[article] Ayaka delivers 'First Message'

[nmskalmn]

Excerpt:

Amazing is the word that came to many people's minds when Ayaka performed five songs at a Warner Music Japan promotional showcase earlier this year. The then unknown singer won over the largely middle-aged audience of industry and media types with a confident, gutsy performance of King's foot-stompin' soul classic "I Feel the Earth Move," along with four of her own tunes. A major new J-pop talent had clearly arrived.

Since then, Ayaka has released three well-received singles and completed her first nationwide concert tour last spring. One show from that tour was carried as a live streaming broadcast by Japan's three major mobile-phone operators, which helped build up the buzz surrounding Ayaka.

On Nov. 1 she released her debut album, appropriately titled First Message. It's one of those rare first albums that doesn't sound like a debut set. Ayaka's self-assured, powerful vocals have none of the tentativeness displayed by many newcomer artists still trying to define their own style. Instead, Ayaka delivers amazingly mature-sounding performances on tracks like "Real Voice," which demonstrate her impressively wide vocal range and, just as importantly, her ability to get behind the lyrics and convey passion and depth of feeling as few other J-pop artists can.

Read it: Ayaka delivers 'First Message'

[*Petit*]

Her album did really well, and what the article fails to mention is that she'squite beautiful too, which always helps. Her cover for the album looks amazing. I don't really feel her singles made a great impact after the first two ones, but her voice is really powerful and emotional at the same time. I was surprised to read that she had no formal training. I haven't heard the entire album, so I don't know how the rest of the tracks are, but I think her songs for the singles became a bit generic, both a and b sides. I would like to see her (or rather hear) doing a more wide variety of music in the future, but her voice will never fail to capture me.

[ayu_fan929]

She has a great voice and I believe/Mikkatsuki sound amazing! I'm happy that her album is doing really really well (it's going to sell more than 600k) and I think if she develops more, she'll become a "big" female artist.

[elepop]

Thanks for sharing this article!

As much as I love her voice and "Real voice", I'm having difficulties liking her other songs. I'm not really used to her voice either, maybe it's too low for my liking? But she has so much talent. I think she'll really become a big artist. Plus, she's so pretty.

[Annabelle]

She did a cover of Carole King's "I feel the earth move"? I so want to hear that. Loving "First Message" and her latest single, "Mikazuki".

[AyuGAME]

yeah her album sells really well...the album is pretty nice too
i want to know the sales of yuna ito debut album too..but i dont know when she gonna do it

[cleftjuston]

i think so far ayaka and yuna are good competitors

[hallelujah_united]

I think ayaka can become really big in future, judging by how well she's been received so far. The girl definitely has talent, and can really out-sing just about everyone else. She doesn't just throw a big voice around either, she puts emotion into her words as well. The only big doubt about her would be her ability to break out of this mould and try out other styles besides this acoustic sound she has now. If she can prove to be that versatile in future releases, then the sky's the limit for this girl.

If all goes well, I think we can expect to see her rise to superstardom, just like the way Ayu or Hikki did before. She definitely has the potential to dominate the charts for years to come.

[Mirai Noah]

Thanks for sharing the article! I really love ayaka, and I'm glad that other people do too!