Thoughts on COUNTDOWN LIVE 2007-2008 Anniversary
 

Since I'm watching it right now, I'm gonna be reviewing the songs as I go along. So far, it's very good. :O Feel free to post your own thoughts too when you get it. :D

starting over - An interlude from Duty that I've never heard too much of before [maybe ONCE] and it's very CDL06-07esque with the lightshow. I liked it, as the dancers were also kinda pumping to the music and everyone was excited!

talkin' 2 myself - Very nice outfit for this! Looks like it was D&Ginspired with the belt and stuff with loose sleeves. One of her better outfits. It's black pants with a jeweled belt that covers her entire waist below her chest and a black top. The vocal performance is okay, better than most TV lives for t2m and I think that she tried really hard since she had to dance as well. I think this'll sound better on the DVD cause the mic seems really... light this time around. Same choreo as always, performed just like you would expect.

BAND introduction - very fun! I love when they do these. The video in the background is fun as there's like, a world map then a compass pointing in like a few directions [one for every band member, keyboard, drums, guitar, etc..] when it gets to the member~

STEP you - Her outfit for this is a white sleeveless button up shirt-dress thing with a top that looks kinda like the one she wore for 130 million choose best artist, but white with a black tie and a plaid skirt. Oh, she also has white knee high boots on. The dancers are wearing Japanese school uniforms with the A logo on them. Ayu looks cute here and her vocal performance is spot on! I don't think I'll be able to say the same for Ladies Night though..

DANCE BREAK - guys doing improvised dancing to a Ladies Night "mixtape" of "ladiiesss niiigggghhtt" "danger!" and stuff.

Ladies Night - The girls have now appeared on "stage B" at the back of the Yoyogi gym, or something like that. The dancers are in female versions of the guys' outfits and Ayu now has a handkerchief. Ladies Night's vocals are average for Ayu, and will probably sound better on the DVD. The "vocoder" parts where she sings are... not even hearable. D: I like the song, but it can't be done live. The boys and girls midway through the song have a danceoff with their handkerchiefs and "skillz." :O By the way, I never noticed airplanes in Ladies Night's studio track.. HOLY CRAP AFTER LADIES NIGHT THERE'S A DANCER WEARING A BLACK BODYSUIT WITH HUUUUGE BOOBS WOOING THE GUYS

fated - OMG SO PRETTY. The pre-fated part with piano only and a string ensemble is breathtaking. They show clips of AT07's M/appears performance of Ayu and Shuya parting with one another.. it's very ... sad. :< It ends with Ayu dashing off from him and then fated begins. She's wearing the Kouhaku dress with a modified skirt so she can walk. She looks BEAUTIFUL with large diamond [like as big as your ear] earrings.. her vocals leave much to be desired, but I'm sure it's just because of the TV version sucking in sound-quality. :< And of course, Shuya walks out semishirtless in his a-nation outfit dancing around like Naoto in the AT06 rainy dat performance. :|

Together When - Ayu starts walking down the runway at this point, and starts to sing. A lot better than the Kouhaku performance it seems, although you can't really hear it due to the mic again. Wow, Ayu rocks the end of the chorus before the bridge! O_O Female dancer is on a ribbon doing a sort of interpretive dance. Think of it like walking proud from AT05 or the end of Dearest in A MUSEUM. This time it's much more dramatic looking since the ribbon is manipulated as she dances. It's so pretty O_O

decision - OMG. HER OUTFIT. Shiny red leather biker-jacketish onepiece cut with shortshorts and thighboots. First decision live, and it's average. Vocally, it sounds like she's not as powerful as in the track. It's okay, but not as memorable as the previous ballads.

SURREAL - It's a classic! This one seems to sound a lot better than decision did [since it's mostly loud singing].. OMG. She sounds sick in some parts of it. Maybe that's why? D: Some of the notes are being sung wrong, so I think... it's not because she "sucks" but it's because she's exhausted. O_O Now it's time for the spinning crane! WOO! Same style as A MUSEUM! It seems like the higher notes are giving Ayu some trouble. She seems to notice that she's off pitch, but smiles regardless. I admire that about Ayu. Sorry, but this is one of her more.. interesting vocal performances of SURREAL. I think it could be because she's trying to deepen some parts, and it's not working..

