Why do I like her ? The answer is simple ;) . Because she's so beautiful and has the voice of an angel :D . Listening to her songs always makes me feel better :yes . And I'm listening to "Moments" (Flying Humanoid Mix)) right now, it's so good la la la... :)

^___^ i'm glad so far no one has any 'dislikes' about ayu

Her music, for the most part is really powerful and can lift you up and then get you depressed very quickly. Her lyrics are also very strong. With Ayumi, I like her music a lot more than her voice...

It has nothing to do with looks because she is very fake, and as Namie Amuro had called her, is the "makeup monster". I think someone like Yaida Hitomi in my avatar is much more attractive than her. The hair extensions, nails, Barbie-like stuff really bugs me with Ayumi. During the 2002 era she got really bad with her appearance so fake. She began to care more about looks than quality music. I prefer the 2000-2001 Ayu much more.

I don't believe Namie ACTUALLY said that... Probably some tabloid... Anyways Ayu did say herself that she IS a product. I personally think Ayumi is an extremely beautiful person inside and out *sappy I know but it's what I believe*. Anyways she is an idol and she probably has to keep up with her appearance and all. And about the whole quality of music, I think it just depends on what kind of music you enjoy more. Anyone could argue the same about the I am... period, that she 'cared more about her looks' then her music cause they disliked her I am... songs. But I respect your opinion of course ^_^ I feel that her music truly changed after she realized that she was happy and was in love with someone. Many don't welcome the change but who's to say. Blahh hope my whole rant made sense...

That whole thing is kind of weird. As soon as Ayumi was happy and found love, less people liked her music (RAINBOW/Memorial address)...

She's not ugly, I just don't think she's really hot or even very beautiful...
I care more about her music than her personal appearance...

I think that's true for a lot of artist... I think better music/art comes from pain/sadness/loneliness because I think that's when your able to really let out your most sincere and emotional feelings. But I can't say that for everyone since I really LOVE her latest work especially Memorial address, it was like a best album since it had NO fillers whatsoever and was just a masterpiece (I think I've said this like a billion times hehehe) but yeah I love her to death.

Has anyone else noticed how so many "J-pop"/Ayu fans are from California? There's a lot...

LOL YEAH!! hahaha well I think there's a lot of overseas fans in general. I'm really wondering if Ayu is getting any NEW Japanese fans. I'm guessing not cause shes been around forever now and just about everyone knows who she is, I think...

i like her because of her voice.. then her looks .. then her music style... her lyrics... then her fashion sense... theres nothing i dun like about her.... accept all those horrible rumours...

i just love her and she's the only singer i love so so so much !!! ^^

i love ayu...her songs remind me of a boy...her lyrics have really good meaning...she's so strong...there are many different types of music she has...she's pretty...and i don't know but, me knowing that she's so awesome!

Well, giving the Japanese cultural presence in Cali, but where's the Hawaiians? I wonder.

Simply because she's the BEST!!!!!!!! XD yeah. GO AYU!!!

She's assiduous toward working, and that's one of the many qualities from her I admire the most; moreover, her lyrics do speak to people in which one could feel the empathy.

What I don't like about her, well, is her voice; it constantly bothers me; among the many singers I listen to, I'm not very fond of her singing to be honest, and her music is too loud or noisy sometimes because I prefer music that is calming and the one that can make the listener feel comfortable. I also agree with BanFan about her being fake especially when it comes to her look; she wears too much make-up and puts on too much emphasis on her outter appearance etc in my opinion.

Nope it was not because of that. A lot of people prefer her newest music to the older ayu. However ayu is quite an old artist and surely it is expected for her to start losing a bit of her fame since her image has been already overexposed. Ayu among other japanese artists is still one of the strongest so you can't really say she has declined because of the new music she puts now. I just think the japanese market expanded, a lot of new artists popped up and it's expected for sales to be redistributed. (and no wonder she was chosen to represent Japan in terms of music ;))

I kind of like her older stuff. I think 'I am...' is the best though because it is her transition from being alone to finding love so it's a mix of the two...

I am.. has an interesting story. At around NEVER EVER and Endless sorrow it seems like ayu went through some really deep depression + anger, but at the Dearest time everything had gotten so much better, and with the whole things that happened around 2001 (9/11, etc) she ended up deciding to make some lyrics about hope and good times.

I don't LIKE Ayu, I LOVE Ayu! I love Ayu just because she's...Ayu. :)

Hard question. :(

Well, let's see.. When I first heard Ayumi, I really hated her voice. I thought, "What an awful singer!". A while later though, I gave her another try and the rest is history. She definitely has a unique voice, and I can understand why some people dislike it -- it can be really nasally at times -- but she has an amazing voice and it shows in a lot of her songs. Her lyrics are beautiful and her music is, in one word, brilliant. Her voice really lets you hear a lot of emotion, and it feels more "real" than other j-pop I've listened to. :yes

What a good answer ! :D