Ayu's negative image
 

Some of the posts in a thread in the news section got me thinking about Ayu's image and the kind of hate it generates from so many people. The abusive comments people say about her can be so strong, and contain so much venom, that I'm sometimes left speechless.

The question I want to ask is: why do you think Ayu gets so much hate?

From what I can see it seems to be because people believe her to be talentless so she doesn't deserve the kind of success she's had. I really hate the thought that only the most talented people should be allowed success and popularity. What about passion and hard work? Everyone should be able to what they love as long as it isn't hurting anyone.

As I said in a previous thread, I can understand people not liking her music but she does not say offensive things or shove her opinion in other peoples faces (or act like a cheap hooker *cough*), so the hate on her character completely baffles me.

I hope this post makes sense, I'm half asleep right now XD.

My friend doesn't like her because of her voice lol. She just cannot handle listening to her xD Same with Ai Otsuka, my friend just detests them both because of vocals. But she likes their lyrics.

Idk why there are people hate her.. Yes, she's talentless and that's doesnt mean she cant success in her career.

But I do think that ppl hate her because of her squeaky voice(?) or they think that Ayu isnt pretty compared to others(?).

For me, she has talent in writing beautiful lyrics and has the prettiest face among others.

I believe that fans have VERY high expectations from her.

Whenever she does something that seems to be "boring" to them, or just meh/bad, they get soo upset/angry about it, and they curse her; Whenever she does something that clashes with their principals of the imaginary image that they have from her in their fantasy World, they curse her.

Its like some kind of syndrome. I really think it is a disease... I mean, they don't put the bar that high to anyone else in their lives... only with ayu. It makes no sense and it pisses me off.

They seriously have no right to treat ayu like that... I will never agree with psycho fans, ever.




And in the other hand, There's the "trolls" or haters syndrome. I believe they're mostly driven to hate ayu because she's been more successful than other singers that they believe are better or they like more than ayu. And I'm not even going to go around it, this is true and no one can deny it.




I learned with the years that, hating other artists to make your favorite artist "better" is as bad as hitting your own grandmother. If you do this you are pretty much lying to yourself.

**This is kind of related, I suppose... haha: She gets a lot of hate in Japan because she was kind of everywhere at one point, I think. And also, she's been basically around constantly (KEY WORD HERE) for the last 12 years. She seems to have just stuck around and a lot of Japanese people don't really seem to like that.

As for foreign fans who don't like her, a lot of it is because they're really misinformed. "She had 30 surgeries!" / "She has never written her own lyrics!" / "She's really rude and fame has gone to her head!" and other things like that cause people to hate Ayu. It's especially sad when people say "She was so pretty before she had all that work done." and post this one image comparison between an idol photoshoot and a shoot from 2000/2001 that EVERYONE seems to have. It's like... some people don't seem to understand the power of her makeup team, haha.

(Of course, there are also fans who just liked Ayu in 2001/2002/whenever and because she's changed since then, they just don't care for her anymore. (though they never fail to mention how she was better back then despite that.. haha. It's always "Why does her music suck so much now compared to 2001? -sigh- The only thing I listen to now is M!") IMO she's been changing for the better, but your mileage may vary.)

^ I agree. "Your mileage may vary" Good way of putting it.

Maybe it's because she has gone too long without a break or so...

- She's glamorous, which makes it easy to think she's a stuck-up, cruel diva.
- Her voice is an acquired taste.
- She used to be the most popular thing ever and she's been all over the place for over a decade.

These 3 things are also true for a certain Western pop-diva, who is also getting a LOT of hate from the general public. I think y'all know who I mean.

I think some people forget that um the sucsess is usualy 10% talent and 90% of hard working.

one thing is people whould learn not to pay attention to those who show hate and dissrespect, I learned not to pay attention because there will always be those who will not like. And it goes not just with Ayu, but with other artists too.

I've come up with some reasons why I think haters hate on her (not in any particular order) just from observing them. Before I got into ayu I used to be #1, #3, and #5.


