Are you annoyed/disheartned by the current state of Ayu's career?

[happiholic★]

Since the release of RnRC she's been hit and miss for me, with everything. Songs, PVs, lives, etc.

[Didz-19]

Most of her PV's (starting from Love songs till now), are about break up.. I don't really like Ayu bringing her lover in her PV (except for Shu-Ya, don't mind him)...if only she use something else for the "Wake me up" pv, i definitely love it...

[waterballoon]

like what Del said, I don't mind that she's stagnant/boring now, cos it gives me time to go into her older works. I've recently gotten very addicted to the LOVEppears album and gotten to appreciate her lyrics from ASFxx to the I am... era.

currently, I don't think her new works are bad; granted, they are still very good songs albeit a little boring (I haven't spammed LOVE again like how I would for her older albums)... I don't know what she needs to spark her music again, but from time to time she does give us good gems.

what I'm the most disappointed about is how she handles her private life. there is something so different from Ayu pre-GUILTY and post-GUILTY. Honestly, I prefer pre-GUILTY Ayu a lot more because back then, she was a very impartial lady. she knew work was work and love is love, friends are friends etc... and there was very little crossovers among the aspects of her life, and even if there were it was never anything as jarring as we see nowadays.

i don't care if she feels her bf and friends are more important than her career now but i personally feel it's quite unprofessional to slap your new bf on your single/album covers and your PVs. it feels odd, like she doesn't respect her own music or something? i dunno. i prefer soft nuances in her old music that makes me think and wonder if it's about an ex, about Nagase, about her friends' relationships etc... now it's just... "oh snowy kiss should be about Mannie, it's so obvious Return Road was for Mannie" etc etc... i don't like how she's playing out her personal life now.

[channy]

Originally Posted by waterballoon

What I'm the most disappointed about is how she handles her private life. there is something so different from Ayu pre-GUILTY and post-GUILTY.

Exactly. It's like A Song for XX to GUILTY was a completely different singer at times. NEXT LEVEL was the end of the Ayu I knew. Even though I liked many things on NEXT LEVEL. She got never back to her old days ever since.

[AyUmIXx]

hmm not really, because i know the fact that not all solo/group artists will last long and always at their peak, so i kinda understand the current state of ayu's career. you know, if she's still popular and still everywhere in the japanese industry, people will get bored.
as long as she's still releasing stuff for the fans, it's more than enough =))

[yukito]

It's not that I hate the stuff she does know, but I maybe lost a little bit of interest. I still enjoy listening every other song from the new albums and some of the PVs, but there are extremely bad songs and PVs as well that I can't stand, but it always has been with ayu for me since the beggining. I still respect her though.
I think the only musician I never really dislike it's BONNIE PINK, she always brings out new things and I can say that out of her entire discography 350 songs nearly, there are maybe 2 or 3 songs I don't care that much about, not counting some dreadful remixes, I guess that's because she is more involved with her music rather then in herself (unlike ayumi XD).

[visionfactory]

Being an Ami Suzuki fan, I've been waiting years for a new release. In that perspective Ayu career is fine, she still gets to release lots of songs and great concerts. It's being a hard time for jpop artists (It's not only Ayu) and I'm sure her sales will rise within the next releases.

[terra]

Originally Posted by Midori-chan

I'm sad about the current state of her career. I've been an Ayu-fan for more than nine years already. I fell in love with Ayu's music (and later also her personality), when I randomly downloaded the song "Endless sorrow" from a JPop-website. I had NO idea who "Hamasaki Ayumi" was, how she looked like or anything, but the title of the song spoke to me immediately.
Oh boy, I remember NOT listening to any other songs for days. I researched her on the web after a few days and was so happy to find out that she was actually pretty big in Japan and went to get more stuff. I also started reading her lyrics and watching her PVs and I went WOW! . They were deep, artistic and inspiring...

...and that's the main reason why I'm not so happy about the Ayu "now". I've been sooooo disappointed with "FIVE" and "how is the album call that came after, I pushed it out of my memory". I liked "LOVE again", but only liked. So far I LOVED all Ayu-albums!! I went crazy over every release and even pre-ordered them (sometimes even the LE-versions!). I haven't bought any stuff (albums, DVDs, merchandise,...) since "Rock'n'Roll Circus". MAYBE I'll buy "Love again", but only the "CD only"-version. I always bought the "CD+DVD"-versions, but her latest PVs aren't worth it.

