[2006] Battle of the (avex) winter ballads!
 

The biggest avex female artists (Ayu, BoA, Ai and Kuu) are all releasing new "winter" ballads! So, which one do you prefer? Tell us why! Quite a hard decision right? (It is for me! I'm undecided. Ayu? BoA? Ai? Not Kuu though. She didn't impressed me much with her "Yume no Uta/Futari de...")

*** Pick your favorite song. NOT your favorite artist. ***

Ayumi Hamasaki - JEWEL

- V.S. -

BoA - Winter Love

- V.S. -

Ai Otsuka - Renai Shashin

- V.S. -

Koda Kumi - Yume no Uta/Futari de...

Tie between Renai Shashin and Winter Love for me. They're both real nice. I liked Ayu's a lot more than I have the past two years, and Yume no Uta + Futari de... are nice but don't do much for me.

I cant choose..I really cant..I love renai Shashin just as much as Kumis songs.... I do listen to Renai Shashin more..but..o-o

JEWEL all the way

I was stuck between Winter Love and JEWEL, but I ultimately picked Winter Love. I just really love this kind of song at this time of year. The melody and arrangement really give me chills, too.

Totally JEWEL.

hmmm...tough decision...I'm stuck between Winter Love and Jewel

Renai Shashin makes me feel like I'm forever waiting for a dramatic climax...

Futari De/Yume no Uta just got boring after a while

I went with JEWEL. It's so emotional and so clean and simple, that it moves me. In second place, I'd say Winter love. Ai Otsuka really disappointed me this time, I love her, but Renai shashin is weak, so that one and the Koda singles are tied in third place. All 3 great songs, but not strong enought to compete for the title.

I'm still sticking with Winter Love. Yume no Uta and JEWEL are tied. Renai Shashin is last out of the 4.

I chose JEWEL...the song is so beautiful and the english translations of the lyrics are wonderful and deep. Winter love and Renai Shashin tie for second and third place and Yume no Uta/Futari de... is the last place.

Yume no Uta is not a bad song. The song itself is good but I dont like how it was sang. if it was sang in a softer tone then the whole song would be a lot better and I could easily rank it higher up....if only kumi sang it like she did with you and hands

BoA and Ai sound good in the songs....lots of emotions and their voice didnt hurt my ears. I had to turn down the volume when listening yume no uta...o_O...

As much as I love Ayu I'd say BoA's Winter Love, it's so powerful and her voice is just amazing.

I loved JEWEL, and after seeing the PV and hearing the recorded version I may change my mind, but for now I voted for Winter Love. Renai Shashin is pretty, but not Ai's best ballad. And for a while I thought I was the only Kumi fan not excited about Yume no Uta.

Winter Love.... wasn't fair to me though since the studio version of JEWEL isn't out yet.

Renai sashin is nice. It.... doesn't get stuck in my head though.

Yume no Uta/Futari de... sucked. Unmemorable, obnoxious, nice concept but the execution failed.

JEWEL, didn't need thinking. This song is leagues above everything else released this year. Ren'ai Sashin lags far behind JEWEL, but it's leagues away from the others too.

Winter Love: Good, but not that fascinating

Renai sashin: Plain, but still beautiful nevertheless

Yume no Uta: Beautiful and the melody caught my attention, but the vocal sucks

JEWEL: Beautiful, nothing much i can complain about :D

Ranking:
1) JEWEL
2) Yume no Uta
3) Renai sashin
4) Winter Love

:yes

JEWEL for me.

JEWEL, but Winter Love is great too!

Ayumi Hamasaki - JEWEL = Lovely
BoA - Winter Love = Nae heard but its BoA ...
Ai Otsuka - Renai Shashin = Nae heard
Koda Kumi - Yume no Uta/Futari de... = Teh suckkor

hmmm....am I the only one who actually like Yume no Uta?
I kinda feel extremely biased toward Winter Love, because it indeed is a Winter song, because BoA really sings it amazingly, because it's beautiful and mainly because it has one of the most excellent PVs this year. That PV is so beautiful, it made me want to have an ice brick house LMAO!
I still need to hear the studio version of JEWEL and its PV and well and LOL I still don't even know how the new ai otsuka song sounds at all....

