[2004] The Fall of Ayu....
 

"Ayumi Hamasaki has gone downhill ever since the release of Rainbow" one
American Ayu fan told me. In fact most of the people I have chatted with via
IM share this opinion. I think Rainbow was the turning point of Ayu where she became more vocally better. Also the songwriting she did increased, with that she has become much more skilled with it. Her and HAL collaberations also have gotten better.
Now I know most of you are heartbroken I didn't make this into a poll, but a
simple yes or no answer doesn't satisfy my curiosity.

Which era of Ayu do you love most and why? Which era of Ayu do you like least and why?

P.S.- I love talking about the musical aspects of Ayu (See my MA review i did last december lol ) so please give me an IM via MSN or AOL or Yahoo if you want to chat about the music of ayu.

MSN- John@claireredfield.zzn.com

Well, personally... I havn't been an Ayu fan for very long(I came in right around the release of I am... ), and it's really hard for me to pick any one era. The A Song for XX and LOVEppears eras are the same to me. Both her voice an lyrics were raw in a beautiful and emotional way. Her voice had a deffinate turning point with Duty , along with her style. I am... seemed to be an experimental stage for styles. Then came RAINBOW , which I personally see as Ayumi's most complete album since A Song for XX . Then Memoerial Address and all other releases to now present Ayu's latest style. She's constantly changing and I honestly can't pick any one era as my favorite because I love them all for different reasons. As for least favorite. There are different things I dislike about each, but none of them are significant enough to make me hate them. I can't say why Ayumi is at a decline, except that maybe people have just gotten bored with her. Very similar to America's Madonna, Ayumi will continue to have an avid fan base, but she probably won't gain a whole lot of new fans anymore. *shrugs* It's a mystery. I don't see how anyone can not love Ayumi. =^.^=

yea, I think that way too, but i think is from Free & easy went down,and i really don't like Rainbow this album I just like the album's cover rainbow this album doesn't has many good songs.

I love the new era as it talks about love the whole way...why am I loved...why am I loved....it also talks about who she's not and who she really wants to be...who am i...what am i worth...

in the past it was just mostly of hate...why does this person hate me...why did they leave me...

I like the singing now then the past except for 'M'

Yeah... in my opinion, RAINBOW is her worst album. It has some really good artwork, but the songs are not very good. For me, ayu's been falling since when "H" was out, but is not like her new singles are all bad... I'm feeling very impatient to have her new album, because she has released some VERY nice works lately... And her voice is just becoming better and better. I think somebody finally told her that her voice when she goes "aAAaAAaAAaAAaAaa" (like in "everywhere nowhere") is doesn't sounds very nice to hear... x_x!!

:B~

-- I am... = best album ever :love

Ayu is a rare breed of celeb. She is on track about life in most areas, it impressed me. Her passion has only gotten stronger it seems like. Especially seeing the video or play Heartplace at CDL 02 i think it was.... anyways....

Although I generally have a hard time choosing a favorite period or album, since every album has both its qualities and its merits, I most often choose the 'Duty' period (and album, of course).

Why? There's a lot of things about Duty that make it better than the general album; for instance, the fact that it doesn't have the almost obligated 16 tracks. It prevents the album from having filler, because frankly, there's no filler here. And, clocking in at just over 50 minutes, it manages to keep my attention. I don't have a short attention span, but 70+ minute albums tend to get boring. Quite often, there's 70+ minutes on an album just because there's enough space to put 70+ minutes on a CD. Some may find it a good use of space, I personally think that this a big reason for all the filler songs out there.

Songwise, I think Duty is excelling as well. Whenever I go around and mention some good songs off of the Duty album, I end up naming them all (with the possible exception of the intro). This is not because I can't choose; I can easily choose the best I am... songs, best Rainbow songs, or whatever. Duty is just all around brilliant.

