Should Ayumi take a hiatus?
 

No I think she loves what she's doing.

If she wants to pause she should do it.

No, she loves what she's doing and she is bringing amazing music right now :)

If she someday decides to take a hiatus, then that's her choise and I'll support her, but I really don't think that's the case, and as long as she's doing what she truly likes and continue making amazing albuns like again, there's no way she's going to stop being my #1 favorite artist :heart

Idc, I'm sure she's bound to take one eventually.

But I don't think it has to make her career better contrary to popular belief. Hiatus doesn't mean coming back with better music though of course, that could happen. I don't even have problems with her recent music so I don't care lol. Hikki came back from hiatus to make a song that (shoot me) I thought was nowhere near as good as her past great songs. If ayu wants a break, I wouldn't mind her taking one so no biggie. But I guess that's up to her. I just want to keep enjoying her music.

I think she should, she should get pregnant or travel the World :P

And comeback stronger than ever of course!!

:gun tsk tsk strawberi ;P


ah but really, I don't mind. I do think it would boost her sales a bit though.

I like having stuff...but they've been SOOO lazy. Reusing shoots and pictures and crap. Maybe if she took a break, she'd actually spend some time on the release.

I don't mind either way~

To me , I'm neutral but as a fan , I definitely would want her to take a break as it's quite crazy that she has been doing this non stop for the past 14 years

But in recent times , I can see that her latest works have not been on par as what she had done in the past & I'm not just talking about the quality of her songs , the external aspects of what she offered suffered & as what some people put , lazy if not un-inspiring

Even the quality of her PVs to me been dropping since Love songs onwards

Then again , the workaholic in ayumi will probably say no . I suppose she will only consider taking a break if she run out of music idea inspirations or something :O

i voted no, because well, why?
The direction she is going in is pretty amazing for me and I would like more of it.

Ehh... I don't mind either way. The quality of her music is great (as of lately)! :D But the quality of her PVs (for the most part) are a hit or miss. :\

Yes, I think she should.

The whole "No, let her do what she loves," argument is getting old, I feel. I think people who enjoy what they are doing often don't know themselves when it's time for a breather, and they just walk right into a wall when it's too late. She's been releasing music for years, and at a rate I've rarely seen any artist in the world release at. I don't mind the temporary lack of new Ayu material; I have plenty of other groups and singers which I am following, and it'd be a nice surprise to see her make a well-planned and well-thought through album in, maybe 2-3 years time. It doesn't even have to be that long. I think it sounds like a good idea, although I doubt she'd do it.

:)

I would appreciate better pvs and maybe not reusing images lol somehow the blonde, summery, ASB look made it's way to again along with a continuation of the You & Me pv. Like, that was another season lol

I hate it that people always say she should get pregnant. Just because she is a woman and able to get pregnant doesn't necessarily mean she wants to. If she wants a baby or not is non of our buisness. We also don't always say about men at her age they should hurry and knock sb. up. So why always say those stupid things about women?

I don't really mind

I love getting new material
But i don't want her to release things into oblivion.

It works either way for me.

She can take a year or two off, but it doesn't mean the music she comes back with will be amazing. That amount of time, though, spend on things other than working, might be filled with some new experiences, so--if this contributes to the quality of the work, I'm all for it.

Yes, I'm sure she needs the hiatus, but only in her singing career. I would like to see her in other business like may be acting or clothes/jewellery/shoes designing. I want her to try something completely different, because as a singer I think she has nothing to say anymore... well, it's just me.

Also, I think she needs some time for herself as well. I feel like she needs to stop and rest and think about some things very very deeply. For me she seems to be standing in the dead end. I want to hear wise things from ayu, but for me she's just lost in the various relationship.

she needs to take a break for at least 6 month or something.... and come back with a powerful single.like mirrorcle world or you were/ballad. change the pv director please.

She needs to take a year off. Travel the world and just RELAX! RELAX AYU! R-E-L-A-X!

Random Jpop.ca suggested that Ayu should hibernate in London until 2014.
I agree with that.

not really but she needs to have an image overhaul like fire half of her staff, dropped Masashi whatever his face is, Leslie Kee and few others

and start producing singles again!, cuz right now she is releasing a lot but kinda lop-sided quality, great music but everything else is a disaster :X

I don't think taking hiatus makes artist any better tbh but she is working non-stop that everything is starting to feel really rushed

I voted no because I feel it's a double-edged sword.

