Best concerts? Ayu/Koda/Utada~
 

Which of those three artists do you think makes the best concers? Ayumi, Koda Kumi or Utada Hikaru? So not which artist you like the most, or what music you prefer, but who does the best concerts. I always thought it was Ayu's, but Koda has a huge freaking setlist and a lot of cool random stuff (like the glass breaking that I wanted Ayu to do ~.~; ), so I think that Koda makes the best tours. Though she's my least favorite artist. Then Ayu, and at the last spot Utada. She's good, but just a screen behind her is kind of meh. I love the floor she's standing on in the UNITE tour 2006, though.

ayu...period

I have all of Koda's DVDs except for the latest which I'm still waiting for OS press to be out . She has great stage presence & the stage props & themes are unique in each DVD . Could tell that she doesn't stick to just 1 stage theme & the setlist in each DVD is not stagnant .

So far the onlyayumi's DVD that I have's her Arena (miss)understood tour . I enjoyed that a lot , the costumes & that red wig that she wore's cool . I'm still waiting for OS press of ATOS to be out though

I have to say Ayu has the best tour on average .. but koda is a freshface at these tours so she will bring in more excitement for sure ...

after all .. ayu has over 10 concerts (at least) .. and kumi has like 5

AYU forever.
i like her tour because great stage,great outfit,great dancers and great setting.
for kuu too much dance.nothing very special like ayu.

for hikki, i just enjoying her voice but get bored easily

Ayu all the way...other artist just bores me to the bones..

This just asks for

'What's the point? This is an Ayu forum'

eh ._.

^

You can look at it objectively like me lol. I love Ayu's concerts more but Koda's are longer and look better so I vote for Koda's. XD

It's also interesting to hear other's arguments why Ayu's better. ;)

hitomi -- LOVE CONCENT tour is great too but ayu's is still the best...
great outfit and stage...
the second will be kuu and namie

about the voice...
namie, kuu and hitomi are great but unfortunately ayu's voice in live isnt so good...
too bad

I'm not saying that I don't, but I know the reactions of people on here -.-

Well, not really. Bring on the "Koda sux, Ayu rox LULKTHX" comments~ :rolleyes

Eh, I have to pick Koda. She puts on a great show, her costumes are always well designed, great stage layouts, the dance routines are really well put together, I love the Interlude movies throughout, her vocals are always amazing, the setlist rarely recycles itself, and she pays attention to lesser known songs a lot of the time.

Where's the Namie love? If you included her, she would have been my number 2, but oh well...

I think Ayu's concerts blow Kuu and Hikki's out of the water. They just have so much going on, with tons of costume and set changes. Every single Ayu concert is pretty much guaranteed to be great, and can be enjoyed watching the enitre thing at once. Kuu's concerts are fun and entertaining as well, but usually not quite as elaborate. Plus, I don't like her music as much as Ayu's, which obviously contributes to how much I like the concerts themselves. I've only seen Hikki's Live in Budokan concert, but it wasn't very entertaining. The vocals were fine, but there were barely any costume changes, no interesting set pieces. Basically it's just the vocals, and because she doesn't put as much energy into it as artists like Shiina Ringo, Otsuka Ai, or Yaida Hitomi, the vocals-only approach just doesn't work. Hikki's concerts I feel like I need a break every 10 minutes because of how dull they are.

I know what you mean... when I was watching UU2006, I just had to skip through the ballad section. 3 BALLADS grouped together? By Hikki? No thanks.. :dead2

i dunno, ayu's concerts have been sooo been there done that lately

utada united was sooooo good , it blew me away

and koda's concerts are sooo full of energy and sexy dances <333

but if i have to pick one that would be Hikki

I would say Ayu's past concerts were the best..only problem I have with her recent ones is that she keeps singing the same songs!! and add a few new songs from her latest album...I wished she would sing songs like To Be...

Koda's concerts are entertaining cuz it's so full of energy and you never know what she's going to sing next...her setlist is always so different...