My only criticism towards Duty, and I have discussed this with others, is the fact that it's not really an album. The Flaming Lips' 'Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots' is an album, Miles Davis' 'Kinfd Of Blue' is an album, Jewel's '0304' is an album, U2's 'The Unforgettable Fire' is an album, Ryuichi Sakamoto's 'Beauty' is an album. Duty feels more like a collection of good songs, a greatest hits collection, I'd almost say. Or, a more common expression: the sum does not equal the parts.

Apart from that, there's nothing wrong with Duty at all. It's got all the classics, all the brilliant songs that have a special place in my heart (*names all songs*). And, of course, it ends with Girlish. Girlish is most definitely the most a song (or maybe, the most actual music, an actual composition, I don't know, it just is musicianship) of all of Ayu's songs. Brilliant ending to a brilliant album.

My least favorite album/period? Every Ayu album out there has at least a couple of gems, from A Song for XX (Poker face, A Song for XX, As if...) through I am... (No more words, Daybreak, Evolution) all the way to Memorial Address (No way to say, Hanabi ~Episode II~, Memorial Address take 2 version). And of course the albums in between these. However, some of these albums also have some lesser songs, ranging from mediocre to flat-out bad.

A Song for XX is often considered as a pretty mediocre album with mediocre songs and mediocre instrumentation, but I personally find there to be a lot of gems hidden in this one. I'm a sucker for Ayu's voice here as well, so there you go. LOVEppears has some brilliant songs, although at points, it can start to drag a little bit. It's not really a diverse album, and the ballads here aren't the strongest ones out there. I am... has a nice line-up, although it's a pity that songs that sounded alike were mostly grouped together. This somehow causes some strange, fragmentary whole. Yes, a whole, as I do find it more cohesive than, say, Duty, but still, fragmentary. Rainbow often got criticized for its bubblegum pop nature, but I think it doesn't get the respect it deserves. Apart from some mediocre songs, it also has some stand-out ones, which are easily forgotten. On top of that, it feels like an album, and that's great. Lastly, Memorial Address. More of an EP than an album (yeah yeah, mini-album), however, the good songs on this one are so brilliant that they make up for all the bad ones. I'm particularly fond of Hanabi ~Episode II~ and No way to say; the flat-out bad song Greatful Days is easily forgotten once one's treated to these two gems.

In conclusion, I can't choose. However, a decent explanation here, imo.

I love all her albums I've heard, and I really love RAINBOW. It's an excellent album.

All the eras have something about them that I like. I don't think I can pick a favorite, but my least favorite would be A Song for XX, or any songs before Boys & Girls I think. She was great then, but compared to I am...

i wish ppl would stop saying how ayu is 'declining' coz it depends which ayu style u like better, its totally subject to opinion, she didnt decline, she just kinda changed styles. to answer ur question, its hard for me to judge by eras coz i was only a big ayu fan since the rainbow era, i've heard songs from her other eras but didnt get any of the mv's, or the hype or the actual feel of the era. i like all her songs in different ways...

What constitutes for a "fall" of a certain celebrity? Is it not when that celebrity has begun to actually decline in all aspects, be it sales, popularity amongst the public, etc.? Is it not when that celebrity disappears from the public eye and all the attention that has been directed towards him/her has faded? That's just a thesis of mine. I may be wrong.
It's hard to really pick a favorite out of the many periods and albums. I can't decide. :(

She has her ups and downs...

Downs:Free & Easy, Greatful Days, Ourselves (big sorry fans!), INSPIRE...
Ups:theme of a-nation '03, H, Voyage, forgiveness, no way to say, Because of You, ANGEL'S SONG, Moments, GAME, CAROLS...

She has a lot more ups than downs though..:)

i think its mostly because people are bored , sick&tired of ayu's exact same formula that she throws out at the audience again and again ...

the 'fast' song in the summer .. then the fall/winter ballads ...

in addition to the songs being theme songs for the same brand commercials year after year ...

even though she keeps changing to ADAPT and keep up with the flow ... it's hard when the audience is trying to break away and listen to more alternative forms of music ... maybe.

