Ayumi = manufactured?

[MorbidBarbie]

I was having a conversation with a close friend. [He's really fond of Shiina Ringo and the Tokyo Incidents (Tokyo Jihen). And I really like them, but sometimes... I have to admit. Ringo's voice is not a really great SINGING voice and sure that may be her style, but if you aren't accustomed to it, then you'd probably think negatively.]

Anyways. The conversation started when I told him how deep I thought some of her PVs were, and I explained what some of them meant to me and that sent him on this whole tangent about how Ayumi was "manufactured"

So I'll quote a couple things he said:

"You are overthinking it to the point where it's not what it was intended to be.
argh. okay. ayumi is so manufactured. I mean I love her music. Sorry. I mean I like her music, but the reality is that she is handed a schedule, she is handed lyrics, music, a mic and they tell her to sing.

She wrote 12 songs out of 200. CREA, Ayumi, and A in total wrote 12 songs. Look it up. And by writing I mean lyrics.

Ayumi is just so fake... she's likeable. Her music is catchy, yeah. But I can't compare her to any other REAL japanese band like LOVE PSHYCHEDELICO, noodles, etc etc. Where they make their own music, where they don't have to sell singles and calenders, dolls, coffee mugs, stickers, etc. Aka ***** themselves out so that the big man can make money. That's what makes me not respect Ayumi. She is contracted to panasonic, morinaga, and all of these companies. She is branded.

I would love her if she went independent. Like she would be a studio and create an album herself. She wouldn't have to ***** herself in CMs.

Obviously she signed herself onto a 10 year deal. I guess she'll try her best to make the best of it."

I guess, lately her stuff has been less than amazing, but I still love her none the less.
It says Ayumi writes her own lyrics. Sure she has bought songs in the past, like Real Me... and sure she had Sweetbox do a lot of stuff for her as well as other people.... but I'm pretty sure she writes her own lyrics. I mean, she is known for forgetting lyrics in live preformances but that could be for numerous reasons. (Not rehearsing, lack of sleep, really tired, on purpose for being like "cute")
I think personally that Ayumi is more than some catchy marketing device... and even though she realizes that she herself is a product... she uses that status to an advantage... like how she produced Alterna...


He's not just ayu-bashing... I mean... I don't know.
What do you think?


Don't just tell me crap like "OMG I LUV AYU TILL THE END~!!!!!!!!!!111111111"

[Dreamland]

not true at all

[truehappiness]

...Real me was purchased?

She's written all of her songs, lyric-wise.

Composition-wise she's done like 20..? I don't see how Ayu is 'manufactured' when she has such control over her image and stuff.. O_O;


This guy is so uninformed, it's madness that he can call what he says 'fact.' :[

Tell him to read these and then get back to you. >>
http://homepage2.nifty.com/morimasa/allnight.html
http://homepage2.nifty.com/morimasa/rockin.html

[SunshineSlayer]

Well, there are so many things wrong in that persons statements that it is almost not worth the time to reply about.

But yes, Ayu is a product. (she admits this herself) But, being in CMs and what not IS HOW IT WORKS IN JAPAN. It's not considered an act of "whoring" oneself out as it is here in the US - it is what is expected. Just because the LOVE PSHYCHEDELICO haven't done it, doesn't mean they wouldn't the second they got the opportunity to.

At first she was manufactured. She didn't even want to be a singer. But once it was discovered that she wrote beautifully, they decided that Hamasaki Ayumi was to be an artist who wrote her own music. That earned her a bit of influence from the start, straight from her first album.

After that, she gradually gained more and more influence, co-producing music and PVs and such, controlling her image way more than most artists are allowed to, and eventually composing the music to her songs.

Ayu is an artist; she is a creator of concepts and visions. Just because she isn't part of some local indie garage band that got picked up by a major label doesn't mean she's "manufactured" per se.

People are just arrogant and ignorant when it comes to understanding the entertainment industry. Tell your friend he should only talk about things he's educated in.

[JimmyKoria]

Shiina Ringo does commercials just like every other artist and some of them are kind of awful (but I enjoy them a lot).

Plus it's obvious Hamasaki is a product. But unlike some of the other products she writes about the bad sides of being such. Hamasaki is a pop artist...you can't compare her to a band.

Shiina Ringo is probably just as similiar. While she has done work in numerous other bands and released music, she was probably only able to because she did the stuff her lable told her to. Shiina her self even commented on it. She thought Gibbs or some other song would have been a better first single but instead they released Konfukuron.

[AyUmIXx]

well..ayu does write her own lyrics until today..she wrote her lyrics 100%...
about the music arrangement...she may sometimes or often get involve on it..but who knows rite? she's probably giving her little idea about how the music is gonna be on her new songs.. but still she's not the one who composes the songs thoroughly..
she's 8 years now in the music industry... why avex manufactures her anymore?

when she for the first time was an artist...she was blanked with the situation of being an artist..that was the time she might be controlled to do anything for her..

and pls to remember that she's a solo artist...how could she able to do lots of things without a manager beside her? without somebody who's the one in charge to write her schedules and tell her what she needs to do today or tomorrow..

it's different if you're in a group of band...they can take care of each other..can suggest and discuss lots of stuff... (even though band also has manager with them...it's different between a group band and solo artist...)

how could people judge the different genre of artists?
maybe that's just his opinion but...that was somehow..HE knows a lot about Ayu..but the fact is he's not... (no offense)

LOVE PSHYCHEDELICO? lmfao, gimime a break. I'd like to see your friend write lyrics. Does he realize Ayu is one person? A band has a few more than one people...

