautiful, flawless, gorgeous, godly, etc. Kouya no Ookami - Not a big fan of this track :/ A little on the boring side. Boukyaku - I LOVE surreal type tracks like this. I was always impressed with KOHH ever since I heard his part on It G Ma; so to hear him rapping on a more intimate track is a welcome change. Beautiful song. Jinsei Saikou no Hi - Kind of a filler track for me. Nice song to listen to but nothing I skip to. Sakura Nagashi - FLAWLESS BEAUTIFUL YOUR FAVES COULD NEVER Overall, I'm pleased with what we got. It's a pretty dark album which makes sense in regards to the context. It is VERY different from what she's done before in the past which I really like. |
Completely unrelated to the current topic, but I was checking my old Soundcloud account and I found a remix I did for Boku Wa Kuma long four years ago. I think it's quite fun <3
https://soundcloud.com/raphachan/bok...tkachans-dance So many good memories <3 Also, so much time has passed but I'm still tone deaf :( |
So is it just me or does the beginning of the Ray of Hope remix borrows lines from "traveling"?
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Hi Guys!
I'm opening a Jpop Karaoke shop! You can request Hikki's Fântome instrumentals here (or any other album you want) http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3218816 |
10.10: No. 1 - 13,155
10.11: No. 3 - 7,836 Est. Week 3 Sales: 20,991 Week 2 Official sales: No. 1 - 103,854 Total Sales (excluding week 3): 356,435 |
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Fantôme still selling out in certain shops around Japan :yes
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CufEUtoUAAE399_.jpg U.Blog Something interesting to read BILLBOARD.com Article |
Somehow..I feel that this is another marketing strategy to make the album sell even more..
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On the other side, It can be true probably if the first press is about 400K. |
^yes, there is possibility that this is truely sold out...
but I believe this is marketing strategy..it's very basic strategy that people going to want something that hard to get, especially if the stuff is really popular and everybody else has it, you don't want to be left out as the only one that don't have it. not a wrong thing to do though, smart enough. I think Ayu has done this before as well, saying that the CD is sold out, maybe happened when Mirrorcle world release? |
10.10: No. 1 - 13,155
10.11: No. 3 - 7,836 10.12: No.1 - 6,053 Est. Weekly Sales: 27,044 |
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I wouldn't be surprised if Fantome's first press was 400k. Utada may be huge, but Ai Otsuka was also pretty big until her hiatus started in 2009. When she returned, LOVE FANTASTIC only sold 6k. And LOVE TRiCKY only sold 5k. Certainly did not expect that, both as a long-time fan, and for the sheer fact that Ai also writes and produces almost all of her music. |
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^so damn true
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^not his fault
so she dropped quite a bit in the three days I was away. Hoped she could stay above 10k for a while. |
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Anyway, to save face here, I'm going to continue the conversation: She did drop quite a few, but I presume that she'll have ups and downs for a little bit and then hopefully with this new MV it'll boost the sales a little bit again. Cause I'm still rooting for 500,000 even if it seems a little out of reach--this album deserves it! Has it been announced what the new PV is? (There is going to be another one, right? Or am I getting overloaded by all my favorite artists doing something all at once? :laugh ) |
10.10: No. 1 - 13,155
10.11: No. 3 - 7,836 10.12: No.1 - 6,053 10.13: No.1 - 7,536 Est. Weekly Sales: 34,580 __________________________________________ Quote:
Ai chan was actually less popular before she went on hiatus. Her peak was LOVE COOK, then she started going downhill after that. LOVE PiECE still had decent sales, but everything after that was meh (e.g., HEART STATION was released in 2008 March, sold over a million in the end. LOVE LETTER was released in 2008 December, sold 179K in the end). I always think the time she lost the Ninhon record awards was the moment her fate went south. I still don't know how it would turn out if she was the one winning the award instead of kuu (Planetarium was huge that year. But kuu got a big push by avex after releasing her first best). Oh well, enough Ai chan. Back to hikki. I think she can go to 500K in the end. She will at least get 50K this week. Hope there will be another Sunday boost again. |
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But you're right. This isn't her thread, we shouldn't dot on her too much here. Especially considering Hikki's been gone eight years, we need to keep this thread strictly about her to make up for all that lost time!!! :laugh I think there'll be another Sunday boost. Maybe not as big as last time, but better than this weeks for sure. I'm guessing 12,000-18,000. Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe 20,000+ Somewhere in that range. I'd love for it to be more, but that's the safest bet I'd put. |
^ Ai took a hiatus because she got pregnant and then got married to Rip-slyme who she had done a collab song with. She came back with a new EDM album called LOVE TRiCKY last year and it's amazing! It's available on iTunes even. :yes
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Ai is still the best...she is a true artist and her last albums was just awesome (LOVE FANTASTIC was blacklister album tho). its a pity she couldn't get back on her feet...at least with moderate success like Mika Nakashima.