Bold&Delicious - BE BOLD! YAYAYAYAYGAGAGDDADADWOWOWOW. Her voice is definitely not as soulful as AT06 era... maybe she needs to go back to NY? NO. The guys and girls [dancers] are wearing black and girls have their stockings from (don't) Leave me alone and the guys have shirtless jackets with dress pants and hats. She's really rocking out the BOOOLLDLDLDLDLDL DECICLSISOSOSISUS!

COUNTDOWN MESSAGE - Video of people buying A BEST 2s, then her trip to Asia. I will put her message here:
Now some audience members are crying, and AT07 footage is showing. Now making of footage from GUILTY.

RAINBOW - OH MY GOD, PERFECT SONG. She's wearing a sleeveless sparkle vest and such. Dancers do interpretive dancing to go along with her lyrics behind her with candles in hand. It seems that this song was done in commemoration of her friend... I mean why else candles? This song is done pretty well, and will probably sound a lot better on DVD. So emotional! I want to cry ;_;. Looks like she cried a bit while singing. Midway through the song, the countdown starts. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 HAPPY NEW YEAARR! [This was JUST before the upbeat section of RAINBOW..] It's kinda weird hearing it in her deeper voice.

evolution - You all know the drill.. oh, she put a hat on. Like the talkin' 2 myself LUMIX CM one. Covered in gemstones.

Boys&Girls - See above. Vocals for both songs are okay. Same as usual for CDLs.

glitter - OMG YES MY FAVORIITTTE. She sings it well, better than most of her TV performances.

untitled ~for her~ - Just the title makes me want to cry. It sounds like Ayu was hesitant... when she said she was gonna do the song.. strings ensemble is back and she's in her tour outfit. The performance is very HEAVENesque at AT06. Her eyes are closed... is she seeing Natsuki? She's starting to cry. OMG SHE'S CRYING A TON. D: She almost stopped singing because of it. Some of the notes are kinda weird cause they're high, but OMG. She's so SAD. ;_;. I want to hug her. I can tell she's singing her heart out to Natsuki. I hope she heard Ayu's loving voice. :) Wow, she just finished and she looked up into the sky and kissed upward. What a touching gesture. :)

Sotsugyou Shashin - I don't know how the song is supposed to sound really.. as I've heard it like five times. Ayu singing it sounds very nice, but she has the high loud notes to struggle with. I like that she's singing with a ton of emotion..

MY ALL CHOREOGRAPHY LESSON - apparently, Zin choreographed this too. :| I'm skipping it for later watching.

+ - the song is very high energy and LOUD. I like that they're doing it for like the first time. Seems like the instrumental is overpowering Ayu though. I want this song separate from independent. :P

Humming 7/4 - .... same as evolution and B&G.

MY ALL - my all time favorite song on GUILTY 2nd to untitled ~for her~. I think she did it justice. It is the end of the concert. She's starting to tear up. You can hear it in her voice. I think she's channeling Natsuki again. :< The choreography looks really fun. I'm gonna learn it and do it every time I listen to the song. It's THAT simple and cute.

END - Lots of thankyous and mataozes.. "chao ne"s... Seeing Ayu run across the runway makes me feel her happiness. :) Everyone's now cheering for her as she stands in the darkness alone. And most sincerely, she says "Thank you all very much." :D

I LOVED IT.

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/678...eoldayues2.gif
Makeupless Ayu appears again!

u realise that nobody have watched it other than the audience LIVE and you?

You will see some of it when I rip it though, and people will eventually download it, so might as well.

I'm currently downloading..
i hope to hear her live in some good mood~
but i think there will be soem songs she really isn't into now..
but i'll wait..

Is the band introduction the thingy Ayumi did during Boys & Girls during BEST of CDL?

No, it's the thing with the band members' heads and they play their instrument.

It was before Fly high in BEST of CDL. It was like "laaa laaa laaaa laa woo wowo wowowo ooooooooooooooooooo!!"

cant wait to see yur review...makes it very promising...

OMG..i want to watch it..but i still need to wait about 2 days...(48 hours!!!) OMG!!!

I'm only 29% done downloading.. @_@ taking too long

Ew, is that Metallica playing before 'starting over'?

BEST T2M LIVE EVER!

WOWOW... i feel envious again..

I really can't wait my download to finish!
17.6 % -- ugh...lol

Awesome review :) I still can't believe she sang untitled ~for her~. She had to know she would cry really hard, but she decided to sing it anyway. It takes a lot of guts to ball your eyes out in front of millions of people.

