THANK! YOU! SO! MUCH! :love

Haven't posted here in years. Just wanted to share something I recently noticed. The song Far away was released on ayu-mi-x 2 version non-stop in march of 2000 as the HAL remix, but the Far away single was released in May of 2000, which means the single was released two months after the song appearing on the remix album. I'm not sure if I can rely on the release dates, but I thought that was kind of interesting.

Huh, damn, that definitely is interesting! I wonder if anyone noticed this sneak peek at the time?

Also, good to have you around! :)

Thanks! I also noticed it only uses one line from the actual song, meanwhile the same remix on the Far away single uses the full song.

Well damn, those are some cool finds!

Same thing I don't understand why ayu stops using her TikTok account.
Her IG reels are very strong.
But her Youtube Shorts / Tiktok are like in graveyard

^ I believe she and her troupe stopped using TikTok during one of the data security scares - it was pretty shortly after she started using it full-in. I seem to recall the same for other AVEX artists, as well - but could be mistaken.

If they know how to use Tiktok well, their business will go up rapidly. Lots of old songs are resurfaced on Tiktok and got on Spotify top hits again.

Avex is killing their business. They can't blame other people.

I don't think it's a coincidence. tasuku is known for sampling some songs in his works (I remember Ayu's taskebab from Party Queen with sounds of some well-known Daft Punk song). Even his latest work for her, "Summer Again" (he did the arrangement), has the same sample used in Beyoncé's BREAK MY SOUL (a remix of an Robin S song) - but in this case it's just him following the house trend.

I just noticed the NEXT LEVEL usb is kind of shaped like the tattoo on her shoulder. Only took me 13 years :D

Me too I guess, haha :laugh

glad to know i’m not the only one who thinks this!

It's also ASIA TOUR 2008's official logo since it was her 10th anniversary. NEXT LEVEL is her 10th studio album so I guess they decided to recycle it :yes I love that logo tho so I don't mind

Me too! :D

Ayu could make herself famous again, just by some past songs of hers going viral…. I think avex is living in 2001, thinking their artistes (like ayu) can still be popular without much social media exposure..

I can’t believe avex have such a mindset

I think avex is kinda old fashioned (to be kind...), but I bet this move is an Ayu decision. I mean, avoiding so much exposure, doing things on her own pace. I don't think she wants to be a superstar with her face shoved everywhere once again.

Does anyone know if Global TA gets better seats at concerts than regular TA? I’ve gotten global TA tickets twice and they were in okay places, so want to know which is more worth joining now ahead of the 25th anniversary next year!!

Since you won't know the TA tickets until the day of pickup, it's a gamble to know if they'll be close or not for her 25th anni concert. Foreigners never seem to be visible in the DVDs though so I'd imagine you'll be further back if they're filming it. I've been to non-filmed concerts and they sat us in rows 7-15ish iirc so fantastic visibility and funny to watch the cameras deliberately avoid us when they panned the audience.......... :tired

idk if you'd call them scalpers but the........'money-minded fans' (lol) will likely be there so you could potentially upgrade your seating on the day but you'll be paying more money for the privilege (probably trade your ticket and 15,000JPY+ for closer seats).

If "being there" is the most important thing I'd rejoin TA and enter the lottery but if "being close" is the most important I'd skip the wait and look for resale tickets where you can see the location (although they will be quite expensive).

A Complete: All Singles is back on the Oricon Digital Albums Top 50 chart again!



Fourth week of June: #43

First week of July: #22

Second week of July: #18

Third week of July: #24

Fourth week of July: #29

First week of August: #21


Does anyone know if it's charting anywhere else--Line, or iTunes?