I don't have an opinion yet.

JEWEL all the way,I stuck with it all day,I've been hearing it for hundreds of times without feeling any boring.My goddd.
I don't really have to fear my choice,it will always beAyu-chan!hoho.Even without he studio version JEWEL did eliminate all those songs in my head.
Yume no uta was better than futari de... but it only can be in my playlist as an optional song and it last for 1 day, renai shasin is next in the count down,this songs is such a great ballads and it last for 1.5 day.Don't ask me bout BoA,she sings Japanese just like Korean so there she out of the chart

To tell the truth I heard them all except Otsuka's new one..and I love them all really but I Choose Kuu =D I love Yume no Uta, next I like BoA's new one and then Ayu's =)

Yume no uta/Futari de , but I like Renai Shashin and Winter love as well.

This is cruel XD XD XD

I voted for JEWEL. :3
If only you exclude Ayu...

XD but i don't like jewel as the other song.. Ayu can do MUCH better

I think JEWEL is the besst fitted for winter. The arrangements are as elegant as small snowflakes silently falling from the sky. It's calm and perfect for driking hot choclate in front of the fireplace all winter.

Hmm I dont know for Jewel, I heard only the live version, maybe the cd version will be better =)

I don't think jewel is a really winter ballad..

I think I'll choose Koda Kumi - Yume No Uta...
I listen it wayy more than Winter Love... though it is tied with Yume No Uta... I liked Yume No Uta more...
I haven't heard Jewel completely... besides from the small segment on the ad.. and its ok... but I may need more to be more fair...
And Ai Otsuka's one comes last... Its got to be one of the most boring-est (if that is a word) songs I've heard... It's just so bland...

Ai's is actually quite refreshing.
The chorus is realllllllly nice. :)

So is BoA's! So good.

Renai Shashin is lovely ^__^ but, like jewel i don't think it's a winter ballad

Same goes for me.

I voted for Winter Love. I absolutely adore JEWEL but I just like Winter Love more currently. It's even more beautiful than Everlasting was. Yume no Uta is great too, but not even close to Winter Love and JEWEL. Renai Shashin...whatever. I usually don't like Ai's releases.

Teh suckkor! XD

It seems Ayu is winning by a landslide. I suppose this is, at the end of the day, an Ayu forum, though. Although JEWEL is probably most fresh in everyone's excited little minds.

頑張れ、BoA子よ！

^
Well, I*m actually thinking that if yume no uta was a bit rearranged and sung by ayu, I would vote for it. But Koda ruins it with her singing. BoA's song is quite generic IMO. Otsuka's ballad is very nice, but not the most outstanding IMO. So I don't know if I feel that JEWEL has the best composition but I like it the most all in all. =P

^Ugh. The thought of Ayu recording Yume no Uta makes me shiver. There are too many "IIII!" notes in that song. I'd die if I had to suffer through that ^_^.

Well, Ai doesn't seem to have any votes :( But for good reason. It's definitely the most lifeless of the four songs. Jewel and Yume no Uta made me go Winter what? So sorry, BoA (you know I love you still). So it's a toss up between Ayu and Kumi.

This is kind of funny. For Ayu, I wasn't amazed by her live performance but I have faith that the cd version will be great. With Kumi, the cd version is good, but her CDTV performance was even better. Her vocal performance was almost flawless. It made me appreciate the song even more.

So, I'm going to give it to Kumi for that (and because I've been having a love affair with her for the past couple of months, shhh!) But in all honesty Boku wa Kuma trumps all these "been there, done that" ballads. Kuma for the Motherf@@@@@@ win!!!

JEWEL by far for me.
then Winter Love.
Then Renai Shashin.
not avex but...
Then Christmas Shoes.
Then Frosty the Snowman.

AND THEN Yume no Uta :D

Haha, I was so happy that JEWEL didn't have anything like that, nothing near for example CAROLS.

Renai Shashin. Okay I'm biased. :rolleyes BoA's Winter Love is also a great song. I can't listen to JEWEL and Kumi's new single. They're so plain and forgettable IMO.

