Ayu's Worst Live Performance Ever?
 

Most of the time, we discuss about how good or how (insert any positive adjectives here) her live performance is, but I'm kinda curious to hear everyone's opinion about this one, maybe you had one in your mind?

I think by 'worst' it could mean your least favorite live performance.

Okay, so for me, I can only think of this:

untitled ~for her~ from CDL07-08 (TV Version)

The reason is basically her voice KILLED it, sadly... I love this song, like seriously, but her performance during this time, OMG. I think it's probably because of her deafness so she couldn't control her voice very well, so... yeah.

Another performance which was considered bad but close to being the worst for me is ANGEL'S SONG from PCDL TV Version, that infamous lipsynched performance, it was a lol moment.

Share your thoughts please!

Uhh, while it wasn't my least favorite...

It was really awkward during CDL05-06 when they made it INCREDIBLY OBVIOUS that she was not singing during a portion of theme of a-nation '03's TV version.

evolution from [Best Artist 2009]. She killed it ~~

I don't know if it counts, but I didn't like the performance of Carols/momentum on the CDL13-14 DVD. You can tell it's lip-synched and it takes the magic out of the song, for me anyway.

the tV Live of evolution whereafter she apologized for her bad vocals

M for MTV Asia Awards in Singapore just because she wasn't able to hit the highest notes. It's MTV!

Angel's Song PCDL which had gross outfit (tooth fairy in pink bathrobe) and was lipsyched. The whole pink section was terrible IMHO.

I keep hearing of it but couldn't find actual video :(

For me worst performances are evolution from christmas show she later apologized for and i really can't listen to end roll from Arena 2008, really can't :( and i would love to.

I'd say this performance of And Then from 2000, it totally kills the aura of the song for me :tired

Uhhh... it's just CDL05-06's TV version. Is that not online anymore? They zoomed in on her face for the broadcast (and on the screen behind her) while she was mouthing the wrong words.

Atrocious. I really feel the pain.. :dead2

I've only watched most of her concerts once, but I remember Dearest from AT08 was not nice to hear. :no

Seconding 'Dearest' at Asia Tour 2008. Holy crap was that an awful performance. Idk why it's on YouTube. It shouldn't have even made the DVD.

You Were+Evolution from Best Artist 2009 wins easily. She actually apologized for her performance and said she would try harder...

Evolution... I'm seeing it now and omg... There will be many opinions but no doubt it is her worst performance hahahha

Seems that CDL 05-06 was broadcasted twice? :rolleyes
I have another TV version of this concert but most of the interlude were cut
And I can't see she mouth the wrong words in theme of a-nation '03

I Was Shocked When I watched that Performance!

I remember watching Stadium Tour TV Version and few performances were really off putting but to point exactly i would need to watch Stadium Tour again

Definitely the evolution performance from Best Artist 2009. Absolutely terrible.

Anyone know where I can view this Best Artist 2009 performance? The one on YouTube has it's sound removed.

^ Here you can download it

Thank you ;)

This one.

She was crying her heart out because she was singing a song about her friend that commited suicide... So...

Was that the one on NTV Best Artist 2009?

Oh god, I was just watching that performance of evolution. Y'all were right, it was really bad. She forgot the lyrics during the second chorus, really started faltering for some reason during the second verse, couldn't keep up with the tempo, and was constantly off key and all over the place. I cringed so much and I had to keep pausing from time to time cause it was that terrible lmfao.

:yes totally agree

I'm gonna nominate What is forever love from Premium Showcase. THAT. FUCKING. PERFORMANCE. Middle of the road in terms of vocals but omfg I have never gotten as much secondhand embarrassment watching a performance as I have from that one.

oh shittt yes. god that was tragic

lbr it was so tragic we need a new word to describe the depths of its tragic-ness. It's one thing to have a really bad day, vocally speaking (evolution @ Best Artist). It's another thing entirely to consciously put together a "performance" like WIFL's and think it's even remotely acceptable.

It's moments like that performance that make me question her taste sometimes, lol

The only one that really upsets me was M at the MTV Asia Awards, which someone else mentioned... She was being watched & heard by so many people outside of Japan (during a time when that was still pretty rare) and her vocals were just SO flat and she was having a really hard time breathing properly during the performance.... She'd had kinda "meh" TV performances up to that point, many times, but that was the first time where it really shocked me how poorly she did.