According to https://kworb.net/charts/aitunes/jp.html it's #11 on iTunes! One website suggests it's #9 :)

A COMPLETE is still doing great on Recochoku: #18 on the monthly chart and #23 on the daily!
https://recochoku.jp/ranking/album/monthly
Yes queen, still charting high with a 14 years old album !! xD

Based on my experience, I've had some good seats with Global TA so far (6th & 7th rows for the Just the beginning Tour 2017, 10th & 12th rows for Power of A^3, but for the last show I was just near the catwalk, north-east corner).
Depending on your "luck" after all, but I guess you can still go with the Global TA and expect some good seats.

Dunno about the foreigners not being on DVD though, I believe it may have been a thing in the past but this is not an issue anymore... I did have a (zoomed) feature on the TV & DVD of POA3, and we can see a bunch of foreigners on her DVDs now and then.

Thanks all for the help, Global TA is nice and easy so I guess I’ll stick with that and cross my fingers!! If there isn’t a tour after all I will be devastated lol

So apparently Maki Goto has a YouTube channel and she often covers other artists' songs - I had no idea she was doing anything other than playing Monster Hunter these days. I've also really liked her, so happy to see her doing music - even if unofficially. Here she is singing "No Way to Say"

https://youtu.be/mQGDnFdQRtA
Appreciate this gem.
Performances like this were what made me become a fan of her work. She truly was a legend on stage, even with terrible costume choices lol
Also, blame on whoever convinced her to force her voice on her early days. She clearly didn’t have a high pitched voice, the girl had a beautiful voice actually.
https://youtu.be/_mkxsqmA-Kk

I really don't like the way they forced her voice to be extremely pitchy because her tone wasn't naturally like that, but I have to admit her voice LOVEppears-onwards has a lot of personality, something she hadn't before.

^ I agree, her voice has always been quite unique. Even though I only enjoy it from 2003 onwards.

Also had to share, an I the only one bothered by the muffled voice effect? Like it literally ruins the song for me. Rule, GAME, the intro of fairyland to name a few. The effect is even more annoying live. What they did with Kanariya at CDL 16-17 was a crime.

https://youtu.be/_9xC9PdlT94

Anyway, her dearest performance from 2001 sounded so perfect!! I am impressed as this is my first time seeing this performance

Oh wow stunning performance and amazing quality! The fashion, the manicure, the emotions! Peak Ayu right there.

Pretty much all of the performances from when she was promoting the single were spot on. It's probably the most consistent she's ever been from performance to performance, and I just loved her voice at that time.

I think these are probably my favorite performances:

The X'mas Special version remains my absolute favourite :heart

No wonder is such a number 1 artist during that time. So perfect. Beautiful with good voice!

why do these appear as blue squares for me? 🥲

Weird, here are the links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrgSQElRAjU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBXWuten1HU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0W4R_jJtV0

thank you so much!!!

Venus in Masked Singer Japan performing Ayu's "Rule". Hero performed "Marionette" but I can't find the video yet. Credits to https://twitter.com/ayuvogue/status/1563264651026395136

Oh that's Maki Goto 100%

Dearest has some of the best live performances! And so many of them—the music scene was so good in Japan at that time, it’s a shame that there are barely any music shows anymore.

It was actually Marionette by Kyosuke Himuro, not Ayu.

Ah, thanks for clarifying it! I followed the show's Wikipedia so sb got it wrong :)

Ayu made a cameo on manga "Nine Peaks" which is currently being published!

"The author of "Clover", "Crows Zero 2" and "Himawari" is back! The curtain arises on a heated battle of two men in a town full of sh*tty delinquents!"

https://i.imgur.com/lfPyrTH.jpg

Today's the first time I've listened to ayu's music in about 4+ years. (Making my way through A COMPLETE.) Geez her music is amazing! I'm listening with new ears and a new perspective which I'd expect to have after so many years, and the quality of so many of her songs is just A1 (pun intended).