I don't think he quality of music has declined at all, I think it's just changed which is received differently by the fans. There are diverse tastes out there, so she can't please everyone all the time! Maybe most of the time though... :) My favourite era? I'd have to say Duty. Least favourite? I'd have to think about that one...

I already started a thread on this, but yeah. Whatever. I came in in between rainbow and i am... so i am totally in between on my view points!

i like all eras. something different each time.
my ultra faves are 2001 with I am... & 2003 w/ Memorial Address.

i guess that people say RAINBOW was her "fall" since it was produced way too fast and she had quite a busy year in 2002 imo. and i guess people were tired of her and wanted a new fresh face in music.

Hey I completely agree with you there...Duty would've been my favourite album had it sounded more like an album. There was no flow; the juxtaposition of songs were just awful eg. AUDIENCE after Surreal. Maybe that's where filler tracks come in?? Or at least there could've been instrumentals. But still, I consider it her best album.

Personally though I loved LOVEppears the best...to me there were NO fillers in that album. Every song was a gem; you could sing along to one, relax to another, and dance to some others. The composition was absolutely superb. Although some tracks did shine more than others overall I didn't find a track which I had to skip (eg. Dolls).

Another thing I noticed is how different our tastes are to actual Japanese people's tastes..they love Greatful Days and SEASONS but to us M and evolution are the favourites. I used to hate Greatful days but now it's one of my favourites; I think people listen to Ayu for her melancholy style, which is explains why they can't stand some less intelligent, more bubblegum ones?

I think the reason people dislike RAINBOW so much is mostly because it didn't follow people's expectatives even though by the singles it so seemed it would. Being Duty and mostly "I am..." very focused in the rock style, being Free&Easy a "NEVER EVER", M type of song, being independent another rockish track, things seemed like her next album would follow the rock tendencies which didn't really. What you usually see is people saying RAINBOW has a bunch of fillers and their examples mostly fall under songs like "Close to you", "Dolls" & "Over" (being WE WISH the main exception). Plus it is really noticeable that by the way songs were put in RAINBOW, her rockish tracks get extremely dilluted by the ballads, because there are actually moments you get to ask yourself: Geez I liked so much songs like Free&Easy and independent but they seem almost inexistant in this album (not to mention that independent gets cut in the end and is instantly mixed with +, a track not everyone liked a all). If independent had not been placced in the end of he album it would probably get higher grades. I'm saying all that but I honestly really loved the RAINBOW album, specially tracks like Over.

RAINBOW is and always will be my favorite Ayumi album. It's so very underrated. There's no 'fall of Ayu', at least not in my opinion. She still puts out great music, as great as say.. four years ago.

Bah. These topics make me grumpy.. :grumpy

I actually think both "Dolls" and "Over" are excellent songs. I also love "Ree And Easy", "Hanabi" and any song in the album.

I don't think I really have a favourite era. But I guess I would say that pre-RAINBOW is the best.
But each has its own finer points.

For example, A Song for XX. Many people tend to think it as one of Ayu's lesser albums. I digress. It has some of the best lyrics and compositions of all. Take tracks A Song for XX and POWDER SNOW. Those have the greatest lyrics I have ever read. None of Ayu's songs compare to them. Her vocals are kickass too. Not to mention the exceptional compositions.

Then comes LOVEppears. This is another album considered lesser by fans. That may be true, but it has it's finer points. Fly high and appears would be the better songs of the album. appears just has a great beat, while Fly high is a great "poppy" song.

Duty is probably the best album. Like sven said, it has the best individual songs of all. vogue, Far away, SURREAL, AUDIENCE, SEASONS. These are incredible songs, but the album is rather choppy. It doesn't flow well.

I am..., however, flows well. It's probably the best overall album. There are only 2 or 3 poor songs on this album, if that. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the better-quality songs that Duty does, save Daybreak and Dearest.

RAINBOW is considered to be the worst album by fans. It's not necessarily bad, it's just not up to par with the other albums. It does have some nice songs, though. Like Close to You and the interludes.

