They forgot ayumi......
 

http://www.tokyohive.com/2011/01/mus...s-of-all-time/
A list of the top idols then number one is smap I think with 32 million albums sold ..... Ayu has 50+ million albums sold In japan

Ayu is not an idol.

Artists and idols aren't the same thing in Japan.

^then at this point, what is Matsuda Seiko doing there? :eyebrow

Matsuda was originally an idol, wasn't she?

I mean, Utada Hikaru, Koda Kumi, B'z etc aren't on this list either.

From wikipedia:
If i got it right, Idols are multimidia celebrities whose image and life style has a bigger impact than their works...
Maybe they considered that Ayu's career is music focused instead of multimedia (she doesn't act in dramas and movies, she doesn't have a tv show anymore and even if she has some photoshots, I don't think she could be considered a model), or that her work has a bigger impact than her image or life style...

But Ayu acted in drama, she was a model before singing. She had AYUREADY as a TV show.

^That was years ago though. Right now she is a musical artist and not so much an idol.

But she doesn't do that now or as actively as let's say... arashi.

Ayu acted in drama.... when she was nobody
Ayu was a model... when she was a nobody

And Ayuready was shortlived and already resting in peace...

"Idol" in that sense, is not a title, but a profession... u can be a singer, a lawyer, a doctor, an idol... She had a short lived unsuccessful career as a idol, so, she can't be counted as one...

Idol in that sense is something closer to Paris Hilton, who acts, sings, models, etc, but is famous just for the sake of being famous... Even if some people in the list like Yamaguchi Momoe are really respected as musicians...

I'm just glad to see Nakamori Akina in there at number 3 :D

but no, Ayu's not an idol singer and never has been

I knew somebody would open such a thread! :rolleyes

Ayu was an idol...once, long, long, loooo~~ng time ago!
"Morning Musume", "AKB48", all those JE groups and so on are counted as idols, but not Ayu!

ok ok! thanks for enlightening me. It was confused with the wiki definition. ^^

Thankfully, this is something Ayu SHOULDN'T be listed on.

But **** YEAH AKINA =D

I don't know, what others may think, but for me, Ayu is clearly an idol singer, and alyways has been. What is so different from her to Akina, just for example. Akina is way less of a usual pop singer than Ayu, always has been a very deep and mature artist when it comes to the atmosphere of her songs. I think the guy, that made this list, should rethink this again.

Besides that, I would say, the word "idol" is also something that everyone would put in another way for himself. You can idolize everything, if you take it this way.

I'm caught on this one. At first I wanted to say, "Hell no, Ayu's not an idol!" but I think that has more to do with my desire not to see her listed in the same category as AKB48 than anything else. It's an interesting question, though, because I don't think there is a specific definition for an idol (or at least a definition that is specific enough). We can easily identify what is an idol (i.e. AKB48, or Arashi, etc.), but it's harder to define what isn't an idol.
Sure, Ayu's career is very much musically-oriented, and based more on the quality of the overall experience/product that, say, AKB (I apologize to any fans), whose entire shtick consists solely of trying to be as cute as possible to appeal to the minutae of Japanese boys' interests. That said, however, being an idol has a lot to do with marketing yourself based on image and personality. I was thinking about this the other day, and to be honest, why is/has Ayu been famous/popular? It's certainly not for her voice. Her voice, generally speaking, is all right, but if you took away everything else, her career could not survive on that alone (she's no ayaka, Christina Aguilera, etc. - people who can blow you away with an acapella performance because of their vocal skills). It's really the whole Ayu "package" - she's a great performer. She knows how to put on an awesome show that combines a lot of elements, a lot of noise and glitz and kabam. A big element is her image: she's famous for her giant eyes, her style, her cute personality, and so on. Those are kind of idol-ish qualities. When she was younger (before she was famous), she was a sort of B-idol, I think (if there is such a thing), but now...it's difficult to say. Still, after writing all that, I'm tending towards the answer that no, Ayu is not an idol, or at least isn't an idol anymore.

Because you're clearly missing the point of what a Japanese idol IS. Ayu, as has been pointed out in this thread, is not an idol singer. They may have tried to make her one back in the day, but I doubt you can even consider her an idol in the Japanese pop sense today. Akina? Totally was an idol in her heyday. Now she's just fondly remembered.

Ayu is an idol in that others idolize her and can learn from her, but she is NOT an idol singer.

interesting :3 i guess i kind of understand why ayu isnt on the list ;p

@ShiSeido @Larien
This is the point... in this context, Idol is not a title like someone that is idolized, like a famous musician, etc... This is about "idol" the profession, an especific job that exist anywhere in the world, but that in Japan is called "idol"

Idols have a mold, they have a huge marketing team crafiting the image and character they will portray.... Some studies even compare them to the geishas, as women (and sometimes, men) that are trained to have a perfect image, to have several skills and to become flawless entertainers...


Using the definition of the word, Ayumi is for sure an idol... a pop singer that have an huge influence on pop culture, from fashion to video games, idolized by their fanbase... Like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Britney, The Beatles...

Using the definition of the japanese professional, she isn't... She doesn't follow a mold, she doesn't follow a script, and even if her voice is not amazing, the biggest points of her career are her personal lyrics and her power as a performer (that has less to do with the amount of flash, and a lot to do with her stage presence and energy).

Ayumi even criticized the idol industry on her career, twice... both in Sparkle and alterna videos...

I think ayu is an idol as well as artist too..
so actually, i wish i could see her up there on the list..

See, the funny thing, I don't see SPEED as idols; I see them more as artists than idols.

I don't know how to really describe the difference of an idol and an artist, but one big thing is the control of their career and image; I think as an artist, actor, or full-fledged whatever, you have more control over your image than an idol, per-say. I think the multimedia impact has a difference too; idols are usually PLASTERED ALL OVER the place (TV shows including dorama and variety shows, advertisements, photobooks, concerts, their music, radio, etc.) and are usually seen as "available to the public," if that makes sense.

Basically, one can fantasize freely about an idol as they usually aren't supposed to have love interests, while an artist or actor has more control over their personal lives.

It's hard to explain...