Will "ULTRA BLUE" be better in your opinion than "(miss)understood"?
 

I know alot of people either LOVE (miss)understood, or are highly dissapointed in it... I was one of those people who LOVED it for the first day and then I realized how dissapointed I was... I love Ayu and I do like the (miss)understood album, but I like MY STORY better... (miss)understood didn't have many memorable songs other than a few of the single tracks (the only songs I TRULY LOVE are Step YOU and is this LOVE?). Anyways, Hikki's new album is looking to be GREAT! I have loved every one of her singles and I have "This is Love" on repeat now because it is so amazing - her new music style is awesome... I think I may like this album better than Ayu's even though I love Ayu 100+ more - so what do you think?

I think I'm gonna wait until ULTRA BLUE is released before deciding :P

I know there are plenty of tracks from ULTRA BLUE already out as singles , but I have to hear them all. I think album-only tracks mean a lot when deciding whether an album is good or not. I feel cheated if the single-cuts are the only good songs on any album.

I see what you are saying. Like I said with (miss)understood... I didn't like many of the album tracks. Actually, I LOVED a few for about a month or so (Ladie's Night, rainy day, beautiful day), but then I got sick of them - they aren't like STEP you and is this LOVE? which you (I) can't get sick of!

(miss)understood for the following reasons -

1. It has alot of my faveie songs
2. Utada sux

I'm going to listen to "ULTRA BLUE" album before I can say it's better.

Though, I hated "THIS IS LOVE"'s preview and from singles like "Passion" and "Keep Tryin'", "Passion" got boring as well as "Keep Tryin'".

I might not like "ULTRA BLUE" =/
I did like (miss)understood.

This is just my opinion, so just don't go berserk on me -__-

It's a long shot, but I think I'll like (m)u more. I still listen to it and love it. Hikki, on the other hand, even though I've become a bigger fan since last September and Be My Last, I can only take once in a while.

But if her singles are any indication, I'm really excited about ULTRA BLUE.

I went with "(m)u" because I don't like Hikki's music style. :shrug

I like Hikki's newer stuff better than her older stuff. The only songs I really like from then are "Simple and Clean" and "First Love" - plus the remixes!

I wouldn't go berserk on you, lol, (unless you bash Hilary Duff but that is another story - read my posts in artists you wish would just stop...) because I know how it feels to be bashed for stating your opinion...

Um maybe we should wait til Hikki's album comes out.

in sales i'm pretty sure Hikki will be better

but in music i need to hear the complete album xD!, but so far with the singles and the preview i LOVE both but i think (miss)understood is better

oh my god, YES. Utada's albums have all been golden little gates of heaven, except Distance.

This Is Love is bloody awesome too, I heard the radio rip and its so damn good. Best album in Japanese history perhaps?

There's one thing I noticed, Utada's albums hold up together better than Ayu's.. Ayu's ones have kinda medium shelf life too. The only problem I have with Utada is her emotional songs which are her best but really heavy and hard to listen(Sakura Drops, Letters, Final Distance).

Probably the only reason I like Ayu more is because she releases stuff more often, unlike Utada who vanishes for some time and returns again. *officially loves Utada more now*

I'm gonna have to wait until Utada's album comes out, but from the singles && the previes I heard, it looks to be a very promising album

I really like (m)u, alot. I liked 12 out of 16 songs on that album, so naturally, I voted (miss)understood

Currently I'd say Yes.
If the new song suck on this album, then tied.

ULTRA BLUE will surely be better, (miss)understood disappointed me.

I say Ayu's album -- Though her past two albums have been HUGE disappointments for me, I love the singles off of M.U. and about half of the album is tolerable for me to vote for her. I wish Ayu will have more Dance Pop tracks instead of her generic Rock/Pop that's been disposable over the past 2 years. I would love a Connected part II (Will never happen though).

As for Utada, her only good songs I've herd so far are the now tired & way old: Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro & Colors.
Be My Last is OK -- Just because I overplayed the track because I enjoyed the weird lyrics and tone squeaks.
I bought Keep Tryin' for the cover art, but the single wasn't great at all. Passion is so-so, but the promo on US TV is working 'cause I'm brainwashed by the melody.

Hikki's newer stuff really disappoints me. I hadn't truly liked anything (music-wise, PV's another story) since the release of COLORS. I'm not too fond of This is Love from the preview, Be my last just was bad, passions was boring, and Keep Tryin' was meh. Maybe some album songs will be better than her singles songs.