Also, songs that I used to have difficulty really enjoying (like kanariya and far away, for example) are hitting differently, in a great way. And some of my old favorites (like monochrome, WHATEVER, evolution, etc.) are sending me into orbit. Phew, what an overload of the senses. Pure joy

^ Her music is definitely ageless.
(I know for fact that I'll still be waving my hands at SURREAL's lalalala part if I ever live until my 70s xDDD)

I also found myself this week looping over snowy kiss live version from COUNTDOWN LIVE 2019-2020 ~PROMISED LAND~
The chorus (before she fell) and the last chorus are just SO epic with the trumpets and the choir, makes the live song more powerful and grandiose than the LOVE again version (you guess it, her live versions are on a heavy rotation here)

Also is it just me or her current CDL are starting to overshadow her other concerts / tours, by like a huge gap ?
The PROMISED LAND and 23rd monster are so much superior and just on another level, same for MUSIC for LIFE that was initially supposed to be the CDL 20-21, but it wasn't always the case before (TROUBLE, Just the beginning, MADE IN TOKYO...)
Expecting another great CDL this year to promote the new album.

I’m honestly hoping this album puts her schedule back on … a schedule lol.

We’ll get a fall/winter album, which she can tease at CDL, then it allows for a full spring/summer tour.

I tried the TA quiz but couldn’t read the Japanese fast enough and got timed out after about 13 out of 20 questions… only got 8 right, I suck :P

^ Tried the TA quiz as well, not only the questions change if you try it again, but some are kinda VERY hard I guess ? Some are even related to her dancers and staff, tried to translate some questions in the spot and got "What was Subaru doing to relieve stress before going on stage during ARENA TOUR XX", like seriously ??

I tried this quiz, but my browser stopped to translate page from the second question, so I gave up

A tip: Google Translate app for smartphones has a function with Google Lens. You can point out to a text on a screen or a paper and it translate automatically in your screen, real-time.

Forgive me if I'm late to the party mentioning this, but Goto Maki performed Rule on the Masked Singer Season 2 a couple weeks ago. :) All of her song choices were excellent actually and I could tell who she was from the first note - she also did Namie's Hide and Seek, Superfly's Tamashii Revolution, and Every Little Thing's Fragile of the episodes I've seen so far.

I’m listening on a loop since 1 werk Party Queen and its Arena Tour 2012 version, the instruments are much stronger

Great articulation of your experience. “Sending me into orbit” lol, what a great way to put it. Sometimes I think that’s how my friends and others around me think when I put on and/or am jamming out to Ayu — “yep, he’s in orbit right now” lol.

Years will do that to you — make you find new appreciation for tracks that were r in your top. I think it’s because your favorites aren’t as fresh anymore and pulling you to compare everything to them. You find the inherent “Ayu” im the tracks you didn’t initially enjoy (I remember the exact moment this happened to me with CAROLS; now I think it’s a masterpiece).

I just found out a cosmetic brand called ‘Ayu Cosmetics’ lol
https://ayu.ie/

I hear you. Today I had some music on in the background while doing homework, and I had this sudden urge to listen to Pride for the first time in years. It was the first Ayu song I ever heard performed on TV. I wasn't a fan then, so I didn't know who was playing this beautiful song, but I dropped whatever I was doing. She and that song grabbed me by the throat . . . or maybe the heart. It still takes my breath away.

https://www.xiaohongshu.com/discover...00000018018b4c

Love how her vocals sounded so good here! Agreed?

Joysound Karaoke released their ranking of the "most sung" artists over the last thirty years!

Guess who made number two? Ayu is right behind Mr. Children as the second-most karaoke-d artist in Japan from 1992 to 2022. :love

Here's the article on Yahoo Japan.

(Amuro Namie is #8, too--good for her.)

Wow congrats to her!

Hey guys, was Power of Music 2018 never released on DVD as part of anything no?

Only the WOWOW broadcast.

Thanks very much, will have to just be a gap in my collection so!

when ayu scores a brand deal with them, does CMs for them, and gets famous in ireland LMAOOOOOO

Days is one of ayus best works, verging on magnum opus.