I hate to split artists careers into "old" and "new", but I just don't feel "new Ayu" at the moment. I miss her deep and powerful lyrics. I hate how repetitive her new lyrics all sound. Some are also pretty similar to lyrics of older songs. And don't even get me started on the PVs! I WANT PVs with a FREAKING storyline again (and I'm NOT talking about "abusive boyfriends throwing girlfriends out of cars" ). I was SUPER excited for the "Song4u"-PV, because the preview looked SO promising, but in the end it was boring. They could have made so much out of it, but yeah...!

Also her photoshootings are not to my liking since a longer time. I know it's the "LOVE again"-era and blahblahblah, but do we really need the same concept for three different magazine shootings AND the covers AND the booklet? She also doesn't even look like herself in some of the shootings (but I don't blame her for that, but the people, who just use too much Photoshop on her! ).
Also no promotions or TV appearances don't make me happy at all!


Ayu and her music saved my life (and are still saving it), when I was/am in a VERY ****** place, mentally and physically. I'm so grateful to her; I can't even put it into words HOW much and because of that I'll always stay beside her and support her until the end of her career...but I wish I could get my "old Ayu" back. The one I fell in love with. It's totally fine when her career takes different turns and when she tries out new things. Ayu had such a huge variety of music since the beginning, but I just can't bring myself to listen to her new stuff much or watch her new PVs,...

I still listen to her older songs and watch her older PVs/tours on a daily basis (!!!) and that will also NOT change! "LOVE again" was good too. I just think that at the moment Ayu and her team are half-assing stuff and that makes me sad, because I - WE ALL - KNOW that our Goddess can do much better!!!

I feel exactly as you Midori-chan, except my first ayu song is Dearest
Most of the points I want to make is already in your post lol and I agree with some of you who feel annoyed by how she put her lover and her friends right in front of our faces. At first I don't mind seeing dancers in BLUE BIRD it's realy fun actually but as time goes it became worse and worse. I don't care about her love life until she sticks Maro before me with the trilogy PV :|

In a way I'm disappointed about how her career went at this point, because so far this is her lowest point imo I still hope that someday she'll release something with the epicness of her older self. The artistic mysterious PVs and the meaningful lyric that doesn't talk about overall the same thing

[Jason]

Hmmm... I was actually thinking about this after listening to Love again for the month or so it's been out. And while I love the album on a musical level, lyrically it just doesn't touch me. I don't connect with the words as much as I used to and I think that runs through quite a bit of her latest material, imo. Most of the songs present on her last few albums have lyrics that, I feel, were just merely written because... Well... Something has to go with the music, right? Then there's the one or two songs on said album that I feel have a spark to them and I can connect to what she's written, you know?

So in that particular area, yeah... I am quite disheartened at her career right now. The fact that ALOT of her early stuff connected with me lyrically and made me feel emotions other than "Yeah... This song sounds awesome" dissapoints me. I mean, it's really the main thing that drew me to her in the first place. Don't get me wrong, though. I think, musically, everything has been top notch.

As for her popularity? It never bothered me. I mean... I was a fan of hers for two years before I realised how big she actually was in Japan (found out roughly around 2004). As long as she's happy enough to keep releasing new music... I'm happy too.

I just think she needs a few months away. A few months to get inspiration in her writing.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by Jason;2983898[B

]Hmmm... I was actually thinking about this after listening to Love again for the month or so it's been out. And while I love the album on a musical level, lyrically it just doesn't touch me. I don't connect with the words as much as I used to and I think that runs through quite a bit of her latest material, imo.[/B] Most of the songs present on her last few albums have lyrics that, I feel, were just merely written because... Well... Something has to go with the music, right? Then there's the one or two songs on said album that I feel have a spark to them and I can connect to what she's written, you know?

So in that particular area, yeah... I am quite disheartened at her career right now. The fact that ALOT of her early stuff connected with me lyrically and made me feel emotions other than "Yeah... This song sounds awesome" dissapoints me. I mean, it's really the main thing that drew me to her in the first place. Don't get me wrong, though. I think, musically, everything has been top notch.

As for her popularity? It never bothered me. I mean... I was a fan of hers for two years before I realised how big she actually was in Japan (found out roughly around 2004). As long as she's happy enough to keep releasing new music... I'm happy too.

I just think she needs a few months away. A few months to get inspiration in her writing.

Maybe she is just writting about stuff that aren't interesting or touching to you... and this is very different from "writing anything to the songs have lyrics. IMO her lyrics from her lastest 3 albums are far more interesting than her lyrics from her peak for example.