But, even if they feel any of these things I still don't see why some have to take things too far and say extremely horrible things about her. I think if some of them just took the time to read one of her interviews or any of her lyrics they'd at least develop some respect for her. But then again, some have hate that is way too strong and their minds can't be changed.

She's really easy to hate. She's not the best singer in the world, people can say that her
lyrics are generic and her music too. And on top of that she doesnt look japanese,
people who want to hate can say very easy: 'she's not herself' with amount of make up she has very often.

I know what I was thinkin before I got into Ayu too, I thought why is she so famous
when she sounds like people who are said they will never be singers, who are made fun off, who are perfect for parody and stuff. You feel 'its not fair' feeling. But if you think about it more,... it shows you that you can be whatever and whoever you want if you work hard enough. Thats why I fell in love. She's a role model. She's a proof that intelligence and hard work can make your dream come true.

hmm I disagree that ayu doesn't have much talent. I sometimes wished she would invest more "musically" in her career like composing and playing an instrument, but it's not like it drives me mad. Maybe some people say she lacks talent because her vocals aren't "Celine Dion's" but you don't need to have that in order to sing something good. Her vocals have always been what interested me in her music, specially because she makes use of certain elements that are unique to her and make them sound cool, so that's where her talent can be seem (meaning I really disagree that she sounds like any average person singing out there). Also the use of the words (how they sound in the songs, like ourselves or Connected for example - the play with different but simillar sounding words) and her lyrics really show her talent. But then, that can be rather subjective, so it's not like it's worth arguing with close minded people. The only problem I have with her is that she abuses with the same arrangers and composers. Makes me want her to try BOUNCEBACK or Geo again, even if both are repeated from a few past songs, just for a little change.

Everyone has some pretty good reasons. I don't know why you'd put so much effort into hating someone just because you don't like that persons voice though.

@ identity You used to hate her? Do you mind expanding on that a bit? Were you one of the ones who are very vocal about it, or just a general dislike? What changed your mind?

For the record, I don't think Ayu is talentless at all. She doesn't have the best voice but it's better than the average person. She also has a very unique tone and injects a lot of emotion into her voice which I think comes naturally (a talent in itself imo). Her music, too, has always incorporated various different styles and is quite broad in general. I don't get the 'generic' comments-though some of her stuff is naturally.

Oh, I almost forgot, like any other big singer Ayu has a lot of obssesive fans/stans,
fans can easily be turn off.

Well, to me, she has talent. Nobody could survive that long in the music industry if they didn't have just a speck of talent. It doesn't have to be singing or songwriting. Being charismatic can be a talent. Or the ability to make people interested in you.

I've never hated Ayu, so I don't really know why some people literally despise her. I'll go back to one of my reasons and it's that she is so successful, and they (or their favorite artist, as pointed out) aren't

thats true right there.

I have to apologize for my words, I was talking only about singing talent.
She has a lot of talents, but singing not really. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy her
singing but I cant say she's talented nor I would tell anyone 'look at this voice'
when Im showing them ayu. She has average voice at best.
Being talented in something is being better than average.

I wasn't really vocal about it, I just didn't like her so I didn't pay much attention to her. If someone made a rude comment about her I'd laugh though. My mind changed when I found out she wrote all her lyrics and I found those English subtitled PV's of hers. I was so impressed by her lyrics and was surprised I could relate to them. Just by looking at her, I wouldn't think of her to be that type of artist with deep/personal lyrics. To me she just looked a lot like a plain, generic popstar... but I was so wrong.

^^ uhm sorry but what do you mean by ayu hasn't got "singing talent"?

I kinda get what you mean, but at the same time I don't agree. Well, you see, she's got a very distinctive voice, and to me is very addictive xD I think her voice is my favorite singing voice ever D: And yeah, she ain't no Mariah Carey, but you can't give her no credit because she can sing :D If she had no singing talent at all, she would have kept on acting XD or modeling, who knows lol

omg why are you guys thinking so much into this! People hate Ayu cos they're jealous. :P

lol okay but in all seriousness... I think most haters think along the lines of "she doesn't deserve whatever she has achieved", and that's when it kinda links to being ignorant about her career or life.