I LOVE those notes. :luv2 It makes it go shivers down my spine...
And it's almost in JEWEL too, but not quite. (In the first phrase of the CM sumething sumting---noniii).

THat's one of the reasons why koda doesen't appeal to me, she cant even make her voice do that.

I don't like those notes. I listen to music at a too loud volume, and those notes KILL my ears.

When I was on my Ayu frenzy I some days had to not listen to any music because my ears was sore. Blah.

Lmao. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised to hear immel saying something like that. :laugh

I think I need to hear all 4 songs first before I can decide :yes ^^;;

Same here. :|
I've noticed recently that Ayu does really really high notes when she 'ii's :x

'JEWEL'. :D

I generally dislike Kuu, but I think 'Yume no Uta' is a pretty decent song. :)

'Winter Love' has a boring melody. Then again, I haven't liked a BoA ballad in years.

And 'Renai Shashin' is slightly better than 'Winter Love', which isn't saying much.

Put a headset on, turn the volume to the max (yes I'm serious) and watch Arena Tour 2005 two times in a row.

Then go to your bed happy, with your ears ringing.

CAROLS is killing.

Actually, my ears can't ring. I've grown immune.

I'm like, in love with her 'ii-ing' anyway. It makes her very distinguishable.

I found it really hard to sing the "ii-ing" part...that's why I avoid singing carols, or I get people staring at me really wierdly going "WTF is she doing".

Don't forget 'End of the World'!

I think Ayu's a one of a kind singer when it comes to her 'style'. Not many can imitate her well.. or can they? l

People can sing her songs well, yes.. but just like she does? [vocal habits and stuff?] I don't think so.

I've had tinnitus for a while (years). Be careful, it's not worth it. Luckily it's not very serious yet, I hope I can keep it like it is.

All I know is, Ayu ballads are like, not Ayu ballads without some serious ii-ing. :)

Think about it! HEAVEN, CAROLS, JEWEL, End of the World, Dearest..

I didn't find that JEWEL had very much of the serious iiIIIiii-ing. The only song that REALLY had, recently, is CAROLS.

I believe that the kurai NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII was very intense. <3 INTENSE.

You know, I wonder how long she can actually hold that iiii-ing...

Does she breath when she's iii-ing?

No. I think she's gotten her breathing to a point where she can do the IIIIII for a while and then breathe a bit afterwards.

Renai Shashin :)

i voted JEWEL. its jus so soothing..... Yume no uta wasnt that bad either.. :D

Anything BUT Yume no uta. It would have been better if someone with more range sang it, someone like Yuki Koyanagi or Misia. Koda Kumi is better off relying on husky-voiced songs.

I'm with truehappiness, an Ayu ballad is only an Ayu ballad if it has some, what do you call it?, iii-ing :D Although in Carols it's a lot stronger. I like something that lets me know it's an Ayu song, some sort of artistic signature. My ears love it. But I had to adapt to it, just like with Chitose Hajime.

I have discovered that moderation is needed when listening to A Song for XX and LOVEppears. I prescribe those for every other week.

I voted for "Renai Shashin"!

Simply beautiful. Although I really love "JEWEL" and "Winter Love", I think this song is better.

i would say JEWEL...
yume no uta and winter love is a really mediocre songs for winter ballad...
renai sashin was nice...but JEWEL was WAY ABOVE it
jewel was so original ayu songs..and SO BEAUTIFUL

JEWEL is the best imo

Hm..

if this forum were not AHS and focused on Ayumi Hamasaki, might people have chosen towards any of the other artists? :<

JEWEL

JEWEL or Renai Shashin

Aw, there was no Senkou.

Poor Van-chan <3
Technically when the new mini-album tracks are released, if the unnamed one's a ballad.. would that need to be added as well?

Kuu's songs were just wonderful.

I consider "Senkou" more... rock? Though, such an amazing song! :yes

Over the years I have become less and less biased about Ayu. I could admit that ULTRA BLUE was a hell of a lot better than (miss)understood and Winter Love sounds better than JEWEL to me. Although we have only heard the LIVE version of JEWEL which tends to be shorter than the original but Winter Love just fits this time of year. BoA always has that Xmas spirit that I LOVE!

i love JEWEL -- but I am a bit biased being an ayu fan... ;)

I don't know.. I think BoA's ballads are always somewhat Christmas-y.. :|

Where Ayu's are kinda.. 'grand' on a scale.. :3

I agree! :yes Although it certainly isn't a winter ballad.