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http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showth...121589&page=13 ;)
by the way ... wolverine has fallen in love ... :blove https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ct4BN0gWcAAarMZ.jpg :D |
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In her latest effort, Summer lovely days made me want to drive a pick-axe through my forehead. Similar reaction to affair and Parallel World. The album was just too reject-Ami Suzuki for me, with maddening television-commerical-like chorus melodies. And that's saying a lot if Amis rejecting it, lmao. busy lady was great though! |
PLEASE do not get me started on the flawless LOVE TRiCKY lol
The wolf song off Fantome I really do not like... and DeepRiver you got Instagram? lol |
And here we are admiring DeepRiver ...and yeah got Insta? lmao
^I actually kinda enjoy Kouya no Ookami once it left the opening part, because it's so idk well arranged and majestic or so |
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Today Music Station talked about March, 28th 2001, the day when Distance and A BEST were released. Like U.Blog posted, that day alone, Ayu sold 1.61M copies while Utada sold 1.63M, making 3/28/01 the day with the overall highest CD sales in Japanese history. For me, that's unimaginable haha |
^ I don't see anything rude about him linking Ai's thread? It's her thread for a reason.
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^It's not like people don't know there's a thread for Ai here. We all know that. If people are talking about her here it's because it is relevant to the topic since it started about comparing Hikki's and Ai's reception post-hiatus.
So, linking her thread here is good for... what really? |
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I will never do it again ... I promise! |
^ I knew someone would say "There is an Ai thread" when i posted - but I don't want t discuss Ai but she came up and that are what forums for after all.
Yet I hesitated to send my post - so i guess it is okay for you to react that way. |
@DeepRiver hahha oh, the shade.
And wow 1,63 million in one day. How can they even print that much lol Every time I talk to my Japanese student (he's a Japanese 29 yo man living in Brazil, working for some big company) and my Japanese teacher (also 29 yo, moved from Kyoto seven years ago) about Jpop we end up talking a lot about Utada Hikaru and Ken Hirai. They talk very fondly of them both and are super hyped for Fantôme as well (I actually sang along with my student to 花束を君に) |
Is Ken Hirai still a big Nummer in Japan? He would be a great Duett Partner for Godtada!
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^Nope, not anymore. Almost 90% of the artists from our time (Ai, kuu, Mai, MISIA, Ringo, ayu, etc...) are all pretty much going downhilll except hikki.
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And yes, that 03.28 (to be more precise, it was 03.27) was a big day in Japan music. I remember that oricon renovated its website again that particular day when the number came out. It was very insane for the whole week. Hikki and ayu fans fought so badly, and those who loved both of them were really torn (including myself, though I was hoping hikki to win lol). |
It is the nature of discussion for other people or topics to get brought up when talking about a subject. As long as it doesn't completely derail a thread and is related, it's fine. There's no rule saying you must only ever mention UTADA in the UTADA thread. There have been far worse OT things brought up around here and most of us are guilty of it, so... :rolleyes
I don't get why so many people dislike the Ookami song! I liked it from the first time I heard it. Not my favorite, but I don't dislike it. Also, I listened to the album with headphones for the first time yesterday and the intro to Boukyaku is INTENSE. I loved it so much already, but man. I wish it was longer. |
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^ God, the battle between Ayu and Utada back then was ruthless as it gets to friendly competition (because of the companies, no doubt.) I wish I had been a fan back then/old enough back then to understand what was going on because it must've been one hell of a ride. I cannot believe how much work went into the promotion of those albums (considering Ayu didn't even want A BEST released at that time). But I've seen the pictures. My favorite is of the train station (can't remember which one) having one side advertising Ayu and the other advertising Utada. It really was crazy.