[Jason]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Maybe she is just writting about stuff that aren't interesting or touching to you... and this is very different from "writing anything to the songs have lyrics. IMO her lyrics from her lastest 3 albums are far more interesting than her lyrics from her peak for example.

That's part of it, yes. But look at the lyrics in most of the Love again album and go back through a fair bit of her really early stuff and they're so similar to each other that it just feels like she kinda put those lyrics together for the sake of it. I could be wrong, I'm not hanging out with ayu in her house or anything. Maybe she's pouring her soul into these songs but it just doesn't feel like it for me. I also felt kinda the same about Love songs

Most of Party Queen didn't connect with me even though she tried something different. Reminds me, Return Road and Tell me why had me watery eyed just reading the lyrics but the rest I literally felt nothing for. In that respect you're partially right.

I am one of those people, though, whose a big fan of the I am.../RAINBOW/Memorial address/MY STORY eras so I do somewhat compare literally everything she does to those albums. I try not to! Honestly

I hope you don't think I'm trolling or bashing her or anything. I still adore the woman and l still love what she's coming out with. It's obviously personal to me that I don't find myself as emotionally connected to her as much these days. I'm sure some day she'll fuel that spark again for me, though

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by Jason

That's part of it, yes. But look at the lyrics in most of the Love again album and go back through a fair bit of her really early stuff and they're so similar to each other that it just feels like she kinda put those lyrics together for the sake of it. I could be wrong, I'm not hanging out with ayu in her house or anything. Maybe she's pouring her soul into these songs but it just doesn't feel like it for me. I also felt kinda the same about Love songs

Most of Party Queen didn't connect with me even though she tried something different. Reminds me, Return Road and Tell me why had me watery eyed just reading the lyrics but the rest I literally felt nothing for. In that respect you're partially right.

I am one of those people, though, whose a big fan of the I am.../RAINBOW/Memorial address/MY STORY eras so I do somewhat compare literally everything she does to those albums. I try not to! Honestly

I hope you don't think I'm trolling or bashing her or anything. I still adore the woman and l still love what she's coming out with. It's obviously personal to me that I don't find myself as emotionally connected to her as much these days. I'm sure some day she'll fuel that spark again for me, though

I don't think you are trolling or a hater, it's just that sometimes she does cover subjects that have littlte to zero importance to me, and when this happens, I feel nothing even if she put her heart into it. But lyrics like crossroad, Love song, Do it again, Virgin Road, Like a Doll, Sending mail, Last angel, call, letter, Reminds me, the next Love, E.S.M., Wake me up, Snowy Kiss, Sweet Scar, Petal, etc. either describe feelings I can relate myself with or at least find interesting, so, they are obviously among my most favorite lyrics she ever did.

[Chibi-Chan]

I was trying for a long time not to be disappointed, but sadly I have to say I am. The first time I started to realise that she drastically had changed was when "A BEST 2" covers came out. I mean, the Ayu I discoverd was the A BEST Ayu and somewhat natural. Comparing the "A BEST" cover with the "A BEST 2" covers was quite like a shock for me. xD And "NEXT LEVEL" again featured this over photoshoped and painted woman. Although I liked a lot of songs on "NEXT LEVEL" it had little to do with Ayu for me. I was very happy with "GUILTY", 'cos it felt like "Ayu is back!!!".^-^ "Rock'n'Roll Circus" wasn't bad, but the title was very poorly chosen and I was expecting something different. "Love songs" was a really great album and I had nothing against "FIVE".
Musically "Party Queen" would also be a really great album, but I just can't listen to it because of all the things surrounding it. Don't get me wrong, the whole Mannie episode didn't bothered me. I mean, it's not that her music was getting bad or something and I noticed for a while that Ayu as a person had changed. That's totally ok with me but I couldn't stand all the self-pity on twitter and so on. I don't get why she was writing things along the lines of "I'm back in the cage of Duty" and so on. When people write something like this on facebook I delete them. xD I feel that lately everything is so overdramatised and that when she performs it's only for self-display somehow.
I think that's what really bothers me. I could write also a few other things about her attitude but I think that wouldn't be fair, 'cos people change over time and Ayu also has the right to change. But all the self-pity and self- and overdramatisation isn't necessary I think.

[Kazeyomi]

Nope.
I'm more annoyed by avex and their lame marketing strategies.
The whole maxi-single (I know they're labeled as mini-albums but for me, they're not) thing was just embarassing.

