Lets vent about ayu?/why did your fandom decrease
 

Hey ive been laying low here for a while, but with the new album coming out im wondering if anyone stands with me on ayus career at the moment because im a bit put off from it. even with her decline I always thought she was keeping true to her reputation for innovation, all the way up to FIVE. Brillante was incredible, and I was excited for what came next. Then I really felt like she lost a lot of quality in her work. The songs were mediocre or not amazing, and her image was aweful. A summer best was stupid af, the "minialbum" thing was akward and unnecessary, and I swear if she does fishlips one more time ill fly over and cut them off. Lol idk, theres a blog jpop random and he said it best for his party queen and love again reviews.
Dont get me wrong, im still a fan. Im here still cause I have hope that she has a few more kickass moments but idk everything seems basic girly love story lets dance instead of, what will be new?
Let me know your thoughts!
Ps. Feel the love is garbage... to each his own but gotdam

I'm not fond of the 2 new songs, but I'm not going talk smack about ayu. She can try other things, not everyone is going to like them.

If you aren't a fan anymore why bother coming on the forum?

I've been feeling like her latest efforts are a little half-assed. I was incredibly disinterested in her for a very long time, but for some reason, lately I've been into her older stuff again. Probably because I didn't listen for a long time.

I don't really relate to you, 'cause my interest in her is VERY high, but I've sure felt disappointed quite a lot the past year. I hated the whole, cheap way they handled her 15th anniversary and I do feel half of LOVEagain was lazy as hell. And I still hate LOVEagain covers more than (miss)understood ones, and that's saying something, lol.
But the best thing about Ayu is she's always, constantly changing, so chances are you'll find some way to like her again in the future, 'cause she's gonna change her game once again, that's for sure.

My interest for Ayu is still pretty high, however just like you i find her releases after FIVE kinda lackluster. The songs aren't even bad or anything, just boring and most of the time i find the tracks to be weaker versions of older songs. Party Queen took a few chances, some good (NaNaNa, Return Road) and some bad (Eyes, Smoke, Magic) but the rest of the album is just pretty.. blah.

Then she released LOVE and Song 4 U instantly became one of my favorite Ayu songs and Missing was a really great surprise as well, then came Again and she continued the high quality with Wake Me Up and Snowy Kiss. I was so stoked for LOVEAgain, i could hardly contain my excitement and then after listening to it i just blanked out. I liked some of the tracks at first, but after i finished the album i just sat there unable to remember any of the new tracks.

What was before Ayu's biggest strength has became a bore to me now, her ballads have brought me so much joy, sadness and nostalgia over the years but almost all of them sound the same today.. I like Pray, but it's not a track i feel like replaying over and over.

Merry Go Round was a nice surprise though, and the news of her new album being very up-beat and EDM sounds interesting. It could be a Next Level part 2 and since i love that album so much i'm really excited!

Just don't sound like Feel The Love.. PLEASE just don't! :P

Look here, I've been losing interest in Ayu, and for a number of reasons...

• She's 35 years old
• I've been too focused on other artists, such as Ayaka, miwa, Sayuri Sugawara and Yanawaraba (and even losing interest in Arashi/Johnny's as well, it seems...)
• I've been too busy studying at school, and need to study more, especially after I "only" got a 2.5 in my math class last quarter
• I lost my iPod! Even my 32GB iPhone 5 won't fit everything because I also sync photos to it...

And the list goes on and on. I do also believe that, partially because of her age, it seems her efforts are underwhelming, there hasn't been any promotion...I think we have lost much of her lust back from years ago! And, yes, even the 15th anniversary - I call that "lackluster" as well! I don't understand how much action was Ayu putting on her "15th anniversary year" - I just feel it's not acceptable to my standards! There's also this cannibalization of girls' J-pop music by AKB48, and... It's just too many reasons to say...

One thing's for sure to me - I'm not "Feel(ing) the love" with Ayu pretty much anymore. It's time for me to move on. When I first got interested in Ayu, I was 13, and she was 28; now, I'm 20 (almost 21), and she's 35; there are better options than this.

I grant you, there was a lot of that on LOVE again. But you can't deny that MY WAY, at least, even if it's a collaboration, is a totally new direction for her. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on that track in particular.

What on earth is this reasoning? You're losing interest in an artist you once loved because she's no longer in her twenties? You have to be kidding me.

kthxbye, don't let the door hit you on your way out.


I will honestly say that I, too, have gone through some periods over the past few years where my 'faith' in Ayu (if you can call it that) wavered a little bit. Party Queen was probably the beginning of that...I understand some people's reasoning as to why it was really a genius album (Deli's post on it comes to mind) but it fell totally flat for me with the exception of, like, Reminds me. I threw myself into her previous material and tried to wait it out, but she didn't exactly deliver with her releases after that either. I just kept reminding myself of what her music has meant to me, and how I didn't want to feel distanced from that. I never want Ayu to be just a 'phase' of my life.

I'm far from being the first person to say this, but when an artist has gone through as many 'evolutionary stages', so to speak, as Ayu has, there are bound to be some releases that don't just click with you. It's unfortunate that you've fallen out of love with her, so to speak. Personally, I loved FtL/MgR/Pray/MY WAY, and I'm excited that she finally seems to be experimenting more. I hope there are at least a few tracks on the new album that you can get excited about, since there's a lot to look forward to! :)

well said! I also think ayu will give us a lot to look forward to.

...losing interest in a great musician because she's in her 30's just astounds me. there are MANY wonderful musicians who are a lot older than ayu and are still absolutely fantastic! that 'reason' is just completely ridiculous.

I must find this song MY WAY!

I'm sorry... But that's a dumb reason to lose interest in ayu. The guys of B'z are in the mid 40's and they're still releasing great music! It shouldn't matter the age of your favorite artist, but the quality of music that they release. :yes

I don't know of any possible alternatives regarding Ayu's music. She was able to introduce the listeners to her very own pop genre. She's not a teenage phase to me. I will defend the glory and acknowledge the accomplishments that speak for Hamasaki's uniqueness forever.

Age as a factor for losing interest in someone? A damn mess.
It 'makes sense' that somebody would put less effort as they age, but there are people that continually make good music as the age. Just look at kylie minogue. Kiss me once is one of her best songs and she recorded it in her 40s.

And as for my reason: I overplayed her to death. Like 20000 plays in a year, sometimes 1k plays a week. But I still check on Ayu/will be buying the new album.

Party Queen. That's why. :(

My fandom wanes every once in a while but it's usually because she's touring and is basically doing nothing.

:rolleyes Really ? And the music isn't important ?

It's a mixture of different things. Of course there's the fact that material has changed. Every now and then there is something that screams that classic Hamasaki aura but more often than not lately it has been a slew of tracks that, when it comes down to it, I wouldn't miss if they were never released to begin with. For example, if I were in an alternate universe and got to hear clips of the majority of her songs from recent eras that "could have been" (songs that actually ARE existing in THIS universe), I wouldn't feel sad over many of them.

There is a study in which I read lately when researching materials for a research paper. My chosen topic was trance music but it broadened out to power of music and its effects, user experiences, etc. One interesting study was about how there is a part in the brain which is constantly making guestimations or expectations of music as you listen to it. This part of the brain which is interpreting new music as you listen to it, compares it to stored "templates" of music you have enjoyed in the past in another part of the brain. When your brains expectations are met or exceeded, the first area releases dopamine into the brain - and when this area compares the new piece of material you are listening to to the stored "templates" of which your brain has found pleasure in the past, the dopamine levels will fire off more intensely. But, if the new material is too "out there" compared to past experiences that have shaped your brains preferences, then you won't feel that "rush".

What I'm trying to say is, for a long time Ayu's music had this CRAZY effect on my brain. It was immensely powerful, and I have no doubt now after reading these scientific discoveries that the amount of dopamine my brain produced during the height of my love of her works (my favorite songs) just cannot be rivaled. After having that kind of experience, such INTENSE feelings of disbelief at how my expectations were continually exceeded, such an intensity will never return because the part of my brain which creates expectations and the part of my brain which holds onto those templates are filled with moments like those... even when lowering my expectations consciously, subconsciously my brain is a slave to those peaks in pleasure I had during the best moments in her music for me.

If she changes too much then the part of my brain that stores enjoyable templates is not satisfied. If she doesn't change much but does not exceed or at least live up to past attempts at a similar sound, then the dopamine will not fire off and disappointment ensues.

I once had this theory come to me when I was "medicated" and my mind was blown - that the reason my passion for her music was dwindling was because the rush I felt during my first years of fandom were SO INTENSE that it was virtually impossible to live up to that rush. Now that science has actually explained this as a possibility I am truly baffled by it!

^That's an interesting theory, and I kinda agree with it. During my first years of fandom, her materials and lyric for me are one of a kind. It's so intense and powerful and it matches with the demand of my brain to listen to such music.

Idk how to say it but I felt like her materials especially since Love Songs (it's still the best from her 3 latest album so far) were half-assed or like unfinished products (e.g Tell All was a mixing mess for me). So I drifted away from her latest music even though I still love some like snowy kiss, Merry-go-round, Wake me up, and Return Road.

Maybe the fact that I changed and she changed and we're no longer as compatible as before (in terms of personal feelings and taste), that's what made me lost my interest.

And maybe, because I don't really dig the whole cutesy thing...? I mean an older woman can be cute like Kylie Minogue, she's cute but she's cute appropriately not like "Hey, I'm a higshchool girl!" things like that...or maybe because it's a part of Japanese culture I can never embrace :P

Okay guys, for those who criticized on my post, sorry about that. Was I off-topic or something?

I do still like her music, but I just haven't had a chance to listen to her more recent songs...

