They forgot ayumi......

[AyumiAi]

http://www.tokyohive.com/2011/01/mus...s-of-all-time/
A list of the top idols then number one is smap I think with 32 million albums sold ..... Ayu has 50+ million albums sold In japan

[tenshi no hane]

Ayu is not an idol.

Artists and idols aren't the same thing in Japan.

[BlackSilence]

^then at this point, what is Matsuda Seiko doing there?

[roanmy]

Matsuda was originally an idol, wasn't she?

I mean, Utada Hikaru, Koda Kumi, B'z etc aren't on this list either.

[Andrenekoi]

From wikipedia:

In Japanese culture, idols (アイドル aidoru?) are (usually female) media personalities in their teens and early twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g. as singers for J-pop groups, bit-part actors, TV personalities (tarento), models in photo spreads published in magazines, advertisements, etc.

If i got it right, Idols are multimidia celebrities whose image and life style has a bigger impact than their works...
Maybe they considered that Ayu's career is music focused instead of multimedia (she doesn't act in dramas and movies, she doesn't have a tv show anymore and even if she has some photoshots, I don't think she could be considered a model), or that her work has a bigger impact than her image or life style...

[Yoake]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

From wikipedia:
If i got it right, Idols are multimidia celebrities whose image and life style has a bigger impact than their works...
Maybe they considered that Ayu's career is music focused instead of multimedia (she doesn't act in dramas and movies, she doesn't have a tv show anymore and even if she has some photoshots, I don't think she could be considered a model), or that her work has a bigger impact than her image or life style...

But Ayu acted in drama, she was a model before singing. She had AYUREADY as a TV show.

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by Yoake

But Ayu acted in drama, she was a model before singing. She had AYUREADY as a TV show.

But she doesn't do that now or as actively as let's say... arashi.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by Yoake

But Ayu acted in drama, she was a model before singing. She had AYUREADY as a TV show.

Ayu acted in drama.... when she was nobody
Ayu was a model... when she was a nobody

And Ayuready was shortlived and already resting in peace...

"Idol" in that sense, is not a title, but a profession... u can be a singer, a lawyer, a doctor, an idol... She had a short lived unsuccessful career as a idol, so, she can't be counted as one...

Idol in that sense is something closer to Paris Hilton, who acts, sings, models, etc, but is famous just for the sake of being famous... Even if some people in the list like Yamaguchi Momoe are really respected as musicians...

[Yoake]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Ayu acted in drama.... when she was nobody
Ayu was a model... when she was a nobody

And Ayuready was shortlived and already resting in peace...

"Idol" in that sense, is not a title, but a profession... u can be a singer, a lawyer, a doctor, an idol... She had a short lived unsuccessful career as a idol, so, she can't be counted as one...

Idol in that sense is something closer to Paris Hilton, who acts, sings, models, etc, but is famous just for the sake of being famous... Even if some people in the list like Yamaguchi Momoe are really respected as musicians...

ok ok! thanks for enlightening me. It was confused with the wiki definition. ^^

[gothicayu]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

From wikipedia:


If i got it right, Idols are multimidia celebrities whose image and life style has a bigger impact than their works...
Maybe they considered that Ayu's career is music focused instead of multimedia

i think so too . i dont think it was a mistake i just think ayu concentrate more on her music

[dreamland2.0]

^That was years ago though. Right now she is a musical artist and not so much an idol.

[bulmasman]

I'm just glad to see Nakamori Akina in there at number 3

but no, Ayu's not an idol singer and never has been

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by bulmasman

I'm just glad to see Nakamori Akina in there at number 3

but no, Ayu's not an idol singer and never has been

Me too. I never really think of Akina and Momoe as "Idols", but technically they are.

As for the "what qualifies someone to be an idol discussion." In general, idols do not write their own music (although there are some exceptions) and are well known in general, not just well known for being singers. They are known for their personalities, tv shows, movies, stage plays, photo books etc, in addition to music. Music is just one aspect of their career and not necessarily the main feature.

I'm surprised to see SPEED up that high on the list though because outside of their music, as far as I can recall, they didn't do much in the way of tv shows, movies etc. I also find it a bit baffling that they have Kahala Tomomi and Suzuki Ami on the list but not Namie Amuro (who had higher sales.)