Well I need to wait 16 hours (from after the file was uploaded) that it will start download T_T

I'm sorry but this made me tear up! ;( Ayu has no idea how much this means to li'l ol' insignificant me, who had a horrible year and felt so alone so many times. Just hearing something like this reminds me of how much I love her music and WHY I love it so much, despite what my friends and naysayers say.

Thank you so much for this very detailed report! I'm really looking forward to watching it now.

Im dl it now. I know Im bad but I will buy the DVD later :D hey!! can someone tell what Ayu did to her hair? in talking to myself PV, her hair was very short, evan on the side. Now on Dont leave me alone Pv her hair on the side are longer... its that extensions again :)

Aside from RAINBOW and a few songs from GUILTY, I think I really want to see +, as it was only performed one other time, and that performance I haven't even seen before.

Okay, besides 2004-2005, this is one CDL I'd really like to buy once it is released. :)

^ Yeah I'm definitely going to look into buying this when it comes out, haha. I don't care how much it costs.

I'm sorry but I think that this CDL opening 'voice' ...I mean ayu's voice...sounds bad... maybe she's tired after screaming to promote Together When... LOL
but from 2004-2006 it's not this bad...maybe just the TV quality or what
or maybe just the 1st song
coz I've seen only talkin' 2 myself

Nah, it's always like this. ESPECIALLY for talkin' 2 myself because of the way the song is.

TW... is really good in the CDL though.

i can't wait to watch too.. and i'll put my thoughts down here later on :)

Just finished watching. This is definitely her best CDL ever...

talkin' 2 myself - FIRE!!!
STEP you - great vocally
Ladies Night - loved the dance-off, but WHAT was that hideodeous black thing? I never want to see it again.
decision - Princess and Peco almost ruined the song, but ayu did pretty well once she got going
SURREAL - was she laughing at herself?
Bold & Delicious - she really loves to perform this song, doesn't she?
Countdown Message - she sounds weird...her Engrish sounds different too
glitter - what's she laughing at now?
untitled ~for her~ - didn't take long for her to start crying, but she pulled it together by the end
Sotsugyou Shashin - great vocally
Humming 7/4 - what's so funny?
MY ALL = :love

Overall, I think it's her best CDL. I can't wait for the DVD version with good audio.

Yeah, I agree.

It's better than CDL05-06, which was plagued with bad costumes. But that one had slightly better vocals.

IMO, this seemed like an ARENA TOUR-ish concert... very elaborate.

It was the anniversary CDL though...perhaps that had something to do with it? And I've definitely got nothing against elaboration ;D -sigh- I SO wanna see this.

I've posted the clips of MY ALL, starting over - talkin' 2 myself - band introduction, and RAINBOW in the downloads thread if you wanted to see some of it.

Also:

Was this her first CDL on the day of that she didn't forget any lyrics to any songs?! O_O

i want 2 c d rip

I really like the stage, and the outfit Ayu wore for Talkin 2 Myself is awesome (want it!!) But her vocals are poor (it's like she's choking on her own voice), and Peco and Princess's singing drowns her out during the chorus. Not to mention the two of them sound AWFUL during the band introduction....they're like wailing banshees.

I might comment again after I watch RAINBOW.

It could be that t2m is just WAY too hard to do live.

I mean if Ayu were a guy, it'd probably be easier to do.. XD

^Haha, I wonder....I'm sure my voice would be ready to break if I tried belting out T2M on stage...

Her vocals were nicer during RAINBOW, and once again, she looked dazzling in that sparkly outfit. The performance was pretty interesting, too....I was wondering if those candles were real, up until they started thrusting them into the air X)

And.....I really think Ayu's hairstyle right now might be the best style she has ever had.

WAIT.

They're really funkily done. XD They're like these plastic tips that look like candlelights that move around. XD

She played Nickelback's album before the start during both nights mainly.

WOW I just watched ladies night it was SO HOT!!! best ladies night performance ever!! (there are only 2 right if we count this one lol)

but her dancing was really good and the fans going crazy! that was a really cool performance!!! SO GOOD! and yeah the crazy girl with big boobs! what's up with that! part of the "sureal dream" I guess! lol

lovin' the concert!

I might wanna buy this one ^^

It was a great CDL. Possibly my favourite ever. I loved the set list (OMG +!) and the costumes (I want to go to Ayu's school. I would totally wear the uniform. :D). There definitely were some things that weren't perfect, but I was far too dazzled by Ayu's smile and energy to notice much. ♥ Can't wait for the DVD.