Memorial address isn't very fond by most, since it's post-RAINBOW. Nevertheless, it has it's good songs. HANABI~episode II~ has the original sense that Daybreak (H/\L's Mix 2002) does. Unlike most, I actually like Greatful days. Even though almost everyone finds it boring, I enjoy it. And even though RAINBOW isn't on the album, I really love this song. It's probably the best post-RAINBOW track.


So, of the actual "eras," I would have to say my favourite is "The Trilogy" to "Daybreak"
The worst would have to be & to the present.

...all my least fav. songs r on ASFXX/Duty..heh

i dont like the trilogy at all..besides seasons

i'm still listening to all of her stuff. no falling yet, as far as i'm concerned. i love all the albums, not just because i'm a fanboy, but because i do believe she brings something new and exciting everytime one is released. it's usually done very well and in good taste, too.

sidenote: sven mentioned yoshimi battles the robots! awesome.

all i have to say to this...MEH haha i loved all her albums EVEN rainbow :) and i will continue to love her work :), her lyrics have so much meeaning :D

i agree starting from the 'RAINBOW' era her vocal has improved A WHOLE LOT
and the way she sing changes everytime ANGEL SONG'S, INSPIRE, CAROLS all three of those songs have different styles and singing style is different to me RAINBOW is a good example to give to someone new to ayu..it got Pop-rock/Pop-pop/Pop-techno/Pop-Ballad...and while the songs from I am.. have alot of the same kinda styles less variety but yes those songs is also what got her famous..M/evolution/Dearest etc
i wouldn't say ayu is going down at all...i think that is happening to every single artists in Japan. The fans always want sth fresh and ayu's stuff always sounds like the same to people that are new to JPop...one more thing about ayu is that
her songs...it can be love at first listen or slowly invading your head and makes you love it...take INSPIRE for instance...some of us hate it until we heard the Princess China Orchestra version then love the original one as well
i think it is a matter of taste or time..and also since now a days avex stop putting 374927424872 mixes in singles and fans love to hear different version of the song...
just my two cents

hey...i think that the RAINBOW album is not bad...wonder why people don't like it?

well for me... maybe she isnt falling down in quality.. its on the other hand... her live is so amazing.. her technique improved... but hey... everybody has their own era rite? :D ^^

if she falls
i will help her up

Rainbow was not very impressive compared to LOVEppears, Duty or I am..because the album tracks weren't all that great. Personally, I think Duty and I am...are tied for best album, or at least very close. But the reason has nothing to do with singles, because what makes albums are the album tracks, and Duty and I am...have the best album tracks. :)

I like until the H/Voyage single mostly. Rainbow was a great SONG, but the album wasn't impressive when compared to her earlier ones. Hopefully the new album will be really great, but I don't think it'll be Duty/I Am... mainly because her vocals aren't as strong or as good as they used to be.

I loved the Princess China Orchestra version of Inspire... :yes it's better than the original version.

I find there's something to like in all the different stages of Ayu's career, and somethings I don't. It's a matter of personal likes/dislikes... I think her vocals have improved since RAINBOW, and some of her lyrics are really becoming more beautiful, like Moments. I think there's a lot more to come from Ayu, I wouldn't write her off just yet.

i felt that after voyage her career hit a sort of slump, and then she tried to regain popularity by releasing the ayupan/MTRL merchandise, as well as starting AYUready to get back up there...but i think no way to say was her best comeback. but i do agree that it's not really a decline sort of deal because it's not like she's producing the same stream of music...ayu is one of the best marketers and she is known for always reinventing herself.

actually i really like this album too. i think it was awesome. i don't get why so many people hated it lol.

I like Duty up to I Am.. the most.....now she's errr....the only song i like is Free & Easy and that draws the line for me....she shouldn't try so hard in coming out with singles every 2 months....Everyone loves her in Japan and besides, they see her in CMs so why does she have to work her butt off? AVEX can go to hell :yes :iamevil

I'm gonna make this short, so hungry.

I'm liking her works ever since the & single and up, all of the recent songs are what got me liking Ayu. It's so, strong, emotional, free in a sense.