If I remember correctly there was Humming performance on CDTV either on 12/31 or 01/01 when she was really sick, she couldn't hit any notes because her throat was in terrible condition. Was it just before CDL 2002-2003?

This one is pretty bad too... I had forgot about it

I watched the ones mentioned, and I have to say, her newer performances are really... cheesy. In the past she wasn't vocally as strong, but I remember hearing once that people didn't care because they knew she was singing her heart out. And I totally see that. She's a lot stronger these days, but some how I find my self cringing at the overall performance more. She's trying so hard to put on a great show, and I appreciate it, but it just doesn't work for me.

I didn't watch the TV version, but the performance on the DVD made me LOVE the song! It's just overflowing with emotion, I was bawling - it really moved me to see how she was really feeling everything she was saying/singing in that moment. It was just so raw and real. You could just feel the tragedy.

CDL07-08's TV version was really rough around the edges. SURREAL was a big one too...

I thought the performance Ayu had to apologize for was at an outdoor event and she was wearing like a santa dress? (she also sang evolution)
I guess I interpreted it wrong - to me whatever performance that was was horrid. I just watched Best Artist 2009 and it wasn't THAT bad.

No, she was apologizing for Best Artist 2009.

Outdoor event one was whatever but backlash towards the Best Artist one... oh boy. It was the year before it looks like.

２００８.１２.２３　■ ｅｖｏｌｕｔｉｏｎ　　ＨＡＰＰＹ Ｘｍａｓ ＳＨＯＷ！［ＭＢ４、地］+ ■ Ｄａｙｓ

It wasn't her fault but all the TV lives of Mirrorcle World she did after she announce she had lost hearing in one ear

Yeah I was going to say this. It just kept getting worse and worse.
Her voice was really weird and not good in any of those ballads during that tour.

THIS.


for me it's: all songs from COUNTDOWN LIVE 2002-2003 A which were performed with TRF.
It's not that ayu is bad in performing here... it's 'cause I dislike (or even hate) TRF... :(

Well, definitely that evolution performance. After the first chorus she started singing like she didn't care anymore haha

I know. I know this is a very sad song, but it's just different from any other performance when she was crying. Like BALLAD in AT10, part of Me in PoM, and the recent one, Walk, most of those performance sounds okay, in terms of vocals, but this one, is just all over the place.

Well, basically the whole TV Version of this CDL has some problems, decision and SURREAL are also the bad one.

Anyway, kinda surprised to see many answers here, I need to see all those you guys mentioned.

When she cries as a part of her performance, like those you pointed, usually she does that singing well and looking pretty. It's acting.

When she really is crying, not because it's part of the performance, but because she actually got emotional, she sounds off, messes it up and looks like a mess. Like Walk at the CDL or the part where she can't sing some verses of Memorial Address during AT03-04.

I would guess ANEKI passed on very close to GUILTY's release, possibly during planning for CDL. It must have been hell to perform that song with her death having happened so soon. (on top of the hearing loss too)

Just checked, and yeah... it was fall of 2007 not too long after Ayu's birthday that she was told. So sad. This would also mean that untitled was probably produced for the album last.

From the entry translated by Deli:

That post is so sad :(
I'm surprised she felt that way through the entire CDL. I mean, except for untitled, it seemed like a really cheery show from what I recall. She was really upbeat, at least from what I can recall.

evolution from Best artist - like everyone said
Dearest and Voyage from AT2008 - can't stand vibrato
Dearest from Kouhaku - "Ah~~" glad I was alone at the room
and the one that I don't like the most - Walk from recent CDL - I was not alone in the room -_- my husband asked why she sings so bad, I answered because she's crying... but even A song is born from PoM when ayu cried like crazy was better.

I thought that happend during talkin' 2 myself recording or something, when she was in LA. Or not in LA, but not in Japan for sure. And she knew about it only after coming back. Can't remember where I read it...

Exactly. In fact, it's one of my favorite performances ever. To this day, it's the only live performance, ever, that makes me tear up. In fact, I think she did an amazing job at holding herself together that much, if I was in that same position, I'd have the instrumental play while I was on stage crying my eyes out.

And let's put everyone else in that position. Could you imagine singing a song that you dedicated to a friend who took their own life, and you're trying to hold it together while singing and not break down and cry every other second just to have people say "damn, this is your worst performance ever. you did a horrible job, your vocals were terrible, and you just did a terrible job at performing."

There was a huge TeamAyu entry in 2008 about it that Deli translated that mentioned some dates. Or was it elsewhere?

