namie's FUTURE vs ayu's NEXT LEVEL

[Kazeyomi]

I was really excited about PAST<FUTURE.
But after the first listen, it sounds MEH.

I mean, P<F has really catchy songs, more than NL. But isn't basically really new, fresh or OMGSOEXPERIMENTAL in my opinion. The only different and fresh (omg am I talkin' about a fruit? ) song from Namie's discography is Dr.
So P<F isn't so innovative for Namie. It's just a bunch of catchy songs putted together (and in a messy way).

So I voted for NEXT LEVEL.
I've always feel it as a stronger version of Loveppears.
I mean: electronic theme album but with less depressing lyrics. She seems said 'I look behind (Loveppears) and now I see myself grow up (NEXT LEVEL)'.
Sorry for my stupid engrish explanation ;__; but it's my personaly way to feel this album.

I'm fan of Ayu and Namie both, but only NEXT LEVEL seems the future for Ayu's career.
PAST < FUTURE it's only a nice album.

[love in music]

Originally Posted by Crystal_Ageha

In my mind, she's a complete joke (especially this new thing she has, with moving forward to her greater future - beyond the hip-hop stuff, I guess :\). She's been extremely lucky throughout her entire career, and she's had everything handed to her. I thought Ayumi had the luckiest break, but no, I've recently found out that, again, it's Namie.

You did not just say that, lol. Honestly I have to agree a bit with this though, at one time I was starting to turn into a Namie stan and learned a lot of things about her and the more I learn the less I like her (seriously, only writing about 4-5 songs in your whole discography? your music better be FLAWLESS to get away with that, and it really isn't IMO)

[non3ko]

Originally Posted by identity

You did not just say that, lol. Honestly I have to agree a bit with this though, at one time I was starting to turn into a Namie stan and learned a lot of things about her and the more I learn the less I like her (seriously, only writing about 4-5 songs in your whole discography? your music better be FLAWLESS to get away with that, and it really isn't IMO)

Really? I had NO idea. That's. so. disappointing.

It makes me rethink--everything.

Even if some people do think she's a complete joke, her sales for this album did well debuting at #1 and selling more than NL.
So obviously not everyone has this opinion.

Anyway, I'd love to see something a bit different from Ayu. I look forward to 2010 and I hope she raises the bar on her next album.
No more overtly rock overtones or covers by Sweetbox though.

[GRACE]

I love Ayu much more then I could ever love Namie, but the direction Namie's going in is so much better then the direction Ayu's getting in.

Out of all of the divas, Namie is the only on I feel like is improving. Namie's changing the game, and changing her sound. Ayu's doing basically more of the same, even with this single, it's the standard winter ballad, and the soon-to-be-standard oriental ballad (Will->part of Me->Secret->GREEN->BALLAD). Namie's doing different things, Dr. is the most original song released this year.

So I had to vote for Namie, even though she's not my favorite, not anywhere close actually, and I love my Ayu a whole lot more. Namie's just doing it better right now.

[non3ko]

^I Agree. Especially after reading the interviews Namie just did. She's looking forward to a fresh start, not totally scrapping her past works.

[Crystal_Ageha]

Originally Posted by identity

You did not just say that, lol. Honestly I have to agree a bit with this though, at one time I was starting to turn into a Namie stan and learned a lot of things about her and the more I learn the less I like her (seriously, only writing about 4-5 songs in your whole discography? your music better be FLAWLESS to get away with that, and it really isn't IMO)

OMG there's another non-Namie-stan here!? (Just kidding.) Wait, you mean "write," as in, compose? Or lyrics? Because I was annoyed that she never writes her own lyrics, but I didn't think she did a single composition... If she's composed something, I do have to give her props for that.

Originally Posted by non3ko

Really? I had NO idea. That's. so. disappointing.

It makes me rethink--everything.

Even if some people do think she's a complete joke, her sales for this album did well debuting at #1 and selling more than NL.
So obviously not everyone has this opinion.

Anyway, I'd love to see something a bit different from Ayu. I look forward to 2010 and I hope she raises the bar on her next album.
No more overtly rock overtones or covers by Sweetbox though.

So.... Some people think Namie Amuro writes most of her stuff..? Oh my, I need to get the word out, lol... And a major reason she's selling so well is not only because of great promotion, but because this is her first studio album in two years. I can guarantee Ayumi would have sold at least 200k more than what really happened, had she been in this position. Hell, maybe even Kumi would've. :O But we all know this'll probably never happen for those two, at least not the 'waiting two years' part. -_-
And I agree with you about Ayumi. I do think she took a good step forward in her career, but I want more! Maybe I'm just being greedy...

[love in music]

Originally Posted by Crystal_Ageha

OMG there's another non-Namie-stan here!? (Just kidding.) Wait, you mean "write," as in, compose? Or lyrics? Because I was annoyed that she never writes her own lyrics, but I didn't think she did a single composition... If she's composed something, I do have to give her props for that.