And major LOLs @ the woman in the black bodysuit. XD

I don't even think it was a woman.. it looked like it could've been her "manipulator" guy that she usually credit in the staff... XDDD

yeah TV versions always have bad audio since its not mixed well. I need the DVD version to actually watch it properly. We are not getting the whole effect of the concert with the TV version. The performances are great and costumes are great, the A museum stage is fantastic, im glad they are using it again. So far, its my favorite countdown, i liked last years as well, this one is better, we just need the DVD version, i can never sit and watch the TV version of anyone of these concerts.

To be honest, I don't think anyone could ever think she'd lipsynch... ESPECIALLY in this concert. I mean, a lot of songs had vocal problems, and that's "lipsynched?" :|

^ yeah true, this is nowhere near lip-sync, surely all live.

So, after watching the three clips truehappiness posted (thanks so much for that, by the way!) I think this is looking like a fantastic CDL. talkin' 2 myself was definitely better than a lot of her TV lives and her outfit was awesome. RAINBOW was really nice, I liked the candles and the simplicity of how the dancers' moved. She always looks cute in that glittery vest too ^_^ And when I watched MY ALL, I burst into tears. Me and my emotional hormones... but when I saw the end, when she runs down to the B-Stage and and then, when she's running back again, the spotlights make a little heart over her! It was SO awesome!

I haven't seen MY ALL in its entirety, till now that is. I didn't notice that she was crying so much o_o;

I think she's crying more in this one than any other performance where she's shed tears..

This CDL definitely made me like some of the new songs more.

I just watched the concert 'till RAINBOW and it's really a good concert so far!! so much passion when she's performing, she's having so much fun on stage and you can even feel too! best CDL ever! (or at least better than the past one)

Favorite performances: Ladies Night, Together When..., Decision , Surreal !!:love

and OMG at this part of decision:
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/9992/ayudesnk2.jpg
She looks SO DAMNED GOOD!... that's my favorite part of the concert so far!.



I just thought of some1 who she might have been!!

(hope it's not too much:))

truehapines,.. you see directly the LIVE??

how long the duration??

Whaa? I watched the live via the TV version like everyone else did.. .except a few people that actually did see everything live..

I'm watching it right now and omg I'm near speechless. I want to write up a long review but that may have to wait 'til tomorrow/another viewing. Honestly I can barely get myself to write after this one...

I think this is the best performance of hers that I have EVER seen, CDL or not: this is a REALLY solid show.

Edit:

minkA: YES I AGREE! omg I almost gasped at that part. Ayu looked fierce as all hale XD

Edit 2: OMG HER 2007 SPEECH WAS IN ENGLISH. fjdksfsjdl God I started to CRY at that, I'm such a horrible sap. Her voice sounded a little raspy, but it was still coherent and easy to understand what she was saying. :( Now I'm on RAINBOW and.. gah, it's beautiful to far.

i'm sorry, but is this the 1st day (30dec) or the 2nd day (31dec) show??

It's the 31st of December show. It's the one that was broadcast live on New Year's Eve [the evening of]~

sorry2..
because i dun see we can download now the TV ersion..
thanks for review..
im downloading now

I'm dling the whole show now from JPS, but my speed is really slow since I'm mooching off someone's wireless...I downloaded the untitled ~for her~ performance because I really REALLY wanted to see it, and I was in tears before the performance was 2 minutes in. Oh my god, it was so sad. Can't wait for the rest of the concert and information on the DVD! It'll come out sometime in February, most likely, if it's a standalone DVD.

Best CDL ever.
really! no audience and UNITE and indepent and flower garden.

However, vocally, it went downhill after decision
And what a dissapointing decision is that... Peko and princess have to be killed.

It is frightening to listen to SURREAL and +
she cant even sing and in tune for humming? i mean how can u sing off key to humming?
If u listen carefully, the places she goes off tune is not the high notes but the low ones especially the ones which is a bit longer than the rest.

o god. i actually sound so negative about her CDL! No No! em.. talkin' to myself is great, musch better than all her performance of that song combined.
how beautiful is fated and tw? and how beautiful is her vocal! (it is b4 decision)

That's exactly how I am during that performance. Ayu can barely sing she's so choked up ;-; And that doesn't make the song bad or less enjoyable, but you can just SEE the pain on her face. When she knows she can't hit notes it's almost worse.. god I honestly couldn't stop crying.

