Ayu is a "performer" that "could sell overseas"
 

lol i dunno where to put it, but i found it quite interesting and amusing that someone would make such a chart....I am, however thrilled to see GACKT almost reach a part of becoming a genius xD

http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/meoin...0_original.jpg

you can read the article here

i have to say i do agree with a lot of placements in there, we all know Ayu isn't REALLY a musician.

I just disagree you need more "talent" to be a musician than you need to be a performer... And Ayu is pretty much a legendary performer.

Also, it's offensive to japanese music not calling X Japan legendary. :P

Ayu is a very good preformer, but sadly, I don't think she'll make It. :(

did they burn nobuo uematsu? HAHAHAHA

I do think it's pretty special that she arranged I Am... though...

I think this graphic is a joke, but Ayu is a musician!

i believe musicians live out of their music, the stuff they actually compose, arange and vocaly perform, and lets not forget being able to play at least a couple of instruments. The fact that she TRIED collaborating with someone who'd help her compose one album and try to do some stuff herself doesn't really make her a musician. Musicians are those who make music and she only performs it*shrugs* i think it's good that she at least does her own lyrics.
She was originally an idol that became a megastar songstress not a musician. She's good at what she's doing and if she actually wanted to be a musician, she would have ended up composing and learnign more about the process of that and it wouldn't have ended after I am..

I saw this, and thought it was funny. Remember, it's American tastes. As such, I do agree placements....

maybe not all of the labels, but meh. I do think you need a different kind of talent to be a musician...and well, in our culture, that talent is more valued.


I don't consider Ayu a musician on the level of other musicians...but it doesn't mean she doesn't have traits that good musicians have.

I think language here is a little lacking. "Performer" doesn't quite cover those traits, but "Musician" implies a certain thing to a lot of people.

Personally, I don't think that "Musician" is something structured and rigid. I've seen your views artcika, on what musicians are supposed to be, and I don't always agree.


For example, most people consider the koda to probably be even "less" musician than Ayu...but I've been very proud of some of the traits she has for beats and arrangements when it comes to her concerts and her cover albums. Of course, she has help...but her level of involvement still impresses me...especially for someone who most people consider to only "perform".

well people do get experience over the time, Ayu has been in the scene for more than a decade of course she knows what she WANTS and probably the people who work with her do know very well what suits her, so it's kind of working out nicelly together. Actually usually those who compose themselves do love doing that and has some sort of inside source where it all comes from, that they just can't stop.

To me she's just as good as GACKT (which probbaly everyone knows i kinda call a genius lol).. how to explain... if there would be two lists of artists separated for lets say "singers/performers" & "musicians" Ayu would take a first place on the first list while GACKT on the second one, for me .
She has a lot of experience and knowledge now, and she said it herself somewhere that she lacks a lot of skills in terms of aranging and composing so she better leaves that stuff for professionals, while still keeping a close eye on how the things are going. And i am actually very very glad she always writes her own lyrics. And yah she probbaly is a little more than a "prformer" cuz she is involved in a lot of the stuff that is produced under her name. I find her amazing in what she does.

Since for me those who can compose music and do arangements are a mystery of a world to me and are like supernatural people and in this age when poop on a plate can be considered as art, and a girl who does karaoke can be called a musician(not implying that on Ayu) it kinda feels like there should be some sort of leveling what is actually a talent and creativity and what's not. *sad sigh*

^You're right in that aspect. If Ayu wanted to be a musician, she would have continued writing music.

I think Koda Kumi would perform better overseas than Ayu :shrug

This graphic is a joke! Not mentioning BONNIE PINK? This woman has been around since 1994 and never stopped, she pretty much writes, composes, arranges, she travels around the world and worked with some of the best musicians, she pretty much covers some of the great musicians as well, The Beatles is one example, she already performed overseas, and she has 30% of her songs in English. Also to some extent Crystal Kay should have been in that chart as she is also bilingual. Just sayin'.

really?
i dont think so

Friendly reminder from the source: At best, this was a casual, unscientific survey. At worse, it was completely fabricated.

whether of not this is valid...
i believe ayu CAN sell overseas :)

Can't agree more! :)

actually if she tried selling her music and performed here, she'd have a big audience. she would. what's nice about her music is that anyone can enjoy it here in America (or anywhere) since her songs would appeal to lots of genres. it's just not many people have heard of her in the US, primarily the fans she has here heard of her in some way some years back (like for instance; InuYasha was huuuge here for a while and some people learned of her because Dearest was used as one of the ending themes. so were other arts like Namie Amuro, Hitomi and Do As Infinity). if Avex tried to sell her in the America market (along with many other huge artists), she'd be big or at least successful. and her concerts, man if people knew about the productions and such, those concerts would sell quickly here. there's no one else like her, we need new blood here in the US.

I agree with most but instead of Sheena Ringo it should be Chihiro Onitsuka and Ringo should be in the middle

the graph is a joke.
besides, shes not a musician or a performer, she is a ******* LEGEND.

I lol'd when I see AKB48 is only for dancers. They are not even considered as musicians.

Sadly, I don't think ayu can be musician unless CREA is back. But, even if CREA is back, she can hardly be a musician today.

I think Hamasaki Ayumi is more than just mere 'talent'.