“Would it be ok for I to remain the same, ever loving you, just in this way?” This song is the embodiment of the encapsulation of a distinct emotion. The pitter-patter of your heart when you sense you’re falling for someone. The way the cadence of the composition and arrangement mirrors that in its verse. The depth you feel you’ve fallen when you realize you’re in love. The way you get that as the song crescendos into the chorus. The altruistic innocence of being purely content with continuing to experience that persons presence in your life, even if not romantically—merely living the “days”.

It never ceases to marvel me, the melding of creative minds that had to come together so perfectly to paint this scene most simply call “a song.”

I love Days :heart

It also brings me back to a very specific moment in my life.

I wonder when will they announce her tour for next year. I bet it's during or after CDL but I'd like to know early.. I've been thinking about trying to finally attend since TROUBLE TOUR 2020 was cancelled.

Are tickets for Anniversary dates usually hard to get on lotteries?

If you're a TA member : Not at all! (Got tickets for both concerts of the 21st anniversary)
Next year would be her 25th anniversary, so you can bet there'll be a concert in april to celebrate it
(unless it's a part of her next tour to promote the new album)

Me and two of my friends all won 3 tickets each for the 31st show. That used to be unheard of… I’m thinking the demand for her tickets has gone down drastically, or they’re starting to give preferential treatment to TA members for how long they’ve been members even for the normal lottery, or a mix of both. (Iirc, a member of 5 years+ has a different selection for the lottery, but I could be wrong. I’m only on my 3rd consecutive year because I let it expire lol).

Thank you! I remember times when it was hard to get but now we live in a different kinda world :yes

Still triggered by the fact I lost all 3 lotteries for CDL14-15. But there was no international TA back then (or I was still using mumo method), so glad its easier to get them now.

Endless sorrow is one of her absolute best songs.
I always forget how powerful it is.

Ayu my top played artist of the year on Apple Music (again lol), with 2650 minutes played...I think I need to branch out a bit haha! Anyone else check their Spotify wrapped / Apple Music replay yet? :)

Edit: Interestingly no Ayu songs in my top 10 though!

Apparently I played Summer Again the most and Non-fiction second most :luv2
Ayu was top artist, then Sheena Ringo, Tokyo Jihen, ELT and Utada Hikaru :yes

A Classical is soo good album.

I just rewatched Summer Again MV after a while and I still hate it... it's all just vanity shots, relying on the beauty of the costumes and the bodies and the scenery, but nothing to it. Some of the shots of them dancing in a formation on the beach look more like behind the scenes footage, just front on, too much background, they look like a group of people randomly dancing on the beach... the choreo is massive cringe and they are not into it at all. And Ayu's smile is so fake sometimes :( all her weird OTT hand gestures as well... there's way too many shots of that. I watched a couple of BoA's new MVs the other day and just wow, the amount they pack in, the quality! Even comparing Summer Again to Inspire, where is the mystique? where is the mood? where is the story? It would have been much better to have it like a party scene, even if they were all dressed ridiculously, the theme of the song is that finally we get to have summer again, so what are they doing on the beach? It's not a creepy ritual. It's not a party. It's not anything :/ Well the cave bits are a bit better, but at the end of the day it's still just posing. For how long can they rely on vanity shots? Mask and Non-fiction were at least a lot more interesting.

The only thing about Summer Again MV (and her last concerts) I hate is the choreography...

are you guys still collecting her physical releases? I stopped to do so after Zutto... / Last minute / Walk and sold my whole collection away. There were couple of pieces I regret selling but I kinda grew out of being a collector. I remember there were some singles that were so freaking expensive on Yahoo! Auctions (like unopened A-single) but they seems to get cheaper these days. are people getting over her or are collectors just growing out of it? KPOP on the other hand has exploded in last couple of years but I don't know are they just "younger generation". I know KPOP is extremely popular nowadays but I feel like collecting KPOP stuff shares same energy as I use to have back in the day with ayu

^ I agree with you on that, and to add, I am not a collector, and it is not practical for me, besides all of her music is available online. My priorities changed in life I don't have much time anymore, but I understand when someone is passionate and inspired by someone. I think with years people change their interests or do not prioritize them as they use to. I have similar feelings about KPOP, it really looks and sounds good I just don't have enough focus to be devoted anymore.