Originally Posted by InoriNoUta

Thankfully, this is something Ayu SHOULDN'T be listed on.

I don't know why it would be considered insulting; all the people on the list are extremely hard workers that are actually pretty talented (some extremely so) in some aspect be it singing or acting, hosting etc. Being considered a top idol in Japan is not something to be ashamed of.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

I also find it a bit baffling that they have Kahala Tomomi and Suzuki Ami on the list but not Namie Amuro (who had higher sales.)

I missed Namie on the list too... I don't think what she does right now can be considered, but when she was with TK, she was an idol too...

[Midori-chan]

I knew somebody would open such a thread!

Ayu was an idol...once, long, long, loooo~~ng time ago!
"Morning Musume", "AKB48", all those JE groups and so on are counted as idols, but not Ayu!

[Sandy]

Originally Posted by Midori-chan

Ayu was an idol...once, long, long, loooo~~ng time ago!
"Morning Musume", "AKB48", all those JE groups and so on are counted as idols, but not Ayu!

I agree on this one. Long time ago, and not a very successful one. And I doubt if even that would be considered as being an "idol" if you compare her back then to idols right now.

[Bad Wolf]

Thankfully, this is something Ayu SHOULDN'T be listed on.

But **** YEAH AKINA =D

[channy]

I don't know, what others may think, but for me, Ayu is clearly an idol singer, and alyways has been. What is so different from her to Akina, just for example. Akina is way less of a usual pop singer than Ayu, always has been a very deep and mature artist when it comes to the atmosphere of her songs. I think the guy, that made this list, should rethink this again.

Besides that, I would say, the word "idol" is also something that everyone would put in another way for himself. You can idolize everything, if you take it this way.

[Bad Wolf]

Originally Posted by ShiSeido

I don't know, what others may think, but for me, Ayu is clearly an idol singer, and alyways has been. What is so different from her to Akina, just for example. Akina is way less of a usual pop singer than Ayu, always has been a very deep and mature artist when it comes to the atmosphere of her songs. I think the guy, that made this list, should rethink this again.

Besides that, I would say, the word "idol" is also something that everyone would put in another way for himself. You can idolize everything, if you take it this way.

Because you're clearly missing the point of what a Japanese idol IS. Ayu, as has been pointed out in this thread, is not an idol singer. They may have tried to make her one back in the day, but I doubt you can even consider her an idol in the Japanese pop sense today. Akina? Totally was an idol in her heyday. Now she's just fondly remembered.

Ayu is an idol in that others idolize her and can learn from her, but she is NOT an idol singer.

[Larien]

I'm caught on this one. At first I wanted to say, "Hell no, Ayu's not an idol!" but I think that has more to do with my desire not to see her listed in the same category as AKB48 than anything else. It's an interesting question, though, because I don't think there is a specific definition for an idol (or at least a definition that is specific enough). We can easily identify what is an idol (i.e. AKB48, or Arashi, etc.), but it's harder to define what isn't an idol.
Sure, Ayu's career is very much musically-oriented, and based more on the quality of the overall experience/product that, say, AKB (I apologize to any fans), whose entire shtick consists solely of trying to be as cute as possible to appeal to the minutae of Japanese boys' interests. That said, however, being an idol has a lot to do with marketing yourself based on image and personality. I was thinking about this the other day, and to be honest, why is/has Ayu been famous/popular? It's certainly not for her voice. Her voice, generally speaking, is all right, but if you took away everything else, her career could not survive on that alone (she's no ayaka, Christina Aguilera, etc. - people who can blow you away with an acapella performance because of their vocal skills). It's really the whole Ayu "package" - she's a great performer. She knows how to put on an awesome show that combines a lot of elements, a lot of noise and glitz and kabam. A big element is her image: she's famous for her giant eyes, her style, her cute personality, and so on. Those are kind of idol-ish qualities. When she was younger (before she was famous), she was a sort of B-idol, I think (if there is such a thing), but now...it's difficult to say. Still, after writing all that, I'm tending towards the answer that no, Ayu is not an idol, or at least isn't an idol anymore.