Her older works, I'm not a big fan, but I don't hate it, just gets too old for me.

I guess I like Ayu for her more, hip hop (INSPIRE), power ballads (Moments),rock (GAME, Because of You, Memorial Address), and on rare occasions, ballads (forgiveness, CAROLS).

[I don't really like CAROLS that much o_o... it's getting old! MORE ROCK PLZ XD!]

I typed out this long thing and then deleted it =/ no use being boring.

I thinkt he diffrence between old hamasaki and hamasaki stuff is the fact that she worked with one person on a few songs, and not diffrent people for every song on the album? I dont know, she used to work with HAL a lot, and now he dosent work with her? Right?

I can’t choose a downfall album or a top on the hill album, I love them all. I play at least one Ayu album every day, and I start off on "A Song for XX" and end up on "Memorial address". I love the change from "A Song for XX" to "Memorial address"; it gives me the joy of listening to the change in Ayu’s voice over that period. I call my self a fan, I probably am to. Are there no fans here?

I think ayu hasn't really fall......u can see from her activities and performances...
for records...yeah...maybe,that's bcs there are so many new singers nowadays..... I LOVE AYU N I'LL ALWAYS DO..........SHE'S MY EVERYTHING

i enjoy her albums, if it dont have a good beat or whatever, its the lyrics then. ya'know? every song has its own emotion. if ur one of em ppl that likes the beats over the lyrics, give the lyrics a try. be
SpOnTaNiOus~//~ :::..:::;//// <<<<-----LOL, Haha that looks stupid :P, but yeah...lol

haha, lol...I see that all of you are really defending for Ayu...hmm, that's nice.

I like "A Song for XX" era the least. Mostly because her vocal performance on that album , the remakes of the in my opinion best songs from that album found on "A Best" are a lot better.

for best I have to go with "I am..." , though I find "LOVEppears" almost as good. "I am.." simply has all most of my favorite songs by Ayu :)

When talking about "Ayu's eras" I myself also like to think about the remix albums , Ayu-Mi-X II - series is what makes the "LOVEppears"-era 2nd best for me.

I love the RAINBOW album. Such great songs! And I think she's just changing, not getting better/worse.

I'm a big fan of all of Ayumi's CDs.I like every Ayumi song (Yes even Greatful days and INSPIRE).I personally like LOVEppears over A Song for XX, Duty over LOVEppears, I am ... over Duty, RAINBOW over I am..., and Memorial address over RAINBOW.I really don't count A BEST or A BALLADS but I personally think both CDs are awsome!I have favorites off of every album.I usually like Ayumi's new songs over her older songs.I think Ayumi hasn't reached her peek yet and if the public keeps on liking her I think her peek may be a long time from now.Like many others I feel that Ayumi is getting better and better.Not only with her lyrics but with her live performances as well (I just have to force myself to not throw something at the T.V. or the computer when I see or hear those to back-up singers).

Actually, with her performances, they were rather impressive. Then they took a turn for the worse because of the Dome Tour ear incident. But lately, they've been better. But not as good in 2000.

I always thought her vocals in Arena Tour and Stadium Tour 2002 were awsome

Yeah, Stadium Tour was good, but most of the performances on TV shows were poor. :shrug

I personally think her TV performances on shows are good.I think her ones for the songs on Memorial address are the best but that's just my opinion.I haven't seen the SEASONS performance that every said the vocals were horrible one so I really can't say anything about that.

i do not think ayu is going down.

whenever ayu fell,she will rise again
she has released so many good singles this year: Moments, INSPIRE, CAROLS
i think her new album will be GREAT

ayu's "fall": when she released RAINBOW, yuck...

