Ayu: Anything Goes [XXVIII]

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by DavidChaiLatte

I've been thinking about this lately. Was the whole cutesy slow "ayu wa this, ayu wa that" personality when she first debuted just a "character" she was playing, kinda like what Poppy had been doing before she parted away from her ex producer?



People have drawn comparisons between this and the whole "Tomo-chan" act from Tomomi Kahara. Seeing how Ayu dropped it rather quickly after her rise to superstardom, I can't help but wonder if her label pressured her into acting that way at first to make a lasting impression on TV?

PS: It's kinda crazy to see how the "dumb" ayu-chan in that video is the same person as the fierce lady in this interview:

If I remember it right, because its more than 10 years since I read it, she openly says it was part of the marketing strategy during that Time Magazine special from the I Am... era.

[pommy48]

She continued that act for a while. She used to talk in that cute voice all the time. It’s nice hearing her in English cause she’s probably too focused on the words to do the voice.

There was that one HEYx3 segment where she pretended not to know how to ride a bike too.

But then other celebrities like Rola gained popularity for being ditzy, so if it works, it works

[mizuki-7]

Of course it was a character she acted a little like a Burikko (ぶりっ子) idol because it’s something Japaneses tends to appreciate but when you read Her interviews and how she expresses herself it’s obvious that a lot of thing was staged and she agreed with that for the sake of the Ayu image.

[koumori]

It's not really fair to compare a teenage Ayu with an interview done with her two decades later. As a marketing strategy though, it's pretty common. People hate young women enough as it is without them being opinionated and smart, so it's easier to sell the idea of a cute but innocent/dumb personality. We still see this today.

It's likely that Ayu found it easy to agree to because it meant a lot less pressure on her in the public eye while her position in Avex was still unsteady. I think she still indulges in the cute/childish behavior sometimes even later on and doesn't mind it, but stopped using it as a way of self-expression as soon as she had more control over her image.

[Andrenekoi]

I reready the article... It wasn't her saying that, but the writer suggesting it might be the case. It was an interesting read, even if the article points every time how everyone but Hikki in the jpop industry had no talent.

[koumori]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

I reready the article... It wasn't her saying that, but the writer suggesting it might be the case. It was an interesting read, even if the article points every time how everyone but Hikki in the jpop industry had no talent.

You were thinking of this part, right? It reads transparently to me.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by Koumori

You were thinking of this part, right? It reads transparently to me.

Yep. That part. I tried to locate it though the text and couldn't find it. Lol.

[pedronekoi]

We have to consider the age and experience as well. In the first video she was 20 yo and the other one se was 38 yo.

I wish someone do something like that for Ayu singles:

[truehappiness]

I see that way of doing things as part of her way to separate "Ayu" from "Hamasaki Ayumi" but she loosened up on that heavily in the years after RAINBOW/A BALLADS.

[pedronekoi]

I was watching Janet Jackson's Velvet Rope Tour from 99 and I was surprised with how much inspiration Ayu took from Janet. We often say she gots lots of inspiration from Madonna, Kylie and Britney but OMG. The Cirque de Minuit is literally the Velvet Rope Tour lol

[truehappiness]

Oh that's pretty neat. Timmy must watch all the YT videos from ayumix 2020 and stuff too.

[Evan Odinson]

Today I received my copy of the manga "Miracle passion" and I'll translate it to English and Spanish

[surrealA]

Originally Posted by Evan Odinson

Today I received my copy of the manga "Miracle passion" and I'll translate it to English and Spanish

Is it the one based on Ayu?

[Chibi-Chan]

I would love a concert just with remixes of her songs. She has so many great remixes and I think it would be great to see (and hear) those in concert.

[himawariii6]

Originally Posted by Chibi-Chan

I would love a concert just with remixes of her songs. She has so many great remixes and I think it would be great to see (and hear) those in concert.

Me too!

[hud]

Originally Posted by Chibi-Chan

I would love a concert just with remixes of her songs. She has so many great remixes and I think it would be great to see (and hear) those in concert.

I would looooove an acoustic concert too. both of them would probably be soo amazing.

[Deep snow]

Originally Posted by hud

I would looooove an acoustic concert too. both of them would probably be soo amazing.

also, the operas and classical! I imagine the A Classical version of Love song would be SO AMAZING if performed live with full orchestra

[mi|kshake]

Originally Posted by Chibi-Chan

I would love a concert just with remixes of her songs. She has so many great remixes and I think it would be great to see (and hear) those in concert.

And she could open it with I Am and Never Ever from Ayu-mi-x IV acoustic orchestra. The setlist would be half orchestra, half dance remixes.

[koumori]

Originally Posted by mi|kshake

And she could open it with I Am and Never Ever from Ayu-mi-x IV acoustic orchestra. The setlist would be half orchestra, half dance remixes.

I can imagine this right now...
Going to make a playlist this weekend to live out some version of this dream

[Chibi-Chan]

Originally Posted by mi|kshake

And she could open it with I Am and Never Ever from Ayu-mi-x IV acoustic orchestra. The setlist would be half orchestra, half dance remixes.

I actually thought that for the ballad section she could use acoustic orchestra mixes!

Originally Posted by koumori

I can imagine this right now...
Going to make a playlist this weekend to live out some version of this dream

Would you mind posting it here?