Sing with instrumental?

[Nicolas]

I don't think there has ever been a literal "instrumental" with no backing vocals at all on any Ayu release has there?
Its odd how some artists have totally "instrumental" tracks while some leave the backing vocals in. I think the idea of leaving them in is so that you harmonize with them like Ayu does in the original recordings. This is unlikely for most people-as backing vocals rarely mix as well with anyone apart from who they were recorded for. I like to hear the harmony arrangements in the backing vocals but sometimes I'd like a total instrumental as I think they still cover up a great deal of the music. Leaving backing vocals in are also a good tool for preventing illegal copying of a track. With backing vocals its harder to record the song into another language etc. and pass it off as your own. A big-scale artist such as Ayu obviously needs this level of protection at every opportunity. I think, also, musical style often dictates the necessity of backing vocals remaining in instrumental tracks. Hp-Hop/R&B/Pop songs traditional come with instrumentals (even in the west) as they are often spun at clubs as tracks in their own right. So its more common for people like Namie Amuro to have total-instrumentals over Ayu. Just my thoughts.