[ph33r]

Aren't all artists/bands manufactured to a certain extent. I mean come on.

[[taskin.ayu]]

Ayu has written all lyrics for all her songs now. Except for maybe a few like Sotsugyou shashin and Love ~since 1999~ Your friend is confused between whether she composed it, or wrote the lyrics.

I suggest your friend should watch the alterna PV and the NTV interviews before making anymore assumptions about how hollow she is. =p

[Tasked]

Ayu is a product, that is very very true. She says so herself. But she's an awesome product. Ayumi Hamasaki has enough mental and physical strength to cope with the image and promotion of the product 'Ayu'.

And Ayu composed 28 songs, arranged 1 song, and wrote about 125 songs. Plus, Ayu has alot of say (especially after 2001) in her career; how her PVs are like, how her concerts are like, what she does and what she releases. Also, Ayu 'supervises' most of her songs. She picks a composition, and thinks: "hmm I want this song sound like this.. I'd better ask Tasuku if he can do that..."

I suggest your friend to watch this:

Ayumi Hamasaki - The Face on Every Billboard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_RjkyoZ9cM

Ayu writes ALL of her songs. She's been doing it since her first single. And Ayu is in control of everything she does. I remember that Max Matsuura said that when the CDs say produced by Max Matsuura, it's only because of the contract he signed and that he really doesn't do anything. It's Ayu herself. (She's a bit of a control freak)

[alternarist]

what? make her own album herself? that guy must be kidding! ayu is ayu. what for compare with LOVE PSYCHEDELICO? not all artistes go towards the same direction. -_- sweeping statements.

[Dustie]

LOL, if he wants manufactured star, check out BoA, for example. Ayumi is barely manufactured coparing to other "artists" out there.

He sounded like another one who doesn't know what he's talking about.

[sxesven]

I don't agree with all the statements your friends made, as half of it is just nonsense, but ultimately, of course Ayu is a product. I don't really see how that's not obvious.

[Raleigh]

Er.. I think in the end all artists are manufactured. But your friend's comments show his lack of knowledge imo.

[Daking]

depends on what "manufactured" means. Every artist who makes money can be considered manufactured, fact is you have to be promoted and advertised to the public in order to get sales and make money, you'd be a fool to think otherwise. As for her music, she may create all her songs 100% but really what artist of her status does? If she created 100% of her songs solo she'd be scrapping to make a living.

The conclusion, your friend maybe jealous that his favorite band isn't as successful as Ayu.

[DA1SUK1DAY01691]

If Ayumi is manufactured, then Morning Musume must be like... idk. But point is, Ayumi isn't manufactured. The Time Asia article could prove that. She may be a product, but she's not manufactured. Morning Musume is manufactured.

[Jer Sieu]

She is not manufactured... Why?

1. She wrote the lyrics herself. You don't expect THAT as manufactured. That's her own work.
2. She forgotten her lyrics once. That doesn't mean that she did not write her lyrics herself. Everyone is human. Everyone tends to forget stuff they try to remember best. Not everyone is perfect and you should know that.
3. She has skills. If her singing skill sucks, then why will it attract so many people?
4. Her voice is good. Granted with such good voice, she is really blessed. In fact, no one can make her sound like that in CDLs or concerts or whatever... Right?
5. Ayu, in fact, all the singers around the world won't success without their manager/designer/whatever... Their manager/designer/whatever is a part of their job and they NEED them in order for them to become successful... (not all, alright?)
6. There are so many singers that are like Ayu. (not as in singing, personality... "career"!!!) So I guess you will say, OMG WTH AYU IS MANUFACTURED AND OTHERS ARE NOT!!!
7. No one does this career solo. May be some Rambos but not Ayu!! If Ayu do everything (from songs to music to hairstyle to everything/whatever) herself, she won't be so successful now...

The End. Correct me if I get mistakes anywhere...

@truehappiness : Can you give me a sypnosis of that... Please?

[*Petit*]

Of course she is to a certain point, and if THAT's the only reason keeping him from liking her music, not her music itself (cause you really can't hear if an artist is manufactured or not, not in these days when "everyone" can afford music equipment), he one of the most superficial persons I've ever heard of.

The music itself has nothing to do with whoever made it, and whether or not it's in CMs. It doesen't change the music at all. If shiina Ringo was to star in a CM would he suddenly think of her music as "bad"? To me, these things doesen't affect the music. When I "judge" music I judge the music and not what the artist did last night.

People do what they feel comfortable doing, what they can contribute with (like in a band). Ayumi's biggest contribution are her lyrics. The Geo incident proves that she, allthough not writing the melodies and doing arrangements herself( if she would do that she woulden't be able to keep up with the japanese release track and not at all go touring), she's in control of the style of the music and which direction her music shall take, perhaps even more than each member of a band who has to co-operate with the other members.

"degrading" music like that is just plain stupid to me. Like morning musume, they seem a lot more manufactured than most avex artists (and probably have less control over their careers), but does it make their music any less worth listening to than any other artsts'? Once again it's not about that everyone should like the music, it's just that you might as well say that "I don't like the music" instead of saying stuff like this which in many ways makes no sense to me.