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I gotta say avex did a better job on promoting A BEST.
1) Change the avex logo to A BEST in every avex commercial since Jan. 2) Pasted ayu's face in every corner, so that you can't miss seeing her face wherever you went. (Yeah, even the lamp posts on the streets have her banners). 3) Ayu almost dominated magazines' covers. 4) Lots of cms. 5) The glamorous countdown cm from day 5 to day 1. And all I can remember from Toshiba's promotion on Distance is the ugly album cm... |
Lol, i remember Hikki's CM. The good old days ;)
Not to forget ... A Best had 597 Versions and Distance only 1! |
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I miss the 'artist battles' from the early 2000s, but it's a different time now. I think companies will have to change how they manage their artists and release music to be able to build up such hype again. |
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Nowadays it's mostly done through the internet--youtube, instagram, twitter, whatever--and if you don't care about it, you can just scroll on by or tell youtube you're not interested in it and it doesn't appear again. I mean yeah, I'm sure the predictions and anticipations of the 'battle' was fun and I'm sure it was exciting to watch from a 'distance' (hint hint; wink wink; nudge nudge... shut up. I'm funny) but to have actually been there would've driven me insane. Though I do have to say I find it interesting that even without all that promotion (or at least not as much promotion) Hikki still got huge sales whilst Ayu went on an advertisement media-murdering-marathon and didn't outsell by all that much in technical terms. (to be honest, I don't really remember how much those albums sold at the time. So that last line right there could just be me just throwing swings in the dark, which I usually tend to do when I try to sound smart :laugh Please don't hate on me if I'm absolutely wrong. OTL) |
10.10: No. 1 - 13,155
10.11: No. 3 - 7,836 10.12: No.1 - 6,053 10.13: No.1 - 7,536 10.14: No. 1 - 5,733 Est. weekly sales: 40,313 __________________________________________________ _______________ Quote:
And that Distance cm... Just the translucent Distance cover spinning slowly to the center while showing the music videos. Then we heard hikki said, "Utada Hikaru, Dees-tance" (sounds like she's pronouncing it in Japanese way lol). Such a lame cm... Quote:
I can't really recall how much promotions did hikki have for Distance. All I can say is that ayu's promotions were far more fabulous than hikki. Even I got excited when she did those countdown cms. Don't forget, hikki was already the queen at that point, and ayu was just rising to the peak. I gotta be fair, they both got benefits from that battle. Hikki secured her "already queen statue". I mean, even without the battle she could still easily get over maybe 3.5 million in the end. But that battle actually showed how strong she was. For ayu, before the battle she was just one of those "most popular singers at that very moment). That battle actually pushed her to the peak (at least that's how I felt during that moment). It's like, "hey ayu can actually compete with hikki. Look how close the sales are." If someone told me that ayu could compete with hikki half a year ago (Sept 2000, when Duty released), I would just laugh. But she proved that she could compete with the queen and eventually became one of the queens. |
^thats not quite true. Ayes peak was with the A single and the 2nd and 3rd album...after A BEST compiled everything she went down.
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A BEST is Ayus peak saales wise, it's her Immaculate Collection. She was definitely a bigger celebrity after it than before it though
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I wish I had experienced the madness of jpop world in 2001 but I was obsessed with Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings instead. XD
Also, Fantôme is a great album. I was finally able to listen to it through yesterday and I did so 6 times. It's such a epic album. I didn't really expect it because singles were so slow paced. I thought this album will be a ballad album but I was positively surprised. <3 |
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Distance is, in my opinion, Utada's lesser album. |
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Distance is still my favorite album from Hikki. I like how RnB she was back then, and I'm still sad she never returned to it, but I think it's more because she went further to hew "own genre". |
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Actually Fantome is my new favorite of hers (still can't get over the amazingness of this album). Ultra Blue is a near second. ------------------------------------------------------- Anyway, I just wanted to randomly say: I had no idea A BEST had six different covers. I thought it only had the one with the tear. I wonder how Ayu felt driving around everywhere seeing all this advertisement for an album she didn't even want released. (Though I'm sure she was too busy/exhausted/in pain because isn't that when her ear problems began?) to even care all that much. But still. |
^Here are you can see those six different covers (just scroll down a bit).