Overal, I'd say it's a tie between koda and ayu :P

AYU!!!!
I love her concerts. I love Koda's concerts too, but when I compare them with Ayu's they lose all their fame :devious

I think Ayu & Kuu both have equally good concerts. I'd pick Ayu over Koda if Ayu's concerts weren't so repetitive.

but both Ayu & Kuu put on a great show. awesome stages & props, fun costumes and dancing and both sound good live too.

Namie's tours are also nice, but imo they just aren't as good as Ayu's and Kuu's. There just isn't as much attention paid to the stage props or costumes, and the dancing just isn't really all that & neither are her vocals.

I love hitomi's tours too, but they aren't arena so it's more about the music rather than a huge show. but for a smaller tour they are great, but it just does not compare to an arena tour.

Hikki's tours are not that good imo. her live vocals aren't that good eventho she is just mostly focusing on singing. the stage is cool (on UU2006), but there is not much going on other than backrounds changing.
and for a person just singing there she does sweat A LOT, I found it very distracting lol.

Hahah yeah, there's no contest at least on an Ayu board! :laugh But yeah, I'd say Ayu and then Kuu. And that's it! XD In my opinion, Utada's concerts are a yawn-fest. :/

Ayu. Kuu's would be good if they were non-stop high energy but unfortuanly she insists on singing ballads and well...the less said about Koda's ballads the better.

All three girls give great performances in their own way. Ayu and Kuu always have cool costumes, props etc. Hikki's aren't as visually pleasing, but her vocals blows them both out of the water. I loved UU06, especially the COLORS performance.

But I voted for Koda because she seems to be the best at being entertaining AND having good vocals.

ayu concerts are the best. She sounds amazing live and all her outfits and stage sets and stuff are all fantastic and fresh.

Kumi is good live but I hate how she roars and screams instead of actually singing the damn song!!

Utada's vocals are really good (best of the three) but the rest is just boring 0_0

Are you blind, love?

Ayu.
I mean, ever since her first tour it's been grand. Then Kuu, the Hikki

Utada Hikaru.

Yeah she's doesn't go all out on the theatrics like others. She doesn't need to. Her vocals are the best in my opinion and she doesn't use Stage Props to fall back on for support to distract the audience from listening solely to her voice, which other artist may do to hide their less than subpar vocals. Utada's vocals, her singing is the main attraction and the reason you go to her concerts.

I go to concerts to see and hear the singer sing my favorite songs. Anything else is just extra and an added bonus but not the reason I go to concerts.

In my point of view, considering I have seen utada's united and n.5 concerts; namie amuro best 2003-2004 and play 2007; ayumi hamasaki from 2007 all the way to 2001; and koda's first session, second session, secret and dome tour; BoA's best of soul and made in tweenty, among others; It's like this:

1.- Ayumi Hamasaki: why? because considering all the concerts she has done, and that in everyone of them, there's something unique, like A song for xx, never ever, etc. in best countdown 2006-07; boys and girls in 2005; rainy day in 2006, and a lot more I can't recall in which concert they were... Also in the A-nation she's the best performer, like in A-nation 05 and 06.

2.-Koda kumi: why? her recent concerts have a lot of budget and have great things, a storyline and the clothes are cool. Also the dome tour in 2007 was great (and in my point of view is better than ayumi's because now you got a lot of new things (I love technology :P) that in 2001 didn't exist or was very new.

3.-Utada Hikaru: why? First, she's very good live (voice), the bad thing is that sometimes she doesn't do major performances. In budokan she was ok, but in United 2006 she was great. I love the floor, how it changed colors and the gigantic screen behind her, specially in COLORS, KREMLIN DUSK and SAKURA DROPS.

4.- Namie Amuro: I liked her concerts, but It's a little repetitive. PLAY was indeed the best concert she has had, but still there was nothing really captivating.(Also, I find very cool she can dance so much and still sing great!)...

5.- And then there's all the others concerts, like BoA's (which are also very cool like 2007 and best of soul 2005... and others singers...

well I like it so it doesn't matter is it ?

yeah, we must count BoA and Misia
BoA concert is cool too...
Misia is great too...

IMO, Ayu is my Number 1
Her stage is so extravagant, the costumes, and attraction! And I really love how she arranges her songs in Concerts, and control the audience's emotion.

