How do you explain your love & appreciation for Ayu to others?

[panda♥]

i thought this would be an interesting topic of discussion.

for instance, next year i'm going to be getting an A tattoo and i'm sure some family members won't understand why i would get an artists logo tattooed on my body, but to me it means so much more than others think.

i'm sure alot of us have encountered someone who doesn't understand our love and appreciation for Ayu. how do you explain it to them?

[koumori]

For me, it's hard to explain? I guess I'd never really been into much kinds of music before I discovered Ayu. I was a fan of a few bands - The Cranberries, james, The Verve - so a very different kind of genre to J-Pop. So when an old friend of mine showed me evolution, she introduced me to a whole different genre as well I loved her songs, but I wasn't allowed on the Internet much as a kid so finding new, genuine songs was rare. Over three years I managed to get about thirty to forty songs of Ayu, from original tracks to remixes. My high school friend would translate the lyrics for me and we'd sing together whilst studying So there's a lot of memories there too for me.

Ayu has brought me together with a lot of friends, and cool people. When I found AHS, a year later I went through a hard, isolating time and people here always gave me good advice and made me feel like I hadn't lost everyone. If it wasn't for Ayu, I wouldn't have the good memories I do now, and I've met people both in real life and online through her music that I wouldn't have met or talked to otherwise. Her meaningful music is just a bonus

I actually remember being really surprised when I found how close she was to her fans. I never thought a celebrity would be.

So how I explain? I basically try not to rant the above ahahaha.

"She's a really cool singer, I like a lot of her songs."

[Jennie Mae]

I just tell people, "I love her more than anything."
"Anything?"
"Anything."
"Even yourself?"
"Yes."
That pretty much does it.

[NintendoHTF1242]

I just say I love her because her lyrics are sincere and I find myself relating to a lot of her lyrics.

[hsienko]

I vaguely say that I find it "interesting music to listen to." Which is true because why would I listen to music that I wasn't interested in?

[ohsixthirty]

eh...i hate this because no one ever understands. everyone always thinks its weird, or that its somehow less worthy on a musical scale.

i used to feel more shy about this, but now i honestly just tell them that she is a goddess of music sent down to earth. But...I really like Jennie Mae's reply, i might use that!

[emi♡]

I usually don't lol

tbh, if I got an A tattoo...no one would know. Maybe my boyfriend....thats it lol And he would get it.

People get bands logos tattooed on themselves all the time, why should it be any different right? I'd probably just be like "oh it's this artists I really love."

[Kazeyomi]

It didn't ever happened to me before to be honest. My boyfriend and my friends knew that I'm obsessed with Ayumi Hamasaki. So much that I spend money on her CDs and merchandise lol.

But if I'd happen.. well I'd just say: If my soul would have sound, it will be like an Ayu song.

It's easy to say 'oh I like that singer because her/his music is cool', but it's difficult to find the singer who you truly love either. Not in a creepy way of course I mean, that her music and lyrics relate to you completely. Even if she's singing in a different language than yours.

[AyumiAi]

Originally Posted by ohsixthirty

i honestly just tell them that she is a goddess of music sent down to earth. But...I really like Jennie Mae's reply, i might use that!

my response as well
plain and simple she's an icon, idol, goddess of music and empress of pop she's awesome and owns meeeeeeeeeeee XP haha

[pommy48]

I don't...Most people that I know don't know how big of a fan I am. When people ask me, I just say I like her music because I think it's pointless trying to explain to them how important Ayu is to me.
The things her music helped me through...I just can't put that into words for other people.

And I like not talking about Ayu with friends because it's just something personal for me <3

[panda♥]

Originally Posted by ohsixthirty

But...I really like Jennie Mae's reply, i might use that!

me too, LOL. it makes things so much easier.

[PoetGirl]

Honestly I get carried away,

I try not to bother people cause I always think they wouldnt even be interested, but when they ask me for example who's that on my wallpaper on my cellphone Im like 'a goddess, my queen, love of my life, my role model'. They are usually very interested why I love her so much and what does she do. lol.

So I get carried away with like monologue for at least an hour why she is so amazing and Im happy when people usually accept it and in the end they love it. Im really passionate about things I love, no wonder they like it in the end.

What I tell them first is main reason why is she so important to me. She changed my life in the most literal sense and what I am now is something I thought I could never be and its all thanks to her, her empowering lyrics and image. She's the reason I embraced asian culture and started learning their languages and working there and for them. She's the reason Im not shy or scared anymore, she's the reason why I stayed strong for so long. Thanks to her I have someone to look up to. She's a woman I always wanted to be.

[Aditmi Krisnasaki ~II~]

I love her because her lyrics are just so honest (even though I don't really understand it)

and even if she has below-average vocal, it's just that she always sings her songs so emotionally / passionately which is unlike any other singers.

It's like her music helped me out back then from almost everything, I can't mention it one by one

and also it's just the first time I'm so enthusiastic about a singer and it's like I just want to re-organize every aspect in my life because of ayu.

[ayu_fantasy]

no point... All would start saying, snsd is the in-group now...

[asmAyumi1992]

I don't like to tell anyone how much I love Ayu. They wouldn't understand. When they ask why, I just answer "I don't know...".

[owlflight]

I haven't been asked yet by friends and family why I like Ayu because most of them don't know. I would tell them that despite the language barrier she sings with such emotion that I can really connect with the songs. Then when I read the lyric translation, the connection becomes deeper as I then understand what she is singing about. I also enjoy the music itself and how she is so sweet with her fans.

I had once mentioned to a coworker that I listen to Jpop and she was confused as to why since I don't speak Japanese. I told her the music was catchy and that I have the lyrics on my iPod to read while the music was playing. Oh how I wished I could have just busted out with a few lines of Japanese as part of my explanation. Sadly I can only do that in French.

[RayJason]

I avoid explaining why I love ayu's music. It's not that I'm ashamed or something (not at all!), but the fact that other people find it hard to consider that there are more than 2 music genres, artists and languages all over the world.

Today however someone asked me who the girl on my (phone) wallpaper was, and I explained who ayu was, and then she wanted to listen to a few songs and she really liked her. But it also happens that I try to explain that she's an Japanese artist whom I listen to, and that people react like 'WTF I thought you were into Drake's / Chris Brown's / Lil Wayne's music instead of this piece of ****.

And If I were to come through those people they would ask ridiculous questions as: "But you don't even understand Japanese, why do you listen to her etc." Like music is all about languages. I never understand any word what ayu sings but I always look it up, and strangely enough: I understand what feeling she's expressing in her music, it's inexplainable but true.

I never met anyone in my life whose into ayu like me or any of you guys though! XD

edit; My parents find it weird too. :p

[mi|kshake]

No one ever really asks me. My friends know I like her and my family know I listen to Japanese music. I guess I would just say cause I love her music and she makes great videos and she has a variety of styles! Plus she's always so nice to her foreign fans.

mi|kshake~

[Mami-chan]

Originally Posted by asmAyumi1992

I don't like to tell anyone how much I love Ayu. They wouldn't understand. When they ask why, I just answer "I don't know...".

Yeah, same for me. A lot of my friends know that I love her but they just don't and I know they wouldn't understand so I usually say something like: "I don't know. I just love her" ^^;

[rusuke]

My family and friends know that I love Ayu and J-music. There are people who would want to know why I love Ayu and J-music even though I can't totally understand Japanese, and I explain to them this and that. However, when someone asks me especially if I just recently met the person and when I know that my explanation won't matter to him/her, I just answer for: "Oh, listen to her songs and you'll see for yourself. Period."

EDIT: But in the end, they'll give different perception so never mind.