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I know why you think her peak was at the 2nd and 3rd album, as both sold better than I am... and RAINBOW. But I can tell you that both were yearly no. 2. This means at that time, all album sales in Japan declined. Also, you would still not be able to avoid seeing ayu everywhere during 2001 and 2002. She was still on her peak until 2003 I think. Remember that H was the yearly no. 1 album, and that was released in 2002. It was the only single that could sell over a million copies in that year. (I know... three limited editions and one regular edition, then one called "million copies celebration edition". Still, if her fans were not that crazy, she wouldn't be able to achieve that). Quote:
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And I agree that Distance is my least fav album.... Quote:
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I really hope they will release Fantome on vinyl before the year's end! I know they skipped the vinyl versions with ULTRA BLUE and HEART STATION but Fantome NEEDS one!
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Now with that bolded part. That would not surprise me in the least if avex did something like that. I mean, it's obvious with all their promotion they REALLY WANTED Ayu to beat Utada while Utada was just chilling and flossing like Captain Picard. I mean, they put so much money into those promotions and work for Ayu at that time, you can bet your good money that they wanted to get her an 'official' number one no matter what. I mean, like you said, I'm fans of both too so it really shouldn't bother me but it kind of does. xD But, you know, this could all be hearsay. I shouldn't even be adding to this theory but the forum-loving side of me had to say something. Besides, this was fifteen years ago. It's not like it matters much now. |
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More about March 2001 - http://deliriumzer0.com/?p=189 |
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But I can totally see Ayu having that type of mindset and thinking 'if I'm going down, I'm going down with a bang.' Luckily it wasn't her last album. I don't know what my life would be like if I hadn't heard the album I am... that brought me here and introduced me to Ayu. (but that's a conversation for a different thread) But it's good that things have cooled down for her/for them both. I've been learning a lot about this time from this conversation and I find it a lot more interesting than I did before. I didn't realize just how much was 'at stake' (in Ayu's mindset at least.) and I'm gaining more appreciation from these artists and why Ayu is so protective of taking control of her career. I knew that she bashed with avex at one time but I didn't know exactly when it was and why. Now I do. :thumbsup and thanks for that link as well. It's an interesting read. |
She has been bashing avex for like... a few years, and we must admit that avex squeezed every single energy from her during those golden years. Of course, ayu got benefits from those as well (fame, money, prizes, etc.), but at the same time we saw her cracking voice got worsen from early 2001 to the mid 2002 (Arena tour, then Stadium tour. Lots of promotion, etc...)
Hikki is luckier in this aspect, because she has her dad to manage her music business. So she can do whatever she wants. She's also lucky that most Japanese like her (or at least, respect her). I can't remember who mentioned it awhile ago in this thread. There were not many artists (esp femaes) that could escape from negativity when they got divorced. Hikki was pretty much one of the rare exceptions. Her popularity actually bounced back. Her popularity has already gone downhill since BML, and Ultra Blue couldn't pass a million copies. Her single sales were not that great and I was expecting her to get dimmer as time went on. But when FOL released, she got popular again. And the moment she announced her divorce, it was around the time she went on MSta. Then the sales on weekend bounced back and every media said it was a rare thing to see. She's quite a Godtada... |
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I thought she didn't want her best of compilation of English songs released.:think
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^ Yeah, I didn't hear she didn't want SC1 to be released. I just know she didn't want UTADA BEST to be released.
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But why do I wonder, I also don't understand the special appeal Utada's music seem to have in general. :shrug |
I was so bored out of my head yesterday that i downloaded Fantome. Utada was never my cup of tea, but I've got to say the years did some good stuff to her voice. That whiny thing she used to have was nagging at my nerves quite a bit back in the day. This is much easier on the ears, actually lovely, it's still a bit whiny, but i don't mind that flavour at all, since it's more subtle and gives the voice a bit of spiciness. The songs? I still don't hear anything groundbreaking. It's pleasant and light on the ears even though quite monotonous as a whole piece, however it makes a nice relaxing background music with pleasant vocals. I'm not mad at this at all, i might grow to liking it a lot, but i don't think I'd do backflips over it, i don't think it's a masterpiece. It's a simple, safe and light album. There's nothing wrong with that. I think it's been so long that people were craving it enough to be jumping out of their skin for it. The anticipation had a lot to do with how the album is received by the audience.
