Just watched the broadcast. There was obviously something wrong with her voice as she couldn't yell nor scream and she is good at that. You can see that she struggled even with songs she generally has no problems with and that she relied on the back-track much more than she ever has before. I don't think it's the ears nor that there were tech issues, her voice was simply strained from either a cold, a night of drinking and singing or something worse. She was really trying her best, but it wasn't coming out the way it was supposed to. To an extent part of Me and HEAVEN benefitted from this as she couldn't scream through the chorus, but she hit none of the high notes during these 2 hours.

For me it feels like ayu didn't hear herself, didn't know at what part of song she is now and what words with need to sing. The worst part (for now, I'm at the part of me) is MOWY

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Repost from @kyohiiru 【#浜崎あゆみ ／モデルプレス＝4月8日】アーティストの浜崎あゆみが6日と7日にさいたまスーパーアリーナにてコンサー ト「ayumi hamasaki 21st anniversary -POWER of A^3-」を行った。ここでは、7日のファイナル公演のライブレポートを届ける。
↓↓詳しいライブレポはモデルプレスさんへ↓↓
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#エーキューブ
#ayumihamasaki

I am not in love with her vocals, she is forcing herself too much. They will correct this in re-broadcast version of concert. Costumes and stage look great. When she was in that blue dress she looked like Namie Amuro.

Can someone upload to youtube :)

I don’t think there is a lot they can actually repair this time...

Unless they recorded first day vocals (but I doubt there'll be a replacement of the voice) and use those, it'll probably be drenched in autotune. I'd still prefer that tbh, I used to think differently about it but when the vocals sound like that..

They could replace it with the audio from the first day. Or maybe they even recorded video of the first day as well. When they did the power of music 2018 broadcast, it looked like they edited two days together (in the Mad World performance in some shots her hair is flat-ironed and in others it's not.)

I really liked this concert, somehow I felt her more close and present than on past concerts. The voice didn't bothered me that much, I already knew before starting to watch that she wouldn't reach the high notes.

After watching Startin' I feel like rewatching Crucified PV by Army Of Lovers, for some reason...

Providing they recorded the first day that’s about the only thing they can do, no amount of auto-tune can fix her not singing over the back-track and trying to shout words when you can barely hear stuff coming out of her mouth XD

The good thing is when she is actually healthy she doesn’t sound like this, so I look at this performance as an exception. She did great back in January in Osaka with all the upbeat songs while she was her usual self with No Way to Say and aeternal which was still a lot better than this!

Was the 2nd day vocals not good? I felt like her first day was pretty good. Some bad parts, but most of my complaints are the shouting that doesnt really need to be done.

You got a microphone girl, use it.

construction workers uniform..

^ Exactly lmao.

Don’t know how big of a thing this is, but I’ve heard of artists re-recording bad shows vocals in post. I don’t know if Ayu ever has or ever will, and hopefully they can salvage this audio

There were definitely many parts where she couldn't scream, especially towards the end, but there still were other parts where she did scream, like bits of Brillante.

I agree with your points here.

Unfortunately they never do that, no matter how awful she sounds they edit what they've got and don't replace the vocals. I only remember several cases when they fixed wrong lyrics mistakes.

If that were really the case, she would be singing off-beat, which didn't happen.

Yeah, remember Made in Tokyo CDL? It had similar problems, she sounded like a robot after they fixed it.

I was going to post a lengthy review of the show but there really isn't much to comment on. But I think this was a good show. It felt more like a normal concert that she would have done before 2017.
I liked the stage and the screens and lights. This show felt like it had a higher production value. The setlist was really great and I actually enjoyed having less classic songs for a change. Her vocals in my opinion were not quite as bad as some others are saying. She definitely was sounding a bit rough and struggled on some parts. I also thought that when she cried towards the end of walking proud it was genuine. The orchestra section was really nice and I loved the poker face tribute. I wish that Ayu would ditch the showgirl aesthetic but she still look great.:luv2
Are we all going to pretend that opening/intro didn't happen?:laugh
I have to say what the hell was that opening? It felt so out of place, like it didn't belong. I didn't get it at all. It just came across as bizarre and slightly creepy. Was that like Ayu's occult illuminati ritual for the new Reiwa era? They even walked together covering one eye.:confused
Also that part when Timmy came out and was looking for "sexy boys" was so cringe. It made me facepalm. The whole skit. It didn't even feel relevant to the show.:no
But to end on a positive note, overall this show made me happy and I felt it was better than some previous concerts.:)

^ I agree, except I kinda liked the opening, was it relevant to the show? Maybe not, but I actually really liked the dark creepy feel it had. I thought it was a good show overall, minus the vocals (which is actually the main focus of the show, but it is what is). I have to give her major props for making the show fresh and fun. Also she looked amazing, even better than usual, and she totally did look like Namie in that blue dress!

What I liked:
- Most of the setlist
- Live Taiko, Strings and Choir
- YongAe
- The visuals
- Most of the song instrumental arrangements (Brillante and Walking Proud were especially good, but really most of the arrangements were a bit different and really good)

- The interludes that featured the live musicians. Timmy's voice went surprisingly well with the dark interludes
- The pokerface video tribute
- The feeling of grandness

What I didn't like:
-Lack of main band. It was really obvious with the way they mixed the backing tracks with the live ones, and it was super weird to me not to have them there (budget constraints?)

-Most of the vocals, though they were not as bad as CDL2015-16, CDL2016-17 and CDL2018-19, and she did have some really good vocal moments. The only song that actually hurt my ears was Born to be Free. Mostly she was more hoarse than wildly off key.

- Timmy's weird skit

- The electronic interludes and the Sparkle Medley.

I would totally buy this on dvd if they can get her vocals to sound good (and I'm really not a fan of autotune or fixing vocals in post, but this show was really good overall)

Was a bit disappointing to find out the voting didn't count for anything except the video, but it was a nice tribute. I'm sure some people would've complained about recycling a concept if she pulled a CDL2006-07, though it would've been cool. You can't please everyone. This show kind of felt like a mix between Future Classics, A Best Live, PoM 20

Well... that's a way to spend a lot of money on very average costumes

Honestly I think the 2nd day in general was a disaster compared to the 1st. Something must have happened. Using the same outfit twice in one concert is pretty weird. Our feelings aside, that thing must be covered in sweat. The show being delayed by an hour is also pretty telling. Maybe setting up the broadcast video was a challenge. Changing the setlist was probably a crisis management move, as well as deciding which clothes to wear. Ayu's voice was way too hoarse I couldn't even believe it, she sounded fine even at the final songs on day 1. I don't think she'd sound like that if she rested her throat even if that was a 2nd night. They were probably screaming and yelling a lot behind the curtains right before the show.

I'm pretty sad that you guys had to watch that instead of what I saw on day 1. A lot of ppl were clapping at the end of some songs. I think we all felt the same: that was way beyond expectation, we thought we were just seeing a legacy singer's last days and she turned back the clock. I honestly think the only save is if they recorded the 1st day and put that to DVD instead.