I don’t know if this has been shared before, but I just located the record from which the song Duty sampled the gregorian chant

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?l...&feature=share

I was never a collector of physical releases, only owning few CDs like Memorial address, A BEST 15th anniversary, CAROLS, MY STORY and GUILTY...
I was however a huge digital collector, got rid of everything but for a different reason ?
I noticed the fandom stopped sharing some files, so since I'll always be missing some, might as well stop collecting them in the first place... No regret, felt better actually to get rid of the pression to own everything, and just enjoy what she's doing.

I actually can’t believe I used to buy every version of every release lol.

Although, if there was a real effort put into promoting her releases, I might be more excited to purchase them. It was the whole build up that really made it an experience for me. Once she stopped magazine and tv promo, my excitement kind of took a nosedive…

I still enjoy collecting, but these days I just can't afford it. The next album will probably be this first one I won't buy for a while (but I am planning to eventually). I've never been consistent with buying her DVDs, compilations and singles though

I have most of her singles and the older albums. Also I love photobooks, I wish she would do another one.
I am not buying so much anymore and most of the time second hand not new releases. Because I use spotify I dont have the need to buy new music releases phisical immediately when they come out (not just with Ayus music releases but in general)

I wanted to share the way I watch Ayu's classic winter MVs since last year. I love Christmas, so in 2021, I decided to decorate nearly every room in my home for the holidays, almost all of which differed in "spirit" from one another. This a clip taken in my bedroom, for which its "Spirit of Christmas" I captured as "The North Pole". Watching Ayu's music video for JEWEL in this room was truly something to behold.



I made a Powerpoint presentation to simulate the total experience for my workers; for anyone that's interested, see the spoiler

Oh my god, this is fabulous! It's like Ayu's team set it up. :love

Ayu Nonfiction multiverse :love

LOOOOL I'd love to attend this kind of event haha

loved how Yocchan played air guitar

is ayu's boyfriend/alledged father of her kids still in the troupe?
I am not too familiar with her dancers but I haven't seen or read anything about him in a hot minute.

I don't pay much attention to them either outside of my faves lol

It's rumoured to be PEY and he was one of the answers on the TeamAyu MASK Quiz....so I assume he's still in the Troupe :P

Finally watched the 24th Tour Special. Loved it! I appreciated how all the dancers and background singers had old tour t shirts on during the encore. So cute. This tour felt extremely heartfelt after coming back after so long after not performing for an audience.

I found this interview from 2003 with Akiko Wada. I wish I could understand what they are talking about

Omg I miss the chaos of the Japanese tv shows from the 2000s.
Great clip, thank you!

Hey, hey!

I went to Oricon to see if any sign of Remember You was up, and under digital album streaming sales, I found A Complete is still in the top 30 almost every week! It's between 20 and 30 through January (so far) and every week in December. :love

It falls off after awhile and will again, but it always comes back. It hasn't been off for long in years.

^ On Recochoku, she even managed to rank a 22 years old album for december 2022 :
https://recochoku.jp/ranking/album/monthly

#74 A COMPLETE (2008)
#189 A BEST (2001)

A BEST and A COMPLETE are the real 23rd Monsters lol

i was looking for something on Youtube but instead I came across this! The short movie they did for 'voyage": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucQ3QhXZhuo

I have never seen it. Ayu is actually pretty good in this.

I always thought she is a good actress and I always wanted to see her in a feature project with a good director.

is there any Sped up songs for ayu?
or AI cover song using ayu's voice?