As for Ayu, I'm more concerned about music rather than worring if people in Japan don't like her or if she will not sell millions of copies anymore . Some times I think people are a bit overdramatic, I wonder what would happen if Ayu would sell like Ami Suzuki lol.

Talking about music, I think she can do better than this. I enjoyed LOVE again, but nothing really stands out. Most of the songs lack of creativity and that spark only Ayu's songs could have among other japanese female idols imho. They're all good, but they're nothing special neither.

Overall I'm satisfied with Ayu, but in the other hand I wish she would be more creative.

[BlackSilence]

Originally Posted by Chibi-Chan

But all the self-pity and self- and overdramatisation isn't necessary I think.

she was dramatic all the time, just in different ways, that 2oo4 interview tells a lot how she overdramatized herself by pushing the limits of her image being all over the place and rerecording things all over just to go against the label, the way she described herself being where she was and how she felt.
I think now there's more ways to open up than it was years ago so it looks more all over the place, since social networks and news websites can get updated after the minute the announcements were made. She does less magazines and less promo but she's still around on twitter a lot and facebook she's got more open about her love life. i think she's equaly dramatic it's just more into your face by her OWN personal words instead of images and actions. I think the method of her dramatism has changed not the level of it lol

[Jawdarna]

She's still interesting to me.

Every era is so different.

[Kanzaki]

I don't think the state of her career is what I'd describe as poor or anything, and as long as that's not the case, I'm fine. I definitely think that she could use some different kind of advertising and pattern to her releases (as a fan, I'd always like to see something new and different), but I'm fine with things as they are. Quality of her music? That's a different discussion.

[Mimichild]

I think after RnRC, Ayu has just been mellow. Compared to Loveppears-I am... era, she's not as focused on a tight schedule and now she's doing what she likes aka living her life. Granted, she's been in the music scene for more than a decade and has a new flavor for every album I think she really needs to rest for a while.
Her music isn't TERRIBLE b/c compared to her, many new & now J-Pop artists have been releasing recycled tunes and spitting them back out. And let's not forget the K-Pop scene is the new J-Pop. And the audience wants more brightly neon colored clothes, 100 member dance/ "singing" groups, and cute (sometimes plastic) faces that borders the line of androgyny to complete transgender.
BACK TO AYU!
I also think that Ayu is now truly experiencing life for what it is. You ask why? Before she was famous, she often spoke about how her life wasn't great (who's is lol) especially after her grandmother died. She was in an uncertain place up to her mid-career life. And IDK about her personal life too much but the only person she's dated for a while was NT and after him she was often seen by herself. So she was probably lonely and gave herself more workloads to occupy time. Then here comes MANNY! She met him for a short time and was attracted then BOOM! MARRIAGE! Like many of her fans said it wouldn't last long and it didn't and what did that leave us? 3 albums with central themes of love/love lost (LS, PQ, LA) , almost 7 PVs of the same theme (The LS trilogy, LA trilogy, Return road), and a quick rebound bf (who is cute!) by the name of Maro. Ayu is going through relationship problems that may or not be solved right now. And like many of us boys and girls (no pun intended lol) she's letting the ones closest to her, aka the fans, have a little peak in her world and how she's either hurt or loving the situation she's in. The best way to show it is through the music and PVs, true they haven't been on par as of late but who cares?! All of her contemporaries (Namie and Kuu-chan in particular) have had MAJOR slumps only to bounce back and be on top. So it's Ayu's turn and maybe a while from now we'll see her doing that odd/super crazy stuff that made us love her so much!

[Chibi-Chan]

Originally Posted by artcika

she was dramatic all the time, just in different ways, that 2oo4 interview tells a lot how she overdramatized herself by pushing the limits of her image being all over the place and rerecording things all over just to go against the label, the way she described herself being where she was and how she felt.
I think now there's more ways to open up than it was years ago so it looks more all over the place, since social networks and news websites can get updated after the minute the announcements were made. She does less magazines and less promo but she's still around on twitter a lot and facebook she's got more open about her love life. i think she's equaly dramatic it's just more into your face by her OWN personal words instead of images and actions. I think the method of her dramatism has changed not the level of it lol

Thinking of it you're right I guess. But I still can't stand this "in your face" dramatism. xD

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by Chibi-Chan

Thinking of it you're right I guess. But I still can't stand this "in your face" dramatism. xD

On some of her recent lyrics I believe she shows she is more aware that sometimes she is a ***** instead of the world being evil to her...

About twitter, I just believe being dramatic is an safer way of showing she is annoyed than telling her fans/the media to just **** themselves \o\