I like her older stuff better. But I'll wait for the album to decide.

i really don't know...seeing as ..(m)u is substantially a bust album..(but only from comparison from the others she's done, otherwise i'd say it was quite a good albun) and ULTRA BLUE is hikki's first jp album for what? 4 years? plus the fact that, even though we mostly like most of the her singles, we agree that she's reached her climax (at least from what i can see...but i don't know :) she's still pretty young! <3) pluuus, we haven't heard all the song on her new album yet ^^;; hehee

or i could be extremely off as well :X...oh well...anyway..i really don't know ^^;;...there should be an 'I don't know' option :yes

absolutely not. Ive always sorta been a bigger fan of Hikaru, until recently. Any album that has Keep Tryin' will be pulled down so badly that it wont be better than anything XDD

and aside from that, (miss)understood is a great album, which means ULTRA BLUE would have to be a great album to do so. In my opinion, ive already heard a few songs from ULTRA BLUE (the singles) that i found to be lacking strongly (COLORS, Keep Tryin', WINGS) and the new preview "This Is Love" was nice and all, but it shows a certain style which i dont like at all. I think ULTRA BLUE will be good if it isnt all trance-ish like "This Is Love". If This Is Love is the only trance-y song, then not only will the album be pretty good, but This Is Love will be kinda special XD

regardless of that, if the album had good songs instead of Keep Tryin', WINGS, and COLORS, it would have more of a chance, whereas (miss)understood had great songs all around (i mean, "alterna" c'mon!)

I'm not gonna vote until I've heard Hikki's album, but based on the tracks that have been heard thus far, (m)U is the better album for me.

Same here.

:\

I think that ULTRA BLUE's sales won't do too well..

It's been years since her last original album x.x

I just wonder how things will go, especially with downloads. x.x x.x

She should stop her iTunes downloads for Ultra Blue if she wants the album to do well ... that's for sure. I think m(u) didn't have a lot of memorable songs for me but I guess I'll have to wait till Arena Tour 2006 because I think songs will grow on you because of tours (e.g. winding road, Memorial Address, HAPPY ENDING) so I vote for ULTRA BLUE for the moment.

The eclectic moods and fusion of techno and pop does it for me!

Maybe we'll know when it's released, eh? :swink

Well based on what we have heard of "ULTRA BLUE", "(miss)understood" is still a better album. As much as I love Utada Hikaru's latest material it isn't better than Ayu's latest material. "Keep Tryin'" was amazing but there is something about Hikki's voice and music that is sometimes very stressful on my ears... it's something I have a hard time explaining but my ears get sore if I listen to Utada too much.

i am not that into utada...

:yes

since I don´t like Hikki that much I would say (miss) understood....by the way I relally like this album and nothing will be better XD

Utada's ultra blue. Absolutely.

i'm going to vote ultil i heard UB :yes

i can't vote until ultra blue release
but i would say that M(U) was better
because all type of the song she was sing than hikki that just sing a funk techno music

I'm also not voting until I hear all of Ultra Blue. So I don't know yet.

hmm...Hikki's style is changing on me but I did like PASSION alot...But I mean the other single Be My Last (I never listened 2 Keep Tryin') wasn't all that great to me. It had nice music it just had a lack of Hikki's soul.
(miss)understood was AYUmazing to me. I didn't NOT like a single song up there...well except for the LACK of interludes...But it was a good album to me. I had to get used to Ayu's new style after STEP you so it's grown on me.

I'm not gonna vote yet b/c right now I really wanna jump on (miss)understood even though I haven't even heard ULTRA BLUE. So....I'm gonna be patient & wait....

Its kinda stupid to vote before I hear ULTRA BLUE but, I'm gonna have to say ULTRA BLUE, just cause it better be better than (miss)understood considering Hikki's had quite a while to make some new material... Plus I liked all of ULTRA BLUE's singles, COLORS, Dareka no, BML, Passion, and KT' and This Is Love sounds awesome. I didn't like Bold & Delicious or Pride though...

ULTRA BLUE will definitely overtake (miss)understood both is sales and music quality

Utada Hikaru is evolving and her style of music now is so much better than her old typical everyday R&B music

Don't get me wrong, (miss)understood was a great album, but i agree with most people that MY STORY was done much better.
All the songs from (miss)understood were by GEO, and were used by SWEETBOX, so there was a bit less creativity by Ayu.
Still, I love both artists, and I will support them all the way.