I personally thought her vocals in that performance of SEASONS was really beautiful and breath taking. It almost brought tears to my eyes seeing her perform it live in such a long time. It was really breath taking and she looked better than ever.

i think there is some intelligent discussion in this thread. i like it.

yes, i think she has 'fallen' in japan. i wont even try to defend that. i think she has fallen after switching styles to a more mature style, which probably does not appeal to japanese, but it definitely gives her more international appeal.

imagine 'poker face' or 'carols'...which one would you think can be an international hit?
it is 'carols' without doubt. 'poker face' is simply...too japanese mainstream pop for the international market.

as far as the sales go, after the daybreak bomb, she has declined. and she needs to have like 10 covers for each cd to keep sales up. se may have sold 1 million copies of H, but in actual fact only as little as 200k fans could have bought it...that's just a game on numbers. you can cheat the general public to think 1m people bought H, but we know it is not true.

I actually LOVED Rainbow. It is my favorite Ayu album. And Memorial Address is great too. Of her songs, everywhere, nowhere is on eof my favorites. :)
I think ayu was getting better during the rainbow period, but her latest singles (carols) (inspire) are just OK though I still like ayu's music. :)

A lot of what Ayu does is good. I think that people say she's going down, because she wasn't as active in 2003 than she was before. So she seemed like she was going down, because she didn't come out with as much.

In vocal-wise, I like her voice in 'M' I think that she sounds good and soothing there with just right vibrato and not overly done ones.

Currently, I do agree that her live has improved but I sometimes cannot tolerate the ultra-vibrato thingy >.<

My fave era of ayu should be during I AM when she not only writes the lyrics, but also compose to many tunes of her songs XD This makes me so damn proud of her ! Music like evolution, never ever, M were very much to my liking XD

Duty is also my fave one where her vocals has improved from her LOVEppears album. The songs are as great and interesting in terms of music. All the while she seem very sincere in her lyrics which is a very pleasant thing because I don't like singers who sing what other ppl write for them and sing for the sake of performing without putting own feelings/passion into their vocals ^^

As for Rainbow, I gotta say that the songs aren't as hooking. It's like I've listened 50 times to evolution and after a while, I still would like to listen but I never felt that I would want to go back and listen to any songs in Rainbow as the songs there doesn't seem to leave a deep impression. Although it feels to good to listen the first few times, it just doesn't make me feel the urge to listen over and over but of course, this is my opinion XD However, there are something very interesting songs and styles like REAL ME but 'no' independent pls haha;; certainly not type of ayu song^^

I can't really explain why but the songs now seem to be lacking something which I do not exactly know what either that does not makes it as good as the songs before. Still everytime it's ayu, I'd still feel the urge to listen to her. The impression she has set to the people of Asia are far more than what we think, I don't tink anyone can replace her yet.

As far as I know, AVEX seems to be trying to get someone to replace ayu when the decline started. This is quite saddening and maddening >.<

well, avex also knows ayu cant stay at the top forever

Well, I'd just say everyone's opinions are different. ^^ And I personally thought that Ayumi's albumns were all good in different way. The albumns show her change of thoughts during the period of time. But I felt A Song For XX, LOVEppears, Duty, I am were all alittle too similiar. RAINBOW and Memorial Address sounded with a different style. RAINBOW, her vocals improved from high pitches to alittle lower with more control. And in Memorial Address, she did alright. But i think her upcoming songs are REALLY nice. Except during her lives, she over does the vibrating thing. XDD But otherwise I LOVE her new songs. Especially GAME. But that's not the point. i think her songs are indeed improving. :)

anyway.... i dont see ayu's fall ....she's fall nowhere (u know what i mean)
but to me...as a musician (not so lah...) rainbow album is all way to make her music more electronical...and more pop :) if you listen rainbow closely.....and turn the volume louder n louder...you will feel the different music of ayu's. anyway...listen to everlasting dream,...its a good music ..the-he

but if i can say...the worst of ayu's album is my story...
i dont know why.....there's much of songs which make me way bored

I'm not gonna talk about "the fall of ayu" because we've been talking about that in many threads. It's interesting tho to talk about her albums. The only albums (beside best and remix albums) I dun have are A Song for xx + I am... (I can't remember why I didn't get I am... I guess I was quite sick of ayu at that moment.. too much exposure). A lot of people said that the album songs in A Song for xx are really bad so I never intend to download it. LOVEppears should be the real success for ayu cuz that's the period people know about the existence of her. Technically I didn't really like this album in the first place because it sounded too techno to me. But it turns out that lots of great songs are from this album: fly high, immature (album ver), TO BE (my fav), monochrome, kanariya, appears, LOVE~xxxxx~, Boys & Girls, too late, End roll, Trauma. Now I can even tolerate Who..., which I thought it was the worst ballad at that period...

