[tabloid] Japan Today - Ayumi Hamasaki vs Kumi Koda

[Raleigh]

This coming April will mark the 10th anniversary since the debut of 28-year-old J-Pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki. “A Best 2,” her second “best of” album in six years, will be released on Feb 28 and numbers for the CD have been getting a lot of attention lately.

“Her previous ‘A Best’ album sold 4.5 million copies,” said a spokesperson for Avex, the label she is under. “Unless her new ‘best of’ album sells equally as well, people will start talking about her declining popularity. In order to earn the No.1 spot on the sales chart, the label is doing everything it can for Hamasaki, such as shifting other artists’ release dates. So the release will be a turning point for her career.”

Last year, Hamasaki became the first ever solo artist to sell more than 20 million copies of her singles in her career. At a quick glance, the diva position seems secure, but Kumi Koda, 24, isn’t too far behind.

“Kumi Koda was ranked first in total sales of her singles, albums and DVDs in 2006, accumulating 12.7 billion yen,” said an entertainment reporter. “Ayumi Hamasaki, on the other hand, garnered 6.89 billion yen, which placed her fifth. In 2005, it was 7.6 billion yen for Koda and 6.9 billion yen for Hamasaki. It is clear that Koda surpassed Hamasaki in 2006.”

Hamasaki and Koda happen to belong to the same label, Avex. With two such singers in its camp, it is not surprising that Avex became the best selling label for Japanese music in 2006.

“Hamasaki is the single biggest contributor for the label,” said a label affiliate. “There was a time when Hamasaki alone accounted for 40% of Avex sales. It is not an overstatement to say that Kumi Koda and Ai Ohtsuka became who they are today with the money that Hamasaki raised.”

Long established, Hamasaki likes to indulge herself, the latest being her love for dogs.

“She brings her dog to work, because she doesn’t want to leave her alone at home,” said an Avex employee. “She is kind to us, but becomes a different person when it comes to her dog. We have to keep following her around and catch the dog and clean up after it, which is really tough.”

Far from easing any tension in the workplace, the dog has the opposite effect. “We once had to re-record because the dog barked during the session,” said one staffer.

Hopefully the diva will be back to the top with her dog giving her the energy that she needs. (Translated by Toshiya Fujii)

Link to article

[voltron]

Didn't she debut in 1998. So technically this year is her 9th anniversary.

[Raleigh]

No idea. I only quoted the article.

[SheFliesHigher]

That's kind of inconsiderate of her, making everyone else look after her dog...

[Impracticable]

well, we know how busy she is, so i hope thats why.

[Bruised.Sapphire]

Thanks for the interesting article.

Originally Posted by SheFliesHigher

That's kind of inconsiderate of her, making everyone else look after her dog...

Yeah, she shouldn't have a dog if she herself doesn't/can't take care of them.

[Namie]

Originally Posted by Bruised.Sapphire

Thanks for the interesting article.


Yeah, she shouldn't have a dog if she herself doesn't/can't take care of them.

so true. not a smart move for ayu to get like three dogs.

[Halla]

Originally Posted by Bruised.Sapphire

Thanks for the interesting article.


Yeah, she shouldn't have a dog if she herself doesn't/can't take care of them.

but that's what personal assistants are for

plenty of celebs have personal assistants , I don't think any able-bodied & healthy person really NEEDS a personal assistant. but if you have the extra money why not? the assistants usually get paid pretty well

[Surreal86]

Originally Posted by Demure_Dusk

“ It is not an overstatement to say that Kumi Koda and Ai Ohtsuka became who they are today with the money that Hamasaki raised.”

I find it interesting for them to use this to defend Ayu against people who are "newer" to music and more popular. To use this argument, it may seem that Ayu's popularity may actually be less than people may think.

Also, does anyone have any idea why they were talking about the dog in the end? It has absolutely nothing to do with news about A Best 2. It seemed like they were making filler, but using the dog as the main part of the conclusion seemed really weak...

I think they mentioned the dogs because Ayumi's pets have been mentioned multiple times before in past articles for either disrupting the flow of a video shoot or to illustrate that Ayu can be really mean to others when the subject is her pets.

[Chandrachan]

^true it was like they try to defend Ayu and than they talk about her dog - who has nothing to do with Ayu's sales...Kuu has a dog too
They were talking about what Ayu likes and the latest thing Ayu likes is dogs

[JinHamasaki]

Well Ayu isn't as popular before, but the sales from 2006 and 2005 are about the same for Ayu - meaning her popularity is nice and stable now.

Stability = Two Thumbs up

[truehappiness]

You have to remember that in 2005 and 2006, Koda had best albums.

2005's big "woah" was because of the first best, and the 2006 "woah" was because of the large amount of singles and yet another best..

So if you subtract that "income" from 2005, Ayu is a bit higher than Koda. But for 2006.. even if the best hadn't come out, I think the DVD sales helped a bunch too x.x


Oh, and I think Ayu takes care of her dogs when she's at home and so on, but while she's working, there HAS to be people there helping with the care of the pets, otherwise they'll just roam all around, screwing things up. So it's not really inconsiderate of her to have other people take care of the dogs because she's busy with what she has to do as a singer ~

[and she has like 5 dogs, if I recall correctly. Or even more!]

[Raleigh]

Koda is also always dragging her dogs along with her during recordings and filming. Hamasaki has the money to have assistants anyhow so I don't think she doesn't take care of her pets.

[the angel song]

lol at the random dog part. It's like trying to find a flaw in ayu's character by saying the dog makes the workplace tension rise etc., and this is ultradiva-ayu at work. Until an article comes out where she threw her shoe at someone who broke her nail, then they should bring it up.

And I also think it's a bit skewed as koda was pumping out best albums. BEST=MUST BUUUYY to consumers when they noted who has the most sales :/.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Oh, and I think Ayu takes care of her dogs when she's at home and so on, but while she's working, there HAS to be people there helping with the care of the pets, otherwise they'll just roam all around, screwing things up. So it's not really inconsiderate of her to have other people take care of the dogs because she's busy with what she has to do as a singer ~

Exactly. I also think the reason that she always has one of her dogs around is that it is important for someone in her position to have someone that loves them unconditionally.

[AyuGAME]

let's pray the best for ayu...

[Kikaru]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Exactly. I also think the reason that she always has one of her dogs around is that it is important for someone in her position to have someone that loves them unconditionally.

That's the nice thing about dogs. They always love you whether you're rich or poor. I guess it's like a safety blanket.

I love how everyone has an excuse for everything. Face reality people:

1 - Ayu doesn't and won't make as much money as she used to
2 - She's a ***** and you'd BETTER pick up that dog's **** or she'll call the mother ship on you!

[yamogi]

That is no point to compare two singers while one being in her prime period and one being not.

What will happen after "that person" leaves her prime seems much more interesting to me.