Quote:
Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer
The point is, if its ever completely proven that she was, then yes it would be a big deal. It wouldn't matter if its still going on or not. As I said before, it would raise a lot of issues in terms of preferential treatment and then even the somewhat coup of Max/Ayu vs. Avex's board of directors and President back in 2004 might be brought up as a major issue as well. (the media would probably find some kind of connection between the two events) All would be to the detriment of the amount of respect for Ayu in the eyes of the general public and probably many fans as well. I've already seen several Japanese fans actually express that this was the reason they quit being a Hamasaki fan, even though its never been 100% confirmed. (as I said, this rumor has been prominent in Japan for a looong time)
@LacusCayne: Yes, I agree.  |
I agree.
But I don't think it would affect her career at all at this point. I mean, Ayu has a huge fanbase but she isn't loved by the mainstream Japanese public (like Namie Amuro at the moment or SMAP or Johnny's or EXILE). Right now, imo, she has a career closer to Seiko Matsuda (except with decent CD sales) and her biggest profit comes from touring, she is more capable of selling-out huge arenas than more popular artists (like Seiko) and her fans are quite fanatic.
Why am I comparing her to Seiko Matsuda? Because she, Seiko, is the QUEEN of controversy. She made some things in the past that would make Madonna blush (relationship with bazillion different guys, cheating on bazillion different guys - everything caught by the media, drug abuse, was responsible for the suicide attempt of another huge female artist, was the responsible for the suicide attempt of her own daughter, had fights with her past agencies, etc. etc). And look, she still is selling-out huge arenas all over Japan, CM deals and has a huge fanbase. So there you go, I don't think it'll affect Ayu that much.
Anyway, surprise surprise, I always thought a relationship between the two of them was quite obvious. The whole "believing in her blindly after listening to her at a karaoke" thing ALWAYS sounded fishy and somewhat unbelievable. And Ayu and AVEX, like most Jpop artists and agencies, have lots and lots of skeletons in their closets.