This is a great post! I think what you said is so true.

I so said that like months ago :p

If she released some song that people think is a masterpiece now.. i.e like endless sorrow / NEVER EVER .. people'd be all.. 'Crap. This is so disgusting.'

I liked that post too. Ayumi just needs to reinvent herself like she use to do. She is not going down she is still a queen of jpop. People consider I AM her best album which is one of my favs because it had different genres of music its like her trance, pop, rock,R&B all in one a different mixture just like I AM. Ayumi is really talented. She's probaly a bit tired u think the woman has never had a break since freakin 1998. But i respect your opinion i really do!!! am glad u made that statement!!

That's speculation though. There is no way to know that for sure. I don't think you(or a few other people on the forum ^_^) are giving people enough credit to be able to decide what is good or bad for themselves. Like I said, a good song is a good song regardless of when it is released.

For example, Seasons is one of her biggest hits, yet I've never thought it was that great and rank it as one of my least favorite Ayu songs.(still a nice song though) Yet I rank some of her more recent ones like is this LOVE? and alterna as some of her best of all time. I really don't think the majority of people here that don't like this single view Ayu in terms of "everything she did in the past was great, everything now sucks." That is really over simplifying. Just about everyone here that hasn't liked some of her recent singles, can at least point out one recent track that they do like as well.

I guess. But it seems like they'd like.. even like BLUE BIRD / Beautiful Fighters if it were done back in like 01/02 or something.. x.x

I agree with SunshineSlayer that good music is good music, regardless of when it was released. Her loss in popularity and sales is due to multiple reasons. But I'm sure how her fans perceive the quality of her recent works is partly responsible for her decline. I personally don't think her music is going downhill. Her recent ballads have been as good as her music during her prime. I just wish she would stop releasing so many happy/go-getter songs; I've never liked them anyhow.

I actually think Ayu gets better and better. (miss)understood and MY STORY are my fave albums, I love almost every song on them, and I also really liked Memorial Address, so basically I love all her recent work. Duty and Loveppears are my two least fave albums, so IMO, she's not going downhill at all. And I suppose that's what it all comes down to: opinion.

Btw, I'm new, hihi to you all! ^.^ :D

i agree with you..
ayu's getting better and better...
she's following the music trends now..

In fact, she IS getting better and better... But it is true that some of her previous songs are better than BB or BF...

I think her songs all sound kinda the same now. BLUE BIRD, Bold & Delicious, Beautiful Fighters, Startin', Born To Be... it's all kinda bland IMO. It's nice but not great. Not special like songs from around 2002, 2003.....I'm waiting for an impressive song. Like Dearest. Like Free & Easy.

Just in time for this to sum up the developments that have been going on while you guys contemplated whether or not Ayu is flopping.

Yes, I also think I Am... is overrated. Sure, lots of songs nice but the way the tracks were laid out makes the album seem dreary and muddy to me. Endless Sorrow is not the best album closer.And to show how different musical tastes people have, I have to admit I hate Dearest the most from I Am..., followed by No More Words and those dreadful interludes.

^without the sales, we don't know if she is flopping or not. The competition oculd just be very weak and she got #1. So we should wait for the numbers 1st then decide.

Well, maybe not everybody is going to go "OMG! INSTRUMENTS, GOODNESS!" if she releases a song with real instruments. But I will, and I'll be jumping all around just because of that. Real instruments make music amazing. No wonder I'm always listening to hitomi, REMIOROMEN and HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR. They use real instruments and it appeals to me.

Well...i think that Ayu isn't going downhill, Ayu's not the only one who decides what she wants to do in her pov, you know? Her recent pvs have been boring, to me atleast. But they still were great songs, you say that certain songs sounded like fairyland, it's because they have a similar instrumental sound or whatever to it, a lot of her older songs had that too. She might be planning to make a huge video that will take much money, so she's cutting down on her money towards mvs, i dunno. But her older music was more of my tastes. i think she's just changing her style again(like she usualy does). sometimes videos need to be simple i think though, Bold And Delicious wasn't my favorite, but the words worked well with the mv, i mean, she on a huge truck things singing? that's pretty bold...(lol) Born To Be...i didn't like the yellow cause i don't like the color, but the song was nice. my story, nothing wrong with that. miss Understood rocked. one of my favorite albums by her.