I'm just getting back into the J-pop scene and Hikki's new album excites me way more than (miss)understood. I don't know why but I'm fascinated with the singles from ULTRA BLUE. I can't wait until this album comes out!

I don't get the point of this thread, what's the point of speculating whether ULTRA BLUE will be better than (miss)understood? How can this make for any remotely intelligent form of discussion? Wouldn't it make more sense to discuss the merits of both -after- ULTRA BLUE has been released?

Tangentially, I think Hikki stopped making good albums after DISTANCE, though all of her singles so far (with the exception of perhaps Be my last, which is growing on me now) have been nothing short of stellar.

I think this poll would have been a more decent comparison if we had compared her past albums with this new one. Also, as others have stated, it is kind of pointless to compare the two albums here because ULTRA BLUE has a little over a month or so before its actual release.

Eh; in sales.. /bleh...

Her single sales have been mostly from downloads so.. :x I wonder if this one will be like that o-o Perhaps it'll sell like 900k total? :o

well...I hated (miss) understood...I'll probably hate Ultra Blue too...

I can't decide till the album is released. I like the singles and This Is Love, but if the rest of the album is no good, I won't like it better than (m)u.

Well I really like Utada's new song!

I think it'll sell 1.5 million, compared to ayumis struggling million.

...has anyone sold 1mil+ since the year started?

...that wasn't a BEST. [pleast do not say Koda Kumi. /GAG]

I think ULTRA BLUE will sell approximately 600k on the first week and end up with barely a million copies for the year. But it might turn out to sell 1.5 + considering THIS IS LOVE is amazing. It's not just me but everyone i have talked to are addicted to that song.

I hope Utada keeps making songs with this style, it's great!

(miss) absolutely.

I think its due to a lack of new material to get obsessed over.. :/

I mean, she's had what 5 new songs released in the past year..

of course people are excited/addicted. xD

I voted for ULTRA BLUE just because I love Keep Tryin' but that's not a fair poll because nobody is interested in (miss)understood anymore, everyone is already tired of it and are waiting for ULTRA BLUE. If both albums were released at the same month, but that's a big difference and by now most people realized the album is not very good (I'm one of the fews that liked the album).

I don't think there was anything very new or fresh about (miss)understood. I liked the album, but after a while, it got kind of "eh" :shrug. there wasn't anything special about it to me. utada's recent songs are of a really different style, they have creative sounds, and melodies. and I think people are just longing for something different by now. i guess i could say that some people just aren't impressed by a lot of Ayu's recent songs anymore. :shrug if utada is consistent with this style in her new album, i think its sales could be a lot better.

Perhaps it depends on the downloader - buyer ratio as well..

If the previous single were so fantastic, why were more not purchased? Many people just downloaded her stuff.. :/

Will I like it better? I'm not sure yet. But will this album perform better than (miss)understood? Probably.
It takes Hikki ages to pull an album and I bet her fans are pretty eager by now. Although her previous singles weren't too impressive, in my opinion, This Is Love is definitely a great track. I just hope that this album will contain more of that sort of material.

I'll probably still prefer Ayu (miss did have some highs), but this seems like it will be a good Utada album.

personally I thought (miss)understood was her worst album and ultra blue has some real promise, so I can say that I'm 95% sure that ultra blue will be better.
ps sweetbox blows!

I'm biased too!
But in the other direction.

I like Hikki a hellavu lot more than Ayu.
And while (miss)understood was alright, I hardly ever listen to it. It's kinda boring after a while.

I am eagerly awaiting Ultra Blue though. The singles have all been absolutely fantastic! Colours is my absolute favourite Hikki song, so I'm not concerned about 'older material' on the album.
Already, it is more original, and just generally more fresh sounding than (miss)understood.

*can't wait can't wait can't wait I've had it pre-ordered for the longest time now! can't wait can't wait can't wait*

I never liked any Songs of Hikaru Utada.
So that's Point two for voting not for her.
Second Point: I don't know why a lot of fans are so disapointed of Missunderstood. I like it the same as other Albums.^^
In some sides I like it more than My Story. I think Replace and Winding Road are a kind of place-filler songs at all and very similar.
Missunderstood has also a place-filler in my opinion:Beautiful Day.
It's so slow and without fun.
The Mean-Ballads at Missunderstood (Heaven, Pride) are much better than the My Story Ballads....

I think it's more of a '...we've gotten too much of a taste' for some fans with Ayu.

