She alread tryied to keep her old success recipe, that's why we have 2 or 3 versions of M and Fairyland :P

I think that ayu is not an outstanding music-writer... her best lyrics have emotional conection to her (and to me, a amazing song-writer can't depent only on their feelings to write music), and she is not taking enought time to mature herself as a person AND show that on her lyrics as a big change... I really liked next level, I think it's her best album as a unit (something she is trying since Secret), but just like her other albums (maybe not loveppears) she is not giving her the chance to grow up to have new emotional situations in her live to express this on all the tracks of an album...

And yeah... people miss that cause her personal lyrics are what made her famous in the first place...

Another factor is that she is a very visual artist... even if she has creative control over her music, her young casual listeners doesn't like the fact that she is getting "old", and they don't really mind the lyrics or concepts either.... ^^

just my opinion

exactly. probly those dying cells are enough to get a B in an exam :rolleyes.

I understand why ayu vs. hikki existed in the first place because avex practically initiated it (Distance vs. A BEST). But right now whenever a particular female singer getting more popular than ayu, the battles occur automatically. I think people have to accept a fact that ayu (and also hikki, my another beloved one, and whoever your beloved ones) can't be at the top every single time. And why you wanna compare who has the greater promotion? Sometimes it's quite pointless to argue the stuff over and over for a few pages..

Knowing economic situation I think sales are good.

if she gets steady sales (doubtful) ill be happy for her

i really dont think that her rule performance will help that much... but maybe her tour will?

d sales r decreasing 50% everyday..

i hope today wont below 20k..

wow..
now..there're namie vs ayu..

may i join...

LoL..!!

I wonder if there will be another 50% decrease in sales??

I think that Ayu has carved her name into Japanese music history, period.
And her new album is fabulous, mine just came today :)
But the point is, it's a matter of preference- everyone will like someone different. Don't fight about whose better. It's totally relative.
(BTW- What does everyone think the first week sales will be??)

that half decrease is pretty bad. oh well. is it weird that i'm not crying about this like other people? yeah i'd love her to sell more but i'm not really that affected by her decrease in sales :/ i just like the album and that's what matters most to me

It's gotten to the point that people care more about promotion and sales rather than the MUSIC itself.

The people on this forum who care so much about the amount of promotion Ayu/Namie/Kumi/Hikki get and how much they sell must all secretly be working for Avex and have some office betting pool about who'll come out on top. Loser has to pack their things and get out. They are no longer in the running to be America's Next Top Model.

They are ALL pop stars. They ALL get promotion. There is no such thing as grass roots success where any of them are concerned. To think one or the other sells primarily because of musical merit ONLY or by the mysterious solitary efforts of the artist is seriously deluding themselves. Namie cannot sign contracts outside of Avex without the permission of Avex itself. They would know about these contracts, they would know the promotion these contracts would bring about, and so Avex IS responsible for Namie's sales and promotion.

It's a business and an industry, period.

Namie's success is because of good old timing on Avex's part. They released Best Fiction at the right time, they knew how to market her, they knew what contracts she should sign. Do you think 60s 70s 80s would have been a hit if they signed Namie up for a contract for a dental hygiene company? No, they chose the glamour of Vidal Sassoon. It's Patricia Field for heaven's sake!

I think you aren't giving Avex enough credit for Namie's success.

blugie , i really dont care baout sales hahahaha i buy it only if i like it not because its popular or not . i like visual kei too and those artist have surch low sell some dont even appears on the top 200 . does it stop me from buying the cd or appreciate them? no .
there is no argure here i think people are giving there opinions .
from what i read there is two types : the one that love this album i think thisof this
one as her best and other that have ben a little bit dissapointed after listening to the full album .
i think its really interresting what everyody thinks as long as everyone respect each other . we are in a friendly forum ;-)

uemaran san i agre with you .some people care too much about the sales number ore than the music .

andrenekoi. yes its her personal lyrics that made me likes ayu from the very first single . i guess her lyrics touched me more in the past than now . it seems now when she write lyrics she is more " vague" .
its true that with age her voice improved a lot but i miss that fragile voice she had at her debut . same thing about her i prefer that shy attitude she had at her debut than her diva attitude (sometimes).
of course i appreciate ayu and her music and i still listen each of her new album acrefully read the lyrics , listen to the voice but i guess everyone have different taste .

as you said yes ayu is getting old and transform , change her style, change her voice etc and maybe its hard to accept .
one thing i like about her aging is she is getting more and more beautiful , i just wish she was less photoshhot on all the photoshoot she made recently . "old ayu" look great natural she doesnt photoshop .

I haven't posted here in years, just kind of check in on ayu...you guys are giving me a headache! hahah

AYU IS DOING FINE

^Just saw your stat and your last post in AHS was back in 2005... wow that's long time ago :D. Hope to see you more cuz really not lots of old members are not around

I think all of us do care about the promotion and sales (for me.. I was hoping to see those "flags" hanging on the street lamps of.. whatever that famous Japan place that I can't remember the name atm lol. I do hope that it will have decent sales. But if doesn't have more promotion, and has less sales than previous albums, it's ok. It's not like ayu sekai will crush down to pieces. There's really no point on involving other artists to bring up (or down) ayu.