Wow, I just watched it and it was a fantastic live. I didn't think she sang too badly, I thought a lot of the performances from last year's countdown were much worse, even WITH the DVD editing. But oh man, the Untitled ~for her~ performance got me real good, it was so sad. I cried too. She looked very depressed and pained when she started introducing the song. >.<. I've never seen her cry so much during a song.

OMG the file is very big..i cant download all.. T__T i hope there is smaller size

I like the CDL 2007-2008 . . rainbow performance was good but at the end of the song .. she sang a little bit weird but it's ok

Wow she looks amazing in the Decision performance! Good vocals, right until the end. My god, I couldn't listen to the last 30s.

I uploaded it on veoh. It's up at the clip download thread.

I LOVE the whole show so MUCH!!!

I just finished watching the show and I thought it was really good. Yeah SURREAL was a little off but the rest was good.

RAINBOW now has a whole new meaning to me. You don't know this but I lost a relative last week to cancer and she's been suffering for a long time. But ayu's New Year message and RAINBOW really got to me. I was sitting crying for about 10 minutes. I don't think that there has ever been a song that affected me like that before. Now I love RAINBOW even more :)

Can I nominate you for sainthood? :glomped I DL'd it already from Bittorrent, but I have a friend that will be very appreciative.

startin over - nice intro.. loved the lights

talkin`2 myself - the outfit is cool :yes awsome like the pv~ and fire!! yeah

STEP you - omg!! so cute! and ayu looks so young o_o And love Gomi with glasses~

Ladies Night - loved the dancers!! that`s the best intro/outro and everything.. and the stage on the end of the catwalk is cool~

fated/together when... - a little boring :/ she didnt sound good to me...

decision - ok. I HATE PECO AND PRINCESS NOW! THey sound horrible! And the outfit is horrible just because it`s so shiny

SURREAL - my fav, but sounded bad and weird..

Bold & Delicious - fun song :D I liked it

RAINBOW - finally!! and great timing for countdown .. and she continued after, so sweet!!!

evolution - she sang with a little cuter voice.. nice nice ^^

Boys & Girls - ... watashi tachi nara!! *everybody sings* .. kanojo tachi nara!! *girls sing* ^^

glitter - she missed lyrics!! second chorus the end she says "daijini shite" instead "sagashini yukou" :P and I hate when she sings wow wow wow >_<"

untitled ~for her~ - I cried already when she said the title. i started to cry when ayu did.. on the second chorus i was dead! sorry, i`m too emotial now ;_; and I think her voice was the best in this song

COREOGRAPHY - Ayu... I think you should stop laughing and let him explain finaly :P ... no waaay.. she kept laughing (oh well, and I would too)

+ - sweet!! good for a change to sing with the audience :yes la la la la c`mon!

Humming 7/4 - I love it because it`s hyper and audience sings! And why did she start to laugh?? I think somemone was messing with microphone settings, Ayus voice was vibrating too much lol ^^ It was fun~

MY ALL - SO COOL!!! I tried to follow the dancers, but I messed up.. forgot >_<"

Well.. it isn`t one of my favs, it was nice :D She chose the right song to finish the performance... Aaaand.. I noticed that on MY ALL one guy was singing with Ayu, he downloaded the album!! :P And he was the only one who knew the song.. wow

I don't think the vocals were as good as usual, especially on Ladies Night, but they're still good, untitled~for her~ was beautiful, I felt sad when Ayu cried, I wonder why she laughed on Humming 7/4...

Makeupless Ayu is pretty!

Anyway, I haven't seen the concert yet. The file is too huge. I'll wait for someone to upload it somewhere so I can stream it instead.

I just noticed Shuya is totally crying in MY ALL right before she starts introducing the dancers. I wonder if it's his last concert with Ayu, or if he's just being weird.

Probably it's because a TV Version. Anyway CDL isn't usually about vocals. Most have average vocals. DVD's always have their audio enhanced. Anyway this is one of my favourite from the CDL series. Usually they have just singing and little dancing but this one seems to include more features in it which makes it pretty interesting.

I'm pretty much hating PECO and Princess though. Their vocals are like those of banshees and it doesn't sound exactly pleasant to the ears...

^ I finally understood why some people don't like Peco and Princess after watching this. I don't know if I'd call them banshees (:X!) but it's like.. all they do when a song isn't on is go OOOH, AHHH, YEAH YEAH, WHOA WHOA and how freakin' useful is that? I can't help but wonder how these women feel, being the random noise chorus for Ayumi Hamasaki.