Lol. Why does everyone hate Party Queen so much. It's such an interesting album. Songs like Eyes, Smoke, Magic are so interesting and almost dark lyric wise. I love when she does that.

Sorry you can't appreciate what ayu is doing right now. You're probably ever only going to enjoy the past. That's natural. Ayu has been around for a while. It's a lot easier to disappoint when you've already done so much. Also easy to make comparisons to the past which most likely seems grand and nostalgic and emotional. Idk. That's just how it is for some people.

I see it with MUCC fans often. Even when they're changing up their sound. Especially when they're changing up their sound actually lol. Had it been released first in their career. It may have been loved, but it wasn't.

Anyway, I really loved LOVE and again ad mini-albums. Good quality to me. Surprisingly so. I feel the same way about her last single. So I hope it continues in this fashion. I only don't care for basic ass songs like the ones on FIVE outside of progress and BRILLANTE. And Melody. And I'll probably feel the same about Hello New Me tbqh

I also think that she looks fabulous lately. Hopefully we can get some more color and edge soon. That's what I ask for. But at least she still looks nice. It's very safe.

I've been a fan of ayumi since late 2005 . She was the 1st JPop artiste I started listening/supporting . Along the way , I found many other artistes to support besides her

Naturally , fandoms come & go . I stopped supporting some in due course but she's 1 of the few that I still support even up to now . I've gone through some incidents when my interest in her dropped but it didn't really came to a point where I completely stopped supporting her

And to say that you stopped supporting her just because she's old is the dumbest thing to say . You look around artistes that're older than her but yet they still got it even up to now , such as B'z , Fukuyama Masaharu-san & many others

Heck , even the members for my most fave artiste BREAKERZ are all older than her , well just 2 haha but do I support/love them cos of how they look & all ? No as that's just super shallow in supporting someone just because of looks

For me , I support an artiste based on the music that he/she makes . Looks come & go but talent still stays in a person in many more years to come

End of the day even though some of ayumi's personal decisions on some issues are questionable , there's no doubt she still reminds a force to reckon with . For her to do things her way & not caving into the latest music trends , I think that says a lot about her

She could have sell herself out but she chose not to do that . In that aspect , I respect her as she's in a stage where now she calls the shots on what she wants or don't want to do

I don't think my interest in Ayu has decreased but I don't feel like the supportive fan I was a year ago. I'm not jumping to preorder her music releases like I used to. I blame that mostly on my financial situation. I have also discovered other artists so that splits up my time. Age wise, I don't care how old she is as long as she makes great music. Besides, one of my favorite singers aside from Ayu is in her 40s. But Ayu, I'm still waiting for some awesome rock songs from you!

I think it's pretty natural a decreasing interest troughout time.
Especially when you grow up with Ayu (not literaly tho lol). Maybe you cannot relate to her songs anymore, because your tastes are changed.

Things happened in my life, so I can't relate to her :heart~I married my dokidoki love is beautiful~:heart type of songs lately. So I rarely listen to LOVE again even if I loved it (I think I wrote a good review when it was released, here on AHS). I'm more in a GUILTY mood (I used to dislike that album. See how things can change?) or angst/rockish songs. Even though I enjoyed her latests songs. Especially Merry-go-round. Also, Feel the love is that kind of cute trash I could listen to when I'm bored.

I hope her upcoming EDM album would be as awesome as Party Queen was. Where Ayu can experiment and do something new.
I'm not tired of Ayu, actually I would never lose interest on her. I'm just waiting for something like BRILLANTE. Something that make me say: this is the Ayu I know. And was the last song I truly love from her. Only snowy kiss come close, but ugh that PV. At least BRILLANTE's was weird and yay for halfnaked hot guys.

It's kinda weird as opinion though but whatever, is how I feel :laugh.

I've been loosing interest because 2 things

LOVE again

and

Love Songs

not interesting at all, I hope she never release albums like that again

Since her first marriage, I stopped caring about her life, and for me her works have always been linked with her "daily life", so to set aside a part of Hamasaki Ayumi (ayu) the songs themselves just looked a bit "more of the same" for me, with exceptions like Party Queen.
Now, looking how she's managing her life, without all the drama, well... I'm back to her(?)
But, yeah, always there will be ups & downs in all fandoms, so I think it's normal.

My fandom decreased because my music tastes changed - I got a bit older - and replaced my younger jpop tastes for more mature Spanish pop tastes ;) And these days I listen to Taylor Swift. So basically yeah, maturity on the rise lol...

Wow, what great responses! I'm glad people are understanding, I feel like old AHS would've cast me off as a leper lol. "WHY AYU HERE IF YOU DONT LUV HER, OUT OUT!!"

Anyways ya, it's great that people liked Party Queen and on. It wasn't TERRIBLE music, but aside from that her image and videos were either whack or lackluster for me.

No I agree! There were some good moments. I LOVE Melody the song, as much as anything before. The video too. Even the Sweet scar video is really good. LOVE again was definitely a pick-up musically for me, but then Feel the Love got released and personally I think it's her worst song.. ever haha. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those people who will never be pleased unless it's like the past. I started fandom in 2006 with JEWEL. After Rock n Roll Circus the whole "she doesn't sound the same!" started, and I was still open minded towards everything. MOON was like Moments caliber quality. Love song was incredible. etc etc.

Also about my way, I do think it's great she's trying to branch out. Props to her hustle. But I just don't think the song is that good. Not really catchy and whatnot. Buut hopefully the darkchild song turns out well. I'm crossing my fingers for no hippity hoppity engrish LOL. But alas... Noooot to compare, but if it's anything like Utadas old r&b stuff, then I'll get on my knees and Pray (pun intended).

The music is something I'm not too worried in. She always has at least one really good song. I think even people who hate Party Queen like me have that one track (mine is Return Road, so good!). But her image is soo akward. I want her to step up to the plate and shock people or something lol.
PS again- in the Love again video trilogy, in her and Maros broken love story was I the only one waiting for him to hit her?? Someone needed to get hit I swear

I wouldn't say i like her less than before, i think i just got too used to what she does music wise. I've always been a fan of her songs arangements, minuse some awful choices of edm lol but it's just my personal prefference cuz i mean even with edm you can get a very rich arrangement, the probelm is none seems to be investing much in that.
Also i've liked pretty much everything she's done so far, even if i don't like it there's something in the track i enjoy. For example i cannot stand Feel The Love but i enjoy the meody of it, it's nice, however i don't listen to it at all lol
I think as for me it's more difficult to be surprised by her. I am not a fan of where she's going with the curent album judging by the chosen people to work with, but i am happy that she's trying out new things. as Max_ZZZ said there's always that one song that you will like in the end, so i am really not tat bothered, i just hope she won't go pain arrangement wise, like she did with Feel The Love. The only stuff that bugs me most of the time is plain arrangements, cuz that is not what she's known for, for me. As long as i get something fierce from her, i'm gonna enjoy it. Even tho i am a bit less crazy about her now.

How so? There's a thread like this one every 3 months...

I used to think I was losing interest in Ayu, just found that I was ignorant towards her newer stuff.

And being a fan of EDM, and anything electronic for that matter; her new stuff is beautiful. "Feel the love" is great, "Merry-go-round" is straight flawless, and I really like "My Way." My interest is at its highest tbh. That's saying a lot because it took me an entire year just to listen to LOVE again.

I haven't checked the chat room in a long time, so I wasnt sure how this would be received in the current fandom

About her image... I can't recall the interview exactly, but there was a recent-ish one that mentioned that she let go of trying to be a perfectionist when it came to her image a while ago. I think that it happened around 2009-2010, tbh.

Ah, it was Tell All's photobook.

They hit each other quite a lot, if I remember correctly... Or maybe they just push each other around, I can't recall really, I NEVER watch snowy kiss PV, for me that PV should've been about Ayu dumping Maro Whatsapping him, on a first class plane, drinking champagne.

Anyway, I think sometimes you're just not in the mood to listen to some singers, and that doesn't mean you're losing interest. Especially if you used to listen to them every single day, maybe you're just in a break fase.
I usually take a step back with Ayu music for a week or two (lol, who am I kidding, for a few days at best) every three months, it helps a lot when I listen to her again like crazy.

truehappiness, I'm glad you mentioned that quote about Tell All, because it's a good segue into why my fandom has waned over the last few years (yes, even mine).

I apologize for this wall of text but I felt the need to explain why I became a fan and why my expectations are what they are. I don't want anyone to misconstrue anything I say. lol...

Like a TON of high schoolers who became fans of Ayu between 1999 and 2000, Ayu resonated with me for her honesty. Even not understanding her lyrics, you could tell she was baring her soul - the arrangements and melodies and her vocal performance had true honest emotions behind them. To this day, my favorite ayu songs are the ones that make me feel whatever she's feeling.

All my favorite music is honest & communicative. I always liked girls singing their feelings, always. It just happened to also be well-produced, beefed-up pop music instead of girl-with-a-guitar indie fare, which sound-wise bores the crap out of me. The songs are usually either mournful or cautiously optimistic (and almost always in a minor key), stemming from feeling crappy but wanting things to get better. That music always made me feel less alone, since pop with the sort of arrangement/production I like is usually insufferably happy, and makes me feel like there's something wrong with me for feeling frustrated or lonely or apprehensive or betrayed. "These cute teenage pop princesses can feel so happy & sexy, why can't I?" I'd think. "What's wrong with me?"

But then there are also albums like Tori Amos' "From The Choirgirl Hotel," Alanis Morissette's "Flavors of Entanglement," Bjork's "Post," even Madonna's "Ray of Light." My favorite albums have always been ones where my speakers or headphones are beaming the singer's emotions straight into my brain, but with slick production - of a particular sort, that HELPED convey certain feelings rather than covering up flaws or watering the music down. I would listen to these albums and be immersed in them, not because they distracted me from reality, but because they made me feel like it REALLY was all going to be okay eventually. Because something ruined and torn up and imperfect could still be beautiful too.