If Namie is here she's my second, like her dancing so much and recent Play Tour was supperrific

I cannot choose between Kuu or Utada because first I don't like their concert tracklist (it's kinda random like Yume no Uta after Hot Dancing and Passion for opening? Sorry guys no offense). Their was great though, and Kuu's setlist was kinda OMG freakin huge.

Ayu's and Kuu's are really good, don't get me wrong, but I prefer Utada. Vocals are what I like to hear. Too much theatrical stuff bothers me sometimes. Utada is a classic <3

I love Ayumi's concerts. Although when I saw the Butterfly performance in BEST ~First Things~ and almost immediately wanted one of those mini ferris wheel things. Ahaha.

But yeah. Ayumi can really get a crowd of 5,000~10,000 going. It's amazing... Plus, like (glitter dream) said, there's usually something unique in each concert. I personally liked the pole/chair dancing in AT07, rainy day/Born to be... in AT06, and HAPPY ENDING in AT05. :)

I would love hikki concert but ayu's concert just more effect, cool costume and stuffs xD

i love love love ayu's concerts, she just have so much energy and emotions!

I think the fact that she has so many different concerts is the reason why it seems so repetitive.. :\

I mean, just look at her concertography!

1999 "Secret Live"
concert tour 2000 pt.1
concert tour 2000 pt.2
Stage 2000 Winter
CDL00-01
DOME TOUR 2001
CDL01-02
ARENA TOUR 2002
STADIUM TOUR 2002
CDL02-03
Limited TeamAyu Live 2003
A MUSEUM
ARENA TOUR 2003-2004
CDL04-05
ARENA TOUR 2005 ~MY STORY~
CDL05-06
ARENA TOUR 2006 ~(miss)understood)~
CDL06-07
ASIA TOUR 2007 -Tour of Secret-
CDL07-08
ASIA TOUR 2008 ~10th Anniversry~

So as you can see, she's kinda got a ton more concerts than the other artists.

It's very difficult to innovate when you have annual tours, I think :/ I know that Koda had a first class live thing, two BEST tours, a Fever Live In Hall, and the recent Black Cherry tour.. but that's about it, right? :|

you're right on that truehappiness

I say Ayu and Kuu equally in terms of show. The problem with Hikki is that at least when I was watching Utada United I felt the effect (or the backscreen) kind of swallowed her, and her lack of stage presence makes the concert incredibly boring to watch, plus I don't find her live vocals that good.

Of course, no artist gave perfect performance. Ayu's concerts tend to be repetitive but it's amazing how much the energy level kept going and Kuu's adlibbing over songs really gets to me sometimes.

I think Ayu's. Kuu has good live vocals though.

I'm surprised no 1 has mentioned about Ken Hirai at all

I have all of his concert DVDs in which he released 3 . I haven't watched his 1st one but I have watched the other 2 which were MTV UNPLUGGED '03 & Saitama Final Tour '05 to celebrate his 10th anniversary in the business at that time & he's amazing live .

you seldom get an artiste who sounds the same on audio (CD) & live . In fact I can safely say more or less , Ken's performance's flawless in my books

I think people just mainly wanted to talk about the "three divas" in this thread..

I'm sure there are plenty of amazing live artists out there that aren't being mentioned here.. :O

YOU = CORRECT.

Hikki's UU06 imo was made amazing by the incredible Kaz, her ex-husband. All the effects and stuff made the show good... not the performer. :\

i have totally forgot misia!!!
her ascension tour's stage is COOL
her vocal, dancer and the DJ is WOW!!

I'd have to say Koda Kumi!!
Why? Cause her concerts are always lots of fun! the tracklist varies except for the classic Cutie Honey..
Her vocals are always really good!! and I need good vocals for a tour..
Also her tours have been improving as time goes on, reflecting the amount of funding she's getting..
Black Cherry's tour was sooo good!! I went to the Dome Performance and it was awesome!! =D I loved the setlist, the staging, the costumes... everything!!!!