The fact that she had no professional musical training before her debut and then in three years to create what she did with I am... is just amazing. She's a pop genius. I think it's rather unfortunate that she did not continue contributing to that aspect of her music. Who knows what she could have created.

If you look at her discography, there's not a lot of garbage.

I actually find this ridiculous. Especially to put her below Utada Hikaru and Namie Amuro...

Funnier considering that Utada bombed overseas.
(though, I guess she is more popular due to her influence with Kingdom Hearts overseas, so perhaps Ayu would crash and burn much worse?)

honestly seeing Ayu's evolutinion, from squeeky girl she turned into a kind of vocaly strong singer and performer. which is really an amazing path.

^Yes I agree =)
I think we can't consider her as a "TRUE" musician but she is far to be a simple singer I don't need to explain everyone here know Ayu involvement in her career ^^

Just to remind everyone who is saying that Ayu is not a musician,

You may recall a few years back that she stated she wanted to stand and sing while strumming her guitar, which indicates quite well that she knows her way around a guitar. She's probably learned everything there is to know about music now, contrary to her debut days where she couldn't even read a music sheet.

^
Yes it's also true =)

true that over years she got so much knowledge, i kinda wish she would show it. i'd love to see her playign an instrument on a concert. That would be MAGICAL. Especially a piano lol But knowing few chords on a guitar isn't really a big thing lol and i doubt she'll ever play it, cuz of her obsession with nails haha

however i still cannot call her a musician, to me she's a very strong songstress and a great performer and a really good lyricist.

If she really could play the guitar she could have done that live a hundred times. There is a difference between strumming a guitar and really being able to play the guitar.

She really is a inferior musician compared to almost everyone above her, but she can overperform almost all of them... Including Namie that for some random reason is above her too... And it's even more strange considering Ayu has far more influence on her music than Namie...

^i am acually wondering why Namie is above her, too.i think Ayu should be the top of that section.

As a musician myself (Mastered the clarinet, novice at piano, and working on my vocal range), I disagree. Anyone who plays an instrument is a musician. The voice is an instrument, and I personally think she's pretty damn good at it

Dictionary.com says Ayu is a musician. /case

^we're just elitist ****s tbh :laugh

Namie and Kuu are so American at times that they could actually make it through imo. :D

She may not be as talented as those above her, but her music is certainly better than some of them.

I'm not surprise with the survey. Ayu is indeed a VERY GOOD performer. She's a genius in writing lyric, but I don't think she's a great "musician" due to the fact that she didn't take any professional classes (by that, I mean composing classes, music theory and such). I mean... don't get me wrong. She, indeed, composed songs before but with other composer's help.

Well the survey is conducted in America, I'm not really that shocked to see Namie on top (even Koda) since her music sounds so much like they have in the U.S. Ayu's a better performer than Namie for me though...

Nice chart but I don't see Ayu being succeful in the states. After all she sings in japanese and everything..

What a tiny survey. oh @ golden bomber being top tier tho...:confused

I was just about to say that.

I may not know much about singing, but one thing being in a choir has taught me is that it isn't as simple as it looks when you're dealing with harmonizing, finding your key, etc. I'm pretty sure ayu knows the basics of all that and then on top of that she used to compose (and on a few cases arrange) music.

She may not be a musician in the way that's commonly spoken of, but I'll have to agree with the dictionary and say that she is a musician to a certain degree.

It still annoys me that people consider holding on a show for two hours and keep 10,000+ people entertained by dancing, acting, singing during 2 hours while working a stage and an audience as a lesser talent. Like it was so easy anyone could do it.

And this isn't only about Ayumi, but about any other popstar that doesn't write music, but is totally capable of wiping the floor with almost any other person on the business.

I also can't really remember any particulary good composer that excels on performing at the same level (everybody who say "Lady Gaga" will be ignored).

Madonna ??

Madonna mostly write lyrics... Actually, she wrote almost all of hers... But as far as melodies and arrangment goes, she hires amazing producers and make them work their asses off until her point is made clear on the music. :P The last time she composed something all by her own was during Like a Virgin era.

Globe doesnt even do spectacular in Japan since faces places, how the heck could they out-perform ayu overseas. when was this graph made? 2000?

No, it is not a good idea to ship ayu to US, IMO.

^I have to agree, I really don't think Ayu would do well overseas. She can't sing in English that well and it seems like the only time foreign songs catch on is when it's something crazy like Gangnam Style.

And I like AKB48 but I do find it really funny that they're near the bottom. People really don't like them?

^
tbh I really can't stand idoles & boys bands for the principle and their omnipresence but maybe it's cultural ? In france the trend of boysband & girlsband are over since 15 years ...
I find strange to be fan of 48 girls who can't really sing and are here in order to please the male public (of course not only but male public are the main target) but I respect that it's just my opinion ^^

^ Totally agree :yes
(maybe because I'm French too haha)

I wonder what songs did they listen from Ayu besides "evolution" or other popular songs. Ayumi has evolved a lot, now she includes a lot of amazing classical instruments into her songs that make them become close to masterpieces.


And about Morning Musume and AKB8 I agree... they just sell cute faces and pinkish colors, but nothing worthy.

Why the shade on koda though :(

I think Namie would be fine in the states. Her two newest song, Hands On Me & Heaven sounds like what you would hear on the radio.