So I guess that... my only suggestion in regards to that would be getting two new chorus girls--hell, some of those dancers sounded like they could sing D:

The vocal quality wasn't the BEST during this show but this is hands down THE best Ayumi show I have ever seen. There was so much emotion, so much passion--2007 has been quite the year for Ayumi, ups and downs, and you could see it on her face, you could hear it in her voice, and just FEEL it, even through the screen. I can't imagine what it must have been like BEING there with her on either night.

I think my only complaint was the SURREAL performance--it just seemed random, haha. She hops in a cherry picker and.. waves at the crowd. Weird..

Maybe Shuya saw that Ayu was upset, too, or knew something more about what went into writing the song? Ayu was honestly a teary mess during that song, and I couldn't help but cry at seeing her--maybe he's sappy, too!

Cuz she made eye contact with Zin and probably thought about the MY ALL choreography part :P

Peco and Princess's vocals were so horrible during decision, it did not complement ayu's voice at all. Anyway her vocals were just way bad during the songs she performed in that red costume. Especially Surreal.

But other than that, I love the choreography and setlist. Ayu seemed very happy during the encore session. The costumes were pretty except for the encore costume. :X It made ayu look bloated.

Lovin' the ballads section, fated and Together When.. were just so emotional.

Her dancers have a tendency to cry during her last songs too. Shuya's cried before. :P I finally saw the whole concert...I absolutely loved it! Definitely my favorite CDL. I can't wait for the DVD. <3 She looked very classy throughout the whole show. Loved the outfits. <3

she's SO lipsyncing in STEP you. Her vocals are so blah in talkin 2 myself ..... she couldn't possibly sing STEP you the way she did live. It's impossible. Seeing this concert confirms her time is over. It's all bland and boring now. She's done everything like this already. Custome stuff, dancer stuff, everything. I'm bored with her.

It was a good cdl!

Do you think that Ayu wanted to be more close with her fans? With the stage in the left side, the elevator in right and the stage in the bottom of the room?

Was it really that bad (i mean the ayu crying part)!?
i really can't stand when saw ayu cried, it made me cried even more ;_;

It's not necessary to post false thoughts about ayu here, and i think you're so wrong!!

@PrincessAyu:then gtfo of the forum if you don't like.

I loved it!
I want the dvd!

I loved the concert and set list. My favorite part was Step You/Ladies Night.

The only bad part of the concert was Surreal - OMG Ayu please tell me you are still able to sing that song properly.

Oh yeah and I've been saying this for years - get rid of Peco and Princess. Somehow they managed to be even worse than usual in this concert. I don't get it. Ayu actually had GOOD backup singers durring the A Ballads period and then for no reason we get these 2 banshees.

I don't get where you guys are going on and on about her extremely terrible vocals. I was watching the concert with my very high quality headphones and she sounded fine. Just lower, and some missed notes for songs periodically.

^ Mm, I agree. It sounds different from her studio versions, but they sounded nice all the same. Now, to talk about some more clips I've seen.

decision: Ayu sounded awesome--but PECO and Princess tore out my ear drums and crushed them with their wailing vocals. But Ayu's outfit and hair and Yo-chan's pretty hair made me feel better.

untitled ~for~ - Vocals were fantastic. I know I could never sound that good while I'm crying. I was crying along with her, she was tugging my heart that hard.

you all have sausage in your ears. xD she sings terrible. I decided it's better to watch SURREAL in A Museum than in this new cdl :tired:tired:tired

@ nippon: I can be here if I want >_> there's others who also think she sounds off and they use less words. XD

@ whoever said about false thoughts: how can my own thoughts be false o-0? Compare this cdl STEP you to the arena tour STEP you. It's THE SAME.

Yes Ayu looked great there didnt she:D and Yocchan too <333

the background vocals are............ *earsbleed*

well, if all you're going to do is complain, why bother?

Umm, right. Sure. Whatever. If you can choreograph and design Hamasaki's performances better than she can, why don't you do it? I really don't see what's so terrible about her vocals. They were fine, Countdown Live 2005 TV version was much worse.

ok fine be angry or whatever:p if you ALL seem to think this is as great vocal-wise as years back, then go ahead. XD I'm tired of her singing. And yes that's the last I'll say about it. Most of you are like "aw ayu must be sick or tired" or say" <3" about everything she does anyway. While she can't sing like before and it'll only get worse from here ^_^.

I said she sounded fine, as in neutral, there's a difference between great and fine you know? You're just being ridiculous and unreasonable.