If she does, I feel like when she comes back, her career will be non-existent. Nobody will care, she will be even older news.

If she doesn't, she will continue to drive her career downwards but at least she will be relevant more-so.

Why should she have a hiatus? To me it sounds as if some of you need to take a break of Ayu and then get back to her music when you feel ready for her awesomeness again.

I think she should. I mean - she has a relationship with Maro, and the fact that she has been going non-stop for almost FIFTEEN years...she should get a break soon. She'd better get things corrected before things go for the worse... :(

this

cause her material is awsome.

You're saying that like the quality of her music is the sole reason behind some fans wanting her to take a break :) I really don't think so, I know it's not the case for myself at least.

I don't really think a hiatus would help her that much. Some people take one because they are creatively drained, but other than lyrics, Ayu doesn't write anything else.
I think her lyrics would probably suck a bit more after a hiatus cause then she'll be so relaxed and talk about finding a wing for everyone or walking down the right road...you get my point :laugh

And Ayu is at a point in her career where she just leave all the big decisions to her staff because she trust them so much (that they're destroying her career :rambo)

I think it should be her staff who should take a hiatus :rambo

^
I have to also agree with that :thud Don't get me started.

AHS logic:

If I like what Ayu did: OMG She is my flawless queen made of gold! I can only wish I'm as good as her poo one day!

If I dislike what Ayu did: Eeeeew! Damn you Avex/Peco/Shuiya/TK/Timmy/Maro/Mannie/Max/Koda/Akihito! Stop ruining Ayu's career! She should fire you all!

Seens legit...

emi said it all :yes

It's her decision I wouldn't mind either way, if she quit forever though I would be SO SAD.

True xD

I think some FANS should go on a hiatus.

adding to it, I think just like ayumi can be burned out on stuff, fans can just be burned out on their fav. artist...
=)

I voted no as she still enjoys performing. People like Britney or Utada (who is one of my faves) don't seem to enjoy performing as much nowadays/aren't as interested in music right now or are on breaks as a result and I'm glad that Ayumi still really enjoys doing what she does.

And on a selfish note I love getting an album every year!

mi|kshake~

id say yes, but i thought about it and shes ok doing it, she loves it.

Okay, it's been mentioned twice, but I'll gladly say it again.

When I (and others as well) say that I'd like for her to go on hiatus, I doesn't necessarily mean I've been unhappy and sulking over her recent releases. It is a question that doesn't need a somewhat passive-aggressive answer, but a valid one that's been discussed a lot lately. I don't see the need for saying fans should stop listening to her, really. I don't think there's anything wrong with discussing it, it's not like anyone's going "should she quit because she's old, lulz!?" :shrug We're all fans here, let's try and just use our mature words for once.

About the thread:

I do believe a hiatus would help her current image and give japanese people a rest from her.

But I'm overall happy with her songs, concepts, albums and concerts, so, that's not a creativity issue, but a image issue. I also believes she deserves a rest.

In the end of the day, it's all down to her.

If it were sort of a pseudo-hiatus in order to take a break from releasing stuff while actually going behind the scenes to study music, learn to play an instrument, make partnerships with good musicians, expand horizons in order to release ground breaking music, then I'd say yes, but I doubt that's what ayu would do. She would most likely just take a hiatus and come back with stuff made with the same producers...By the time she'd come back her career would probably get buried and hard to recover.

Sometimes, though, I get a feeling people think ayu works 24/7. I mean, this whole year passed and how many new songs she released? I doubt she took long non-break hours in order to produce these songs to be honest, and I don't think a hiatus would make her put much more thoughts onto this.

Yeah, maybe you can thing in the humane side of it and say the hiatus would be for ayu to have more depth with her private life, instead of the whole spotlight celebrity life but I bet the majority of people who chose that think of it as a bonus prize chance in order for her to come back with great improvements in her music which I sort of doubt would happen, but who knows.

you cant just think about new music though... how much time and effort does it take to do the concerts like she does... when she is touring thats almost just all she thinks about. You are in a certain mind set and thats all thats going on. She could use a break away from that.

From what Im seeing on here is that people just do not like the image she is portraying right now, this is just who she is and if people dont like that.. the answer is not in ayumi and how she needs to find a way to change herself, its in the people that need to step back and say. I don't like this, im gonna go do something else, not stay here and complain till I get what i want.