It happened and then Ayu was working in LA on GUILTY stuff... but they held it back from her until she returned to Japan.

And yes, thank you, I just feel stupid for doing this, I simply have no idea the whole story behind it and I learn something today. I guess I also need to learn to differentiate the real emotion during performing or it's just an acting.

Anyway, I kinda want to see that huge TeamAyu entry for that one... and most of the diary around the release of GUILTY.

It's okay~

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76088

Here's the entry if you wanted to read it.

I vaguely remember Because of You from CDL 2009-2010 ~Future Classics~ TV version had such BADD vocals. However, it was heavily edited for the DVD version.

anyone remember?

something was wrong with sound mixing at CDL 09-10 TV

[QUOTE=Gustavopc;3131781]I'd say this performance of And Then from 2000, it totally kills the aura of the song for me :tired[/QUOTE

Its actually okay for the concert it is taken from...its not like any song was sung well there

PECO's mic was more prominent than Ayu's in that TV version.

I LOVE that performance. Her vocals were off, but there was a very raw emotion to them which I loved in her early days.

Worst performance would probably be any of the ones she got caught lip synching or I think maybe Surreal from CDL 07-08.

The worst live ever was SURREAL from one of the year end shows, think it was cdtv, it was coupled with Mirrorcle World. Also her vocals during that era were really bad...

my words too. I just love that performance

I beg to differ about the And Then performance in 2000...It has some rough vocals, but the whole performance has a certain feeling to it I feel she was never able to capture in the same way. Immature, Monochrome, and And Then from that concert are some of my favorites.

But...I have to say, as much as I naturally love these songs...She's had some less than stellar lives of Pride and Jewel. I get the vibe that these songs are tough to sing due to the range, but there were some TV lives of Pride that was so...here and there...

I wonder... if Ayu was a more technically perfect singer with Mariah Carey-like pipes, would she have been as appealing as she is to many fans today? I mean, there are lots of singers like that but they seem to fall into obscurity after a while.

^Usually they put songs that can showcase their voices above interesting music...

^^ For me when a singer have a perfect vocal technique is really boring. There are lots of great singers and incredible voices around the world that aren't known. And people like Ayu who hasn't that incredible voice is the biggest because her emotions resides in her bad technique and it feels original and unique.

It remembers me a Bones' episode where they say "Art resides in a bad technique" referring to a picture Angela (character) did.

Well...I watched that performance of You Were and Evolution. I think I can honestly say that is one of the most pathetic performances I've heard. XD Does anyone know why she was so off-key?

And while not her worst performance, I think this performance of Jewel has some very off-key notes...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3US17WDOvp4

HONEY/Angel's Song at PCDL.
Not that she was singing bad, but th whole performance was shameful as hell...

Totally agree and here I thought I was an odd ball for thinking that way. :D

fixed for you :P

I was wrong, it was independent.
you can watch it here:
https://www.facebook.com/video/video...=2095394262537
She should've cancelled this performance, it's so dangerous for voice to keep singing in such condition.

^there is also one performance of appears where she frequently coughed while singing it
so i guess this is also one of those days when she was sick and where she should also cancel the performance but still decided to go on.

It definitely was not. I've heard much worse vocals from her.

02-03 was also weird because I think they edited two shows together and didn't even release it commercially because of her illness.

Definitely the 09 Evo best artist one. This one, ayu wasn't even trying! She tried to sing it like a million times at her concerts with bad vocals. The audience wasn't the same.

About the angel song one at her pcdl, wasn't she still recovering from her broken hand? I wouldn't be surprised if most of the songs there were lipped at that cd.

Yeah, she had the broken hand thing happen the week before CDL.

I know that! Music Station Super Live rehearsal! :headache

Now, it's been a while since I watched this performance but I remember finding Urata Naoya & Ayu's performance of Dream On during that TV live to be awkward. That one always pops into my head when I think about somewhat unfortunate performances.

on DVD Walk is not that bad, i'll erase it from my list. And add What is forever love from Premium showcase. It is so weird that no one sing male part, even Timmy

I always thought her performance on Kohaku was shity, it's like "Ah it doesn't matter I screwd this, as long I can perform well on my own concert." or something like that.
The biggest failure for me was when she sang Together when... on Kohaku.

Wasn't that when she we told her fans she had lost some hearing on her left ear?