All in all this is my 2nd favorite CDL ^__^ The costumes are not spectacular but it was a very emotional and personal concert, imho ^^

My Top 3 of Countdown Lives:

1. CDL 05-06
2. CDL 07-08
3. CDL 04-05

I'll stick to my opinion, I thought she sounded great. I've sort of given up on comparing her to her older days and just try to see how on-key she is. Cause we all know Ayu ain't gonna turn back the clock and go back to supah-Ayu time. So I'm good with what we've got. Plus, she still sounds better than a ton of other artists live. And I wish I had sausages in my ears. That would be awesome ^_^

Ayu looked cute in the plaid outfit during the encore. She's the only person, IMO, who'll ever look good in plaid.

Seriously? Iris, you are so freaking full of negativity. No one wants to hear it. If you're not a fan anymore, whatever, no big loss, but don't rain on our parade.

OMG I want to STAB Miwako Hamada in the HEART! Ayumi, PLEASE get rid of Peco! She is a RUINER OF CONCERTS.

OH. MY. GOD.

A-frickin-MEN!

i never usually post but i feel i must voice my disapointment :( This would have been the best CDL ever for me....had Ayu not sung soooo badly ;;... i agree with what someone said about it going downhill after decision. Surreal was terrible :S lol; but not only Surreal...she was singing part of just about every song after that slightly lower than the proper key and it really bugged me :/ (reeeeach for the notes ayu;;;;). She couldn't even sing the low parts of humming in key... If only the vocals of CDL 05-06 could be coupled with the visualls of this CDL :(...
Also OMG i agree with everybody that Peco and Princess must be hung...on the bright side they made Ayu sound like Mariah Carey by comparison...lolz

also whoever said she lip synched step you that is not true... i have never, in her 10 year career seen Ayu lipsynch.

Her vocals were so-so. Not as bad as last year's CDL but definitely not her best....I like how untitled~for her~ and MY ALL sounded live though! :) And I actually really like the schoolgirl outfit. My favorite part of the whole thing has to be the fact that there were multiple stages, with the big catwalk down the middle! Awesome way to reach more fans.

I don't think your name suits you. :|

So what if you don't care about Ayu anymore? Get out of the forum if you think so. No offense, but I think you want attention or something by posting negative thoughts about Ayu, almost like you want people to tell you: "Please stop talking."

I kinda agree with you there...I dled the clips and she sounded very off-key in most of the songs...she wasn't following the rhythm at all. I'm a die-hard fan of ayu, but I haven't throroughly enjoyed any of her lives since a long time...I used to LOVE her lives, even preferred them to the CD version, but something definately happened...maybe she needs to rehearse more.

well, i'm not really in to this whole "thought about cdl" thing because i'm not watch the show yet even the preview on veoh or yt, but all i want to say is that i'm so satisfied with the setlist, the stage (saw the screencaps,lol), and how ayu still could made most of you guys happy and satisfied too...
Thank you for all the thoughts (positive:luv2 and negative:innocent) guys, really make me more anticipate on the release of the DVD
:thanks2:

I watched BEST of CDL 06-07 DOCUMENTARY recently, and she sang pretty well there outside of a "performance" setting when it was just her rehearsing. I think it's just circumstances and stuff that arose in the last week that made her voice all... blah. This has happened before, where she had to "reach" a lot of the time for notes and stuff. I see it as a very small problem though, considering that she probably does this concert on less than 5 hours of sleep. :|

I liked the concert. Her vocals were.. yeah.. so-so, at best. But I liked the whole aura around the concert this time.

STEP you and evolution.. prerecorded vocal tracks, 90% sure. Just listen to how clear and crisp her voice sounds compared to the songs in between. I wouldn't think it's a bad thing if the concert was phenomenal vocally, but it's not.. so.. as a fan, it worries me a little bit.

Actually, STEP you was only the second song of the show, and that song seems like she's done it enough times to know how to sing it...

I mean, it's not that difficult to sing STEP you. It's MUCH easier than talkin' 2 myself, so t2m is no standard for "omg wow" vocals.. perhaps the vocals just went downhill as TW.... ended?

I think there may be a reason why the vocals are a bit off...i noticed that the ear piece she uses in this CDL is different from her usual big black ones. Also, i noticed she was messing with her ears quite a few times. I think this could explain some of the problems.

My thoughts on each song:

talkin' 2 myself: i did like this performance...of course the vocals were a little hard to hear, but i think it was very well done. i especially love the outfit.