But in the early 2000s, the singers I like started to get not so good. They were getting boring. Too organic, too simple, too indie sounding... or they weren't honest anymore, for the sake of sounding "safe."

Ayumi Hamasaki showed up in my life completely by accident during a time when my music library REALLY needed someone who was honest and raw and pained, but who had slick pop production. "TO BE" charmed me with its exotic sweetness, but "monochrome" and "Far away" made me a fan. "appears" was mind-blowing - it was so dark, but so uptempo and so shiny! What was this girl all about? The imagery & stories in her lyrics at the time made me so mad that nothing I liked in English was so well written. Her music videos told incredible, dark, beautiful stories - a girl growing more mature as the seasons change; strangers meeting each other by chance and being deeply affected by each other; an angel destroyed by her amazement of a single sign of life among charred ruins; ayu the performer being watched by ayu the person from the audience; and the vogue/Far away/SEASONS video, as a metaphor for a popular figure approaching & passing her prime of relevance and talent, was so resonant for me and it fit the lyrics of those songs so well, I could hardly believe a million-seller like Ayu could possibly be responsible for it.

See, when I found Ayu i had no idea she was as huge and culturally relevant as she was. No one who did work like that COULD be. When I saw her sales rankings & numbers I was astounded. The idea that someone like her was marketable AT ALL was just... what?? (Because someone like her could be successful in Japan, I started looking into Japanese music much more. This, in turn, completely altered the course of my life.) Clearly with the hair & makeup they were trying to make her marketable, but... even those superficial cloaks that she hid herself behind were reflections of HER. Back then, even when she tried to hide, she couldn't. Not if you were really paying attention. Back then it seemed like more work to hide; now it seems like more work for her NOT to hide. She's gotten very good at putting fake smiles on, but it's a talent I wish she hadn't developed.

My fandom for ayu does hit lulls. And these lulls are very predictable. Every single time she started doing work with pleasing her audience as the goal, I've been unhappy with the result. (Considering "Duty" is about her anxieties regarding keeping her audience in mind, and it's her best-selling original album, I don't think I'm alone in this.) RAINBOW had English on it for the first time as a result of her sudden awareness that she had fans in countries outside of Japan, for example. That was my first major lull. RAINBOW wasn't what I wanted after "Duty" and "I am...," it was what she thought everyone else wanted from any pop star at all.

Since then, her more honest work - albums like "Secret" and "Party Queen" - have invariably been my favorites. Not for their experimentation, not for the branching out into other genres. But because I GET those albums. Those albums are the sequels to A Song for XX showing a woman growing older, making different mistakes, finding herself, and confessing her sins. Albums where she makes me feel better by exposing her heart when she feels worse. They make me feel like I understand her as a person a bit more, and they help me understand myself. Those albums are like therapy for me.

Likewise, it's her more intimate tours that appeal to me. I have a theory that in 2009 there were really two types of Ayu fans - those who were disappointed by AT2009 after AT2008, and those who were pleasantly surprised by it. I fall FIRMLY into the second category. No, the floating chair wasn't bigger or cooler or more of a spectacle than the Mirrorcle World ship. Thank goodness, because to me it was BETTER. During "Bridge to the sky" and "NEXT LEVEL" she used imagery of life & heaven to show me that she'd finally found her "ibasho," she'd found where she belonged, and I felt that. And I WEPT. It was beautiful.

So when she sings about being happily in love, dancing, and superficial romantic pain just like every other pop star... it does nothing for me.

But then she also sings about betrayal, alcoholism, past trauma, suicidal thoughts, doubts, anxiety, procrastination, resolution to make the most of her life, feeling lost, repeating mistakes, and being friendzoned and I'm all into that! THAT is what makes me feel better, THAT is what makes me feel less alone, THAT is what makes Ayumi Hamasaki my favorite pop star. Complex themes, stemming from present stress, combined with optimism that one day things will be better.

So yeah, "Pray" was decent, "Merry-go-round" was fantastic, but "Tell All"... That's the best song she's done in ages. And for exactly the reason truehappiness quoted. She wasn't hiding anymore. I like when Ayu isn't hiding.

"ganbatte, ganbatte
kakkowarukute mo ii
sonna kimi ga suki"

Look here, is it any wonder that you only got "only" 2.5 in your math? with the abysmal sense of reasoning you've just displayed 2.5 is a miracle!

Moving on to reality
My problem with Ayumi is that despite the fact that she always had musical hits or misses for me over her career, she was the full package. Her image wasn't lame and embarrassing, she didn't use ridiculous marketing campaigns with her relationships and she was relatable and believable. Now all I feel is that she is desperate to stay relevant. Her Pvs no longer have that obscure mystery to them and are mostly silly and forgettable, many of her songs are just carbon copies of other songs, and I no longer feels that she gives a damn about maintaining the musical or visual standard that she created at her peak.

I feel that the quote truehappiness mentioned is actually hilarious if Ayumi truly believes it is true. I truly feel that Ayumi has become so distant from her fans in the way she currently presents herself. When I look at her pictures in magazines and on album/single covers, all I see is a Diva. When I listen to alot of her new songs, all I can think of is how uninspiring her music has become. I hope that she will actually implement those feelings in her quote at some point in the future.

I know this is something that is hotly debated, but one of the reasons I have trouble listening to Ayu anymore is her voice quality. I feel like she is struggling to sing these days (not that she doesn't want to, but that her vocal chords are failing her), and that's too painful for me to deal with. I can't imagine what she herself must be going through if she feels the same way about her singing as many people have come to feel about it.

And this is not to say I think her voice has gotten progressively worse since her debut. My favorite vocal era of hers was My Story, and I'm in love with everything through Secret; while Guilty, Next Level and Rock'n'Roll Circus, though not as fantastic, still appeal strongly to me. Love Songs was a huge comeback for me musically - Love Song and November are just brilliant - but vocally I felt there was a kind of nosedive that has only gotten progressively worse.

Since Party Queen I've just been too depressed with the situation to want to listen to her stuff. And although - for me - Party Queen was her worst album to date, there are still some stellar tracks on there that I think would have been more amazing if her voice wasn't falling apart.

I know some people like her voice still, and that's great. It's absolutely obnoxious when people who've lost interest in her or don't like her stuff try to convince everyone else to feel the same as they do. But I can understand why people are not as charmed as they used to be. And I can't pretend, and it makes me too sad :( I still try and sample every release but it's really been hard.


Meanwhile, I've lost interest in her performance art when she became overly theatrical. I like her more honest, "sing and move as the music takes you", rather than as rehearsed-to-death, performances.

Also, an aside that really wouldn't matter if I was still into her current music - her photoshoots and image have felt especially fake lately (mostly since Rock'n'Roll Circus). Even album art. I know it's part of the style these days, and she has always done radical things, but compared to back when I have trouble connecting with her visually. I felt like her rawness and honesty really came through in the past - but it just seems covered up these days.

Even though I purchased the album, I have kind of been feeling like Ayu began pulling away from her former self since Party Queen. There are maybe only five songs on the album that I enjoy... the rest of them don't even sound like they were meant to be sung by her. It seemed like, "let's throw out an album really quick to get some sales going" or whatever, which I know was most likely not Ayu's mentality when it was released but I couldn't help but get that feeling. I definitely got that vibe with A Summer Best, with only one new song on the tracklist at the time. Since then, I feel like it's been hit and miss with Ayu's music lately. I know she's always trying new things that she hopes her fans will enjoy, so I really don't fault her when something like a new song doesn't get the reception she may be hoping for. It's got to be so stressful trying to constantly be innovative with the music and at the same time adhere to what the music producers think will turn a profit. Be that as it may, I also get the feeling that she hasn't really been saying in her songs what she really wants to say. Not that long ago, it seemed all of her songs came from raw emotion and she wasn't afraid to show her true self to her fans, who love her for it. But now it's kind of like she's becoming more distant and her music is less visceral. I liked Feel the love but it seems like a sort of song that Avex pressured her into doing because they knew it would sell. I just really miss the way she used to deliver her music, but still... I don't think I could ever cease being a fan of Ayu altogether. I'm confident that she will continue to wow us with beautiful and stirring songs for some time to come, so we shouldn't abandon her after all she has given her fans just because the last couple of years have been a little off.

She set really high standards in the past be it when it comes to her music or her choice of fashion & let alone her PVs

Ironically what's happening to her right now is that she's self destructing herself in a way or 2 which's really unfortunate

This is my first comment here in AHS, even though I've been a member for a while and hang around since GUILTY, but I had to comment now to you Delirium-Zer0, I really identified with everything you said, your words spoke to me like her lyrics, so thank you for those words ~

This is what I feel as well. Before it was just like I loved and looked forward to everything - albums, new singles, PV, tour...what will she wear, what will the setlist and the screens be like???, magazine shots and interviews...everything was exciting! The last time I really felt that way was around 2010, which is 4! years ago. Since then she has been slowly, but steadily left me colder and I don't like her newer stuff to the point where it almost feels like a duty to listen to her songs or watch her concerts, because well she's Ayu, my all time favourite singer and don't I kind of owe it to her and myself to try and like it? Didn't I defend her against the naysayers back then at all cost and am I basically doing the same thing now, saying "meh, she's not all that!"?

Sometimes I think, maybe it does connect to my personal life, that I just don't see that sparkle anymore, because I connect certain Ayu eras to my own life and what has happened at that time. But a lot of people here seem to feel the same so it cannot be the reason. Even if I like a song, the whole package is gone. I'm glad that Ayu has such an impressive discography and I own all of her older concerts because it is like time travel for me to go back to these days when I liked her that much.

This!!!