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^^ Some people are congenial/popular, or easily attract others. There's no reason behind. It's all about fate. Or if you really ask why, maybe because hikki is more low profile than ayu? And hikki was never in Japan in beginning. She was born and raised in the US until maybe 13 or 14?
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A few years ago a couple of japanese friends told me that Utada was so successful because japanese people really love western things. Her songs had so much (good) English with a native accent that it felt like listening to both japanese and western music.
They also said that she has kind of a privileged status in the minds of japanese people: she's one of their own but at the same time she can't be judged by their standards because she grew up abroad. Kind of like a foreign family member. |
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I have to warn you guys though, under this spoiler is a LONG message. I go off topic a lot, blabber, and may even have some facts wrong or just downright confused since I don't necessarily follow gossip as well as I follow music. Anyway, this is my essay as to why Hikki doesn't get all the backlash Ayu does even though they both pretty much have done the same things: Spoiler:
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Give me an award then cuz I read the whole thing lol.
Just to respond a few questions from your paragraph: - If my memory is correct, Manuel did that "porno" photobook because Leslie Kee lured him into it. He convinced Manuel to do it as a gift for ayu, or he told him that ayu would like it. That was really the first time I thought Kee was cheap and dirty. (And he proved himself by doing lots of thing ayu hated and ended up breaking their relationship, whether friendship or business... But now ayu is back with him and I don't know what's on her mind). - I think I mentioned above. Hikki was promoting Flavor Of Life when she released the statement of getting divorce, and I think that was the day she had to perform FOL on Msta. The single sales bounced back instead of going down the next day (I know, usually weekend sales bounce back, but it was slightly higher than usual). Even oricon mentioned this bounce on the website. I don't think we can use the word "forgiven" on her because Japanese didn't feel negative towards her divorce. Low profile is pretty much the key factor for her popularity, even though I think there's more than that. Like you said, lots of artists are low profiles as well (Namie is a good example. Kuu is not, cuz she was practically banned or under suspension from her agency due to that incident. It's not like she has a choice anywayz). Only hikki could actually gain popularity instead of getting trashed by the public. And I forgot a point when replying Corvina's message: Yes hikki married a foreign guy, but she didn't take him everywhere. I don't mean ayu did that on purpose (obviously she was just hanging out with her husband), but she's so high profile, so probably in Japanese eyes she's doing a show. I think people in Japan are willing to believe that hikki will try her best to maintain her marriage. Meanwhile, they probably think ayu's just fooling around... sigh... __________________________________________________ __________________ Anywayz, 10.10: No. 1 - 13,155 10.11: No. 3 - 7,836 10.12: No.1 - 6,053 10.13: No.1 - 7,536 10.14: No. 1 - 5,733 10.15: No. 1 - 7,942 Est. weekly sales: 48,255 |
Being low-profile probably helps, but if this would be the key, other artists would be much more popular as well. Also Ayu was just an example, divorce is never really good for female artists.
And isn't Utada having Twitter and posting personal stuff as well? Or is this new for her? And thanks, dreamalley, this was interesting. But from what I experienced, mixed Japanese people have it harder most of the time, not to mention foreigners. Guess it really is just a mix of things and good timing for Utada. Anyway that's just one thing I totally dislike about her, that she seemingly can do whatever she wants without getting negative backlash. And well, this isn't something she can control, so nevermind. :laugh |
We can go back to square one. She's lovable, and people find her congenial. It's hard to explain but probably her aura is like that :P.
But then, she seldom does stuff that could create backlash. All she does is to post Kuma pics, or completely random weird stuff like a potato, a pair pliers, a wheel cover, etc. She's more like a nerd in people's eyes :yes. And she only appears when she does music, then she goes back to her cave. |
It's really funny how... (I'll call it destiny, fate, but you can call whatever you want) life is, isn't it? Yesterday after my Japanese classes I was talking to my teacher (Japanese from Kyoto living in Brazil for seven years now, female, 29 yo) about Fantôme and she was praising Utada and told me she was not exactly wowed about the many copies it was selling since she is really the queen of Japanese music (her words). And then, out of the blue, she says she isn't like other female superstars like hamasaki, and asked me if I knew her. I told her I really liked her work. Then she told me what is really shines about hikki's career and what ayumi doesn't have as much as utada is female fans. While back in the day utada would have tons of fans both men and women, ayumi used to have a male fan base mostly. I asked her why was that and she said she felt ayumi was too exposed, while utada was more reserved, or in this topics words: she was low profile. Ayumi wasn't (and isn't).