STEP you: my first response is that it is most probably lip sung....the vocals are soo much better than the rest of the songs...it almost sounds exactly how the AT06 performance did. LOVE the theme though

Ladies Night: very cute... i don't know why everyone thinks that this has such a bad vocal...i definately think SURREAL takes the lead for poor vocal in this concert. I like the dance off too

fated: i think the vocal sounded pretty good...I HATE Shuya's dance..it looks awkward most of the time. the dress, imo should have been longer, but i understand the need to make it short so she can walk.

Together When...: This probably has one of the best vocals in the concert, which should be expected since she's performed it steadily for the past month. it's really a powerful ballad. I love the acrobatics...its nice because of the fabric and stuff. it seems to tell a story of sorts.

decision: First, I think i do like the outfit :P i know it's pleather and shiny and stuff but i do like it, it's edgy. Also, I think ayu's vocals by her self are spot on...and i dont think that Peco and Princess's vocals are awful until the "yeah yeah oooh ooohs" near the end which is when they've been bad in the past as well. Overall, I liked this performance...seems like it'll be another song like 'is this LOVE?' in AT06. i like.

SURREAL:....well the beginning was decent. I think the concept of the performance was very good. i like the lift and runway use and stuff. it gets off when she starts with the "ah"....this is one of my favorites and i must say that this is probably the worst vocal of it i've heard. good performance concept though.

Bold & Delicious: Overall, it was okay... i like it when the girl dancers come out right behind ayu. Peco's howling kinda always makes this song...less than stellar...but it's bearable. I think this is probably a good audience song. it seems to get them going really well. I like this one too.

RAINBOW: i like what the dancers are doing. I also this song has very good vocals before the countdown.. after the countdown, it seems that she's yelling a bit, however the song is still a very good performance and seems that it's very emotional.

evolution: what can i say? it's a classic. and it's sung well. however, i wish she had performed AUDIENCE of flower garden in replace of this or Boys & Girls.

Boys & Girls: again, not much to say, it's the same classic performance.

glitter: vocals are good and everything...somehow i dont see how a song that is blatantly about Summer fits in a New Years...i think it would be interesting if she changed the lyrics to be about the new year... :P that probably sounds dumb but it sounds good in my head.

untitled~for her~: O...M....G i have never seen her get this emotional ever! you can definately feel the pain behind the song. I think this is the most touching performance i've seen in a long time...it's up there with the 'teddy bear'-'Memorial address' performances in AT03-04. when she says the title, it made me tear up...and when she bawls, i had to let loose :(. Beautiful. It probably has the best vocals of all of them.

卒業写真: I dont really know this song that well but this is a very nice performance. It made me go and listen to it from A BALLADS. i think the vocal was good in this one also.

+: nice to hear this one. i wish this one was performed more at concerts, it's obviously a good crowd song. it really gets the audience into it.

Humming 7/4: Ugh....i know many people would disagree, but this song just annoys me. I don't like it at all. But if i were to give my opinion, it did it's job by getting the crowd excited.

MY ALL: Another fantastic performance emotionally. this is a perfect closer...especially to a CDL with the title "Anniversary" when considering the lyrics. You can tell she has a lot of emotion behind this song as well.

OVERALL: Of course, there were some vocal issues and blah blah blah, but Best of CDL 06-07 almost bored me to tears. so this one is very exciting...however i do wish she had done more as far as costumes...wish she had done something more extravagant rather than outfits that are very similar to a lot of the TV performances we've seen this year. Also, it was pretty obvious that STEP you was lip sung so that was kind of a bummer but what can you do?

I like it a lot so i give it a 8/10. However, it isn't better than my all time favorite, CDL04-05.

I still don't know if STEP you was lipsynched or not. IMO, it really doesn't seem like she'd choose one song out of 17 to do that for...

Plus, it was only the 2nd song of the show, whereas SURREAL was more towards the middle, thus sounding much worse. I dunno. Perhaps she really got into STEP you?

Even the adlibs were the same as AT06 though, so perhaps it was the same "performance" just not some vocal track..

^well she lip sang 'theme of a-nation '03' at CDL05-06...and that song is definately not a hard song...i thought that was really bizarre...you can tell in the tv version of that one becuase her lips move different and the vocal does something different.

with STEP you though, i think she probably used the vocal from AT06 because her vocals, even when mixed with Peco and Princess are far too crisp and clean to be live...when considering the rest of the songs.