Most people don't know stuff like she lost her hearing in her left ear, or that she used to want to quit being a singer, or that she injured herself and yet still insist on performing...

Imo, Ayu's... special. As in, it'd be pretty hard to make anyone a fan by getting them to listen to one Ayu song. Her voice is tbh annoying to most people (we like it cos we're fans, and there're even fans who dislike her voice), and her "look at me so kawaiiiiii" image is obviously stupid to the layman as well.

Like just looking at her in terms of a "singer" or whatever, it's gonna be hard to win people over. But I realized Ayu is the kinda celebrity who... you love more and more, as you know her more and more.

To the point where... you don't see her as a performer/singer/musician anymore. You see her as someone you have great respect and admiration to, for her personality, her strength, her everything.

Obviously not. She still sings. And Im happy I live in decade with her.
With singing talent I mean this:
(ok, dont watch her eat lol, hurry up the video XD)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI_xh5BaMdw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuAgN...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMuJDGvNRo8
my fav voices , too good to be true, especially last one

Do you think Jealousy would be a point?

I agree with this. HEr voice really stands out.

I think a lot of it has to do with your own personal taste. Every one is different, sure some of us have things in common, but we don't and can't all like the same thing.

For celebrities, it's worse because they are constantly being watched and are in the spotlight. There are BIG fans of Celine Dion and there are people that HATE her. Same goes for Ayu, Namie, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, etc.

Some people may dislike her because they don't like her voice. It's understandable. Look at me, I can NOT stand Alanis Morisette. I HATE her voice! It makes me cringe every single time I hear her sing.

Some people may dislike Ayu, because of the way she acts, I know a few fans around here don't like her pout, and/or don't like when she's acting cute because she's a little older, etc.

I think Ayu's got just as many haters as any other super star of her caliber.

I'm not really asking why people don't like her-I understand that not everyone will, differen't tastes and all that. I'm just curious as to the reason so many people seem to have such a deep seated loathing of her. I guess it really does come with the territory.

I'm surprised that people read articles/go to forums/watch videos of artists they hate, just so they can complain about them.
I can't understand it because I'm too lazy to hate someone with so much vigor lol.

I agree.

also like said is her voice that's different from other singers.
is different and she's making millions off of it that's why people hate her.
she's not trying too hard to be famous, she's doing what she likes and that's why people get jealous.


this reminds me of the same situation with ke$ha, she doesn't try hard and people like her music. jealousy jealousy.

LOL that's totally another story ;)

lol, I think Ayu is trying really hard. She gave up on her life to be a singer.
Does she have a family, her friends, her children, her boyfriend?
People take that so easily. She's not robot, she's not singing machine.

Well I really don't get this about any artist, celebrity, or person I guess. If you hate them, why go on a website, video, article, etc. that is praising them? In this article, it was obvious that they were praising her. So these idiots are the ones that I would, yeah pretty much say are more than likely jealous of her.

I won't give my opinion on someone I dislike unless they're brought up completely out of nowhere. I don't look for opportunities to insult them. That's just what I don't understand about people. :shrug

That's why I don't get when people hate Ayu, they join here and post in the Ayu sections. :laugh Looo-zas.

even ayu said music is her life and she enjoys doing it.
she doesn't try to be controversial to be famous while other singers do and they fail at it.
grrr! ^.^

many artists in this world must have gotten themselves antis/haters, no exception..
then also the more famous, an artist is, the more antis she/he'll get...

and just like Ayu..
most haters/antis saying that she's pretty because of the power of plastic surgery..
and they think her beauty isn't natural.. so why many ppl still like her like that..
that's what I often hearing from ppl~

Most of the time, it's just jealousy. :shrug I've never understood haters. They really must have nothing to do in their free time.

She does have talent; there's no question about that. Her lyrics, her attitude... Her voice is also talented, even if it's not perfect. She's sincere about everything, and has no lies in her work. (quoting Ayu herself here ;)) She's successful, so people are jealous. :shrug People waste their time on all their hate and don't even give her a chance, really.