I was almost becoming one.. and I used to like defend her here and stuff, but I just can't anymore. And I meant lyrics. I don't think she has ever composed lol

[Yumsushi]

Originally Posted by non3ko

Even if some people do think she's a complete joke, her sales for this album did well debuting at #1 and selling more than NL.

A bit off topic, but a lot of people are forgetting that earlier this year, when Ayu and Koda's albums were on sale, japan was in deep recession and the only albums that seemed to be spared were Bests and Boy band releases. Various financial newspapers reported that Japan emerged from this recession around August. Not to mention that this is the best time to release an album, Christmas time, so as far as I can see there are many factors helping Namie's album sales at this time. Can someone who follows the charts closely tell me if I am mistaken?

[emi♡]

Originally Posted by Crystal_Ageha

So.... Some people think Namie Amuro writes most of her stuff..? Oh my, I need to get the word out, lol... And a major reason she's selling so well is not only because of great promotion, but because this is her first studio album in two years. I can guarantee Ayumi would have sold at least 200k more than what really happened, had she been in this position. Hell, maybe even Kumi would've. :O But we all know this'll probably never happen for those two, at least not the 'waiting two years' part. -_-
And I agree with you about Ayumi. I do think she took a good step forward in her career, but I want more! Maybe I'm just being greedy...

They do? HAH.

Unless I know for sure my artist composes and produces all their stuff, I'd never make that assumption in Japan.

I don't consider Ayu a composer...regardless if she did "compose" a song or five...doesn't really put her in the category of an artist that writes their music.

Not by a long shot lol

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

some people are dumb or what? lol read the bloody thread before voting

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by emiko

They do? HAH.

Unless I know for sure my artist composes and produces all their stuff, I'd never make that assumption in Japan.

I don't consider Ayu a composer...regardless if she did "compose" a song or five...doesn't really put her in the category of an artist that writes their music.

Not by a long shot lol

She's actually composed like... 20 or something. Though that's only like 1/7 or 1/8 of all her songs so yeah.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by emiko

They do? HAH.

Unless I know for sure my artist composes and produces all their stuff, I'd never make that assumption in Japan.

I don't consider Ayu a composer...regardless if she did "compose" a song or five...doesn't really put her in the category of an artist that writes their music.

Not by a long shot lol

This... and most of the songs she composed, she didn't it all by herself...

About Namie... you need to chose what r u going to practice, and in the end of the day, u will need to give up on a lot of things... Namie doesn't compose, doesn't write lyrics... even if she select the songs she is going to sing...

But damn, the girl can dance! And she can overdance almost everyone on Jpop (IMO, she only is beaten by BoA on this)

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Crystal_Ageha

I'm sorry, because you're obviously a huge Namie fan, but to me she's a sellout, because, no, she wasn't originally hip-hop, and no, her hip-hop projects didn't do very well. And now she's doing electro/techno pop stuff, which is what's big now.

Then what would you call Ayumi when her first album was a hip hop/rap album and she went around proclaiming herself in interviews to be the worlds youngest female rapper, but then when that didn't sell she pretty much ignored that the album ever existed? Wouldn't that by your definition make her a sell out? And once again, she has never been Hip HOP, but Hip POP which are two different things. She went from being a pop artist, to a pop artist with R&B elements, to a pop artist with even more r&b thrown in to become Hip Pop. Like you said, she has always been a mainstream pop artist and she has never denied being a pop artist so I don't know why, but you seem to have the impression that she was like this hard core hip hop rapper that put down other pop artists or something and that can't be further from the truth. I don't know why to you, changing ones musical style over their career = sellout, but then for some reason, Namie is the only one that you don't like because that can certainly apply to many artists. And I definitely don't see either Ayumi or Namie as sellouts. First of all, by American standards, just about every single pop artist in Japan would get labeled as a sellout. ^_^ I also don't know why you seem to get so bent out of shape over this particular artist. Lately you and I have agreed on a lot of things, but this subject I don't think I can ever see your point of view on.

Also, about having something "handed to her" she had to work for it just like many artists. I mean she was going to a school afterall that was specifically for training singers, dancers, other entertainers - she didn't just suddenly get a record contract handed to her while at the arcade or something. She came from a poor, single parent family, just like Ayu did and she would walk to and from her lessons for hours everyday. I'm not saying that to make her seem better than anyone else, but more that it seems many of your statements meant to minimize her, are just based in a place of personal dislike for her.

As for the song writing thing (this is directed at everyone) - since when is it a prerequisite for pop stars to write their own stuff? In Japan, it is especially a rarity. People like Ayumi and Koda are definitely exceptions. It's part of Japan's idol culture. Did Nakamori Akina and Yamaguchi Momoe write their own stuff? Nope and yet they are considered some of the most revered female singers in Japanese music history. Plus, people can enjoy different artists for different reasons - I enjoy Ayu for her lyrics but with Namie I don't really care about the lyrics and more about just being entertained.