Okay, this is gonna sound stupid, but for me, it's two reasons: a.) I found someone else, and b.) the merchandise.

The someone else is obvious in my signature. For years, I've been forcing myself to get into more K-pop, to try and understand the appeal and why people are going nuts over boy and girl bands with 20 members that emulate its current standing - it's all the same. Up until this point, I was only into two K-pop groups, 2NE1 and TVXQ/JYJ. TVXQ I got in to due to a Japanese release, and even then, I didn't really go crazy over them until MIROTIC at a friend's insistence. 2NE1, I actually had Fire stuck in my head from when a friend showed me a year earlier, and like TVXQ in their MIROTIC period, I found 2NE1 to be different and unique and I liked that.

Fast forward to October 2012 and I was actually waiting for TVXQ when GD came on and performed Crayon on Inkigayo. I don't have to tell you guys that he's different and unique. And because it was at a time when Ayu was becoming stale with all the love crap - literally, LOVE and again - ironically I fell in love with GD. I think I saw in GD what Ayu used to be: extremely fashionable, confident, inspiring - and unique.

Then Ayu recycled the mini albums for the actual album - for her 15th anniversary nonetheless. Yeah.

Still, I tried to keep up with Ayu as best I could. I bought the releases (I really enjoyed again except for the snowy kiss PV, but that's a story for another time), but to be honest, I was really getting sick of her using her current beaus in her work and overall becoming a hypocrite ("work is work, private is private" my ass :P). I also noticed Ayu started changing in regards to us. While it originally happened due to standing up for JUNO at a-nation which I admire, she stopped replying to us on Twitter and started hanging out with Christophe and Gabi and being all fancy - aka fake. Then the Feel the love PV happened, which further emphasized this to me. I think it was that point where I first said, "That's it, I'm done."

But it wasn't until the Christmas that just passed that the merchandise issue came into play. My mom bought me an ASSLOAD of G-Dragon stuff, and for the first time since 2007, I had nothing of Ayu's to open. (While it wasn't the deciding factor, it sure was a telling sign.) I finished opening all my GD stuff, watching the DVDs, going through the photobooks, etc, and put them in my shelf - and I suddenly became extremely fucking depressed. I was like, "Wow, I (or rather my mom) spent $300 for like, 2 days of enjoyment?" I then looked at my Ayu collection and began to compare: Ayu CDs will run you at LEAST $30 total if you want Japan press. Most of the time for me to afford them at all, I have to buy overseas CD only or used. For the same price or a little more, I can get one of GD's DVDs brand-new with a photobook at the very least. (With the One of a Kind in Seoul DVD, it was a double disc with two photobooks. Not to mention, the packaging is very innovative.) With Ayu, you get no extras unless you pay extra or are TeamAyu, and most of the time the covers are half ass. I'd rather just support her through iTunes at that rate, especially since after I burn physical purchases through iTunes, all they do is sit in my shelf taking up space.

It was that day - Christmas 2013 of all days - that I decided I was gonna sell my Ayu stuff to Deli.

And that brings us to today. I'm still keeping up with Ayu, but I'm not nearly as interested as I once was, especially with her new marriage. Regardless of the conspiracies I believe in, her relationships do reflect in her work (if she's not already reflecting it physically in covers and PVs :P), which is why I'm a little leery of this album considering Love songs and LOVE again. And it shouldn't have to take amazing producers for me to get excited about an album, which is what it's come to with Ayu. But I'm remaining optimistic.

This pretty much lol. Like, I'll always listen to her new music as it comes out because it's always been SO easy to digest and I'm a lazy listener so that matters to me lol, but she's just let the quality slip too much. :shrug I know she set a really really high bar for herself in the past, but it really feels like she just doesn't care that much anymore. Not as if she can't make better music, but she just doesn't care about making it better anymore. It's like she doesn't make new music for any reason other than because it's been a year since the last album. LOVE again was actually insultingly lazy imo and I 100% feel she only released that album because she wanted to do SOMETHING for her 15th anniversary, and rather than actually put real effort into it she just decided "hey I'll release all those old rejected demos" that obviously weren't good enough BEFORE so why would they be now lol.

I've always been critical of Ayu and vocal of my disappointment when I thought she could have done better, but that was because I loved her and WANTED her to do well. But when she started throwing her relationship with Maro into our faces (especially so soon after Mannie!), started releasing singles disguised as mini albums (for her streak, for $$$, probably because avex willed it, I don't care why), and just decided to throw her artistry to the wind in favor of getting a quick, easy album out for her anniversary, it completely took a cannon ball to my fandom. For the first time ever, I completely stopped caring about what she did whatsoever. And for me to say that, considering how much time and emotion I invested in her, considering no artist EVER came REMOTELY close to how much I cared about her, is a ginormous blow. You know what they say, apathy is worse than hate lol.

I've slowly, cautiously been regaining interest since she's now working to keep her career and love life separated and actually trying with this album unlike the last one, so we'll see how it goes lol...

Her last album was a flop. The imagery wasn't all there and the production when compared to her past.

While Love Again has some of the most BEAUTIFUL arrangements, Love Songs had electronic influences and other things in it while Love Again had glasses.


The single covers were bland (yet lovely) and the music videos were not that appealing except when Ayu gets pushed out of the car.



It's kind of like the album was TOO cohesive lol kind of like an ADELE album, it all sort of blends together and gets dull after a while.

With the merchandise issue, it's not something that's unique to Ayu . It's really just Japan and their overinflated media prices. (anime box sets are 40,000-50,000yen, CDs of albums are 3000yen on average, DVDs/BDs/video games are 6000-8000yen, etc.) Korea tends to have things at much more reasonable prices with strange packaging and lots of bonuses because otherwise they may not be able to get consumers to purchase things there. I always hear they have issues selling physical versions overall even for popular acts over there despite the low prices.

Oh please :rolleyes someone losing interest doesn't mean it's not a fan anymore, otherwise, he/she wouldn't even bother to post....


For me, it began with Progress ... then all that went after, the lame image, the "I'm not even trying/don't care" attitude, the lazyness, the leeches around her... Before, she gave me the image of someone strong, who cared, and was giving her best, now I just feel lazyness from her! People always blame the staff for this but you really think she is a victim in all of this?!

-Releasing maxi single as mini album, then pack everything and call it an album.
-Classical album, hey let's ask someone to draw the cover of one the mini album, relation between the two? Who knows...
-Tour logo? Lets' steal someone else's work then say it was "inspired" by a fan when people got the fraud... though this, she could perfectly ignore it, even now, but it shows the little respect of her staff to her....

-Her last, using a picture from a magazine shoot as live cover .... she didn't even try and shoot something just for this cover (if she didn't wish for live picture), no... hey guys let's just slap on of the pic and that's it *leaves to paint my nails*


I won't swallow the fact she is a victim in all of this! Ayumi, with her status, is a victim of an evil staff? ...:rolleyes


But the main thing that drive me crazy is her voice (and the garbages she released lately). There was already something in LS, but it was still ok, PQ, some were listenable but something was off and now I don't even want to think about, I can't listen the majority of LA just because of her vocals on it.

I do not understand why she want to sing with her high pitch, screechy, ear bleeding vocals, when obviously, she can't anymore, and have to push/force her voice and then destroy it, force it more, destroy it more. That era is over, period! Her coach isn't able to tell her?!
But since how her voice is now I think she should just fire her coach... but yeah she loves to build her little family and be all so nice with them even when they stab her in the back :love ... hope she learnt her lesson with Kee... speaking of him, what a waste to have worked with him, most of his work with her was awful!

I don't care if she tries something new as I don't care if she doesn't, I just want she works, care, does her very best and stop to be so childish at 35 years old, the corny love story lyrics, PV/peach color pics and everything make me sick! We all know what she is capable of and ...seeing/hearing this?

I also wonder why there is no poster anymore? No lottery anymore? That's funny how the end of that kinda coincide with the lost of interest from people.... I highly doubt they don't follow her, buy because of this but it helps to create a hype in a way.
By the way, why to stop? Money? Just cut off the budget for bad/useless PVs and it will do the trick!


Now, I've never cared about Jpop, and still don't care. Ayumi was the "little something" in my music library, but if she keeps her path of bad, lazy and botched work, I will just stop to care about her.
Of course she has a life and don't have to dedicate it, only to music but before to release something she should ask herself : is this really the best I can do?

Honestly, if she reply yes to this about her last works...

It's nice to read someone being so blunt and not sugar coating things. I can feel your frustration, and it goes to show that stupid comments like "if you don't like her then don't post / don't come here / don't listen to her / move on." Obviously frustration like this is an example of passion if anything. We care, but there is so much junk in the world of music today - it's sad to think of Ayu joining the ranks of that shit when we know she is capable of SO MUCH MORE.

Then there's always the argument that "she's trying to have more fun with her career now at this point." What that translates to is she is taking things less seriously which translates to she doesn't care as much to make a polished and complete effort. It seems like more of a hobby for her now. Wonder if someone who wasn't a star went into their normal jobs and said "I'm going to take this job less seriously from now on" how their bosses and people would react...

:( It's sad to see so many people frustrated with Ayu... But I completely understand where y'all coming from. Hopefully her new album changes your minds.

*endlessly blasts Merry-go-round*

Ugh, I hate that I have loads of negative thing to say about her because I love this woman! But, she has continuously disappointed me and I'm guessing the cycle would never end. I feel like she has completely given up. She's not even faking nonchalance to seem cool... she simple does not care at all. I know that she has lost a lot of support after her series of scandals (which I won't even mention here). Instead, of proving everyone that she still got it, she started muddling along. I don't want to listen to recycled, rejected songs from another era or worst artist. It doesn't even have to be ~life-changing, genre-defining, revolutionary~ song. I just want something that grabs my attention and holds it. I hate that she's not even trying to regain some of the support she has lost. Like, get moving, girl, and do some actual fucking work to show people you're still here! She's also rotting in mediocrity because of all the yes-men around her. I wish someone would tell her: woman, are you seriously going to used that photo again?. Or, even: girl you crazy, that music video totally looks like it's been made by members of a high school film club with a $5 budget. What the hell, it's so obvious that you're on a decline. Don't just sit there and be content being on the bloody sidelines. Get to work!!! Or you'd lose everything you've ever worked for.

