Why is Ayu never mentioned in American magazines?

[Zeke.]

I have read plenty anime magazines that talk a lot about JPOP and japanese music and mention plenty of other JPOP/JROCK artists that are def. not as popular as Ayu... I was really excited when Animerica added a Jpop section to their magazine but then they mainly focused on JROCK. I wrote a letter entitled "Where is the Ayu At?" and was hoping to see it in the fan letter section but they never showed it, and worse yet, never did an article on Ayu. How can this be? I have never heard of NEWTYPE mentioning her either and I mean why? Of course she isn't selling like she used to anymore but she still is like the #1 female Jpop artist! I was reading through ANIME INSIDER in the book store the other day and they were talking about online japanese mp3 sites where you purchase music (like iTunes) and they mentioned avex's website and mentioned BoA and Koda Kumi but no AYU! I mean come on; how can you know about JPOP and not know who Ayumi Hamasaki is! It angers me a lot!

[Norrel]

Well she was in TIME

[Axel_Grease]

Originally Posted by Norrel

Well she was in TIME

But wasn't that like some TIME Asia and not some global version of TIME?

[Dreamland]

not just ayu I think they should mention alot more people I get tired of hearing about the "no talent" such as britney spears and paris hilton

it would be nice if they did use ayu more but I guess some things might never change

[sora2522]

maybe it's because Japanese Pop and other J-genre aren't as popular in the US as the good ol' American music? i mean, prolly less that 1/3 listens to J-Pop, J-Rock, etc.

[emi♡]

It was TIME Asia, didnt Isaac Hiew do the article?


American magazines don't care about Ayu. I think a lot more people know of BOA because, well, where I live, there are many Korean people, and they like her. Koda Kumi, probably because of Final FAntasy?maybe?

Americans couldnt care less about Ayu, its sad, but its true. They're too wrapped up in their own music (especially their voices) and celebrities.
J-Pop isnt popular at all, unless you watch anime...but then again, they watch it for the anime and the whole Japanese themes...J-Pop could never be popular...language barrier. And Style...who in america is going to listen to a band/singer called "Mr.Children" ?? there will be references to Micheal Jackson all over the place...

(not that theres anything wrong with Mr.Children)

[alternarist]

perhaps ayu is not the mainstream singer in US?

[stardusties]

Americans don't know the meaning of foreign music, yea..that's a general comment, and i know a lot of us here are from the united states and canada, but other than us, the people who love language, anime, anything non-American, I'm very sure that there are so many more who wouldn't give a care.

woah...post-midnight rants..haha

Originally Posted by emikotogawa

It was TIME Asia, didnt Isaac Hiew do the article?

Wow! That would be the coolest thing

[truehappiness]

He translated it.

Some evil woman made the article. xD

[nmskalmn]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

He translated it.

Some evil woman made the article. xD

No one translated it. The article was originally written in english. I don't understand where you got that the author was evil

I don't really know the answer to the first poster's question. Maybe it's because anime fans tend to be more into visual kei and seiyuu than jpop.

Ayu also had a very brief mention in Forbes magazine once.

[ayu_ready?]

in Russia we have comp games mag called "Gameland"
so, it has a section called Banzai!
it's about j-culture
they mention anime a lot and write reviews,
but also has HQ clips of j-artists in every DVD they release!
I dl many Ayumi and others PVs here
but, anyway, we don't have a mag with her too!
[we don't have mags about j-culture at all!]
I remember sghe was mentioned in one mag,
but they gave such a bad review and wrote that she didn't have voice, style and music at all!
so, anyhow, I'm even happy she's not in our mags!

[ohsixthirty]

its a conspiracy.

[Aisha_Angel]

In Anime Insider they had a little game in their J-POP edition: Who's What?

The pictures I remember seeing were Ayu's, Gackts, Miyavi and some others....the object was to pick who you thought was a girl & who you thought was a guy...but other than that Ayu wasn't mentioned b/c the J-POP issue was about Puffy Ami Yumi...*shudderz*

America is really, seriously blind when it comes to Asians in the music industry. I guess they don't want to see that other people can perform, sing & dance better than them now. But yeah, don't let it bother you. if Ayu is meant to be known in the US it'll be her destiny to be known.

& if she is; I'm gonna beat everybody 2 the punch & buy a whole punch of front row tickets to see her do anything...even a fifteen minute show on, "Ayu makes a Bologna Sandwich...with Martha Stewart" or something like that (& if I can't; I'll just record it on TV and watch it at home! ^^ )

[ohsixthirty]

Originally Posted by Aisha_Angel

& if she is; I'm gonna beat everybody 2 the punch & buy a whole punch of front row tickets to see her do anything...even a fifteen minute show on, "Ayu makes a Bologna Sandwich...with Martha Stewart" or something like that (& if I can't; I'll just record it on TV and watch it at home! ^^ )

psssh, i bet ayu prefers ham sandwiches to bologna.

[Hazuki]

Just like free_n_easy_cher said, a big issue of Ayumi not being popular in the US is probobly about people not wanting to hear something they can't understand.

Originally Posted by Aisha_Angel

[...]

& if she is; I'm gonna beat everybody 2 the punch & buy a whole punch of front row tickets to see her do anything...even a fifteen minute show on, "Ayu makes a Bologna Sandwich...with Martha Stewart" or something like that (& if I can't; I'll just record it on TV and watch it at home! ^^ )

We'll go together and scream for Ayu while she makes sandwiches XD

[Qt Mashi]

yeah that's unfair~! they scared Ayu is a threat and will take over America's music industry~

She has been mentioned in some magazines that cater to the anime/manga crowd. I couldn't give you issue numbers or mag titles because this is from years ago, during her A BEST period.

Also, people, please read the first post. The person is specifically asking about Ayumi's appearance in anime/manga/j-pop magazines. If you think those mags conspire against Asian artists, please rethink your position.

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by devilayu

She has been mentioned in some magazines that cater to the anime/manga crowd. I couldn't give you issue numbers or mag titles because this is from years ago, during her A BEST period.

Also, people, please read the first post. The person is specifically asking about Ayumi's appearance in anime/manga/j-pop magazines. If you think those mags conspire against Asian artists, please rethink your position.

Thank you for realizing this. Basically everyone who had posted a reply didn't catch that I was asking why she wasn't mentioned in anime mags and other artists were - not in like "Seventeen" or mainstream mags, lol...

[JimmyKoria]

Originally Posted by anime_fanatic21

Thank you for realizing this. Basically everyone who had posted a reply didn't catch that I was asking why she wasn't mentioned in anime mags and other artists were - not in like "Seventeen" or mainstream mags, lol...

Not everyone is going to read all of what you said? I mean your thread title doesn’t match what you're talking [it does, but it isn't specific]. I guess the magazines are trying to be more “hard core,” It’s like a magazine aimed for an alternative crowd posting things about Britney Spears [who would probably be more aimed at a pop crowd or a mainstream crowd]. It’s the stigma of being associated with that I guess? I think that most Jpop fans already know about Hamasaki so they might not feel the need to bring her up more.

[SheFliesHigher]

Originally Posted by KORiA

Not everyone is going to read all of what you said?

That really defeats the purpose of a message board, doesn't it? I don't see why some people have to be in such a huge hurry to post a response that they only read one sentence and then jettison their unrelated ideas into the conversation. If you're too lazy / dumb to read an entire post, at least SKIM it for major points.

As for the main topic, I have also wondered the same myself. Ayu never seems to get any mention at all in magazines that run sections dealing with J-pop. As other posters have suggested, I wonder if it's because she's too well-known, and therefore potentially uninteresting? Or maybe Ayu really is disliked that much.