I think she has a BEAUTIFUL voice. It's so unique and so... Ayu! I was listening to her in my headphones not too long ago and I was so hooked on her voice. I pretty much realized how unique she really was.

People bring her down probably because they don't like her voice, think that she's had too much success for what she is talented for, or they believe their favorite artist is better.

Ayu has worked very hard for a very long time. You don't get famous and successful over night. It's ridiculous and impossible. There are a billion people in the world who want to be famous (talent or not). The only way to get there is with extremely hard work and the desire to really want it (I sound like Tyra on America's Next Top Model xD). There are so many talented singers out there working at a grocery store to support themselves. Many people don't get discovered, that's why it's such a big deal when it happens.

It really just comes down to one thing: They're nasty people. There are just people out there that enjoy hating, thus the term "haters gonna hate" because it's soooooooo true. I don't think it has to do with Ayu in particular to be honest. I think they just find someone who has good amount of reasons to be disliked with a particularly obsessed fan base and they just hate for the attention. I mean look at AHS, if someone says something positive about Ayu, it's largely either agreed upon or ignored. But as soon as someone hates, it generates a lot of attention. I just think haters like to do that on a larger scale for their own insecure reasons.

Well... I made some research on that site... Comments towards Hikki, Namie, Koda and Gackt are all as cruel as comment towards Ayu...

It seens like their forum is made of japanese pop culture haters, both from Japan (some of them were japanese posting in english, pretty much like some american bash american pop culture here on AHS) and international

-

Anyway.. Ayu is famous, famous people have their lovers and their haters, and both sides can be as freaky and scarry as the other... Some people center their lifes around the hate they have for a random celebrity, and internet allow them to be vocal without showing their faces

LOL I love how "level headed" and "neutral" everyone is appearing to be, but half the people in this thread, I have seen them make derogatory comments about another artists/artist's career here on AHS.

Doesn't that make you guys the jealous type too? Or is it okay to hate on other artists and it's abnormal to hate on Ayu?

*not claiming I'm perfect or love all artists because I hate on Miley Cyrus and she has done nothing to me other than the fact that I hate her.

Anyway, people who waste their life hating on Ayu (or anyone) just need to move on. If you dislike an artist, don't make comments about them. Don't read articles on them. You are only wasting your time and making yourself even more bitter.

I noticed that especially Namie and Kuu's fans outside Japan are acting like that.
In my opinion they don't really have a reason to hate Ayu, they just WANT to hate her so they keep looking for news and videos of hers just to can say that their idol is better than her.
I really can't understand why. It wasn't like this before.. but when Kuu became popular and Namie returned on top their western fans started to act like this. Like they're somehow afraid of Ayu.

I also heard a lot of people saying Ayu acted in a bad way with the poor Namie and Kuu. I don't think Ayu is a monster and I don't even think Namie and Kuu are so stupid to keep talking with her during tv programs or go to her concerts if she really is such a bad person.

That's all. ^^;

Well, I think the point on this thread is:
"people who go after artists they hate only to bash them"

For example, I hate Koda Kumi, but I would not go into her news or her official thread just to say how much she sux to me...

This. 100000%

Every artist has their haters, no matter how talented it just comes with being successful. The bigger you are, the bigger your stans and the bigger your haters. When you have celebs like Ayu and Britney with their different (or what most would consider weak) singing voices, massive exposure and diva type image, it just gives haters something to pick at. They'll hate regardless.

I'll admit I've strongly disliked celebrities who were literally EVERYWHERE (like Britney) and still do especially if I feel their music sucks (*cough*Beyonce*cough*Miley*cough**cough*) but then I just don't pay them any mind. I voice my dislike if the opportunity presents itself but actually going on Youtube videos, visiting articles about them, going on forums JUST to hate on them? I can't be bothered. I'd rather spend that time talking about the artists I love.