With Hikki.. there was a long drought~:p Compared to Ayu's consistent releases back when Hikki wasn't doing anything in Japan... I think that anything new that Hikki releases can be deemed as 'fresh', you know? :p For Ayu, not so much since you can always expect a song~ Plus Ayu songs are the kind that you need to endure for a while and then you start to love it. Dunno why. O_O XD

The downloads for this album will be uber high~ But not so sure about sales.. since they were so disappointing in comparison with her older singles' physical sales :x

I don't know about others, but that's not what I meant by 'fresh'.
I'm not refering to the new material itself, I'm refering to the overal vibe and style of her new material. It feels very light, and refreshing. The kind of sounds, and the style of production and instrumentation that would perfectly suit a fresh, green, spring day. And not to mention.....the music is just completely differnt, and new, for anyone, not just Hikki or Ayu.

hm....I don't know if that is coming through as well as I'd like it to....
I can't explain myself!

Try listening to WINGS and thinking of a cool, bright spring day with a soft breeze....maybe you'll see what I'm getting at........

[/weirdness from me]

I love how they're too totally different styles of music.

Utada's = fresh, new, original
Ayumi's = sounds generic, has been, nothing stands out

Wow, this poll is so close! XD

To be honnest, I'd be very suprised if Hikki sale more than a million.

....

/motions towards Utada-Online ~_~

And I love how they're two totally different genres, and the fact that Utada and Ayu like each other's music.

WINGS is actually my favorite Hikki song.
I get what you mean, about the lightness and the spring day.
Her new stuff definetely beats her old, so refreshing.

Am I the only person here that doesn't like Hikki's new music style and wish she goes back to her pre-colors RnB style? I dunno, Hikki's new style is different and new, but IMO she's trying a little too hard to sound original that it just came off wierd...but meh, what do I know...

I liked her old style better.

But she's seriously not that good >>
It's like the scary Ayu fans who think anything not Ayu... is 'OMGWTFCRAIZP'. Hikki's music is okay, but it's not really anything special if you think about it. But that depends on your feelings about her :p Same with Ayu songs.

/bleh @ all the recent Hikki releases

lollerskates at you if you think they actually like each other's music.

just because they said it doesn't mean its true. its called putting up a front while in public. a lot of celebrities do it.

you mean, not everything that celebrities say is true??? :headache

you catch on quick

with them liking each other's music, regardless of what they say, they might, they might now. :shrug It's not like we're ever going to know unless we really get to know both of them in person.

:/

That's really weird to doubt things that celebs say.. [I've learnt to never trust American celebrities though LOL]~

Whatever. Ayu vs. Hikki comparisons suck. >> Especially when Ayu =/= Hikki. If they were in the same music genre then maybe, but... not even. O_O;

ULTRA BLUE unless it turns out to be another Miss understood "bad"

Well.. I said (miss)understood is better, 'cos Ayumi is only japanese artist I like and listen. I don't know if Ultra Blue is technically/musically better or is it more popular, but (miss)understood suits better for me.

I think that (miss)understood is a goob album. I like its songs more than (for example) My Story's.

just by judging from the clips of Ultra Blue, I think Ultra Blue will be better.

previewing the whole ULTRA BLUE album
looks as if ULTRA BLUE is the better album than (miss)understood

I really don't like any of Hikki's single lately (I used to like her songs), and I already previewed three new songs from her album, and they are not my taste. I just can't stand her new style, but I'm sure many out there will like this kind of music, but not me. Hikki changed to this style of music with the release of her english album, and this is around the time when her popularity started to lower in Japan with the sliding of her record sale. I know that all record sales slide in recent years, but before Hikki changed her music style, her singles and albums still had big sale in Japan when eveybody's sale slided including Ayu. Do you guys think that there is a connection? Perhaps, many people in Japan don't really prefer this stype of music. From my opinion, I like (miss)understood more. It contains a list of more easy listening tracks than Hikki's Ultra Blue. Still, we really have to see what happens when Ultra Blue comes out.

at the moment, I'd say missunderstood will do better -- but that's because I absolutely love missunderstood

they're totally differnet styles so its so hard to compare..

I think they will be compareable, due mostly to the fact both Utada an Ayumi have released a lot of singles before their albums, making the albums a bit faded... Only half of the tracklisting is absolutely new songs, and I think that's not enough for a positively surprising album.