[emi♡]

Originally Posted by Tom Punks

She's actually composed like... 20 or something. Though that's only like 1/7 or 1/8 of all her songs so yeah.

Who? Ayu? lol

Yeah...to me it doesn't really matter how much of a chunk her composed songs take out of her discog...she could have "composed" all of her songs...and it still wouldn't make her a composer lol

other people feel different I think...they're like "omgz ayu has the credits for composing this, she writes her music!"

um, no.

But I mean, something like that never really mattered to me because, while it's something that I love in an artist, I know that, it's not the only part of the industry...


I mean, if the music industry was only filled with artists who only wrote their songs, and lyrics and stuff...man...it would be grim lol

I think having these females who have the looks, the charisma, sort of the whole package represent all of these fantastic people who are writing songs, like testuya komuro, I mean that's really important, because these people are really talented, and I think sometimes people forget that and they just want to be like, "well it's just for the market and to make munny, and they don't do anything..."

You think tetsuya komuro could have ever marketed all the great songs he's made for female vocalists himself? lol that would be funny.

To me, it's not something that an artist should be put down for...people who are disliking Namie because she doesn't write her lyrics and never wrote a song? Please. I am a music elitist, and I always will be, but I understand that it's not black and white, and that people like Ayu and Namie are a necessary part of how our industry functions, and imo a great part, because it makes everything just a little more colorful, and it allows for more people, like HAL, and CMJK to be apart of the process, and allows for more versatility.

[SunshineSlayer]

^ Yes, I agree with all of that.

[Andrenekoi]

I prefer my artists singing good material from other people than singing their own crappy stuff if something like this is going to happen...

Some people act like singing/dancing/acting in order to make a song more than just notes, but into something beautiful and emotional as something less important... Not every composer can put out a good performance (yeah Utada, I'm looking at you Even if u can really put lots of emotion on ur voice) and not every amazing performer is the best of the composers (people around here enjoy bashing humming 7/4? well, it's by Crea )

About Namie being a sell out...

Ayu was a dance artist, and after that, a rock artist, and she released evena gospel influenced song! If variety means "sell out", well, she jumped from a metal influenced album into a eletropop influenced album... she is a sell out^^

Utada was a r&b artist... and after that she released some eletronic music... and after that, more r&b... ooops... sell out :O

Mika Nakashima... from jazz to rock! Damn!

Koda... hmmm... r&b... hip hop... eletropop... cutesy songs... another sell out...

Maybe Japan is just the country of sell-out music acts!

[SunshineSlayer]

^ lol exactly. Every Japanese artist is a freaking sell out! Even just having your song in a commercial labels the artist as a sell out in America - so yeah, Japan is just a bunch of copiers and sell outs. ;P

[Kingdom]

even though I dislike the direction that ayu went with when she did next level (she is redeeming herself now), namie's music has begun to all sound alike to me. I couldn't make it through p<f because all the songs start to sound like one big megamash of her just repeating the same words

ur my love love love copy that copy that ur my love love love.... the meaning of us.


well.. thats a bit exaggerated on my part. but for such a hyped up album... those are the only three songs i even like. well. i don't like copy that.

[Crystal_Ageha]

Sunshine, I think Ayumi didn't know what to do with her music career when she did the rap record. And I'll also give Namie the benefit of the doubt and say she didn't really know what she wanted to do when she had more dance influenced music at the start of her career.
But now she's changed from her "real" style back to a similar style, which just happens to be popular. And she changed to hip-hop (or hip-POP--WHATEVER--that's, in my opinion, just her way of trying to make everything better, because everybody knows that she was trying to be real Western hip-HOP) when it looked like hip-hop may get big, after Hikaru's burst. It's not a matter of variety, it's the fact that she decided to completely "reinvent" herself at the exact time after a certain style started to get attention. Yeah, that's technically variety, but it's also technically selling out. The way she experimented between songs on PAST<FUTURE itself is how you are supposed to do it (that's considering if, of course, that's really what you want to do, and not just a selling point).
You guys are bringing up other artists... Kumi has ALWAYS had this: a heavy beat mixed with pop, often making it into a hip-hop or techno influenced song. She's experimented, but that's always been the core. So, not a sellout. I DO believe Hikaru sold out with her last English album. But not because she went from electropop back to R&B, but because that album obviously wasn't who she really is. Just like how all these changing of styles isn't what Namie is. At least, that's not what she tells us. So if she's a person who loves to experiment with every album, incorporating each time major elements of what's mainstream...then that's fine. But she's said for years now that she was something completely different, so THAT'S why she's a sellout, not because she has variety, or even if she goes in a different direction (like Utada did, starting with Deep River). Well, I take it back... I guess she can either be a sellout or a flat out fake. Your pick. But it's definitely one of those.

[SunshineSlayer]

^ lol. It just seems you are way to hard on her and I totally don't get the reasoning at all. But like I said, this is something I'll never understand from you, so we will just have to agree to disagree.