When I first started seriously getting into Ayu, her voice was pretty questionable... I didn't think she couldn't sing at all but that her voice was kinda harsh on the ears. Even now, I don't exactly love her voice per se but I do enjoy it a lot more. She puts so much of herself into her performances and the combination of her lyrics... even if the vocals are not all there, it's just hard not to be entranced with her. I fell for the music first, then the woman behind it and the more I get to know about her (imperfections and all) the clearer it becomes to me, why this woman made it so BIG in the industry, why her fanbase loves her so much, and why over ten years later, even past her peak she's still thriving. It's because this industry, her music really IS her life and she puts all (or most) of herself into it. Like... even you don't like her music/voice/image or whatever, I don't think it's anyone place to question her success since imho she's shown time and time again why she has it and why she deserves it.

That's great for you, I'm glad you can put your hate aside and not blindly go after someone and bash them. However, not everyone on the internet is like you.

Some people are dumb, some people are dumber. Some people can't see past themselves. Other people try to, but they are still limited by who they are.

There's really no other explanation for it. It's kinda like asking why people do bad things. Just happens.

There's always gonna be people that are like "oh so and so is better" or "they suck and all their stuff has been sucking" blah blah, just like people fight over countries, race, cultures, etc.

They just can't keep their mouth shut. And it just really only shows how weak a person they are, and how limited they are in their thinking.

you're so smart emiko. :heart

Every artist in the world has his/her own haters.
Some are jealous, some has mental issues and they have to hate a person and other are just trolls.
Criticism is good. Ayu's not perfect and she make mistakes sometimes. But, bashing her because she's talentless, plastic, diva, etcetera.. costantly is really really bad.
I joke about those things sometimes. I joke. Haters are serious.
I'm not saying that just 'cause I'm fan of her. Because she don't deserve it.
She's not a useless girl whom is become famous for parties and sextapes. She is not famous for nothing.
She's talented, luckily. Maybe she's not the most amazing singer in Japan but she can sing, compose a song, write meaningful lyrics. Is it enough for just an idol, right?

Haha, this is a cute thread.

One thing: Even negative audience is audience.

I do not think that Avex cares about what some people that grew out off their dreams from their childhood, say about Ayu. The only important thing is that they say something about Ayu. As long as people are agreeing to make Ayu an topic of public discussions, those people are gonna support her presence, even if they think, they'd damage Ayu in any way. They just dont. Because they are her supporting audience in anyway. Negative audience. But still audience.

And that makes me smile real evil haha xD

Isn't it always the same thing?
A lot of people, who are fan of a singer, hate their rival?
If you like for example, the Back-Street-Boys... you hate Take That.. and in the other way the same.
By the way.. I can't understand why people hate an other singer, when they are the fan of a rivial.

Well, everything has been already said, that's why I usually don't join discussions like this :laugh

For me, it even doesn't have anything related to her vocals, if people can listen to boybands and girlbands (not that I offend them - I listen to many of them as well, but I have to admit not everybody has a singing talent), why not to Ayu from time before going half deaf at least?

If it's also about jealousy? I don't know, there was and always be a situation when the most talented artists (I mean with the best voices in that case) are overshadowed by artists with strong image, appeal, charisma, with that "something" attracting audience and it's nothing related to singing abilities.

Ayu haters or offenders usually like to talk about how much surgeries has she done... Even if she did one or more, then what's about it? I don't think real fan should bother, personally I prefer to be a fan of artist which has done surgeries than artist who made rude comments or acted completely immature...

I also have a problem with her too much photoshopped magazine/other stuff photoshoots... But do Ayu fans love her the most for her image in magazines? She's a singer, not model (even though she's so good at it :laugh).

There are some people who just lost faith in her because their expectations didn't come true, Ayu's newest music disappoints them etc. Yes, LOVEppears~Duty~I am... era was golden, but she changed, became more mature, doesn't have the same doubts and problems, she feels happier than before now. It had to affect her lyrics and music and fans have should expect this... Does she have to write depressing, symbolic lyrics and do her composers have to make mysterious sounding music during her whole music career? Why some of "fans" can't accept something brighter and not take everything which is related to Ayu's music too seriously?

People like to compare everything with each other too much. Not that it's completely bad but it doesn't make sense if different stuff and different artists are compared... Better go to listen to your favorite artists before writing how much Ayu sucks because she isn't as much brilliant and perfect as your beloved musicians.