This is true! My friend from Korea said the value of a won is atrocious. But at least with TVXQ Japan stuff, you get a postcard lol~ I'd be extremely happy if Ayu included something small like that. It would give people a reason to buy even if the release blows without shelling out $70 for the CD+DVD or becoming TA.

I haven't really read the thread, and whatever.

I'll just repeat something a friend said to me a few years ago when we discussed a few reasons why Ayu is not as great today (in our opinion).

Her music just doesn't resonate with us anymore. Probably because of her age and her values.

But the biggest thing, in my own opinion, I don't feel like her production quality is there anymore. I get the reasons for this, and it's fine. I do my best not to complain about it, because there's no use.

Her music doesn't really fit my styles anymore (not something I have a problem with), but I don't have as much musical respect for it either.

I have A LOT respect for the fact that she's experimenting and trying new concepts, and I really admire how much she's grown as an *artist*, but at the end of the day, I don't care for how much she still hasn't grown as a musician, and how much she doesn't get some things, things you can't always teach people. I've actually been really disappointed with her in this way.

And tbh, I have a real problem when it comes to her live performances, and the lack of creativity she has with her entire body of work. She either sings these new, weird, unique and unrelateable songs, or she rehashes the same tired, old thing.

I know it's fairly obvious who I'm a fan of. I don't want to bring up comparisons and arguments that way. But when I have my favorite people, people who are deemed even less talented than Ayu, less respectable, less watchable, less EVERYTHING, coming out with stellar performances, new arrangements, and having a body of work that is consistent, or always growing, always giving out bonuses and gifts, finding new ways to connect with the fans...

Ayu just kind of gets pushed aside. And it makes her seems so far away, so distant, and sometimes even, like she no longer cares.

Maybe it's because she's in a different stage of her life. Maybe it's because to her she's DONE and DONE IT and now it's time for other things. Whatever.

She seems contented, and that's what's important in life. There are plenty of other new (and old) artists in the world that fill my need for amazing music.