Then Duty came out, again I didn't really like it in the first two weeks, because the songs ain't that techno anymore. However, after these years I must admit that this is her best album. First, there're only 4 singles before the album release, so lots more album tracks. Secondly, lots of album tracks are EXCELLENT: Duty (the famous cm track), End of the World, teddy bear, Key~eternal tie ver.~, and girlish (I dun really like SCAR).

Then the I am era. M is famous, evolution is excellent, NEVER EVER is well done (I dunno why people not mentioning this track. I love this song so much). Endless sorrow and UNITE! are ok, esp. UNITE!... I dun realy like it, but ayu likes it.. oh well. Dearest is very good. This album has a negative impact.... too many singles, and they are so great that make the album tracks quite dull. This is also the time where she got too much exposure..

RAINBOW is not bad at all... It's just... the ballads are quite boring somehow (compared to her LOVE~Destiny~, End roll, Dearest, etc.). Personally I dun really like her singles as well except Voyage. The weak singles plus weak album tracks make this album not very famous (yet the second best album of 2003 in oricon year chart).

I dun need to mention the remaining albums cuz they're so great as well.. A single thought tho.. Japanese, esp young people, are probly not disliking ayu songs nowadays... It's probly just ayu's way of thinking is different now. Her lyrics were used to be darker... talking about life's being harsh, the unhappy youth, blah blah blah. Lots of teenagers got the same view/feeling... Now ayu's going to a more mature thought and her songs is more suitable for adults now. Too bad the adults at this stage tends to listen to mp3 players instead of cd players.. so... LOL..

(PS: I think I talk too much rubbish until the last paragraph... probly the last one is also a rubbish... so haha..)

Yay for old topic bumping.

well that's definitely BS . isn't fairylan / heaven / step you / is this love / moments / happy ending all great songs ? u think it's her downfall ?

If you're talking sales-wise, then yes I guess you'd have a point. The overall climate of the CD market together with the rise of other female singers (strangely enough there are so many from within Avex!) have contributed greatly.

However, if you're trying to speak from a musical point, I wouldn't think that she would be experiencing a downfall. Personally I prefer her later albums (MY STORY and now (miss)understood) more compared to I am and LOVEppears. It seems that these days Ayu is more willing to experiment with many different styles of music comapred to what she had done previously before RAINBOW. As a result, we now have musically diverse albums like (m)u.

I think the real downfall would have occurred had she not decided to freshen up and re-invent her music.

Ayu maybe more populer internationally but in Japan wise she is not that top anymore. She was beaten by a much younger artist which was given the title "Empress of Pop" who was also under Avex (got this info from doing a small research). I guess not one can stay at the top all the time but maybe if Ayu try to do something about it she might be able to beat the other artist and win the title as "Empress of Pop"....what do u guys think?

I don't think koda or ai can ever be more successful than ayu
Back to the thread. Well, the best period i had with ayu will probably be 2001 when all sales are excellent and she won many prizes, there also is the B&D period which i like very much for her American style. I like the new album very much!
The lest i'll have to say is the A Ballads period when ayu's voice was totally ruined and the wrong release of the album made it even worse. But soon when she gets well with her voice and comes back with the single '&' featuring ourselves which i think is one of her best upbeat songs, everythinf went fine again~

I didn't recognize it's an old thread.. i thought it's new and i was thinking, "ehh another thread talking about that?"

all i can add is that no one can really beat hikki + ayu effect at this moment.

I guess so. There aren't any rivals who could both sell 2+ million copies every week.