I always wonder if it's necessary to waste time for hating... Why better to not pay attention. Unfortunately, some persons will never learn.

And about that discussion if Ayu has talent or not: Yes, she's hella talented. Her lyrics and self-composed songs speak for themselves.


I completely agree with emiko and koshka.

I just think ayu hating should be a major in college cuz people treat it like a career
To PROVE why ayu is a horrid artist and woman.

I can say from personal experience what it was like to be a blind ayu hater. I was basically an utada stan (some of the most vicious haters tbh)
I noticed people compared them all the time. So I was just lurking yt a lot (I didn't make an account til I was a fan thankfully)
I thought ayu was a talentless, overrated, plastic, fake, anorexic with a voice of a dying hamster :(

But more and more I became charmed cuz I was just watching videos "too see how garbage she was". And it was just because she was so popular. And they compared her to hikki
I didn't mind kuu and namie and listened to them cuz they weren't like legendary to me lol

I'm happy I never said anything but I'm sad to think those things about ayu, the precious dear

Some people. Its okay to hate her music. But to attack her (and there's never a good reason) is just bleh
Complain about her voice all they want. Some things are just gross

Youtube is a perfect example. The user InnerRise or something actually takes the time to go to all her videos and just hate and hate and intentionally argue with people
They even find new stuff faster than many other fans. Its so sad
But they actually made animated videos about utada needing to give ayu vocal lessons
But honestly its their channel background that made fans vomit.
Its the you were/ballad ayu photoshopped to be lying on a wooden floor with a gun in her hand and a hold through her head and bloos everywhere and the sunrise cover on the floor
Apparently ayu commited suicide from looking at the S/S covers. It was just violent and gross

Plus the user that makes tons of detailed videos of why ayu doesn't deserve to be famous or why she is or how messed up her career is. Take note I refrain from seriously watching these

And haters that make fun of her being deaf. Gross. I think ayu haters (because of her status) just hate and hate. Without understand a thing

In general places that aren't hater congregations u will find more ayu hate. Or just nastier ayu hate than that for other artists.

WTF? I ran into that troll one time on an old video of her on that idol show (before she got signed) talking about how she was yet "stealing" another person's song. I thought he was a harmless idiot (as most of the things he said made no sense whatsoever) and eventually left him alone, had no idea he was such a freaking psychopath. Like really, I pissed now. I'm glad I didn't check his channel or I'd given him more than just a little piece of my mind. That's just... not healthy, just... crazy. :shakehead

That person is SERIOUSLY creepy. Something is wrong with them, because it seems like they spend the majority of their time on the internet hating on her and trying to start arguments with her fans. But honestly, people like that can help her career. Sometimes I've seen people leave horrible comments about other artists and I'm like "what? i need to go see how much this person sucks for myself" and wind up liking them lol. That image they made wasn't funny at all, and anyone who does find it funny just has a sick sense of humor imo. Someone here tried to say it was hilarious and I take things too seriously to not find that type of thing funny, but suicide is nothing to take lightly or joke/laugh at. The same with her being deaf. I'm a person who hardly likes to take anything seriously but things like that cross the line.

I think some people are jelous of her success because they want their favorites artists to have the same success as her :yes

I dont think 'stuff happens' is any reason at all.
Some people who feel bad about themselves will show their misery in that way.

My mom doesn't like Ayu because of her "screech owl voice." I do agree, it's a little screechy sometimes, but the good definitely outweighs the bad.

Personally, I think Ayu is an excellent entertainer. When people go to concerts (and pay the amount they do to get into Yoyogi or another huge arena), they don't go to see someone sitting in a chair moving only their mouth. Ayu dances, sings, and involves the audience in just about every song. She also puts a LOT of emotion into her songs, a kind of emotion that other artists can't feel because they don't write their own lyrics.

Her voice may not be especially stellar, but I don't think Lady Gaga's is either, and I love Lady Gaga. Gaga uses her vocals and amazing performance skills. Do you remember what Paparazzi sounded like when the blood ran down her stomach? Me neither.

