The Good Aspect of Not Debuting at #1
 

Well everyone, even though it has yet to be fully confirmed, it's almost certain that Ayu's album GUILTY will be debuting at the #2 spot. Even though the news might be a bit upsetting and disappointing, I believe something good could really come out of this.

Does anybody believe that Ayu might actually be feeling relief right now? Maybe she is tired of having such a strong responsibility, making sure she carries this streak that is so advertised. This could be the beginning of something amazing! Without Ayu having to worry about the streak she might actually begin doing things differently. She might venture into different styles of music, might begin a new releasing pattern and might do a complete 360* of the Ayu we already know! As an artist this might be like a breath of fresh air for our girl, this might actually push her to do amazing new things.

Without the responsibility of this streak, she is free to do exactly what she wants, and is free to fully experiment as much as she wants with new music styles without having to worry if her new endeavors might be well received or not.

I think this might be the beginning of a new, more innovative Ayu :sheyhey

Are you my twin because you totally read my mind :laugh
If I was in Ayu's position, I'd be sick of being number 1 ALL the time.

Hmm, it's almost for sure it's not gonna hit number 1?

Hell yeahs, I hope so. I want some trip-hop, ska, and psychedelic pop. LOL siiiike.

No but in all seriousness, the next summer song should be reggae.

Ayu already has more than 10 albums at #1. So I don't know why everyone is sad about it. Plus this isn't the first time Ayu's isn't #1. C'mon people! Ayumi has so many records that hasn't been broken that it's not even funny. (Yes it is!)

Ayu is the only artist to have a recut single to debut @ #1. She is the only artist to have occupied three positions on the Oricon. She is the best selling remix artist in Japan. The #1 selling female artist. She's the first and only artist to reach 20 million single sales. The last female artist to sell a million in single sales. The first and only artist to sell a million with a mini-album.

Need to go?!

I though GUILTY was perfect aswell. I hope she releases something like Bold & Delicious again ehehe i love that song.

Number 1 is jus a figure. i am sure thats something ayu isnt craving for..

Trip-hop, reggae, you have some good taste! I agree! ^_^

Exactly! She is a powerhouse!

thank you! :glomped
I really think it will as well plus as you and me have said before, Ayu needs to rest more anyways .

I don't even think Ayu cares that much, I honestly think she is probably feeling relief!

I agree with all of you.
And besides, I don't think Ayu wasn't expecting this.
She probably knew that one day, her number one streaks
would come to an end sooner or later. I'm sure she was
ready/prepared for it, along with her staff members.

Now that her streak ended, I don't think Ayu really
has to be nervous about not getting number ones
anymore. I mean after ten years of getting number one streaks,
it must be hard to see it end-but I'm sure she's feeling somewhat
relieved.

I think ayu just wants us to listen to her songs...I believe if she really cared about sales and rankings, she would of had the album in many versions and would of did like a pv for every song, goodies and included a extra dvd of some sort (like one of the overseas concerts or something) and not just a few page photobook and 2 new pvs for the album.

Now that the streak is broken, ppl can concentrate on whats more important and that's her music. She have plenty of records anyways...and besides its not like ayu won't get #1 anymore. If avex pick her release date more carefully next time, she'll have #1 again.

Yeah I think it's a good thing too! So maybe she'll get #1 with her next one, who knows? Doesn't matter to me! I hope this does make her decide to experiment a bit more. After 10 years of constant #1's it'll be fun to see Ayu all over the chart and not just #1 and then sinking fast.

I hope this puts less pressure on her, she doesn't need it.. She's already proven she has all it takes to make it in this industry and smashed tons of records that probably won't be broken for generations, if they can even be broken.

So proud of our Ayu :)

im reallly looking forward to ayu's future creations!

Lol what are you implying :lech

i agree ! i want new creation n new taste of music!!
may be disco like CONFESSION OF A DANCEFLOOR or jazzy rock like BACK TO BLACK? XD
btw what is d dif beetween triphop n hiphop?

I am so disappointed to be honest, but hell yeah GO AYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU..........

it kinda pissed me off that she lost over boy band, Kobukuro.... I used to love you but WHY?????? Why.....??????????

The good point of Ayu losing her #1 streak is................................................ .................................................. ..............
I dunno..... perhaps..... She will feel one of her burden lift off her shoulder? U know, when u r on top of the world, it kinda bothers you, or burdens you, to keep trying to stay at the top all the time. But, MAN, this IS really pissed me off.

and what are you implying by asking this? I mean what do you think of it?