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I think it was one of the reasons why with vol 2 she released a few new songs. |
^ I believe you cuz I didn't read many of her interviews (it was hard to find translation back in the old days, and I was lazy). At least Toshiba waited for about 5-6 years to (forcefully) release single collection vol. 1. avex forced ayu to released A BEST when she was just there for 3 years.
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On the other hand. Utada Hikaru finds a potato and posts it on instagram. (is it instagram?) A. Potato. I can honestly not think of something anymore low-key. Edit: Oh, I totally forgot that you deserve an award of some sorts for reading my entire post on the last page. Not much I can do over the forums besides give you an awesome emoji that I've always wanted a reason to use but never had: :afro Tada!!!! :D |
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JOKE! Also I'm sorry but I just have to do this: why not (U)tada!? Haha- ok sorry. |
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UGHTADA why didn't I think of that!!! It would've been perfect... |
10.10: No. 1 - 13,155
10.11: No. 3 - 7,836 10.12: No.1 - 6,053 10.13: No.1 - 7,536 10.14: No. 1 - 5,733 10.15: No. 1 - 7,942 10.16: No. 1 - 14,650 __________________________________________________ __ Est. weekly sales: 62,905 Week 1 sales: 252,581 Week 2 sales: 103,854 Est. Total sales: 419K :yes |
Wow! So proud of her. That means this week the 500k is totally possible, right? And if not this week, the next.
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So I'm a little late to this conversation, but I'll chime in on the Ayu vs. Hikki debate.
I think that part of why they have been treated differently is also because of what people expect of them, and how people experienced them. I don't think people have always been fans of them for the same things. With Hikki, people thought she was cool, having this R&B hint in her music. And they really liked her music, for the music. With Ayu, people thought she was cool, and they really liked her and her lyrics. Yes, they liked her music as well, but she was always about the lyrics and "being the voice of the lost generation." At the end of the day, I think people had a far stronger emotional tie to Ayu than to Hikki, and therefore they felt all the more let down when Ayu has had mis-steps or has gone in a direction contrary to what they want or expect from her. Whereas Hikki has never been about the persona or the aura that she creates. So she went another direction with her music for a while, and the sales showed that. Before this her past couple of albums were not crazy successful. Fantome is really like an Adult Contemporary version of Deep River, and I think a largely older audience (i.e. not teenage) is really into it for the music. |
oh well, I think that nobody in Japan actually cares that much about ayu. they think like she's just one of those gyaru girls (as my Japanese friends told me). and utada is more down to earth, she's just normal and she has a wider audience. may be back in those days of 2001 they were almost the same popularity level but today I guess the thing is that ayu has her strong fan-base basically consisting of gyaru girls and boys and utada has an approach to every person in Japan. that's why ayu doesn't sell like 400k anymore.
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Japanese people have no taste in music. It sounds harsh but it all comes to image there...which I find off-putting as Japan is a very musically-talented country. They also loath classical music.
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^That explains why AKB48 sells so much.
I think much of Utada fame and recognition came from the fact that she sort of brought R&B music to Japan. Back in 1990s, eurobeat was huge and when Utada debuted it was a fading, so with her bringing something fresh to the market, something that was huge in US even, that was good for her. That's why everytime a new promising R&B singer in Japan debuts, people label them as the "new Utada Hikaru". The fact that her music has a wonderful quality also contributes to her success. But like someone said, It makes sense that the fact she's foreign helps her have a better image to the public. |
I have no idea if what I'm saying makes sense, but may the fact that utada's parents were recognized musicians have helped her popularity?
Personally what makes utada so special is that she makes everything herself, the music, the lyrics and even the productions, which I think is truly awesome. Also, she's different, unlike most jpop female singers she doesn't have a pitch that pierce my ears. Honestly I don't know why I never properly listened to her music until this year lol |
I wonder where her husband and baby live - in Italy?
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She's living in London right now. She said so herself.
