a-nation 10th anniversary for Life information thread [I]

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by maikaru

And we cannot say, if you were an AYU fan, you wouldnt say that. I am an APPLE fan, but when my computer did not come with the programs i expected, i didnt simply say "ohh well, im an apple fan so i just should accept it." Thats insane. And its the same with the Ayumi Hamasaki brand.

Nobody said people should accept, just that is not Ayu's function or duty to do what her fans want her to, but what SHE wants to...

If u dislike it, don't watch it...

And using your own thoughts... watching the first date of a tour because u like an artist is the same as buying a product u know nothing about cuz u like the brand... On both situations you have a big chance of getting a bad surprise...

I'm not really all into the decision of doing duets for all the songs, but really? It's just a concert... nobody will die because of it, and as hard as is it for some people to notice, there's more in life than Ayu's career...

[maikaru]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Nobody said people should accept, just that is not Ayu's function or duty to do what her fans want her to, but what SHE wants to...

If u dislike it, don't watch it...

And using your own thoughts... watching the first date of a tour because u like an artist is the same as buying a product u know nothing about cuz u like the brand... On both situations you have a big chance of getting a bad surprise...

I'm not really all into the decision of doing duets for all the songs, but really? It's just a concert... nobody will die because of it, and as hard as is it for some people to notice, there's more in life than Ayu's career...

Wow, you didn't read ANYTHING I wrote did you. You buy a product from a brand because you are familiar with the format and quality of the brand, even if it's first buy to buy a particular product, or whatever number of times you bought it. Ayu has never done this kind of concert before, and since it's radically different from the format and quality that everyone has been accustomed to and were expecting, without so much as an announcement before, then it leaves a bad taste. If Apple announced "we're gonna radically change the iPhone this time" before time, people have the choice to buy or or not buy it. But if Apple doesn't say anything before hand, and when people expect the iPhone to be almost the same as previous iPhones with different version ups and whatever, and are met with a radically different iPhone that they didn't know was coming, that's bad business and it leaves a poor taste, and a lot of upset customers.

Anyways, the point of my entire thing is I understand why people are complaining about the concert, especially the ticket holders. If the tickets were 99cents, then I would be like "Ok, well..." but we all know that A-nation tickets are so expensive! Can you imagine paying so much money for something, and be VERY disappointed in the end? I want people to understand this, because I hate the tunnel vision that is always apparent on this board, even myself included sometimes. This time, A-nation was very much promoted under false advertisement. It said "Hamasaki Ayumi." Not, as I said before, "Hamasaki Ayumi and Friends." It's as simple as that.

Ayu herself has already stated that the name "Hamasaki Ayumi" is a business and product. If a company doesn't listen to the customers and patrons of their business, what else does a business have left? What kind of music and concerts that the business side of Hamasaki Ayumi creates is not connected to the feelings we have with the personal side of Hamasaki Ayumi, because we must separate our personal feelings for the artist from the goods that we are buying. If something is bad, or disappointing, then you must call a spade a spade. If someone says "I am very disappointed with this concert," it doesn't translate to someone saying "I hate Ayu." And I think that's the reasonings many people on this board resort to in the end. That statement ACTUALLY translates to "I paid money for this concert ticket, and I am not satisfied with the product that I have received."