I will say that she could shuffle up some of her producers and music writers and what not, but leave TK, I love his stuff. The PV's I don't care one way or the other, they were never good to begin with, so when I got Again's I thought they were a breath of fresh air because they weren't some meaningless crap that might mean something to her but nothing to anyone else.

i personally don't care, but it's ultimately her decision.

I don't mind either way.

I'm sure if I read the news of her going on hiatus I would :thud and I'd slack in my chair and be like "Por que!??!" But then I'd realize that holy hell 15 years of nonstop working is... well... 15 years of nonstop working. I've worked for almost 3 years and I'm exhausted allllll theee tiiiiiiiiime!

But some people just love to work. It distracts them. Motivates them. Whatever, I'm not sure, I'm not one of those people hahaha. But if she wants to make music, then by all means. But if she wants to go on break, then by all means as well.

Either way I'll always anticipate news music from her whether its a couple months from now or a couple years from now.

Where r u from? xD

no because she always said that music is her life.
a year off wouldn't be bad though

She should only hiatus if she feels the need to, not because fans are disappointed in her musical direction (which literally changes with every release). I would sure love it if some fans would take a hiatus from her, though.

]The same thought actually crossed my mind. Some automatically asume that a hiatus would make she come back better than before, but that also might not be the case at all...

In the end, I'll just support Ayu in whatever path she chooses for herself.


My thoughts exactly after reading this. Are you Brazilian/Portuguese/from some other place that also speaks portuguese? xD

I chose option 3, however she needs to re-evaluate what she wants to do about Dubstep remixes and....never do them :)

she certainly should
but it's not like she can, you know

a thread like this pops up every year or two. but it never really changes anything much

I think right now it's really inapropriate time to take a hiatus.I don't want her to go away with such a spoiled reputation. she should reborn like phoenix and go but leaving a good impression behind, not otherwise

I like that. So true.



I'm from USA, but can speak some Spanish. I lived in Arizona for half my life and its almost customary that if you live there, you're bound to learn some Spanish. Did I write it wrong? hahaha. I feel a little embarrassed! I didn't think anyone would catch that!!! xD

Nah I don't think she should I've been loving all her new stuff. Though if she wanted to it wouldn't really bother me either Id just expect some more good music when she came back ^^

I think she should. Not because I think when she comes back she'll be amazing and have crazy sales, but I think she needs to personally. I feel like this year has been a bit messy for her release wise and personal/relationship wise. I think she needs some time out for herself.

A few years ago, I would have said she does because she had nothing to write about outside of her career & her feelings on it. For awhile there she desperately needed to LIVE for awhile, you know? But since "Rock'n'Roll Circus" I've been much, much happier with Ayu lyrically than I EVER was between "Secret" and the pre-RnRC singles.

I don't think she needs to take a hiatus, but I do think she needs to listen to more of other people's music for awhile. I miss hearing obvious B'z influence on "Duty" and "I am..." and obvious Gackt influence on "RAINBOW" and obvious Yumi Matsutoya influence on some of her other work, things like that... I think she's lacking inspiration in the music department, and she's settling for melodies on the demos that she has available rather than coming up with her own material or actively seeking artists whose music she likes.

Well in my opinion I guess she must take a break . i'm ayu fan since 2006 and now she is releasing stuff without thinking how it will do , just keep and keep releasing and the quality of the songs and PVs aren't like her old works . i didn't even listened to LOVE well and she released again . So it's too much it's better if take a year off and relax and thinking of a new music ideas , let the fans miss her and be thrilled for her comeback .

Jajajaj ja this is so true jajajaj :D :D:D:D

i'm okay with both ways =) but seriously Avex should just let her release a single without worrying about keeping the no.1. She should really just get back into the Jpop scene normal release pattern. that is at least 2-3 singles follow by an album. her release patterns are super messy now imo.

I don't mind either way~

I'm happy with Ayu so far. Her songs quality didn't really decrease for me, there are some "nothing special" songs but they're far to be awful imo.
But taking some rest wouldn't be a bad idea neither. As someone said, some rest would be good for her image more than for her creativity.

As someone else said, I would agree to a hiatus, if she used it to do things like vocal training or other activities that would benefit her career. Also, I would like her to take a lot of time to put out her next release. Release it when its done, not when the deadline comes up.

I haven't been upset with Ayu's releases lately, but I do always get the sense that its rushed.