Ayu would definately be second!
Ayu's tours are always so elaborate and they're so unique with all the stunts and designs and stuff...
I'd love to go to Ayu's concert at least once to experience the whole atmosphere...
Her vocals aren't always there but she definately puts on a good show..
And the things she has on stage are always what adds to the WOW factor of her concerts! =D

Utada...Can't say much since I haven't seen any...
I dunno, I find her live performances to be boring already and I saw some shots of her last tour and they don't look fun to be at...

BoA's another artist who puts on a good tour...
Love&Honesty tour was heaps good!! but the MIT tour was abit of a letdown..
I can't stand the wigs but her vocals are usually pretty good and overall tis a good show...

Namie's alright too... But I get kinda bored with her performances cause she tends to lack excitement as Ayu and Kuu...

so my rank would be
Koda Kumi > Ayumi Hamasaki > BoA > Namie

What's adlibbing? o-o

Ayu, obviously.

I think Koda vocals are very good but I dunno... her concerts are just too trashy. In the Dome Tour for example, her biggest and most extravagant concert, there was some nice effects but mostly it was boring and her clothes/hairstyles were very ugly, trashy and distractive, lots of times the screen effects were bad, some dancers were quite bizarre... It seems like they spent lots of money but not in a wise way.

While Ayu concerts are quite the opposite: they're very classy. The effects are always nice and the performances are always extremely powerful. So yeah, they're quite impressive and I always look forward to her concerts. One bad point tho is they are very repetitive and they tend to follow a formula year after year... That makes her concerts less unexpected and it's getting tiring.

And about Hikki... I dunno, she doesn't have lots of stage presence. She's too shy. It's kind of boring.

So I would rank: Ayu, then Hikki (because she's boring but her last tour was creative and interesting) and then Kuu because her concerts are too trashy and tacky (even if she does have good vocals).

I like Ayu's concerts the most (due to how entertaining they are). In terms of vocals, Utada's and Koda's tours are almost perfect IMO.

of course ayu
guys if u really notice
even recently ayu keeps using the same tracklist / stage design...
but hey....
really
ayu is a GREAT performer I've ever seen in my life ^^V
I mean it u know

she KNOWS how to do and perform a GREAT and GOOD LIVE...even well...sometimes her voice isn't that GREAT...but she knows how to 'disguise' LOL

How can I say...
actuallu kuu's lives are great but it's boring
she's nothing really great to give impact on me...like...u watch it once and u dun fell like watching it whole-ly...i mean..the 2nd time u watch u'll gonna skip it LOL

ayu knows how to match the song and theme...(now I think I understand why she put decision between (d)lma and my name's WOMEN...she's doing 'rock' in a sxy dance way)
and also..ayu ebtertain us not only about the stage, but also costumes and style...u know...I always love her perfectionist like even she changes earrings and such accs that I think people there won't really notice LOL...

also...utada hikaruu in LIVE is amazing but boring

Kuu actually great in terms of tracklist. she keeps on adding something new but sometimes it looks like she 'forces' everything inside
like someone said up there... Tsuki To Taiyou and Yume no Uta after Cherry Girl / dance tracks? then continue with 2 dance tracks again??? It's obvious that she's 'tired'

actually an artist may not directly change her tracklist like that
u know...u do like 5 dance tracks then 1 ballad then another 5 dance tracks
the ballad is like an 'interlude'...but u don;t have anything to alternata the flow..i mean... fhnage your costume or put an interlude video...really...u know...even ayu's tracklist isn't very long..but she knows how to make it flows so well...

kuu's second session
after 3 songs...she sings Taisetsuna Kimi e... with tha same costume...then continue with 3 songs..maybe..dance tracks...then whatever....she should like,,u know...if she want to put ballads in between..she shouldn't force the flow

like taiwanese singer
REALLY expected
imagine
they actually had given good openning (dance track)...only 1 dance song as the opening
then the 2nd track..MOSTLY BALAAD..yeah...they 'rest'...u see..when u get hype..u make the fans 'down'..

i think I talk too much LOL

but the flow will be

ayu-kuu-(hikki)

i think most artists have to learn from ayu LOL

ayu period
kuu n hikkis just dont match up with her

my favorite utada performance was the Bohemian Summer 2000 (lotsa energy here) As far as Ayu goes....there was a certain angel's song performance that always stuck with me. I think it was from ayu's tv show tho.