It will be good, just like (miss)understood was overall, but... it still feels like I have heard half of it already and the second half is only ok...

the previews from ULTRA BLUE are georgeous... (miss)understood disappointed me... I think ULTRA BLUE will be better!

hmm based on the blue previews, gotta say that m(u) would be the better pick for me because the missunderstood album got me hooked for quiet a long time and i still love it. Ultra Blue from Hikki would be alright but i wont be purchasing the album because didnt really like blue and this is love

This is Love and Be My Last have impressed me more than any of the songs I've heard from Ayumi lately, and I've heard some great buzz from the new tracks, so I'll safely assume I'll like Ultra Blue more. I just can't get over how great Hikki sounds in TIL!

This Is Love is one of my favourite Hikki songs ever so far, and the previews have been amazing. Kairo is so damn interesting!!!!! *waits for Kairo*

I've gotten sick of (m)u already, but not because it isn't good or anything. Just that Ayu's albums get old after some time. Until now I still listen to Deep River and First Love..

ULTRA BLUE by a landslide I think.

I finally decided ULTRA BLUE.
The song "BLUE" won me over against Ayu's complete Album.
I actually like Ayu's music type better. Her music just sucks lately.
-listens to BLUE-

same here...Ayu's style suit me more

i lsiten to m-u EVERYDAY...and im sure im more attached to it than i will to ULTRA BLUE judging on previews...(i noe, its not right to use previews)

well i didn't listen to the previews or anything, but I'm just going to predict ULTRA BLUE will be better. hikki has been gone for years, in those years ayu has released albums. albums that were mediocre. ULTRA BLUE will be candy to my ears (the singles have already proven ULTRA BLUE will be a worthy album in my opinon)

i just heard the whole ULTRA BLUE album and its damn good... and yes is WAYYY better than (m)u
sorry ayu fans.. but hikki did such a great job with this album

Wouldn't it be more likely to like ULTRA BLUE anyway because of the lack of Hikki material over the years? :/

Which goes to show what a break could do for Ayu.
She's just been non-stop, and it's had a big effect.
Hikki likes to take her time and keep us all on edge.
Ayumi is sort of for people who are too impatient. :P

I'm ordering ULTRA BLUE in July!! I can't wait to hear it! :D

i voted for ultra blue as people would be expecting an album from hikki after 4 yrs!

I shall know the answer to this after I hear the album in a few hours` ^^

omg, her new album is so good.
there are some single songs that are mediocre (Be My Last, passion, WINGS); however, the new album songs could've replaced the singles. seriously, it's that good.
I love 日曜の朝 and making love; it's so rich and enjoyable.
I was actually hoping for a ballad like dareka... with no synthetic sounds included, but I guess it's okay.

yeah just d/led her new album and i am currently uploading the album here! Overall, the album did not dissapoint me and i like kairo, blue and making love i the album. I still think missunderstood is better

originality wise ULTRA BLUE wins by a landslide. I did like (miss)understood but it got boring after a couple of listens. One Night Magic turned out pretty decent hah.

It's hard to tell how much original ULTRA BLUE actually is. I played This Is Love (my favorite new Hikki song) to my brother and he said: "japanese artists aren't creative anymore...why is she recycling Traveling and SAKURA DORAPPUSU all over again?". I disagree about the creativity part but I agree that hikki wasn't exactly original. The songs in ULTRA BLUE aside from some of the singles such as passion, as much as they sound brand new, aren't really original. I had the feeling of listening to a mix of Exodus+ Deep River - some of the songs have the "march-like" thing from Animato and the mysterious tunes of Deep River. In terms of structure some of them can be rather random that it's quite difficult to actually pay proper attention as the song is totally undecided on what it will turn out to be (yeah, nichiyo no asa).
Aside from that I loved the album! I can't tell which album I prefer though because I need time for the songs from ULTRA BLUE to sink in, in order to judge.

Maybe its because I have a soft spot for Ayu, but I think that Miss Understood is a better album. That is not to say that I dislike Utada's album, I mean she really has some great songs on there like Colors and Keep Tryin', but overall, I like Miss Understood more.

ur.... i love j-pop more than others.... so i think i perfer UB

I don't know, both albums are pretty good... highlights for me from each:

ULTRA BLUE
This is Love
BLUE
Making Love
COLORS <--I know it's old.. but I think it's still timeless :)
Passion

(miss)understood
STEP you
Ladies Night
is this LOVE?
alterna
criminal
Will
Rainy Day

I just listened to the whole Ultra Blue ...

and I guess it's just my taste in music but I prefer (m)U a lot more ... all songs in ultra blue sound almost as if it was the same style of song .. I listened to it for more than 10 times and the only song that stands out to me is This is Love and Passion.