Quote:
Originally Posted by tenshi no hane
I liked that she tried a new ourselves arrangement, but that's about it. I'm going to have to join the negativity train this time.
To me, it's not just about the vocals. Those have always been hit-or-miss. But, up until a few years ago, she would still shine even if her voice got shaky; she could make up for it somehow. It wasn't perfect, but it was raw and honest (in my eyes, anyway). However, this performance makes me feel secondhand embarrassment. The flailing, the melodramatics, the wrong vocal choices, the whole damn thing... I'd be embarrassed to show this to my friends or family. I just felt sad watching this, like "Who is this?"
It's been like this for a few years. And I think some of us, like me, watch new TV performances with the hope of seeing a spark of her old magic. Which doesn't happen, and the crushed hope leads to frustration and negativity. (I don't really watch her new concerts anymore, and they have so much stuff going on nowadays anyway that it's less jarring than during TV shows.)
I don't want her to go back to her past 'persona'. Interviews make it clear that she was quite miserable back then. Besides, people change. I want her to be happy. It's just... I don't know... It's her life. If she wants to perform like this, she should. It's not fair to push my expectations on her. But the part of me that grew up admiring her feels sad to see her like this.
...Needed to get this off my chest. I think I'll just stick to her studio albums from now on.
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You hit the nail on the head perfectly here.
People may argue that fans can't expect her voice to sound the same as her debut or golden era but they also shouldn't come to see awful vocal performances as acceptable. Yes she has had problems with her ears, but as a performer with the sort of time, money and resources that she has, we can and should expect her to work on her vocal issues and at least try to perform to a decent standard, instead of the warble-y screaming that is currently presented. No amount of theatrics, dancers, overacting etc can mask the main issue of Ayu's performances, which is her voice.