And what many of you guys don't seem to understand, but I'm gonna give the benefit of the doubt that you do, in Japan, your customer is God. You MUST please them, because that's your duty to do that. They are paying their hard earned money for your service and your entertainment, so you must produce entertainment that is entertaining for your customers, to fulfill your duty for them paying you. If you do not produce this, and you do not at least listen to what your customers want, then you are not an entertainer, and you might as well stop entertaining. Ayu saying "I think you will understand why I did this" is not a good enough reason for someone to not be upset or disappointed. It doesn't matter if we understand or don't understand, what matters is if we are entertained. It sounds harsh and cold to say it like this, but it's the truth. And that's why I hate when people bash on the people who have gone to the performance and don't like it. "You shouldn't have gone." "You shouldn't go see it." "If you don't like it, don't watch it." What a stupid and childish response to have. In the end we are all Ayu fans, and we enjoy the format and content and quality we are used to having, and we want to continue to enjoy said format and content in the fashion that we are accustomed to. Why should we simply look away and turn our eyes if something is disappointing in our opinion? If she is what we have invested a lot of time and money in, should we not continue that patronage and offer feedback and criticism to her? Edit: If you were a business, wouldn't you want to know when your most loyal customers are unsatisfied? That would mean you are doing something that doesn't work, and you need to fix it. Saying you shouldn't watch something is counterproductive to this logic.

And I don't think Ayu herself would even want to build a world where no one offers their opinion and criticism about her work, because there would be no need to grow or evolve. In the end, this criticism will help her build a product that will satisfy everyone's entertainment levels, including her own, in her own way. But I think Ayu, above everyone else, already understand herself that she has built a product, and she needs to entertain her loyal fans, because that is the job that she chose for herself.

Why is that so hard for people to understand and accept? Why do I even have to write rants and essays about this? I thought this was general common sense.

Edit: And I want to also say before someone says something, I am all for her doing collaborations and whatever. But tell us when the entire set or concert will be only collaborations with one person. Give that person the credit he also deserves as well. What I'm saying is this should have been advertised in advance, and if it doesn't meet with the expectations of your customers, do something about it. Don't be stubborn and sit there and make up excuses. Take the responsibility, which I know she will do. At least, that's what she's been singing about all these years.

[Yumsushi]

Originally Posted by maikaru

Anyways, the point of my entire thing is I understand why people are complaining about the concert, especially the ticket holders. If the tickets were 99cents, then I would be like "Ok, well..." but we all know that A-nation tickets are so expensive! Can you imagine paying so much money for something, and be VERY disappointed in the end? I want people to understand this, because I hate the tunnel vision that is always apparent on this board, even myself included sometimes. This time, A-nation was very much promoted under false advertisement. It said "Hamasaki Ayumi." Not, as I said before, "Hamasaki Ayumi and Friends." It's as simple as that.

Ayu herself has already stated that the name "Hamasaki Ayumi" is a business and product. If a company doesn't listen to the customers and patrons of their business, what else does a business have left? What kind of music and concerts that the business side of Hamasaki Ayumi creates is not connected to the feelings we have with the personal side of Hamasaki Ayumi, because we must separate our personal feelings for the artist from the goods that we are buying. If something is bad, or disappointing, then you must call a spade a spade. If someone says "I am very disappointed with this concert," it doesn't translate to someone saying "I hate Ayu." And I think that's the reasonings many people on this board resort to in the end. That statement ACTUALLY translates to "I paid money for this concert ticket, and I am not satisfied with the product that I have received."

And what many of you guys don't seem to understand, but I'm gonna give the benefit of the doubt that you do, in Japan, your customer is God. You MUST please them, because that's your duty to do that. They are paying their hard earned money for your service and your entertainment, so you must produce entertainment that is entertaining for your customers, to fulfill your duty for them paying you. If you do not produce this, and you do not at least listen to what your customers want, then you are not an entertainer, and you might as well stop entertaining. Ayu saying "I think you will understand why I did this" is not a good enough reason for someone to not be upset or disappointed. It doesn't matter if we understand or don't understand, what matters is if we are entertained. It sounds harsh and cold to say it like this, but it's the truth. And that's why I hate when people bash on the people who have gone to the performance and don't like it. "You shouldn't have gone." "You shouldn't go see it." "If you don't like it, don't watch it." What a stupid and childish response to have. In the end we are all Ayu fans, and we enjoy the format and content and quality we are used to having, and we want to continue to enjoy said format and content in the fashion that we are accustomed to. Why should we simply look away and turn our eyes if something is disappointing in our opinion? If she is what we have invested a lot of time and money in, should we not continue that patronage and offer feedback and criticism to her? Edit: If you were a business, wouldn't you want to know when your most loyal customers are unsatisfied? That would mean you are doing something that doesn't work, and you need to fix it. Saying you shouldn't watch something is counterproductive to this logic.