I voted no. She seems to be doing what she loves. I just want her to do what she wants, whether that's taking a hiatus or not.

I'm sorry...but BIG TIME YES. I feel like she's just spewing out music at this point...Assembly-line kind of stuff. It's not like she's striking while the pan's hot, but more so just throwing stuff out there. That's how I see it. Maybe if she took some time to live her life a little, she could refresh herself and come back stronger than before, you never know. Maybe she could even revive CREA :shrug.

kinda my thoughts here. Just do everything slower and with more thought. like fully in 100% including cover artworks and photoshoots in general and everything else.

I think she should. She's been working for 15+ years straight. She should be allowed some time to just relax.

She needs a break. Its been to many years

yes she must take a break even just for a year. she's been around for too long plus it will at least rest her ears

I guess I dun mind either way cos her recent works not as amazing as before. But somehow I still want her to release something all the time. (Selfish me!) But it would be good for her to rest and hopefully with better works after that and I will have time to focus on other artistes too! haha.

I don't really mind either way. I'm not big on photo shoots/covers and all that. The music is what matters to me. And her music has sounded good to me for a long time and still does. But if she were to take a break, I'd be fine. Everyone deserves a break.

I think her music is as good as ever. again was a fantastic release. LOVE was great too. Party Queen was also consistently good. Her musical output has not dropped off, despite declining sales. AHS consensus is that she needs a break to have increased sales - which means nothing to Ayu. She's broken records, had amazing sales, that aspect of her career is already fulfilled. There is something else driving her which we may never understand. I want Ayu to take a break only if she needs it for HERSELF, not some bogus attempt to come back and have a 2nd wave like Namie Amuro.

Where it's dropped off are the PVs. I don't know what's happened there but they have gone from being grandiose and full of meaning to just being a "tick in the box" for her releases. I'd rather she not release videos unless she puts 110% into each one she makes.

After the 15th anniversary releases are done I'll think she'll be taking a singificant break from releases. More than 6 months. She'll still probably do an arena tour however during that time. Ayu's a workaholic and she loves making music - after 15 years, if she goes away now she's never coming back. She'll do this until she loses her ability to write new songs.

^aw i really love reading your posts. :)


well for me, i think she just needs a break, like FIVE-PQ break (was that 6 months, i believe?). in fact, if we consider her five consecutive releases for the 15th anniversary, she could take a break for almost two years because we received so much new material in just a matter of five months which can be released in a period of two years.

but whatever, i don't mind. i still love ayu, and her music will always be the top of its kind.

It's times like these that I wonder just how much Avex influences her release schedule. Sure she's a big name, but she is still releasing at least 1 full-length album per year. Surely she is entitled to 1 year off like Namie got between P < F and Checkmate :tired


MTE

Ayu should kick back for 6 or so months and just chill, have fun and go on a massive listening spree and maybe do a workshop on different musical styles. Then when she comes back, she should be refreshed and bring a little more diversity into her singing, her performances and her backing music.

I do miss the rawness of CREA as well so if she made a small return somehow I would be really happy :)

Someone earlier in the thread suggested she should hiatus from her own music but keep her fingers in other aspects of media ie fashion, writing, producing etc. Working with other singers is something I love to see her do so I would really enjoy seeing more crossover work with other acts.

Heck, maybe do some acting or MC a music show as a regular guest. I think that getting out there and being seen and mixing with different musical influences could yield some great results.

I don't mind..anyway why not?

I don't really care anymore. If Ayu feels that she needs to take a break, then by all means she should take one, but if she doesn't want to then why should she? I think her music is still great.

Only if she wants to.

Actually I thought her spark came back with LOVE and again. The music is awesome, even though her PVs and marketing is on the dull side. Ultimately, it's all about the music, but stunning album art and PVs are delightful bonuses.

As long as she's happy to carry on then that's fine. I absolutely love what she's producing at the moment. :)

For me she is definetely have to break, so she can create a great songs like befofe. Her releasing now is kind of a little bit boring for me, now she really look like money machine. Huft.

i still think she should take a short break especially musically...

she can continue to produce music but she can slow down the speed of releasing her cds, and she can cut down the number of concerts she is running throughout the year... at least it is helpful for her health and voice.

i don't mind her doing variety shows or other stuff like when she was in 2003... her voice was so much better that time.. and she is also still as popular ...

I mentioned this is in another thread, but yes she needs a break. A long break...like longer than 6 months.