Sorry to compare Ayu and Gaga, which I didn't mean to do. They're just both great entertainers in my opinion.

Well I hope anyone with common sense and a heart will know that with someone reaching sucess, there will be another to bash them for it. And there is a very fine line between critics and haters.

The reason why so many people dislike/hate Ayu just came out of nowhere to me. Sure you had haters here and there but when Rock 'n' Roll Circus came about MANY PEOPLE JOINED THE HATER BANDWAGON. They came up with little things like "Ooh she copied Lady Gaga in SLT" to dramatics like "She can't sing anymore! She hasn't had a good album since ____. She sucks now!"

But then you have those people who don't like her because they have LEGIT reasons. For example, "I just don't like her voice, I don't like that type of music, Her image isn't what I like, She doesn't wow me, etc." That's just their opinion.

As for me, I'm glad that she isn't that Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston type singer that relies on strong/tailored vocals to become a sucess. Ayu's more of an emotional singer that relies content of the lyrics and the way she sings a song. For example, A Song for XX. That song was about uncertainty with a hint of lonliness. When she first sung it, sure it was a little screechy but you felt where she came from and that's why so many people loved it (It got better with age as well!)

Long story short: She can't please everybody, but at least she delivers more than what some of her competitors do.

You can't please everyone. I have yet to ever hear of an artist that has no anti-fans. I say the bigger you are the more anti-fans you will have. Not exactly sure what everyone's hidden agenda is against ayu, but that's their prerogative.

you know... i was wondering if anyone had a similar experience to me. like i can tolerate having opinions on her personality, talent and things you can judge, but has anyone faced someone who doesn't like ayu based on fakeness? that's right, just her being fake. like one of my friends really thinks she's just not authentic anymore. like she had so much emotion into her songs before and recently he doesn't see that... then i showed him BALLAD and Memorial address, and he was able to agree that there was emotion, but instead of admitting there's got to be something real there all he could say was it seems FAKE. that she's good at conveying emotion only because she's a good actor. and i found that to be the cop out opinion. that no matter how serious the song can be, it won't be authentic. like Memorial address and teddy bear were written based on fictional events. so has anyone else faced this sort of argument?

and don't get me wrong! i'm a pretty huge fan of ayu's, but if someone comes up to me and starts bashing her... i will logically and intelligently defend. i would never yell back and be all "HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY EMPRESS!!"... cuz as said i think that puts them off even more.

This is gonna be a weird comparison to those who aren't fans. I believe that Ayu is the Sonic the Hedgehog of music in a sense quality or success-wise. Sonic the Hedgehog, that series reached a peak of success at a relatively early state, namely Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Ayu reached her peak of success early in her career, with Duty and I am.... Since then, the "quality" of the Sonic series has gone a downward spiral, I don't mean like a drop from the face of the earth deal, but most people react like this to a game. http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/d...ycle_super.png
I believe that the same for Ayu is going in a way nowadays, with a lot of people who I have talked to that listened to her recent stuff, saying that it sucks compared to earlier works. So yea....here is my weird ass theory that I have thinking about for a long while now.

Maybe not a downward spiral to tell the truth, but just that it remained stable with much lack of innovation over the time. Since you used the game comparison, I'd like to make one too. I used to be a huge fan of the Street Fighter series. I remeber how I'd spend a lot of time playing the II series and when the the Alpha series came, specially Alpha 2, it reached perfection to me. With Alpha 3, the countless ammount of characters also made me very excited. I'd spend a lot of time until I learned to play with every and each character I could use. I'd play VS with friends and try to explore my newly created combos to destroy the competition. But nowadays, if I play those games I really don't feel them anymore, as with most fighting games. I really wished there would be a way to unlock the parts of my brain that used to make me have so many good emotions towards playing that, but there just isn't anymore, unless, I guess, they make some pretty great innovation that will actually make me go wow again, which I find it hard to do. With ayu older fans, sometimes the hate can come as a feeling of that they already got too used to ayu that they just can't feel her anymore, kinda as having grown sick of her. And since she's still stuck with H/\L and CMJK all the time, the pattern of how her songs sound lack much variation in that sense, meaning it can get harder to impress people that are already used to that sound. So, since a part of the ayu fans actually feel she's become bland, they can't understand why some fans can actually worship newer material since they really can't get much emotions from them anymore. This can make them susceptible to try and find reasons to why 'ayu doesn't have it anymore' (in their opinions) and maybe even question why they even liked her in the first place.