I'm still interested in her in many ways. I admire the person she's grown into, even when she does stupid things or is oblivious, and as a big part of my life, I have a lot of love for her. If I passed by her on the street, I'd probably cry as I spoke to her. I'm still interested in what she produces, even if I never listen to it.

~~~

I see that true brought up a good point there about the market in Japan, and I do have to say, it is also one of the reasons I've lost interest in Jpop as a whole. I know it's not what this thread is about, but there are amazing artists in Japan that just, are not nurtured, not encouraged. They're so stuck in their traditional dark ages on so many things, it's really starting to show.

They need to change their business models, change the way things work to keep up with the rest of the world. Not really something I see happening though.

I don't think she's given up exactly, but her output in general has been pretty low since 2010 or so. The Manny/Maro thing really messed with her but it seems like she's gotten back into the groove with this recent album and the last few releases at least imo. Feel the love/Merry-go-round was a step in the right direction imo. Maybe not when it comes to the PVs or anything, but it was a solid release musically. I wonder just what will come of her collaborations with these Western producers. Previously she'd only worked with one at a time (Ferry then GEO).... not like four or five on the same album.

I honestly really love Merry-go-round. I am still playing that song forever

But yeah. It's sad. Sometimes, I feel like people's frustrations also come from misperceptions or assumptions about ayu that may or may not be correct. And it all depends on what a person wants too which gives people different frustrations. Also when people make comparisons to any aspect of her past, that's bound to end in disaster. She's clearly not some fresh 20 year old girl now.

I kind of like how she's grown. Sometimes I want darker lyrics but honestly her old lyrics weren't always so dark anyway and then we had party queen. But she seems to be in an interesting place in life. People say she just doesn't care but that's a very bold assumption. Who knows what goes through this woman's mind. It's been so long. She is a human. She could've had mild mental health break downs at some point for all anyone knows.

I don't know. I'm excited about where she's going now. I just hope it turns out well and that her voice will still be managed decently. I get sad when she can't sing well

I'm sorry for popping out here. As you can see, I've been lurking on this site for quite some time but too chickened out to post anything because your discussions often time seem so mature and complex and my english isn't the best, but I need to get this out there.

I don't think my reason has been mentioned here (pardon me if it has, I didn't scan through the whole thread) but one of the biggest reason of my fall out is because of the way she sing... Her vocalization (idk if that's the word) was more natural and smooth a couple years ago, now she sound like she's kinda forcing it out. Even nasally at times. She just sounded a lot cooler on her older era. HBYA could have been a really good song, I enjoy listening to the instrumental ver., but I don't like it as much when ayu sang in it. That aside, I feel like her voice and the backing track don't blend well? Like when you compare her recent songs with the older the quality dropped a lot.

If anything, I think the fact that so many fans who care about and admire Ayu believe/mention this is VERY telling. Especially since this really isn't a theory fans tend to throw around lightly about their favorite artists. :P If this many people are losing interest for the same reason, then it's a very real possibility there's truth there.

Not really. There are also a lot of people who just aren't fans anymore because of what they think of her progress in her career. There are often a lot of people who think things that aren't accurate. And ayu has plenty of old fans (and newer fans) to compare her to her past and complain her when she probably is never going to be what they want at this point. Besides the fact that there is so much bias towards 'old ayu' and etc. Regardless of what she was actually like and did. To me, I find it easy for people to throw around that she doesn't care. I just think she's more comfortable with where she is but I wouldn't know. The fact that she's working with these different producers and still producing music while trying to be married and live in LA interests me. Otherwise, I don't know what her feelings, health, career budget, management etc have been like or how that contributes to her career. 'Not caring' kind of excludes a lot of possible things.

Idk, maybe it's just me seeing people throw that phrase around without looking at the big picture. Not for ayu. But like, other things...

Obviously I get the argument or assumption. It just isn't so concrete.

Well I think Ayu has always been hit or miss with her music, but some stuff she releases lately makes me cringe and go wtf (Feel the love and My way especially). Also a lot of her live performances have been just plain terrible lately. I prefer artists I can count on to be good live the majority of the time. I still keep watching her new lives out of habit but wind up regretting it. I'm probably going to give up with those soon. I still love her but haven't been as excited for anything new that comes out. Pray was awesome though, so I know she has it in her to be amazing, just wish it would be more often again.

She doesn't care to the point of having her longest tours ever from 2009 to 2012.

What probably means she does care.

Her fandom is filled with spoiled b. that trully believe they known her personally as they were having tea with her weekly.

Yeah I don't really believe that she doesn't care. I think she cares a lot, but I don't think it always comes off that way.

I don't think it's bad that her fans have expectations of her. I think it sucks that sometimes people have unreal or delusional expectations, but not all of them are always so. We can talk about the market and all of these things, but at the end of the day, people want things.

That's something that leads people to be discontented when they don't get it. It happens with anything in life. That's when you move on, or take a bit of a back seat and be more careful with your opinions. But of course, some people never do.


To be honest, one of the biggest disappointments in the Ayu fandom is how some of the fans treat each other. I'll never underestimate the value of the fans I've befriended who aren't assholes.

I think the problem is that her persona from years ago was simply more likeable, that's the wrong word, interesting maybe?... but it wasn't her, we didn't really know anything. Now she can be herself and do what she wants, and she's... kind of boring. Champagne, sunshine, pools and millionaire friends are only interesting for a short while.

So much of Ayu's appeal is being able to relate. So, I guess, her life now kind of breaks the illusion in a way. It makes you realise how crafted everything has been all along.

1. Thanks for using 2009-2012 as an example even though I was referring to post-2012. Also, touring for a long time does not equate to caring about the music you're putting out. At all. Especially when she makes most of her money from touring.

2. Really? Do you seriously think you can't judge someone personally unless you, I don't know, grew up with her as an identical twin and therefore know every facet of her personality inside and out? Ayu has been out there for over 15 years now, there is PLENTY to judge her by without actually knowing her personally. It's not as if she's completely devoid of any personality whatsoever just because she happens to be a famous person.

Make personal jabs at her fans and call them spoiled bitches all you want, but you are so judgmental it's almost painful. Actually, I'm just going to block you. You never seem to reply to anything except to stir up drama about how you apparently hate the fandom so much for not bowing at her feet 100% of the time.

This is a really good point relmy. Twitter also plays a part in it. While people like Lady Gaga for example kind of grew big with the social media, Ayu was a star and a mystery to a certain degree before that time. Every small bit of information about her was a glimpse into that mystery. Now she tweets about her life and you kind of get the feeling that a lot of it is pretty shallow and certainly not relatable for the average person. It is just one of the reasons for the decline, but an interesting one if you look at the latest third of her career.

1. Touring is the MOST EXAUSTING part of a musician life. Don't believe me? You can read this from any musician who constantly tours. Traveling by itself is exausting, doing that weekly having to care about a major show including performances, reharshals, props, outfits and making it work every time? Far harder than recording music or PV. 2013 tour had less dates than 2011 and 2012, but more than most soloist, and it probably had more to do with the public's lack of interest after years of massive (by jpop standarts) touring than with her own lack of interest. 2014 pretty much has a new aproach to her tours.

2. You can't know someone based on manufaturated pop music and staged interviews. Almost everything we "know" about Ayumi or any other public figure is based on whatever they want us to know and most of the time we have nothing but a calculated "glimpse of personalities" for the sake of a public image decided by a marketing team.

3. Be my guest. ;)

I don't understand, if your interest of ayu hasn't decreased why are you commenting here?
is a vent thread so comment somewhere else.


I think her music went downhill after next level. not just her music, her pv's, her magazine shoots.
although now and then she comes up with an amazing song.

Its so funny how you brought up touring as an indicator that she cares but couldn't back it up with anything except that it is exhausting. So what if she tours more often? Sure its exhausting but its the only way for her to make money nowadays. And if what you say about us not knowing anything about real life Ayumi, then there is no evidence to support anything you said about her reason for touring either.

Really, before you start throwing insults you should work on your reading comprehension.

Many of the reasons people give here of why they are not as passionate fans of Ayu as they were, are so superficial! XD. It's like you discover she is a human been with ups and downs and that's why you don't like her as much as before. Also is kind of sad, but makes me actually appreciate her even more that before.
Maybe is because I understand life is never perfect, or because I started to like her back in 2012. So many of her problems with life and love are normal to me, it's life after all :).

Most of the people here are frustrated, but tbh... I'm kinda happy for her as of the moment.

Been a fan of her for 12 years, and I've always felt that she was so trapped with the media, her fans, her job? As if she was never able to move freely. I mean, during 2002, everything she does becomes so sensationalized by the media and her fans. She was praised 24/7... Everyone was soooo used to her singing songs based on loneliness and hopelessness. Everyone was so used to her being so extravagant.

Her voice, well I already knew that her voice will deteriorate (by the way how she sings)... But I've noticed that she was more... err... relaxed? And she seems happier to be in L.A.

The public, even her fans started losing interest with her, some even became haters. Comments like "WTF is she doing with her life!?", "she's such a diva", "she's washed up" and etc. became the usual comments towards her lately. Prolly because she's not the same person back in her prime. Have you seen the other comments? Most of the people here still has that old image of her in their mind, and they can't really move on and accept the fact that she's not the same person back in 2001...

You could really tell that she had enough, she had less public appearances, she's not release-whoring the same way she did before. She needs a break, but it seems that she doesn't know how? And I guess L.A. is that escape route as of the moment...

I like what emi says here.

And to be honest, it could be hard to judge how much she truly cared in the first place. Idk. I think people knew ayu in the past less than they think they did but it would be hard to see that depending on how invested they were.

When people don't get exactly what they want, I understand the feeling. But sometimes, all of the ideas and beliefs that stem from that are unreasonable or don't look at the big picture. But whatever. People are people.

Or maybe you should put your brain to work a little bit :)

Ayumi doesn't need to work if she doesn't want to, she is rich enough to live twice without needing to make any more money. And even if she didn't tour, her back catalogue is big and notorious enough for her to make money without actually having to do anything... If she wanted she could just do whatever she wanted while the money entered on her bank account, pretty much like Hikki does nowadays.

Instead of doing that, she is touring yearly, and not only that, but having her tours with the most dates (from 2009~2012) and the most physical demanding performances, considering she's actually performs choreography nowadays instead of the begining of her career where she pretty much was on the stage singing and walking around from times to times. She is not making things easier, but harder to her as a performer. How come someone who doesn't need to work anymore to make money is making things harder to her as a performer doesn't care? Sorry, but unless you are biased on the idea that she doesn't care because you don't like what she is doing lately (and that's ok, people can like or dislike whatever they want), that doesn't make sense.

Even if she was just touring because she has a contract forcing her (what isn't THAT unlikely on the jpop industry), why would she add MORE choreography, add MORE theater acting aspects, make her performances MORE physical demanding than they ever were before? Why would she add MORE dates if a 15 dates arena tour (like she did "when she cared") would still be bigger and more profitable than the tours done by most of the other stars?

So, can you explain me that? ;)

Ya side note, I've always wanted ayu to step up her packaging game. K-pop groups kill it with the aesthetics!! but her USB for next level was awesome

:yes

THIS!

Just because you've MADE a lot of money previously doesn't mean you currently HAVE a lot of money or don't want to make more. lol.

I think that his point was that she is working her ass for that money and sometimes even adds to her hardships herself to try make things better even if it's not like that all the time.

You can like what she does or not but she still works hard on these stuff. I'm actually happy she is trying this new showcase and started working with different producers, bringing some changes to what she usually does.

I myself, felt like I sorta got distant from her, sometimes because of the music, sometimes because of her actions, but actually, I find her way more human than she was. Having a rich girl life, and the fact that she shares some of it with the public, just shows how a person can enjoy it (when he/she has it), and a lot decide to call it "diva, stupid, fake" whatever. Not that a lot of people wouldn't do things she does (which I believe) with her money or life, since, she does mistakes humans do, and like we don't want to be judged for our mistakes, she shouldn't as well". So that's how I feel when she does them, as long as it's not too serious and as long she is willing to bring some good music and shows.

