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To be honest, I think Ayumi's music has always been hit or miss for me (since I can’t say that I’ve ever loved an entire album from beginning to end) despite her experimentation on so many levels but her music had a unique sound that was not formulaic that appealed greatly to me. That is not the case now; case in point RnR circus. This is her STUCK in a formula for the most part, and with the new single there is no improvement. I picked up the album at home a few days ago and listened to half of it and had no desire to listen to the other half when I had already heard the melodies elsewhere and they all sounded like each other anyway.
I don't know that it simply has to do with her growing up or becoming confident. She used to say that her inspiration was herself and other people's stories so if most of her lyrics nowadays is just about holding hands, and voice reaching the others heart etc etc then its simply lack of inspiration on her part to venture outside of this idea. In SLT she is so confident that it is spectacular, and in DLB there is so much doubt that it is painful. Unfortunately, these 2 are the only recent examples of inspiring music that I can give but it proves that she can still hone those feelings and release an enjoyable song. Someone earlier made a comment about her losing confidence in her voice and that could very well be a reason for the formulaic sound; if her voice isn't as versatile as before then of course she’s just going to stick to a formula.
If my favorite artist has no inspiration then I am honestly content to wait years for another amazing album rather than releasing for the sake of ...well releasing. I feel that she is taking her fans for granted with these uninspired/uninspiring releases.
So, to answer the question, I would say only recently. Her music, her voice, her image….they don’t need an overhaul, but they need that Ayu factor that is simply missing.
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