wow!!! So much meaning in this PV!!!

And what about 'marionette', 'together then', 'alterna' and may be 'real me' PVs? Ayu shown like doll, like marionette of Avex. I think she strat to talk about it after A BEST.

Isn't it 1999 Mar.?

Marionette's use of marionettes reflected the song and it's lyrics, Together When...'s also used the marionette to covey the parting theme in the song.

alterna looks incredibly like a protest PV, but I believe she denied it was one, right? alterna could be argued that it's one, and she's lying saying it's not, but the only blatant protests she's made where NEVER EVER's clip, the A BEST photoshoot, and the ourselves PV as far as I know. Although, I also read that the initial PV for Endless sorrow didn't include Ayumi, if that's true, could that be considered a protest as well?

^ Endless sorrow - yes I heard that the original PV didn't included ayumi .

Eventually the one that you see included her , well at the end of the video ie.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...lesssorrow.gif
made a GIF of the parts that ayu was in Endless Sorrow~

^i odnt like her outfit in ES.. but the storyline is great!

Frankly, I would not be surprised either way. AVEX is a bussiness and when it comes to money, some people will do whatever, despite the emotions of others, to get their hands on it. AVEX probably believed AYU was a rare treasure, in the sense that she has an undeniable presence and they took her for what she was worth. Now that she is having difficulity selling she is pushed back and somewhat rejected. So AVEX has to find someone else to take her place. Like I stated in a previous post, the same situation is happening with Koda Kumi or Namie Amuro ( or I think so, I do not keep with their music to often), except their sex appeal is used to sell records. Sorry, if I confused any one, yet as fans we need to understand that the record label controls an artist. Bold & Delicious anyone? Which in turn implies that AYU is a music machine to these people she makes the music and sings and graces her prescence on a magazine cover and then the recording label decides when the singles/albums/etc will be sold. Her personal stylist, hair stylist, and makeup artist decide what she will wear, or she may be given a choice, and how her makeup and hair will be done. The photographer pretty much dictates how he/she wants the photograph to look, and we as fans are expected to do our dutiful role and buy her merchandise. Now, the issue with this theory, is that sometimes people reliate. For example, Koda Kumi's remark was an issue because she upset an entire country that has a small population, which is in desperate need of a baby boom and not only that but some people are not to tolerant of individuls who are different from the social norm; which was an accident on her part yet according to AVEX she needed to be punished. Mainly because that is what the public wanted, in order to make money the recording label goes by the public's desires. However this means that as fans, we need to be more understanding of our roles which is to support the artist, even when an issue seems awkard; yet a part of supporting someone is offering constructive critism. And at times that might mean accepting what she has to offer us and not the recording label. In other words maybe AVEX wants her to crank out singles because fans constantly want to hear a new AYU song. Which is understandable on our part because we want a piece of her.
However, on the flip side, maybe we are reading too much into the situation? Maybe AYU does not feel like a machine, though I think that is highly unlikely? Maybe AVEX is not the bad guy. what if AYU has made a few wrong moves in her career?
I am sorry for the long meaningless rant, but this situation is curious.

^Actually, from what I've read, Ayu has a lot more creative freedom than you seem to think she does. From how she talked about the I am... covers, it seems like she even had control over what her cover arts where to look like and her costumes. It's also safe to assume that the base ideas for her PVs come from her head and are perfected and built upon by the directors. I also read that the Sweetbox-composition covers came from her listening to a Sweetbox Best album and wanting to do a Sweetbox-like song.

She'd have to have some control if she was able to craft hidden protests(or rather overt ones, like ourselves). If it was avex behind them, that wouldn't happen.

A BEST 2 anyone? :innocent

Maybe it was Avex's move I'm not sure, but who ever made it was dumb :tipsy

I had no idea she didn't want to release NEVER EVER. When did she say this?

I don't think we actually know that..

People just assume so because it was in ourselves' PV [but A is the single people supposed that she was against releasing or was supposed to be similar to A BEST in terms of a career move..]~

I thought she talked about how she was pushed to release a new single, resulting in NEVER EVER in the NTV report? (Too lazy to look through it)

I believe that what she meant was that she was unhappy about they way her persona and career was being handled, like she was just starting to realize that she, herself, was merchandise. So she was thinking of leaving Avex.

But after that Avex probably was like "nooooooo we'll do anything", I mean she was like Avex herself so yea

Speaking of the NTV interview.. has anyone seen the ones done before 2004?

Tasking & I are working on subtitling the 2000 one... I think that's the only other one there's been besides the 2004 one. It's about time for another one. :P

thank you, Delirium-zer0!! lookin foward to that! :D

as for creative freedom, i agree with GRACE, from a lot of interviews you can see how much ayu does. many artist would leave these decisions to the staff, but she herself decides which costumes, make up, CD cover shots.... are used. she has the last word in everything. also, she loved GEO's composition and picked the songs herself. she loves bold and delicious ;) just look at the NTV documentaries!

yet i still don't get why avex wanted A best.
you release "best" compilations if
1) sales are declining
2) artist takes a longer "time out" / vacation
3) the artist ends the carreer

but both reasons do not apply to ayu! she was at the top of her carreer... so why treat her so bad? from the 2004 interview she said she talked with matsuura about this, and he did understand how shes feeling (quote was something like: "do you feel like you are trapped inside a small room and there's no way out?" ayu said: "yes, exactly!") yet he didn't help her?

plus at that time max said she should also compose her songs herself. thinking how much more she was doing at that time, i think this is a way to totally destroy an artist with too much pressure.

avex is lucky ayu didn't leave them at that time. everybody would be grateful to have a contract with her.

rantrantrant....

I assumed it was so she'd have something in competition with Hikki's Ditance, there wasn't enough time inbetween Duty and A BEST for another studio album to sell so well, so they decided on a best album maybe?

I didn't know Max told her to compose songs o_o... I only read that she started composing on M because none of the melodies her composers where making fit what she wanted for the song.

that's what I read about too , GRACE

I also never heard about the whole Max told her to compose songs bit too