I'm surprised Ayu didn't spoil us with ANOTHER performance of MOWY.

Why not? they are 2 utahime who used to be huge. I personally compare how well they performed. Utada did very good, Ayu did OK.

Wasn't Utada also prerecorded elsewhere?

It was prerecorded, but I don't know where exactly.
Does anyone know why she couldn't be there live?
I wanted her and Ayu together again at Music Station like years ago.:(

The live was super cute, even tho I still don't like how many dancers she has doing all kinds of cr*p taking the focous of her. I'm not here for Cirque du Soleil.

Btw, her voice was fine, it could be worse... It could be like this:

@0:32

^ I'm speechless :dead2

She lives overseas now. I read somewhere that she recorded the live in August when she was in Japan. Something like that.

oh wow..that's really flat and no emotion whatsoever..

She sounds like a bad anime character singing X_X

'white swan' (ayu for 'M - SEASONS') and 'black swan' (Lico opening act for 'evolution') concept? really like it ayu's concept

really like new arrangement for 'evolution' ; nice intro

awesome!

Ooh I loved evolution--her vibrato actually sounds natural haha.

It was pretty random to use Cirque de Minuit CDL's arrangement of evolution but I do enjoy it ahaha.

It was prerecorded...in the same Music Station studio.

One's also rested for 6 years while the other's been constantly touring since she was like 20...

And Utada's was pre-recorded so she could've had multiple takes. We'll never know for sure. I've been to two TV recordings and there were at least 2 takes.

I think they both did fine.

I will complain all I want. God forbid a fan has an actual opinion about what he likes more or likes less about an artist he is a fan of. If you don't want to engage with the actual argument that's fine, but don't tell me what I should or shouldn't like.

She could have performed Mad World, or even You & Me, I don't know. Was Dearest not a hit? Was Voyage not a hit?

I would be completely okay if I never have to hear her perform SEASONS again. Ever.

The only reason I am 'comparing' is because it was a talking point to begin with - that both Ayu and Hikki would be on the show; it was interesting when you consider their rivalry back in the day, and it's equally interesting when you look at how different their careers are right now. (also, other things like musical integrity, etc)

I'm ok with her song choice. I mean, I would love to see her singing different songs but (as everyone said before) the program was about HITS that were important through the 30years of its broadcast. Even tho we may not accept this, Ayu is not as famous as she used to be, some japanese don't even know her (new generation) or don't know that she releases new music. I was in Japan last year and made two japanese friends. When I told them that I was going to Ayu's concert, they were surprised asking me: "Does she still releases new songs?? / The last song I heard from her was 'Days' / I used to love her when I was 13yo (almost 10 years ago)". So that's why she sang those old songs that we, as old fans that follow her career and new releases, are so tired of. But not the general audience of Music Station.

_

hmmm interesting! Didn't notice this concept. (it wasn't Lico tho. It was Marico, one of her aero dancers)

_

Interesting that she did a reference to "kanariya" with the numbers painted on dancers' arms. Maybe she'll sing it for the first time during TA Tour? :P

yes, every performance has its own concept and that makes the true artist.
P/s: the dancer opened for "evolution" isn't Licco. She is the new dancer, Licco is taller.

THIS....

My japanese teacher asked me who your fave singer? I said hamasaki ayumi... you know what he said, is she still releasing new song?? Its exactly the same question that you got... So, i guess if she chose M, SEASON and evolution.. because some japanese people still recognized those songs...

To be honest i don't care what song she will perform, as long as she let the world know she still exists. I think its the right thing to do, until she can get her second peak...

How did Namie get her second peak again?

I am ok with the song choice for this kind of event, since it's a greatest hits and they are some part of the most successful singles in Japanese music history and her current work isn't known much... But maybe if she was using those broadcasts to sing her knew stuff it could get more known... though there must be a reason why she isn't promoting her songs like she used to. She won't ever have a hit by only singing it in her tour. I believe if she wanted to, she could gain back popularity, cause she still producing quality music. When I play Her music in my house while I have guests who don't know her over, they mostly prefer the recent stuff. Though... I guess for the fans outside of japan (like me), The quality of her music and the quality of her tours is enough for us to enjoy, we are really lucky to still be able to enjoy the work of an artist after 2 decades.