My 2 cents worth!
 

:no I can't believe I'm responding to this topic.....

As a long time UK based ayu fan I've only ever been able to keep up with her via these msge's boards and the small amount of Asian media that is translated by the numerous tireless and dedicated fans. For which I'm eternally gratefull :love

But it seems to me the girl needs to take a break I mean after having been a fan of Asian music and cinema for so long now I am aware that production goes at a much faster pace than here in the west but judging by the recent quality of her newest material maybe its time she took her foot off the pedal.

Her last double single "Startin/Born To Be" were really good but in her new stuff she looks tired and the sound is so off as to be almost irritating espcially in "Beautiful Fighters" which is I'm sorry to say the first ayu song I've found myself disliking to an extreme degree.

From my limited perspective it seems to me that the slide started after the relativley poor reception to the more edgier rockier material on her 2004 album "My Story". In that from the few interviews from the time I get the impression she really enjoyed making that album and that
the "Missunderstood" album seemed more a knee jerk reaction to re-crapture an old sound in order to apease an idignant fan base. I personally think she should have continued on with the rock stuff regardless of her critics.

But more importantly I think she needs to take at least a year off and renergize her self and her creative process. I know that may be a risky move in this her today gone tommorow market but an artists sound is supposed to evolve not de-evolve whcih is I feel what we've witnessed between "My Story" and "Missunderstood"

*PLEASE NOW SAVAGE E-MAILS OR PVT MSGE'S IN RESPONSE TO THIS POST, THIS IS AFTER ALL JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION TO WHICH I'M ENTITLED*

you know...thats a really good point that i've never thought of. why did she switch her style between my story and (m)u? maybe what you say is true. but i also agree, i would way rather see her continue on the rock route. i was surprise because she seemed to wish to continue it but then suddenly she stopped. :shrug

IMHO, she did steer towards that direction [STEP you / is this LOVE? / (miss)understood / criminal] But with the inclusion of GEO.. it all became some.. weird mess. xD

Perhaps she is just changing her style...again. Besides, its not like she decides what is to be done in her MTV... And yes I do agree that recent works ain't that great...using "I am..." era as a contrast. But seriously....they are great songs IMO!:luv2

I think Ayumi is just as good as she ever was, or ever will be. She's always doing something different. Her videos change with each cd, to reflect the cd itself usually. At least that's what I think. I think the ONLY thing about Bold&Delicious I didnt like was the yaya gaga part, but after a few listens i had me and my 32 year old sister addicted. Just because something sounds weird in english doesnt mean it sounds that weird to other languages.

The same reason english speaking people make fun of the Nintendo Wii, because wii all know what that sounds like. But i think Wii is a cute name for the system, and once u get past stupid toilet humor, its not a bad name.

But Ayumi will always have loyal followers, and those who change their allegiance every other single, and those who never liked her, until they heard that one specific single. And yes, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. So I admire you for saying her stuff has gone downhill, but I dont agree. I think it has gone maybe lefthill or righthill, but not down. Shes trying new things. Every artist does. Sometimes you make a bad video, or bad song, or you shoot an incredibly ugly CD cover (miss understood). But the poibnt is, Ayumi is an immense breath of fresh air and fun, and she always writes her own lyrics, whether somebody believes she should get a poets award or not, she is still pouring out her heart.

Oh and about the fake crying thingy, i noticed some people when they cry, for real, it looks fake. Not every hug and kiss and shock can be made as wonderful as it is shown on TV. Half of the emotion you see on TV is fake, thats why they call it acting. They ALWAYS exxagerate it to make it more intense, but normal people are not always that intense looking. Some people when they laugh it sounds like some bad actress in a commercial, but it is how they laugh.