Now, asking people who say that her singing deteriorated.
I mean people say it about both her voice and singing.
First of all, if you know that you don't like it anymore so why even try?
second, did it really? I mean, for me, how she sings now (ignoring some TV performances like Feel the love one) is probably her best era of how her voice sounds, and her singing, talking about A BEST TOUR 2013. Now, I'm not deaf but I think that technically she did improve a lot, and as much as I love her classical voice pre 2003, I personally think that how she sounds now is way better than then, less squeeky, more humane. So the question is like, was her singing and vocals really better back in her first years, even though that I agree that these vocals are one of the things she is known for.

There are misses here and there of course, but I never heard anyone with less faults (except for Opera singers), not in Jpop and not in General. There might be better technical singers with better voices of course, but ayu still does IT for me with these. Still.

Like a lot of us in this thread, of course I always wish she would do great music, be more relatable even having a high life style, do more promo, do cool stuff and performances, not combine private life/love with her work making it look like just a promotion, but I think that she is at a point where she does things in her own time and her own way, and it doesn't have to be translated to good or bad.
Also apart from us, the Japanese don't really care for all these stuff, besides wishing for a relatable cute singer (like how ayu used to be) that makes ballads/cute songs and being in cool places having good endorsements (like popular dramas and fashion commercials for example) and they don't really care for anything else.

I think that people that got really distant from her should give her a try from time to time, it's ok not to like a lot of things, but it's also ok to compliment when you do, or at least tell us about the things that still makes you try her stuff, and not because she is ayu and you used to adore her a long time ago.

Let's throw some fuel around here...

About the touring...a lot of people originally thought that she only did that because of how successful Namie's tour was for Best Fiction. There was all this media about her having 30 show dates and how long it was, and the fact that it was a packed, almost nonstop setlist.

No one had tours that long ever, but now it's almost expected. Namie's tours also still have a million dates lol

I believe it was with NEXT LEVEL/Rock'n'Roll Circus tours but I doubt that ayu was trying to overcome that. We can't prove if yes or not, but that's talking about theories but thinking that ayu made long tours and could do that too, just because of namie is kind of streched. namie has nothing to do with ayu's fans getting distant from ayu =P (though same theme thread for other artists could be interesting as well).

Really great post!

Also, thinking about it, I think saying Ayu doesnt care anymore is a bit extreme. I think perhaps she is more easily contented? She did say as much in a recent interview, if I recall correctly. Also, someone made a statement about yes-men. I could see that being true. She's been in control of her career for so long, perhaps her staff just leave things up to her all the time.

Also, on the issue of "knowing" Ayu, its a tricky situation. I've always seen fans claim the number one reason they love her is that they feel like they know her through her lyrics, because they are so honest. But, on the other hand, she is a popstar who has a company that needs to profit off of her. We get calculated images of her, what we are allowed to see. So, which is it? Do we know the real Ayu or not?

Well they were talking about why Ayu had long tours for such a long time lol

The first tour she did it with was right after Namie's. That's why people were making comparisons~ But yeah, doesn't mean, it's correct, just another thing floating around, but it can contribute to fans being a little disgruntled.

Lots of things can. I think sometimes being in the fandom for long periods of time, we can forget about the things that happen at specific times, but for some fans, those small things might be really important. They might have been like, the final straw.

Who knows what people think lol^^

Well, live performance is pretty much in lately... Everyone is having more tour dates and some popstars (Beyoncé for example) even toured without having a new album to promote... IMO her recent long tours are just part of the moment pop music is going through. Also having a long tour just for the sake of doing it is a bad idea, as the ticket sales may backfire.

I don't like everything Ayu does and I don't think anyone should... But there's nothing on her that hints she is not into it anymore... NEXT LEVEL, Rock'n'Roll Circus, Love songs, Party Queen and even Love again had she trying new sounds... AT09, AT10, AT11, AT12 and AT13 all demanded a lot more of her as a performer (singing, dancing and acting-wise) than any of her classic concerts... Her singing technique never was better than it is now (as she actually does have singing technique now)... If she still is trying new stuff, still is challenging herself and still is improving, there's no way she doesn't care.

Promotion wise, she is doing exactly what she should be doing after more than a decade of massive super-exposition, and it's not like having tie-ins depends only on her... As the general public loses interest on her, it's natural there's less CMs and theme songs being ordered.

But I think this thread shows that people disagree with you on what she SHOULD be doing lol

You're saying that people shouldn't feel like she doesn't care, but people still do :/


I don't think that people always take into account that whole "massive super-exposition" that happened in her early career, when it comes to their opinions...but at the same time, as I said in my other post, it's hard, when lots of your other artists are doing all of these things.........and here's Ayu over here, doing (seemingly) the same thing. I mean, that's been a complaint from people for a long time, and it doesn't seem to be going away so quickly.

I don't think it's something you can really combat with logic. It's just how people *feel* and the feelings they get from her. It's too individual. In a thread like this, people get to express those things.

I agree with this sentiment. I've been a fan for a long time now, and I've grown with Ayu but my music tastes have grown APART from the music she is doing now. I don't really care for high pitched cutesy songs, it's not my thing. But if Ayu is happy doing that kind of music, more power to her. But I can't force myself to like a song when I don't like it.

My own preferences are for Ayu's huskier, rougher around the edges vocals and I think it's kind of a pity that she's not encouraged to sing that way. It could be easier on her, because the vocals she's doing now, they sound like straining to get the note. And musically it's not appealing to me.

I still listen to Ayu's music, but it stops at Party Queen and Love Songs. I just could not get into those albums and I really did give them a couple of listens. Recently, I liked "Wake Me Up" but that was about it---because it sounded like a strong song, musically and thematically.

Do I feel distant from Ayu? In a way yes, because I'm not into the newer material. I want to be pleasantly surprised with this new showcase, because she'll always be one of my favorite artists.

I said in a thread a while ago that I wanted her to have a break and she seems to be releasing music at a leisurely pace (good for her!).

I will say, I do think she's doing this weird thing of trying to take a break and still be a celebrity at the same time (don't know if she's obligated to or not) but the results make a lot of her creative output seem....uninspired at best. I mean, the video for "Feel the love," regardless of anything is a bad music video. She's gotten stuck in this creative rut where everything is centered on one idea, and that can get boring. I know that Avex doesn't care as long as she makes money and delivers a product, but hopefully this showcase will be in the right direction. I don't know though, because I think the *~era~* of Ayu doing elaborate and out there visuals is pretty much in the past because, during those times she was a workaholic and committed to that. I think now she wants to relax and it shows in her work. It's not a terrible thing but, yeah, as a fan of her work, I can't just jump for joy when I see the same thing over and over again.

I'm saying that from a marketing/advertising point of view, I could care less about how her fandom believe she should be promoting. :P

Even the lack of tie-ins and CMs make it clear the general public still is sick of her, and if the general public is sick of her shoving her on everyone's throats is not a good thing to do... While she can't have massive promotion she is focusing on her usual targets (hardcore fanbase, gyaru) and slowly reaching new space by associating her name with some less mainstream stuff (drama for people over 40's, having her song being the theme of the Pride Parade, tie-ins with movies that are less comercial and more artistic like Helter Skelter and Bhuda 2, etc.)

Yea, I always wonder why people would cite interviews. They feel generally fake and constructed. Ayu never happened to talk about her life like a "normal" person. She's obviously bound to please. What if she does not like pop music at all? Perhaps she can't even stand make-up or expensive luxury brands? Even if so, would she dare to state these opinions? Probably not.

Fans don't want her to be real. If she were to be her real self, she would be as boring as everyone else.

I do believe her A Song for XX interviews before she was a top-tier popstar were pretty sincere, and I do think her interviews from last year and this year are pretty sincere too... But still, she is pretty reserved about of her personal life or opinions most of the time.

People on forums these days rarely get analytical about why they enjoy or detest something, it's simply a bunch of feels scattered across the page. The influence of social media has infiltrated fan forums too, where people think that their opinions are not only valid, but meaningful simply because it's THEIR opinion and they have the right to express it. Everyone's a critic now. But that's a discussion getting way off topic, lol.

I like that Ayu seems to be at peace at this point in her life and her career. I see her as a kindred spirit, since I believe I'm most at peace with myself than I've ever been. I've become more honest with myself. I accept my strengths and weaknesses as they are. No need for pretenses.

Ayu probably never intended to set the bar so high for herself. She never really wanted to be a musician or a performer, and I think her discomfort with her new "duty" was reflected brilliantly in the album "Duty."

I used to be a 'bitter' fan like many in the fandom now, especially during the "GUILTY" era. But I seem to be calming down with age. I've been following her closely for 11 years now and honestly I'm just grateful she's still making music (My other fave since childhood, Michael Jackson, is DEAD. so...) I accept that my interest in her will wax and wane, as it typically does. She might make a 'dud' song now and then (even though I don't think she's ever released anything so poor quality that it offended me—perhaps Dream ON), but even if I don't like a song when it first comes out, I tend to appreciate it down the road. That's usually how it is. I like to approach Ayu's work from many angles and discover how one song might fit into the 'big picture' of Ayumi Hamasaki. For instance, I used to not care for the song NEXT LEVEL at all because I felt the song lacked a climax and the melody didn't resolve, but when I revisited AT09 and read the lyrics, the imagery and emotions suddenly spoke to me, and I could understand exactly what Ayu was trying to communicate at the time, even though I couldn't before.

^^Her interviews always interest me though...actually, I think sometimes they're the things I look forward to the most here at ahs besides new material lol

She always reaches a level of depth with such simple questions that I'm not used to from interviews of famous people. I don't know if it's just because I'm used to the celebrities here, or if it's just her.

^^I never looked the opinion thing by that angle, but it's probably the most inteligent thing I read on AHS in a while! But I noticed people think their opinion deserves "respect", and by "respect" they usually mean "no disagreement aloud".

^I do think most of the time she give pretty vague answers about her hair and stuff like that... But when she gives a deep answer, usually it really gets deep. I don't think we ever saw the full potential of her inteligence.

I don't really agree with the "calculated image" argument because, yes, while that may be true, how does that explain avex letting her completely self-destruct her career with the Mannie and Maro fiascos? Unless you're a conspiracy theorist who thinks those relationships were both publicity stunts lol, it doesn't match up at all.

I can buy into that argument for earlier, classic Ayu, for example. But these days she's incredibly transparent, especially with Twitter at her disposal. And she's never been an actress, let's be real. So while a celebrity's persona may be calculated in a sense, in most cases you can easily see the person's real personality underneath, e.g. cool, cold Namie onstage vs. the shy introvert she really is. Unless you're just a really terrible judge of character. :shrug

I think it's perfectly normal she's not trying to be perfect at this stage... Mostly everyone that's been around as much as she has don't have that thirst for perfection, especially if they achieved so much in the past already. And, yes, that happens in every single kind of job: when you start you have another mindset, after you've been around a very long time you simply aren't SO young and impulsive. It's not that you're less passionate, but you already made experiences, it's obvious you're not so eager anymore.
ANYWAY, it's not a good excuse to blatantly being lazy. To make an example, in my point of view, a PV like You & Me is nothing special, but overall acceptable, while reusing rejected demos for the sake of doing a new album is unbelievably wrong. One is being indulgent with herself, the other is being absurd. This is how I see it.

I agree with her voice problems around Love Songs and Party Queen. She was struggling so much and so many songs would've been better with a tone that didn't sound so strained.
But I noticed huge improvements with LOVE again, and now it seems her voice is stable again, and I think she's made a wonderful job with it lately (her last single, Pray and My Way).

Exactly.

The fact that LOVE again was half rejected demos just lends to exactly why I feel like she doesn't really care much anymore. I really feel like it's become nothing more than a 9-to-5 for her, in the same vein as it is for Namie (unpopular opinion? I don't know) and Britney.

Unfortunately, the difference between Namie, Britney, and Ayu is that the latter doesn't have the industry's top producers to support her and that being a musical puppet was never her shtick in the first place. What she had going for her before was being relate-able and introspective and artistic, not just being handed songs she had no artistic input into by an admittedly top-notch batch of producers like the other two. And when those characteristics that made her so wonderful in the first place are taken out of the equation, she's left feeling really dissimilar to the musician she used to be. At least, for me personally that's how it feels.