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Not to mention how they taught her music since she was born. Music talent in her genes + music education early on really helped. I'm a bit jealous of her. My whole family has zero music talent and I'm complete crap at it. Plus I only got a handful of half-assed music lessons from incompetent teachers at school. I wish I'd been raised in a family of musicians. lol |
The Ayu versus Utada topic is so exhausting. There are just too many variables so it is impossible to say exactly why Utada has a more positive image and sells more etc.
I think Utada just has a broader appeal and Fantome seems to support that. Being fluent in English and releasing English songs has given her exposure to the rest of the world. This gives her bigger status in the industry and listeners eyes. Utada's style of music is also something that benefits her. I may be going out on a limb here but, Utada's music doesn't really have a Jpop sound to me. It's Jpop in the sense that the lyrics are in Japanese and it was created and released in Japan. But Utada has a style all her own within each album. Exceptions can be made for First Love and Distance since they are a bit more straightforward with a defined R&B influence. Plus some pop rock on Distance. Ayu's music is very Japanese in contrast. It will only appeal to Asians or foreign people who like Asian music or culture. Living here in the US, I could never imagine a song like We are the Queens or Warning playing on the radio. But Utada's Michi for example I think people outside of Japan could instantly get into it. As others have mentioned, Utada is more private and low key. She controls what people know about her and any news about upcoming releases. I also think that Utada's personality is just likable. She feels like one of us who just happens to be very gifted musically and well known. To me, Ayu used to be like that but I feel she gave in to pressure from fans and avex to be glamorous and always outdo herself. Giving people who don't know her well an image of a diva or "queen". I think Japanese people are hypocritical with pop stars sometimes, they love cute stylish idols with fancy clothes and music videos but also want them to be very humble and modest. There are just too many things to sum up in one post on this subject.:dead2 I know that I certainly love both very much. But I just have a deeper connection to Ayu. She just resonates with me in a special way that only a handful of artists do. I love Utada for her wonderful creativity and interesting voice. She is a major artist in my life. But I don't feel like I have a relationship with her because of her low key nature. She is still a little mysterious to me even after all these years. It keeps me at a distance, I really only know Utada through her music and the handful of interviews on the net. |
I think having this conversation the past few days has made me realize how much of a connection I've lost with Ayu. I mean, I still respect her very much, she works very hard, she never quits, she's always trying, and there's been so many times her songs have encouraged me to keep going, to go for my dreams rather than just live life. Etc.... But, personally, I've lost that--hmm? i'm not even sure how to put it--that something that made me just head-over-heels for her. I think nowadays I only see the 'diva' aspect of her with the over-the-top concerts, the k-drama-type-of-acting during her performances (I freaking loved Mad World until I saw her perform it. The fake crying... :( ) even just regular pictures she takes for instagram nowadays seem so... fake? Poised? I don't know. It's just such a turn off for me now. Which only hurts me because Ayu and her music has been such a big part of my life. She's influenced me in so many ways. Honestly, I would not be even attempting to be going for my dreams if I hadn't had Ayu sincerely and honestly telling me that I can do it. I even have some of her lyrics on my wall as a daily influence. (As cheesy and cliche as it sounds, its true.)
I know it sounds like I'm hating on Ayu, but I swear I'm not. Or at least that's not my intention. I've just grown older and so has she and as a fan and an artist we just don't connect as well anymore. Which is something that I'm surprised took 12-13 years to happen. All the other artist I listened to back then, I don't. Of course, I'm still a fan and I'll always root for her but right now I lean so much more towards Utada's laid back type of personality. I connect more with her as a person, which makes me connect more with as an artist. I love the idea of a celebrity just being a normal person who happens to be a great musician. It's just something I'm pulled towards. I guess that's why I'm so opinionated in this subject. But you're totally right, it is an exhausting topic and to be quite fair it all boils down to something personal. You connect more to Ayu, I connect more to Utada. There's reasoning behind it but that doesn't mean there's a wrong or a right. :shrug it's just how it is. |
We have been runnning a "hikki and ayu" marathon for a maybe 2 days and everyone's getting exhausted (heck I was one of the people who initiate the topic lol), but the discussion turns out to be quite healthy (yeah!!! :D).