And I don't think Ayu herself would even want to build a world where no one offers their opinion and criticism about her work, because there would be no need to grow or evolve. In the end, this criticism will help her build a product that will satisfy everyone's entertainment levels, including her own, in her own way. But I think Ayu, above everyone else, already understand herself that she has built a product, and she needs to entertain her loyal fans, because that is the job that she chose for herself.

This board is notorious for its "tunnel vision" as you have called it. Anytime anyone complains about a release or something substantially below expectations there is always mindless backlash. We all know Ayumi doesn't cater to our individual needs, but as fans we have opinions; good or bad.

Ayu has built a product and she of all people should know what is expected of her. You can't just dismiss the fans and their expectations (so long as they aren't outrageous). Look at Shiina Ringo, the fans asked her not to write any new songs on the new Tokyo Jihen album, and she complied (and the album sucked as a result) but that kind of receptiveness to fans isn't something to be taken lightly.

I'm not really sure why this guy had to sing every single song; its almost like a "take your child to work day" gone wrong. As an avid concert goer, I know for sure that if I went to a bad show, an expensive bad show, it would definitely influence how loyally I would support that artist/band in the future. This seems like a costly move on her part.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by maikaru

Wow, you didn't read ANYTHING I wrote did you. You buy a product from a brand because you are familiar with the format and quality of the brand, even if it's first buy to buy a particular product, or whatever number of times you bought it. Ayu has never done this kind of concert before, and since it's radically different from the format and quality that everyone has been accustomed to and were expecting, without so much as an announcement before, then it leaves a bad taste. If Apple announced "we're gonna radically change the iPhone this time" before time, people have the choice to buy or or not buy it. But if Apple doesn't say anything before hand, and when people expect the iPhone to be almost the same as previous iPhones with different version ups and whatever, and are met with a radically different iPhone that they didn't know was coming, that's bad business and it leaves a poor taste, and a lot of upset customers.

Anyways, the point of my entire thing is I understand why people are complaining about the concert, especially the ticket holders. If the tickets were 99cents, then I would be like "Ok, well..." but we all know that A-nation tickets are so expensive! Can you imagine paying so much money for something, and be VERY disappointed in the end? I want people to understand this, because I hate the tunnel vision that is always apparent on this board, even myself included sometimes. This time, A-nation was very much promoted under false advertisement. It said "Hamasaki Ayumi." Not, as I said before, "Hamasaki Ayumi and Friends." It's as simple as that.

Ayu herself has already stated that the name "Hamasaki Ayumi" is a business and product. If a company doesn't listen to the customers and patrons of their business, what else does a business have left? What kind of music and concerts that the business side of Hamasaki Ayumi creates is not connected to the feelings we have with the personal side of Hamasaki Ayumi, because we must separate our personal feelings for the artist from the goods that we are buying. If something is bad, or disappointing, then you must call a spade a spade. If someone says "I am very disappointed with this concert," it doesn't translate to someone saying "I hate Ayu." And I think that's the reasonings many people on this board resort to in the end. That statement ACTUALLY translates to "I paid money for this concert ticket, and I am not satisfied with the product that I have received."