I find everything about LOVE again just so, so contemptible. I realize that the mini-albums were masterminded by avex, but that doesn't excuse her in the slightest. Ayu could have given them unique titles so at least there was the illusion fans hadn't been suckered into essentially buying LOVE again twice. Ayu could have at least gone through that extra bit of effort to get fresh new songs for the album instead of reusing multiple rejected demos. But instead, she chose to go the easiest, laziest route, and for that reason I find her just as guilty as avex. And that's why I feel like it's just a job for her now. It's not a passion, just work.

So what if she toured longer a couple years back? That's her job. That's what she's paid to do.

This is incredibly presumptuous and I can tell that a lot of you really have no clue as to how an album is created/how the music industry works.

Established pop artists always have a HUGE bank of demos, regardless of whether or not they're planning to create an album from scratch. There is really no such thing as a "rejected demo" unless the song is simply NEVER used. An artist will have a myriad of reasons why they will pass on a song the first time around and decide to use it later on.

Why is it smart for Ayu to have a demo bank?

Well, Ayu still has something called a recording contract. Nobody knows the specifics of this contract and its stipulations. There is a profit goal presumably set by Avex each year/quarter. Ayu, who is NOT someone I would consider to be a gifted musician in the traditional sense, is likely expected to release an album of new material every year. This fantasy that fans have of "Oh, well she needs to take a break to find ~inspiration~" is delusional. She's not an indie artist or a special snowflake like Utada who needs to take five year breaks in between albums.

Ayu would be lying to your face if she said she didn't jump at any opportunity she could to make money for herself/Avex. Product endorsements, touring, best albums, remix albums, gimmick releases. The integrity was never there. She is a pop artist in the vein of Britney Spears (money-making machine [i.e alterna], bottom-line oriented) who just happens to make better/more honest music.

As soon as more of you come to terms with this, the happier you'll be; trust me.

Re-using demos is a common practice in music production. They compose a lot of tracks, not every single one of them get's good enough to release at first and the unreleased work is reviewed from times to times to see if they know how to finish them now... Madonna does that, Beyoncé does that, Gaga does that, Britney does that, Justin Timberlake does that, rock bands does that, writers do that with texts, visual artists do that with paintings and drawings, producers do that with the tracks they sell to artists, etc.

You can't always put a deadline into creative work (even if you can on creative products) and it's a pretty stupid thing to just trash your work everytime it got full potential if there's potential of it to be good if the right amount of time is used producing it... Some stuff takes some day to be good enough, some stuff takes years, and taking years doesn't really mean it's going to be a masterpiece.

You guys have the right to dislike Love again all you want... I myself wouldn't put it among my favorite releases, but keep in mind opinions aren't facts. On the same way you found it lazy and uninspired, there were people complaining she wasn't performing more tracks from it and cutting Sakura off generated a lot of complaints.

About the calculated image, she still has one, but she changed persona in 2011 or so... It doesn't matter how "open" she seens, she still is showing what she wants to. Her new persona is more human and has more flexibility to it, but she still avoid controversial (I mean real controversial, not dating drama) topics for example. Every top tier artist has their staff inform interviewers what they can and can't ask about, and the amount of information we have about Ayu the person still is on the gossip magazine level of depth.

@Coelacanth: IMO, there's a big difference between passing on, later using demos, and what she did with LOVE again.

Like, I can totally get behind cutting It was from (miss)understood and later using it for Secret. I know I've said before in another thread that songs aren't always cut because they aren't good enough, but sometimes because they just don't fit the album at hand.

But what she did with LOVE again was on a different level. I don't think these were just demos that she passed on; I presume they were leftovers from previous projects, and we're not talking in terms of 1-2 but HALF the ALBUM was leftovers that were cut from other projects. Like, SAKURA was easy to pull out because it had already been arranged, probably for Love songs. That meant so much less work for her, and yes LOVE again is basically the definition of a contractually obligated album.

I feel like there's a huge difference between using an old demo and using an actual leftover cut because it just wasn't good enough. And I FIRMLY believe half the tracks from LOVE again fall into the latter category. Nothing will ever convince me otherwise because they are so obviously leftovers, like, to the degree that it was obvious to the ear without even having read the interviews where she specifically names which songs were leftovers.

You could say she's blatantly used leftovers to fill entire halves of albums before, but there's nothing to indicate it whatsoever. Whereas with LOVE again, there's proof from her mouth.

Guys, first of all, that was not presumptuous, as I clearly written it was just MY opinion. Twice.
Secondly, I know singers resuse demos they previously rejected. That's not what I said, what I meant is resusing things just for the sake of making an album. In my point of view, LOVEagain was a brilliant opportunity to do a splendid mini-album. But they just had to do a whole album, with that horrible five releases project, and not only they reuse the previous "minialbums", but they pull off four or five songs they had nearby, without working too much on them ('cause I hate them mostly because they sound the unrefined version of what they could have been).
Now, if she has strict contract rules and you really believe she has no control on her career at all, fine, she's not to blame. Avex is.
If you think this is just what she wants to do, well, I think there are enough elements here to say she could have done it ten times better, don't you? LOVEagain is simply a rushed album.

Whether or not they were already completely finished (as you speculate quite presumptuously) or a passed on demo, what difference does it make?

If SAKURA, Bye-bye darling, Gloria—were all ~divinely inspired~ pieces, would that change the way you feel about them? I don't get the issue you have with this.

Ayu is an artist, public figure, and employee of Avex. The lack of empathy for her situation and the kinds of responsibilities she has to juggle is astounding. Not to mention, she's a human being too... and probably wants a little "me" time.

Do y'all have any idea the kind of pressure involved in being an established pop star past their prime with 200+ recorded songs, with appeal primarily to a niche segment? The amount of forethought involved in creating an album that doesn't alienate half of your fanbase? Knowing that you can't please everyone but STILL shoulder the burden of demanded perfection?

It was brought up earlier that people think they know the Ayu of the past so well that they can compare her to ayu now and say she doesn't care. But as mentioned earlier, her image was well calculated and you also never know how much is her and how much is everyone else or what she feels forced or compelled to do because of expectations. It is so much harder to know the 'true' ayu of the past even though of course they make it seem easy.

And then I still find ayu relatable and introspective. I felt that way about party queen. I remember reading the lyrics of Eyes, Smoke, Magic and feeling that on a profound level. The concept is well done imo. But it's different. I don't expect everyone to relate or appreciate those things but I do and some fans do and so it makes that being a reason for her not caring so subjective.

I generally agree with Coelacanth about not looking at the big picture of her career and being a human and etc. And making assumptions about her not caring and stuff...of course you can dislike things. I dislike things. But sometimes people just go a bit too far and it makes them more upset. Makes me sad to see that.

Honestly, I can look at my own life as a musician and see things in a very different perspective. Especially when it comes to caring and not caring

Actually, yes, it would change the way I feel about them. It would make sense to go back and use demos that were actually good. The problem is, like marty said, she used sub-par leftovers for the sake of making an album. Which isn't acceptable to me.

Also, that last paragraph, really uncalled for & reported. :no I bought every single album until LOVE and again, so who's being presumptuous here? It's one thing to discuss Ayu's work ethic, but to make personal insults at forum members just because you don't agree with them is childish and incredibly rude.

ETA: lol forgot to mention, idk why you're putting words in my mouth but I never said the songs were completely finished.

@primavera: I agree with you about Party Queen, actually. :) I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree about everything else.

Really, Ayu is human, and just because of that, she can makes mistakes.
She's totally allowed to. And it's fine to point that out if you feel like it, always being respectful, even if a little bit passionate. We can't always go with bland, neutral opinions.
Let's make another example: Koda Kumi new album Bon Voyage is what I call another ABSOLUTELY rushed album. I think it's clearly meant for summer, it was recorded in record time, it has just a couple of PVs shot in few days.
Did I like it? Yes, a lot. Did that stop me from pointing out it was rushed and it probably would've been ten times better if they worked a little more on it? Nope. But Avex had to release it because of the thing that brings true money: the tours.

SAKURA? The song she wrote for her long time driver and friend who died during the tour making her axe the song because she started cryind during the performance? Yeap... She doesn't care.

I will take songs like SAKURA, petal and Bye-bye darling or any song that was sitting since the dawn of history (I don't recall which were the demos) over original songs that weren't made long ago but are less better. (Since these 3 were awesome in my book)

I can understand where Tom Punks and marty are coming from, it's much more fun knowing that ayu was working and making these new songs when she was working on that album rather than using songs from older times, and I'm glad too that for example, she is working on a new album, with new producers, probably making completely new songs for her and probably not using demos, BUT, as I stated, if the demos she is using, and she is not doing that as often as most/all of her songs (just because I like versatility), I think it's ok to do it if she needed and if she uses good demos and makes them to good songs which fit their respective album. I also believe ayu doesn't do it a lot, but if a lot of great songs she had were lying around demos then I don't care, as long as they are good.

Also as was stated, it's really not unheard of to do so, a lot of artists can use demos from albums years ago, that would have a similar theme to a new one and just use these and maybe make them new in ways arragement-wise especially.

I wouldn't say LOVEagain is bad because of demo use though. It's not my most favorite album of ayu, but it has many great songs, and a lot of them are the demos, because I think they sound really great, even if their were just drawn for an archieve. Now, if these songs would sound bad to me, then I wouldn't like them. Bottom line - I don't think that a song/album should be hated because how it was made, it should be hated if everything about the all of the music, theme and art is just bad.

I actually didn't mind Love again musically, but I found Party Queen and Five musically intolerable, personally. To each their own I guess.

Yes, I can say that she wants to make more money that what she has *shurgs* Do you personally know how much money she has in the banks or how much her extravagant life style costs her to maintain? And honestly, just because she has a higher budget production doesn't mean anything other than maybe her wanting to maintain whatever shred of the Ayumi Hamasaki factor left. Also wouldn't a good production with more choreography etc ensure that people will continue to come out to see her year after year despite all the negativity surrounding her and her image right now? if touring is popular now and the only way for her to make money now she better damn well make sure it's a good show.

So once again, you still have no real solid evidence to prove anything in the contrary and only speculation just like everyone else except no one else has been pretentious with their opinion like you. I really can't put it any more simply.

If you can't see how Ayu herself having more choreography is far from meaning "bigger production" but for sure means "spending more time rehearshing and more effort", them, you are hopeless on the subject.

I can't fathom the statements of some people regarding "LOVE again". There is so much mourning going on due to Ayu's past self and the fact she's never going to be as shiny and glorious again as 12 years ago.

"LOVE again" is a 1000% ayu-typical album with plenty of solid, elaborate, innovative yet classical songs that all bear that eminent hamasaki-signature. Once more Ayu sticked to her own sound, not relying on current trends with the exception of slightly noticeable dubstep-esque influences on "task'n'bass". Honest, long-term proven quality characteristics throughout the entire tracklist if you ask me.

I truly appreciate the fact everyone is having a distinct, own opinion and it is more than alright if people don't like this album. I just frankly admit that I doubt whether Ayu can come up with something that won't lead people to criticize her eventually, seeing that at this point even very safe and true-to-her-sound-signature output can't satisfy some of you...

I've read most of the comments here, and I can relate with only one opinion.
My fandom for her decreased because of her voice. Besides her *produced or not* life history, her voice was one of the top 3 things I was looking forward to all the time, specially at the time of buying her new CDs. Starting from Guilty, my interest of buying new albums from her decreased. Yesterday I rewatched her performances at Kouhaku, and I noticed that since 2007 her voice is not the same. She does a hell of an effort to stay tuned while singing flat. I understood at some point in time that all was related to the meniere disease (ear condition), therefore I bought Love Songs merely because she sounded tuned yet flat. Later on, I completely lost the interest of buying new stuff from her (well, the other day I bought rock n' roll Circus for 280 yen at Book off though)
Regarding her nasal and high pitched voice, she was singing already like this from before. Now, her main problem is that she cannot hear herself very well and she keeps on shouting instead of singing, exaggerating all her voice attributes.