While I don't think that she's absolutely, positively shattered to the point that she refuses human interaction over this not-#1 business, I do think she still CARES to a point. I mean, look at what happened when glitter/fated debuted at #1--she puts a thank you message on her official site. Of course it's not the most important thing in the world, but it is a bit of a letdown. She's accomplished a lot, true, but Ayu is still a perfectionist who wants to keep accomplishing great things. She's not going to stop just because she has lots of awards and such under her belt.

It may indeed be a kind of creative release for her, but I wouldn't say she feels less "responsible" now somehow. Ayu's always just wanted to make good music first, and #1 or not I think she'll always hold that as a responsibility.

Well hey you know, I never thought about it that way. Very good point! It's really hard to keep a 'winning streak' like that and she shouldn't have to worry about always being #1 just to make all her fans happy (which would mean they were never really fans of Ayu). It might be fun to hear new diverse styles from our Ayu :yes! I'm always open to new stuff from my favorite artists so who knows?

Oh speaking of which I once read a post somewhere in some blog that they used to love Ayu but they 'started to realize she just wasn't selling anymore' ( <----direct quote xD) and converted to a Kumi fan just because of that :grumpy
I hate it when people just like an artist for their fame :irked

a creativity-release: yeah that's what i think this will have to be for ayu- for the better. i agree with this statement :)

LOL! :D

Check this out, I'm quoting myself from the 2nd "GUILTY" chart thread:

:D We think alike. :yes My post was ignored though, lol.

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showpo...9&postcount=71

Lol, If Ayu does a 360* turn she'll be in the same place :P. Anyways though, I'm sorta mad and sad about her not making #1, but I know it wouldn't change her much. Maybe she'll do other kinds of music but nothing like reggae or something crazy, I want dance music :O.

Some dance music would be nice :D
I think Ayu's voice sounds really good in upbeat fast-paced music :cool

I gotta admit, I love GUILTY so I'm a little disappointed that it didn't get #1, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ayu felt the same. That said, hopefully the pressure will be off her shoulders. Her accomplishments (including the streak) are already enviable, and I really doubt that she won't top the charts again.

I still like to see Ayu in first...It's just an I~*love*~Ayu so much thing for me. Of course it doesn't make me say [GUILTY] was a bad album, just b/c it hit number 2 during it's first *official* week of release. [GUILTY] was an AWESOME album and I don't care what happens to it in terms of sales. Still, we've still got one more day until the official number. Who knows, maybe 20,000 Ayu-fans will pop out of nowhere and buy-buy-buy?

Looking back, it's weird to see that every freaking out over a #2. But really, as long as the album is good, I have no complaints.

If I were Ayu, I would be disappointed it didn't get #1, and it would encourage me to try even harder to ensure my next album did.
I would do a album FULL of CREA :p

yeah, I've thinking that GUILTY will not be the No. 1 o_O

...
but... just for curiosity, who was the fist?

It's her 10th anniversary, there's stuff going everywhere, things are occuring so fast... I think it's a good time for change.

I'd hope this tragedy of not getting a #1 is a wake-up call for Ayu, and she'd steer her music away from this rock-direction it's been heading :P

Well, she's no.1 right now by 400 or so copies on this week's chart.. XD

So, with time.. maybe she could get a no.1 in week 2? O_O

this chart very disturb me..
i stress about the chart that she cant streak #1 again T__T

but she do very well from debut album until secret..
i hope 3rd week she can top the chart

i'd like her to keep her streak..just because it is an extremely difficult thing to do, and anyone who doubs ayu could just look at the streak...but then again, i also agree with you. but i'm still a bit sad :( especially where GUILTY is such a great album!!! >:[

I'm not really happy how GUILTY didn't reach #1. The tradition of an Ayumi Hamasaki studio album reaching #1 was alive for 9 years and it's a tradition I don't like to let go of. A studio album is the biggest, most important artistic output for an artist and I was very used to seeing #1 albums from Ayumi from the very start of her career.

All good things must come to an end. I think this, on top of everything else that happened this year (Nagase Tomoya; death of her friend; hearing loss) might spark a major change in her, though, for sure. I hope she takes some time to herself for a while.

i agree with most of you ,
but if GUILTY pop-up to be #1 in the 3rd week sales, does it count to maintain the #1 streak ??

She's gonna turn into Utada after this. Releasing sporadically and composing her own music. ! WOOT !

I think she will be sad, but shes known it was coming ( hint: vogue). yep.