I haven't seen any Koda concerts...any special recommendations?

Ayu vs. Kuu?
it's like Madonna vs. Britney !

for real : too great entertainer but for me Ayu wins.
HOWEVER since My Story, I have to say that I enjoyed less AYu concert because ok it's huge but quite repetitve because (m)u was good but not ad goo as MS, and the others are too equal because of A BEST2 and now 10th Anniversary... :s the next one will surely be like the ABEST one !

and I think that AYu should work on a complete concept now for her concert : I mean she should change costumes/scenes keeping a concept during the whole concert !



fr Hikki it's totally different : she's not an entertainer for me. she's a singer/visionnary and I whould like her concert to be more attractive than what I saw because it's quite boring !

so far I have all of Koda's 3 DVDs excluding the latest Black Cherry as I'm still waiting for OS press of it .

Outta which , I like the Live Tour '06 , it's damn good especially when she did Ningyo-hime live

From Urbandictionary.

Like, when there's a part of a song that isn't in the normal track, like some oooos or aaas or yeaaaaahhs and stuff like that. Someone else could probably define it better..

I think Namie has the best tours, her vocals & dancing are always on point. Kuu & Ayu are roughly the same to me, they always have nice extravagant themes & costumes. Hikki's are the worst, she just stands there and sings out of key.

IN Koda Kumi world~

"raaayt!!"
"ooooh this songs for youoh you-whooo-oh youUOuouu!"
"weee!"
*high pitched screams*

well... you get the idea. =/

mmh..

1. Ayu
2. Kuu
3. Otsuka Ai
4. namie & hikki

Ayu, Kuu and Ai's concerts are always fun and i just love them but namie and hikki on the other hand imo are so boring x.X.

This is rather unfair, because you're comparing someone who didn't have to fight to get a big stage, which is ayu. You can defend or deny whatever you want but her stage has always been bigger than Kuu's.. And she could play more with it than Koda Kumi could with hers.

It seriously depends. When it comes to entertainment level...... it's Kumi. Why? Because an entertainer searches for new and exciting things and will search up limits. Remember the Ningyo-hime performance at Second Sessions tour? Now THAT makes someone a true entertainer. What she did is extremely risky and if you don't do it right, then you can get yourself really hurt, yet.. SHE did it... and ayu leaves those kind of things to her dancers.

When you think about it, ayu is actually REALLY boring.. because everything she has done always reminds you of something she already did, let alone that she is the queen of recycling things for her tours. Thus is why she's often not really that entertaining. In some songs... she only stands there and sings a song... or sits on the stairway and sings a song. Or she has that dramatic love storyline where as always she and her lover don't reach each other blah blah blah. I like ayu MORE than Kumi and that will stay like that, but when I look at it neutral, I say that Kumi is more entertaining and ayu is more filled with energy and has done a crap load of tours, yet she doesn't stop.

LMAO!! :laugh

That is soooo accurate!

^

Koda's Ningyo-Hime perf sounds good, but I can't find a vid lol. Do you have any idea where I could find it? XD

AYU.

I loved Utada United 2006 but Ayu wins overall.

^ IAWTC. :)

Well with Kingdom TOUR's tracklist I already expect some recycling, but I could be wrong...

1) AYU
I like that she is full of energy while performing and that you can see that she loves to perform.

2) Namie Amuro
I like how she can sing and dance at the same time and sounds amazing.

3) BoA
I like her dancing and that she sounds very good at her lives.

4) Koda Kumi
her concerts are not the best, but her black cherry tour was very good.

5) Utada Hikaru
her concerts are quite boring, but her voice is great.

I like Ayu's concerts of course, her energy and high production value is amazing, even if she reuses themes and props a lot. Amuro's are nice, though they tend to verge on boring with just the constant dancing, but her last tour was pretty good. I dislike Kuu's concerts, her shrieking, adlibbing is just so annoying to me, and I don't really care for her nasal high notes during lives. The only thing I liked was the Ningyo Hime performance she did, but that was about it. Utada's were and still always are very boring, but at least her last one was a lot more interesting than her previous ones, although after a while the fancy stage got kind of tiring to watch. Not to mention, she doesn't really do much on stage, not my kind of thing.