I read many comments here that japanese didn't know that ayu still active. I don't understand how they didn't notice her. Yes, she didn't appear on TV that much as before, and don't have and advertisement contracts. But she's still on the radio, her new music videos still on TV. If they watch TV, they'll see her, if they don't, it doesn't matter how many tv-show she attend or miss.
Also magazines. Now it's only 2-3 at year (except regular Vivi deji deji diary), but again, if someone is interested in beauty magazines and buy it everytime, this person will see ayu.

I wonder if Ayu is actually aware of her career situation.

It feels like she's in a bubble. Surrounded for years by the same people who only compliment her and make her feel like the best thing ever.

Since she's their boss and she's sensitive they can't say anything bad. Their jobs depend on it. But she, in turn, considers them as friends and thinks they're honest.

Just my opinion though.

By getting longevity with the sales of Play, that didn't manage to get all that much sales but charted for over an year, and with her 60s70s80s tie-in. It's not like Namie was ever that big on TV performances since her 90's tragedy.

Her songs haven't got an airplay top 20 for some years now. As they aren't that popular I doubt they got that much airplay on TV either and her maganize appearances lately are for a niche audience.

When she almost lost her streak back during the release of Blue Bird or Glitter (I can't remember) she thanked TA for buying the song. She also add dates to her tours based on the public demand and the only time she actually put far more dates than she could decently sell was AT13. So, if anything, unless she is extremelly dumb, she is aware her tours are shorter than they used to be during early 2010's and knew that she almost didn't get a #1 when breaking the record was still a thing.

Maybe people continue to ask if she's still releasing songs because every time she appears in public she sings the same material over and over again! If I saw an artist continually singing the same tracks every time they appeared on television, I'd think the same thing - that they have no new material to promote because they have ceased recording it. Her behavior is causing the reaction.

Praise Days! :love

Listening to her singing hurts a little bit.

At this point of her life she probably doesn't care AT ALL about her career, I mean with all the achievements, records, fortune she has made she doesn't need to care at all, I mean, she likes to write and sing, and that's what she does, she's just having fun, she doens't need more money, without promotion her albums still charts, she just makes new music for fun and for the fans to enjoy, she doesn't need to prove anything to anyone, if you want to listen, great, if you don't, great, also she's probably releasing as much music as she can before to get completly deaf, idk, that's what I think at least.

i wouldn't say she doesn't care, if she didn't, she would just quit and move on. Everyone is using the term a bit off here. I'd say she's not doing backflips over being number one anymore and proving things to people, she does what she enjoys and if someone follows that - she's happy, and if not - it doesn't matter. She has a status and a streak of records already, i really don't think she needs to get out of her skin for popularity at this point. She's totally aware of everything and is fine with how things are. I dunno why people keep saying she doesn't care about anything nowadays. She's just comfortable in her own skin. That's all there is.

^ Totally agree.

I think she still very much cares about her career, and her art. It has evolved and taken different shapes over the years. She continually puts her all into concerts and trying to one-up herself year after year.

With regards to her music, she is making the music that she wants to. YEARS ago when she was still doing singles, she said she was going to break her cycle of the seasonal singles and doing what was expected. She has always had a rock-leaning side, and that has become more and more prevalent over the years, despite the fact that it is not what the general public wants to hear (from her, or in general). She cares about her career and putting out music that she loves, and that she thinks her fans will love, but what I don't think she cares about is top 40 mainstream radio (or at least not as a primary concern).