Not gonna say more. But from the last two message (EndofTheWorld and Miduhyo), I think I belong to the latter group. I'm more connected to hikki, since I'm getting old and hikki's living style connects me more. If I was in my mid 20s, I would probably love ayu's glamorous style. But I guess I love potatoes more nowadays (as a mid 30) lol :roflmao |
I hear you. I hate to say it but Fantome's release and some other great releases from some long time artists this year made me realize that Made In Japan is a weaker release in Jpop 2016. Not saying it is bad or I don't like it but compared to Fantome or Gackt's Last Moon, it just makes Ayu look like she is in last place. She should be leading, she has got a lot more talent than some artists selling more than double in sales.
I never participated in the whole Ayu vs Utada thing because I thought it was childish. I love both of them. I'm a bigger Ayu fan because of my emotions but Utada is just so much more consistent when it comes to the quality of her music. Even though Ayu has made it look like she is rebounding from past troubles this decade, I think she still is struggling with the direction she wants to take her career. She seems to keep trying different things recklessly and hoping that she ignites that fire again. Utada always had a strong head on her shoulders since the beginning I feel. I know she expressed that towards her hiatus she was feeling like she was sort of losing direction but when it comes to the actual release of an album, it's focused and executed successfully. Made in Japan was like a scattershot, it has all kinds of different sounds and themes going on.:no But it definitely does come down to personal feelings. I still do have a connection with Utada despite it being a bit weaker than some other artists out there. Utada is kind of an oddball, a little bit quirky and particular. Some might say weird.:laugh I am like this as well so I sometimes see myself in her. Kind of not fitting in and having diverse interests. She is very introverted and likes to dive into her feelings and emotions and I love that. I can see this through her lyrics. I think both of them are top tier artists that Japan has to offer the world. |
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But I am in love with Utada's weirdness xD I swear, she is me. Past Ayu (lost Ayu. A song for XX-type-of-Ayu) was me in high school but now that I've matured a lot I've realized Utada's laid back, get work done but don't get too overworked about it lifestyle is definitely more towards me. (And who doesn't love a good potato? xD) But I definitely agree with you EndOfTheWorld when it comes to MIJ. I was obsessed with it when it first came out because I felt it was Ayu's first true attempt at making real, honest music again rather than just music. But once the excitement faded, I saw it for what it was. An attempt. A good one. A better one than she's done in a while (though I really loved A ONE), but it was still scattered. She's trying so hard, going so fast, I don't think she can keep up with herself. Like I said earlier, she should really take a year off. Just one year. To clear her thoughts, straighten out her personal life, actually take time to enjoy her personal life, find what her true priorities are now that she's older, stuff like that. And I think if she did that, we'd get something really spectacular, something really Ayu-worthy, you know? Just like Utada took a lot of time off, she worked her way through so much (becoming a wife, a mother, then, of course, grieving her own mother's passing) to bring us something very different, very personal, and yet at the same time very Utada. Ayu could definitely bring that. Even if it didn't sell over 400,000, I wouldn't care about that. I just want her to take a breath, sit down, and honestly focus on life because in the artistic world life inspires art but she's not giving herself any time to really do that and it's showing in her work. ( :roflmao I didn't mean to continue adding to this topic but I just wanted to add that. I'm done. I swear. I promise. If I add more everyone just gather on me and throw me out.) |
I thought about Utada being low profile a bitb after we had the discussion here. And to be honest I know as much about her as for some other artists - she's divorced, married again with a foreigner, living in Londonb having a kid, musical parents and so on. I actually know quite a bunch about her, even without being a fan. Also about what she thinks about e.g. homosexuality. I know much less about somebody like e.g. Ai Otsuka (as she was already brought up) or also Perfume (and I'm a fan).
So what does low profile even mean? Guess Utada is seen as the nice girl from next door. But yeah,makes sense with Japan being mainly about the image. Guess I agree with you, thinkingoutloud89. |
She's not on every magazine out there, she never shows off, we didn't know about her son until he was BORN, what she did in the last 5 years remains a mystery, basically. Her wedding? we only knew about it after it happened. It was in a small town in Italy with few and close friends of them both. Her opinions about LGBT aren't without a reason: she's either questioned or she just writes songs about it.
She's the biggest female music star in Japan. There should be tons of magazines and interviews, her opinion on the most superficial of things, about her house, pets, future, and yet there's nothing like it. She came, released an amazing album and vanished again. IMHO, this is to be low profile. |
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