Ayu or Kuu work for me. Flashy. I like it.

Utada doesn't work for me. Not flashy. I don't like it.

Koda's performes are ****ty like her PV's...
So I don't like her

Utada hasn't really special performes..
So, Also not Utada

Ayumi knows how to steal the show!
Result: Ayu is the best.

Ayu's always the best.
Awesome and motional vocal
Good costumes
Cool tricks


Kuu is nice too but she tends to have fun more than to sing. Her costumes aint that good but her tricks are very very nice.

Namie's better than Kuu cause of the bloody good vocal and extreme dancing. But yea, that gets boring.

Utada, well, boring, bad costumes, nice vocal but that's just it :(

In terms of show, Ayu.

In terms of entertainment, Kuu.

In terms of musicality + vocals, Hikki.

Ayu's are awesome of course because of everything everyone has already said. However I do tend to find Kuu's performances a little more entertaining because mostly of the dancing and choreography.

Hikki for me is all about the music. Her concerts reflect that so, they are entertaining for me on a different level.

The one way however that I think that Ayu really beats everyone else, is that often times, she is able to give a completely different feel to a song, than you would get from simply watching the pv or listening to it. The best example i can think of now is, alterna at AT06. I mean come on, who was expecting THAT for that song.

Bringing this back so I can give my opinion.

Ayumi's performances usually have this formulaic feel to it. It's like she perfected her extravagant style and anything too out of the ordinary would render her concert imperfect. So I can understand why there are less and less changes throughout the years. I don't think that you can really use the excuse that she's had so many concerts either. Ayumi has 10 albums + a selection of B-sides. That's well over 100 songs to choose from, but it seems that she sings around 10 songs over and over, and then adds in another 5 - 8 songs that don't get much play. Not only that, but she also recycles her costume sets :\.... She should redesign EVERYTHING, including her dancers :) get new ones.

Having said that, I still love her concerts, they're just stale now, and she needs to do something different. =)

Koda Kumi. Well lets see, compared to Ayumi, obviously her stage set is rather small (I can't help but notice that with almost every artist now...), but damn, does she know how to entertain? So she shows her body and her shows have a sexual theme, but it suits her image. If she's going to sing songs like Shake It, DDD, and Hot Stuff and Imasugu Hoshii why try to act all innocent? LOL. I'm not saying that her concerts are perfect, far from it, but she sure gives Ayu a run for her money. One last thing about Kuu.

I haven't seen a Hikki concert yet, so I'll comment on the sole Amuro concert I've seen, the PLAY one. I feel that Namie isn't as into her performances as much and Kuu or Ayu are. She looks almost... bored for the first few songs. Occasionally she'll smile, but she doesn't talk to the audience members much... if at all. She doesn't introduce her dancers or her band herself. Even the vocals sound unprofessional sometimes. Like when she sang Can You Celebrate?... that was probably one of the most tragic performances I've ever seen, and I've seen Britney sing live. This is coming from an artist who has fantastic songs (I like them better than Ayumi's songs), and can dance better than Kuu. She's also a veteran who has been in the business for over 15 years... there's no excuse for lack of (at the very least, faux) enthusiam, and not knowing how to sing into your mic correctly.

So...

I'm gonna give Ayu and Kuu a tie for number one. Ayu are more spectacular, but Kuu's is more fun, and less stale. Namie is by far a distant third.

lol I love Hikki and Namie concerts. They switch up things with their music and I like it.

I love ayu's concerts the best because when I watch her concerts, I feel like its not just about ayu, only focusing on her but rather her band and dancers as well...like one big family/team performing and ayu is the leader...and I really like that. She lets her audience notice her band members, dancers, and even her staff (during the encore she lets all of them come out to the stage and dance)...recently she let one of her male dancer to teach the crowd the dance moves for my all and I thought that was really nice.

Ayu, Utada's Budokan concert is so boring but Koda's aren't bad, her dancings hot.