Would Ayu love to be all over the place again and selling out dome tours? She probably wouldn't complain. But you're also not going to see her take a step back and go back to being some anonymous mystery, putting out whatever scraps from a US producer her label throws at her. That may work for Namie or others to be completely non-offensive and _generic (and hell, I enjoy plenty of Namie songs as mindless drivel), but you will NEVER see Ayu do that -- she has too much personal investment in her music and her art, even if you/we do not always like the result.

Well she cared enough to choose her career over her marriage twice.

According to RIAJ, Progress just turned platinium : http://aramajapan.com/chart/the-reco...ugust-3/64422/

Maybe I didn't make the correct choice of words, when I said she didn't care I refer more in sales, sorry if it misunderstood, but I agree with these last comments.

Well, it took 5 years to get that. Reminds me of the certification of MY ALL on 2012. I'm super happy for this ngl :love

Hahahah yes :D I am happy anyway!

This. She doesn't have a relationship or kids..all her friends seem to be made through professional avenues..if she doesn't care about her career then what does she care about?

I think she's quite aware.

Hence far more TA stuff in the past few years. It was more than 10 years since her first TA tour, and now we're getting a third one.

I think she could certainly make better song choices, but it's hard to say how much power she really has.

In terms of this MSta Hikki is actually the odd woman out, because her song choice wasn't really a song that's particularly famous in her discography. But her appearance was more about promotion/a comeback--so it's understandable.

I don't know why other artists performed old+new songs. Perhaps because they're more relevant? Even their old songs are from within the past 5 years lol.

I have a hunch Ayu possibly demands a lot for her troupe and herself. She was the last solo female artist to perform, which is really a sign of her success/career. She also had like 30 people with her lol.

I wish she'd choose other songs to perform, and I find it weird she doesn't, but maybe she's insecure about them?

As far as the rock side of things goes, honestly I feel like she's done less and less of it until the most recent album. A ONE had WARNING, the rest was vanilla. LOVE again had Wake me up (a few rock elements) and the rest was vanilla. CoLOURS had no rock whatsoever. I am... was very rock, 1 LOVE was almost a single, alterna was on a single, and look at t2m. And step you/is this love? That was 10 or more years ago. MY STORY was very rock - 2007. I feel she's pandered to vanilla more so than anything past 4 years.

Because she got the best marketing team... I think you might know that namie got a good tie in such as the new death note movie and lots of another things, and even got the best space in shibuya station to promote her genic album, and also the tour at that time...

Reinvention can only happen if there's some form of reinvention. That means being recognised for the music that you do. It's pointless to put out new music if you're not being recognised for it.

It's fine and dandy if we enjoy it within ourselves as fans, and maybe most of us are totally okay with her doing whatever she's doing right now.

But I think she could be so much more.

I feel Ayu's career is like Mariah Carey's one. They both have a great old records, great discography, big sales. But today they both are really below the public eye for new music. I think is an artist and bad publicity fault, bad choice of trends or just bad management. Namie Amuro in the other side changes her music style like her clothes, make such great tie ins, all around her persona is very intriguing and secret. Like a fan of Ayu and Mariah I still love the music they make, but I recognize that the other people aren't aware of it in any way,with such borings Pvs and concepts. That's is what sells today.

^ I totally agree (and also love MC).

I think if you look at the biggest pop acts in many places in the world, the most successful ones are usually "mysterious." They may have strong personas, but generally everything isn't known about them, they may not share the strongest opinions on anything, and they leave fans wanting more. Mariah early in her career, same as Ayu, Beyonce, Namie, etc.

When there is a lack of information, fans are able to write their own narrative about an artist they like, and they can fill in the blanks with details that fit their own image of the artist. Once an artist becomes too well-known, generally that fictitious image is shattered and people begin to turn away.

That's not always true, of course, but I think it happens quite a bit.

What about COLOUS? XOXO / Lelio are the definition of generic.

I'll never understand when people complain about Ayu's choices (or even her team) blaming her popularity. Ayu, just like Mariah, will always be an A+ celebrity, she can work with good people, she can have the best if she wants. The concept of her latest releases are quite messy, going for a more indie style of PVs and stuff, but that's probably what she wants.