Yes, and she accidentally broke her finger. But the main issue is, either because of that time she lost her hearing or not, her performance in kohaku usually not in her best.

It's because Kouhaku is unedited. She sounds the same during the TV-live version of CDL.

Somehow I found this thread lol

OMG!!! I never saw this. I'm really shocked! Ayu is crazy to sing with her voice (and health) this bad!

The worst live from her in my opinion (after this one of independent haha) is this one:



It's from the same era as the independent on CDTV so I understand she was sick. But this whole CDL is :tired

I too have seen that performance. Not good for Ayu.:(

In terms of vocals..the whole of Arena Tour 2008 but in particular the performances of HANABI and End Roll are just embarrassingly horrible and woeful.

I love this performance because her rawness and vocal imperfection, truly amazing and a genuinely rock and roll style.

Imo she sounds like she's having a stuffy nose during the whole Asia Tour 2008 concert.

Gotta agree with this. This has always been one of my favourite HANABI performances. That said, yeah, the vocals of this CDL weren't great but only because she's ill! It was (mostly) fixed in the DVD anyway.

yeah, that HANABI performance gives me chills, I actually really like it a lot. When she puts sooo much heart and soul into a performance, it's harder for me to dislike it.

I'm just going to say, as pointed out, that performance of what is forever love (mentioned earlier in this thread) is soooo bad. Bad vocals are tough to sit through but I think when something is THAT embarrassingly corny...it is even worse...

This HANABI performance to me sounds rather raw and powerful than anything else O.o One of these moments when you realize how real and unique Ayu is because many pop singers don't even seem to sing live on their concerts even when perfectly healthy.

I don't ger the whole "popstars don't sing live" thing. Britney, Kyary ans Perfume aside I can't think about any popstar who doesn't sing for most of their concerts, or at least don't sing ballads.

Call me crazy, but I actually really like that Hanabi performance. The cracking in the voice fits the emotion of the song.

That one it looked like she had just swallowed wrong right before the performance began. The boys and girls performance right before it was fine.

I actually love End roll lol

Thought I was the only one who loved it, I agree with everything :heart

For the people who hate that Hanabi performance (which is not her best, for sure)...obviously you didn't see the TV live performances for the }{ single LOL.

Woah kind of a hate thread, very classy.

The what is forever love performance is really embarrassing. I only watched it once and never want to see it again.

I hate to admit this, because I really like ayumi's music, but her live performances aren't always the best and to me some of her redeeming features vocal wise have simply disappeared in recent years, well actually not so recent anymore. But that Hanabi performance above is from a time when I really liked the general timbre or quality of her voice, and the few mistakes she makes add to the performance and even the few off key notes as well.

She performed the classical version of song is born at the aichi world expo back in 2005 and one of the really high and unfortunately long notes is completely off, but I still really like the performance and I hardly think it's her worst so those things I don't mind.

The changes that happened sometime after that makes some of her performances almost unlistenable to me when they're unedited, shouting, a raspier and harsh lower kind of timbre and being out of breath, those aspects make the moments she's off pitch that were tolerable before appear even worse. I think she's gotten better recently though, but there are probably too many "worst live performances" for me to pick one out also becuase she's so active, and usually I just ignore them. That one evolution + some other song tv performance some years ago that she even had to make excuses for to her fans is probably up there though.

tbh her bad vocals for me aren't as performance destroying as what her love/romance/I've lost you but I want you back but now you're gone again *extensive flailing of arms* acting does - and its been a performance type she's been using for aggeeess now. So I'm going to nominate any performance with that. I quite enjoy her earlier, less-perfect vocals (I enjoy that 2002 performance of HANABI featured, for example).

I have to disagree and agree at the same time. While it's true that her over acting has murdered many performances in the past. Ayu's vocals are just a big no no these days. They take away from the whole show, big time.:(

Let me add "You are the only one" at MADE IN JAPAN Tour. Terrible.

Many Classic Moments performed on M(A)DE IN TOKYO

i wonder why no one has brought it up yet, it's terrible :no i have never felt so ashamed of her

^ That's really bad :( And the presence of Tetsuya there is just pure awkwardness...

What? Her vocals are very good on it? I'd like to know what's so bad about it?

While I agree that MCM wasn't really great I have to say it could be worse imo. Like, the whole CDL 15-16 isn't really great vocal-wise (although STEP you is quite good though). The worst performance Ayu has ever put out is the Evolution one from MS (I think) 2009 (?) imo.