I'm an old ayu fan and I can't get all the imagery and emotions I used to get when I first listened to RAINBOW or I am.. . I believe that if back in the day she had released Rock n' Roll Circus instead of I am.. I'd probably have enjoyed the songs with a simmilar intensity or, who knows, even more. I however still look forward to her releases and still can enjoy her newer stuff, despite having become a little harsher on my criticism towards her music.

*waves* Sonic fan here, and I totally get what you're saying. :D But like ImpactBreaker said, with Ayu it's not really a case of a downward spiral but more like a case of being "stagnant". Like, even as a newer fan I can totally see where the older ones are coming from. I can listen to all her albums in order and pretty much hear when she got into her pattern and has for the most part (the exception being NL), stuck with it. Using more Sonic references: When the Adventure series was such a new concept at the time, though it had it's faults and skeptics, it was for the most part met with praise and welcomed in a new generation of Sonic fans. Since then, most Sonic games have been based off of the Adventure formula (plus the crappiness of the games don't help at all) and while the new generation has stayed hooked, it's turned away a lot of older fans who have long stopped being impressed and just want their old platformer back. I think this is the case for older Ayu fans (as well as older fans of other artists) as well.

it occured me many times to think some artists didn't deserve what they gained, theyr money, their success and the popularity..
But during the years i also learned that if those people gained that all, it means that people paid for it. And if people are disposed to pay, so the artist deserves it.
I love Ayu, you all know, but i accept that there are people who could not understand/appreciate her because we are all different from each other (anyway i won't never waste my time commenting negatively somebody i don't like).

I don't have much to contribute to the discussion, because everyone else has said what I've wanted to say. However, I would like to state that if I ever come across an anti or even just a casual listener (read: someone who just plain doesn't like her for good musical reasons and nothing else) picking on her hearing, I will TEAR. THEM. UP. I'm deaf in my right ear, and I've had this impairment my whole life; that kind of attitude is NOT COOL and reeks of ableism. To rag on Ayu just because she's become part of the hard of hearing community.... yeah....

Haters gonna hate and jaded fans gonna jade.

people i have known who dislike or hate her because they always assume that she is very pretty due to her never-ending plastic surgeries but never willing to admit.

yeah, some of them who don't know her will also use the "talentless" issue to doubt her huge success in her music career.

in Asia, many others are also misled by those tabloids that ayu is very arrogant and rude to her staff in private, that she thinks she really is a princess who was overly-spoilt and who requires a large group of "servants" to pamper her.

ia. A lot of Chinese tabloids enjoy making her look like a diva that's too hard to handle

most of the haters are fans of other artist who has less popularity and sales than ayu. they think their idol has more talents than ayu and think this is unfair. so they began to hate ayu lol. or maybe someone who jealous at her success, and think that her voice sucks, plastic surgery etc.

those people just didn't realize that voice and look are not enough to make someone into such a successful artist. there's a way more and ayu has it.

I believe Ayu is 'talented' in her lyric writing and her ability to get the emotions across while she sings. She seems nice enough to her fans too.

But I guess the reason some people don't like her is that she is very strange... remember that teddy bear story of her reserving a seat especially for it on the plane once? Not only that, but she wanted one of the air hostesses to talk to it and ask it what it wanted for a snack. This is confirmed true by one of my friends in Japan who talked to someone who was on the same flight as Ayu. Stories like this make me go "REALLY, Ayu?" That's just strange you know.

I agree. You really can't explain why people hate Ayu when you don't hate her yourself.

But what creeps me out is people who hates Ayu joins AHS just to bash her. It's just sad and pathetic.