Ayu ~Anything Goes~ XVII

[truehappiness]

For a while until Mad World, it was tasuku's only actual song for Ayu.

He is very good at what he does.

[SayukiChoco]

I love fairyland and JEWEL. I had to get used to them before I liked them though. Some songs just have to grow on you.

[EndOfTheWorld]

I didn't know there was a dislike for beautiful day.
I actually loved that song when I first heard it. Nothing revolutionary about it but just a really pleasant pop/rock song.
As for Jewel, I could talk forever how I love that song.
It is one of the Ayu songs that are the most meaningful to me. Definitely a standout track for Ayu.
She looked so beautiful when she would do TV performances for it.

[jean-baptiste]

Every song on (miss)understood is perfect (or close to it) for me. 2006 was a good year for ayu, I think.

[truehappiness]

She was in a funny mode that year too. Becoming more "westernized" than ever. 2005/2006 was a new Ayu and had amazing music/images attached to it, but I wonder if she was trying to avoid being herself that year with the experimentation with Sweetbox, the dark hair, getting veneers, PVs like Startin', and so on. I think she mentioned those years in an interview from a while ago and I recall she didn't remember them too fondly.

[Aderianu]

Kishidan talk about ayu from 18:27

[jean-baptiste]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

She was in a funny mode that year too. Becoming more "westernized" than ever. 2005/2006 was a new Ayu and had amazing music/images attached to it, but I wonder if she was trying to avoid being herself that year with the experimentation with Sweetbox, the dark hair, getting veneers, PVs like Startin', and so on. I think she mentioned those years in an interview from a while ago and I recall she didn't remember them too fondly.

Interesting observation. That was also the year she did the Talk Asia interview right? Learning English and all that. Didn't know she didn't look back at that time fondly! Wonder if it was more for personal reasons or professional. Possibly a mix of both.

[EndOfTheWorld]

I find it interesting that Missunderstood seems to be the most relevant album, post classic Ayu. At least in my perspective.
Besides the A Song For xx - Rainbow albums, Missunderstood is the most talked about even now. While some others like My Story or Guilty or Next Level are not talked about as much online.
But that's just my personal observation.

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by jean-baptiste

Interesting observation. That was also the year she did the Talk Asia interview right? Learning English and all that. Didn't know she didn't look back at that time fondly! Wonder if it was more for personal reasons or professional. Possibly a mix of both.

Was trying to find the interview but can't find it! It seemed to me like she was trying to run from some stuff shortly after that era and from what I recall, the interview confirmed that.

EDIT: https://misachanjpop.wordpress.com/2...t-2/#more-6938

I found it! However, it was mostly 2008 or so that she tried to do too much and ended up getting stuck in bad habits/injuring herself in the process. There is a segment about 2006 though about how she may have thought she was trying to change too much too fast. Hair color, working with Westerners, using less casualwear and more branded goods, etc... that said, I feel like she had reached her production prime in 2005/2006. It was certainly the pinnacle for her image/music/PVs/lives IMO.

I absolutely love her Numero interviews but sometimes I'm unsure which issue has what contents now since she's done it a good bit, lol.

[Uknow!]

I liked that performance of Seasons. I have never seen it before

[mi|kshake]

That was also the year she did the Talk Asia interview right?

OMG I remember being so excited for that interview as it was shown on a Sky channel I actually had!

[~kashifaita~]

Man, I wish ayu released orchestra/acoustic versions of JEWEL and Together when. They're both just so pretty and awesome.

[pedronekoi]

^ It would be awesome! Glad we have this performance <3


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCYrBFhHRd8

[Zeke.]

I don't really think JEWEL needs one. The arrangement is what really makes the song so unbelievably stunning. It's like a duet between her voice and the piano. I just love it so much how each takes turns coming into and falling away from the foreground.

Edit: I just watched that performance for the first time; I had never seen it, but an orchestra version identical to that does exist. Years ago someone must have done a fan-made replica of it. I have it, but never realized it was made as a replica of an actual version that she sang - I thought someone composed it themselves. Anyways, here it is.

[jean-baptiste]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

I don't really think JEWEL needs one. The arrangement is what really makes the song so unbelievably stunning. It's like a duet between her voice and the piano. I just love it so much how each takes turns coming into and falling away from the foreground.

I so agree with this!

[truehappiness]

We have the one that was made for an AHS remix contest I believe. I think the same person did Sunrise in orchestral arrangement as well.

[attractive nausea]

^ I did find the Sunrise orchestra version you're talking about in my AHS REMIX CONTEST 2011 folder but i didn't find any JEWEL orchestra version, maybe i missed it?

[truehappiness]

I can reupload it. I have it saved as a Secret bonus track, lol.

https://mega.nz/#!K0EkVI4J!eFHioJHnd...lF2tyuulCWVHhM

Oh, I may have been thinking of the Rule orchestra version... but I'm not sure if this JEWEL version also came from the same person. Let me see...

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81149

[attractive nausea]

^ Thank you!

It's too bad i don't like it that much, to me it's either you only have the piano or you take it off completely and have an orchestra instead, but both at the same time felt a little weird.

[mi|kshake]

I do love me an Ayumi playlist so thought I would share the A Summer Mix I made (although not all of them are Summer songs!)

01 Bridge to the Sky
02 The Show Must Go On
03 You & Me
04 Blue Bird
05 Summer Love
06 July 1st
07 Inspire
08 Survivor
09 Glitter
10 Summer Diary
11 Fairyland
12 Fated
13 Hanabi ~episode II~
14 Snowy Kiss