Yes, truehappiness. Ayu's ballads are always amazing. They're events, grand ones in fact. They easily own ballads by other artistes. You don't see her releasing ballads everyday. None of her ballads dissapoint me. (except Dearest)

OMG WHAT DID DEAREST DO TO YOU?!

-finger shake- :no

If anything, you'd dislike the A Song for XX ballads, right?! :x -which were lacking in grandness-

No, I loved those. Powder Snow and ASFXX were frickin amazing. Dearest's chorus really bugs me. It's terrible. :x Believe it or not, I Am... is somewhat my least fave Ayu album.

Well, the album ballads for ASFXX = OMGGG. And maybe YOU. But those are like, the only ballads that stand out to me like shuazzdas.\
I just meant in general. Gah. Stupid ASFXX. Why do you have to be good too?!

Dearest's chorus is sweeeet. There's a reason it won a best lyrics prize [I think.] :D

IMO, every other ballad own it though. What do you think is Ayu's worst ballad? I say Dearest. :D

They're all pretty fantastic, if you ask me. In terms of quality and stuff.
NONE OMG

THEY'RE ALL TOO GOOD. :melts:

I like the A Song for XX ballads the least (except for A Song for XX, that song, I agree, is brilliant). The album is decent, but I have trouble comparing it with everything else that followed.

My least fave album is... Nothing for Nothing! Just kidding, that doesn't count.

Seasons won best lyrics at the Nihon Record Taisho. Dearest won the Grand Prize. I say it should have gone to Endless Sorrow! But that's just me :)

Dearest? is a little boring. but that's my opinion XP
My least favorite ayu album is.. Loveappears, i think. Because in ASFXX there are Powder snow, A song for XX and Friend II that i just love.

its kinda hard for me! i really like ayu's kuu's and ai's! but overall ayu's sounds soo amazing! it reminds me of NWTS, the beginning instrumentals and thats great! :) however, BoA's didnt really impress me...the PV is great tho! the song, i think, is forgetable :-\

I totally agree. I am... just never appealed to me as it did to others. With Dearest though, I just thought that song was good for the first listen after that it was just...there.

1. JEWEL
2. Winter Love
3. Renai Shashin/ Yume no Uta [tied for now]

After listening to the full version of JEWEL, I still choose that song like I did before. I heard the cd version of yume no uta and it is better than the other full version from before.

Let's not be biased! XD

How come "Renai Shashin" has so little votes? The song is brilliant! Though, "JEWEL" and "Winter Love" are love major love. ^o^

It's because Ayu's is so amazing, I guess. LOL

Or cause this IS AHS.. :p

ah, gotta vote Renai Shashin.

I think if even AHS, which is even more of a Koda forum than maybe HONEY FLASH.. but a bit less than JPM's Koda 'thread' voted in such a majority for JEWEL.. it says something :>


I bet Erika is gonna randomly get the Grand Record Prize :p

...or it could be because the poll was made on the day when she sang JEWEL (the new-ness factor)

I dunno..

There's a really high percentage of Koda/Ayu fans here o_o

People will choose what they like most, and.. yeah.

hmmm, jewel, jewel, jewel!! LOL

Think about it. Even live, JEWEL just outclasses all the competition. Ren'ai Sashin is amazing, but JEWEL is just too big.

i prefer ayu because i like her voice!

I swear I picked JEWEL cos like the song and not only cos I like Ayu-chan! :)

Ayu! ^^

I like "Winter Love" the most out of those four, and "renai shashin" is a close second for me. I think "yume no uta" has a decent melody except Koda's singing in this one completely ruined it, and it's a shame.

I usually hate Ayu's ballads . . but JEWEL totally ROCKS!!!

It was a tough one. I chose JEWEL in the end since it's such a stunning ballad but Winter Love comes very close to it.