And why are people so obsessed with the idea of a second peak? Wasn't she so tired when she was basically a recording machine, releasing and touring like crazy? Sometimes I feel like people want to Ayu to have better sales / be "big" again just for the sake of going "yeah, she's a goddess, queen of pop, your faves could never" than just wishing her the best in what she's doing now.

That was my experience in Japan too. Unless they were specifically a fan, most people did not know anything of hers that was past around 2006. It's different for us because we follow every music show, performance, etc. But it's just like here in America, sometimes while randomly watching tv I'll see an artist that I didn't know was still active.

Unless you are actively paying attention specifically for her, you wouldn't really know.

Actually she was constantly on tv between 2001-2005. She has a crazy high amount of tv performances from that time period. Even though her sales were tanking in that period, she stuck with it and the audience eventually caught up. And although Play was great, I feel that it was actually Queen of Hip Pop that was the turning point; that album also charted forever and showed her first upswing in sales in a few years.

Name changed her whole style, look, feel, atmosphere everything and was ahead of the trend a bit. It did very poorly at first but she stuck with it and eventually it came to fruition. What's more impressive though is how long it has lasted.

Ayu doing something similar though would really be a big risk. I mean, it was risky enough when Namie did it, but you also have to consider their ages which I think would be a big detrimental factor to Ayu having a second peak. Namie's second peak began in her early 30s and the impetus began for it in her late 20s. Ayu is already in her late 30s and Japan is quite ageist. Not saying its impossible, but something big would have to change.

While it may not be her deepest or most exciting music, I don't personally find COLOURS to be overly generic. It is still uniquely Ayu, to me.

^^I don't even consider TK's Namie and post-TK Namie as the same artist. She is too different from what she was back then, and she also feels way more confortable on her shoes nowadays.

That being said, Namie always followed international music trends closer than Ayu did, and even when she was experiementing more (Past > Future is quite a creative album), once she went full peak, she followed trends even closer. She was always more of an idol while Ayu was more of an artist. It's easier (but on no way easy) to change your whole image when you go for fresh but doesn't really go for innovative. As people expect Ayu to be more innovative, the risks of going on a new direction are higher considering this also means going on a less tested road.

This can also be seen around here: Everytime she really goes bold on a totally unexpected way for her, people either love it to pieces (Brillante, POM) or hate it like she killed puppies. Having a diverce music catalogue also doesn't help, as very little stuff that wouldn't feel forced would also sound fresh on her nowadays. Even so, for someone who release a new album every year, IMO she has a surprising level of success when adding a new genre to her mix.

Considering she still is touring arenas with a good amount of dates every year, that she is performing live more and more frequently (even if she isn't on TV), that she still is invited to take part in festivals (even some that aren't Avex's) and that she still have top 10 releases, I would say she is doing well enough for someone almost 20 years in the game.

The meaning of being a success or a failure changes depending on how far you are into your career.

And when I say Namie is more of an idol and Ayu more of an artist I'm not saying one is better than the other. I like Ayu way more, but I respect Namie as someone who excels on what she wants to do, and I believe she is quite satisfied on presenting herself on the way she does.

I'm a big fan of her, but hearing this live is just horrible...I can't listen to it fully. Just had to stop and speed the video. What a shame, such a long time she didn't sing "M" but she sings it bad from the begining to the end...
Ayu just has to improve her vocals, and manage carrefully her tour with shorter concerts to get better quality instead of quantity.

Ayu needs to make a song as great as Free & Easy again.
http://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/...if?w=600&h=400

Exactly. It doesn't matter how poorly her CDs might sell in the future, people will always recognize her name because Ayu is a legend in the industry. Sadly, being a huge success, then having your sales and popularity decrease is just the nature of pop music. Namie, as I say pretty often, is an exception.

Shorter concerts or smaller amount of concerts won't result in better vocals since her problem is wrong singing technique.

:no

One was enough lol.