I want to actually have to wait for an Ayu release and I want there to be epic excitement for her to return. She can't do that if she is constantly releasing stuff. Plus she deserves one! She's been working non-stop.

I want her to release new songs.. but not those songs which I see released nowadays..
In the latest 3 years, Ayu lost her originality.. she AND THE STAFF need to rest...

If she wants to take a hiatus, she would say so or just completely drop off the map.

I say yes because she needs a break. It would help her music wise as well I think. It could give her a chance to take time to release something instead of churning it out like a machine.

After adding even more drama with Maro, it might be a good idea to squeeze a break in before the fans take a permanent hiatus. And knock off the publicity stunts before the whole of Japan thinks she's brain dead.

I think she needs to broaden her horizons in everything - fashion, art or whatever
but she really needs it

I dont want it to happen but I voted for Yes.

i want her to but, Ayu is already 34 (no offense to anyone) but jp's people don't enjoy older female artists as much as we do. If she's gone for a couple of years, she's done completely unforgettably. :thud

yeah, she needs to go away.........

Then Namie could be done too. :D

I don't mind her taking about an year on hiatus, not sure if it could do wonders to her creativity, but she needs to enjoy her life a little bit, maybe, MAYBE, she could find some inspiration on it. :~

lolz

Yeah i know and so can koda kumi because she's already 30. But, i didn't mention her because this isn't a namie amuro forum or thread. Besides namie sales prettttyyy good!!:yes

people seen to hate Namie cause she is wipping Ayumis a** with sales.
Im not a Namie fan but i don't hate on her.

She needs to take a break, travel to places she has never been to (enough of Hawaii, New York, LA, and Bali; she has so much damn money and the world is not that small), listen to new music, read some new books, take a class, get rid of her entourage, meet new people, spend a lot of time alone, and mature as a person. She needs to stop thinking that she is still 25 years old.

She needs a break.

No
Because she's doing what she loves
If I was doing what I loved I'd never want to take a break ever
Because it's what I love!

I think your comment is a bit odd ! If all the female singers over 30 years should retire because they are over 30 all the greats names of the japanese music should go away ...

Namie, Ayu, Kumi, Seiko, Matsutoya Yumi, Misia, All the succefull Enka singers, Aiko, nakajima miyuki,JUJU, YUKI, DREAMS COME TRUE, etc...

And my comment has nothing to do with Namie because she is better in term of sales !
I've nothing against Namie I like her music but I don't like her hard fans who act like she is the best and are dismissive of Ayu while she was as the same level as Ayu today during at least 6 years (2001/2006)...

Gotta love Matsutoya Yumi slaying every other solo girl on the charts at age 58 <3

[QUOTE
I've nothing against Namie I like her music but I don't like her hard fans who act like she is the best and are dismissive of Ayu while she was as the same level as Ayu today during at least 6 years (2001/2006)...[/QUOTE]

Ayumis fans are the same way or worst. It doesn't matter what Ayumi does I'm amaze at how many excuses people make for her here. Some people hate this forum cause the moment they post something they don't like about Ayumi everybody insults them just for giving there opinion. I m not talking about myself i love it here. But i read things like i don't want to join ASH cause Ayumi is God there she doesn't make any mistakes she perfect. So yes Namie fans defend her just like Ayumi fans do.

^ Well, nowadays, the hard part over here is to like anything she releases...

^ yes that's true.

Yes of course there are like in all fanbases lol they protect their singer =) But here it's an Ayumi Hamasaki's forum if people are bashing other artists you can't totally blame them lol Though It seem that more and more people come here just for denigrate Ayu it's awful ...
(Don't take this comment for you it is not destined to you ^^)

I think this is not a good time for her to take a break. She just started to develop new Ayumi and I am expecting to see a lot of new Ayu.

No. Ayu will lost her fans and will start over again after the comeback. Remember Shinhwa (one of the most popular boyband in their age?) After their comeback, everything will never be the same again..

A few years ago I would have said yes but I think she's gone way too far now to take a break. I don't think a break will help her career at this point.

If she's happy doing what she's doing right now then I say let her. I'm not complaining. Just means I don't have to wait years for the next album :P

i hope she would take a break and go for a travel for her own life, getting inspired and enlightenment from the trips. and come back with fully-charged energy and new idea for her music career!

but i doubt this will happen very soon, though.