And what many of you guys don't seem to understand, but I'm gonna give the benefit of the doubt that you do, in Japan, your customer is God. You MUST please them, because that's your duty to do that. They are paying their hard earned money for your service and your entertainment, so you must produce entertainment that is entertaining for your customers, to fulfill your duty for them paying you. If you do not produce this, and you do not at least listen to what your customers want, then you are not an entertainer, and you might as well stop entertaining. Ayu saying "I think you will understand why I did this" is not a good enough reason for someone to not be upset or disappointed. It doesn't matter if we understand or don't understand, what matters is if we are entertained. It sounds harsh and cold to say it like this, but it's the truth. And that's why I hate when people bash on the people who have gone to the performance and don't like it. "You shouldn't have gone." "You shouldn't go see it." "If you don't like it, don't watch it." What a stupid and childish response to have. In the end we are all Ayu fans, and we enjoy the format and content and quality we are used to having, and we want to continue to enjoy said format and content in the fashion that we are accustomed to. Why should we simply look away and turn our eyes if something is disappointing in our opinion? If she is what we have invested a lot of time and money in, should we not continue that patronage and offer feedback and criticism to her? Edit: If you were a business, wouldn't you want to know when your most loyal customers are unsatisfied? That would mean you are doing something that doesn't work, and you need to fix it. Saying you shouldn't watch something is counterproductive to this logic.

And I don't think Ayu herself would even want to build a world where no one offers their opinion and criticism about her work, because there would be no need to grow or evolve. In the end, this criticism will help her build a product that will satisfy everyone's entertainment levels, including her own, in her own way. But I think Ayu, above everyone else, already understand herself that she has built a product, and she needs to entertain her loyal fans, because that is the job that she chose for herself.

Why is that so hard for people to understand and accept? Why do I even have to write rants and essays about this? I thought this was general common sense.

Edit: And I want to also say before someone says something, I am all for her doing collaborations and whatever. But tell us when the entire set or concert will be only collaborations with one person. Give that person the credit he also deserves as well. What I'm saying is this should have been advertised in advance, and if it doesn't meet with the expectations of your customers, do something about it. Don't be stubborn and sit there and make up excuses. Take the responsibility, which I know she will do. At least, that's what she's been singing about all these years.

At this reply I need to remember that Ayu is not a cellphone... We are talking about an artist here... a performer, songwriter, concert and recording producer... We have tons and tons of artists who base their career on what people want to listen, jpop is full of them, as is pop anywhere else in the world...

But this is not how Ayu runs her career... She usually releases what she feels like to, what she feels she should release to better fits the moment in her life, in her career and in her country... And even if she does have her formulaic releases, mostly a summer track and a winter track every year, her albums and concerts tend to have a closed concept, where even if one or another detail could easily fit more than one era, the whole thing is different from the rest.. And this is something she would never be able to do, if she was trying to satisfy her consumers by basing her works on formulas, instead of basing her works on a high quality standart, that is what she tries to do..

Again, I'm not saying everyone should love everything she does, I myself hate RnRC and Secret for example, and I'm not saying she should tolerate is just because it's Ayu...

But really... having this amount of disappointment because of a 6 tracks setlist from a summer festival? Saying she should be trying to please us cuz we consume her work? There's no artist in the world that can live totally alienated from their public, but at the time an artist starts focusing their whole career into pleasing this public by releasing exactly what they think the artist should, the thing that made this artist being interesting in the first place is killed.

Some (if not most) of Ayu most celebrated works where unexpected to her fanbase and general public alike.

And just to finish my big post Considering how this year tour worked, there's a big chance that the a-nation setlist will not be the same at every date, maybe not even her collab... and that would be really interesting to see...

[maikaru]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

At this reply I need to remember that Ayu is not a cellphone... We are talking about an artist here... a performer, songwriter, concert and recording producer... We have tons and tons of artists who base their career on what people want to listen, jpop is full of them, as is pop anywhere else in the world...

But this is not how Ayu runs her career... She usually releases what she feels like to, what she feels she should release to better fits the moment in her life, in her career and in her country... And even if she does have her formulaic releases, mostly a summer track and a winter track every year, her albums and concerts tend to have a closed concept, where even if one or another detail could easily fit more than one era, the whole thing is different from the rest.. And this is something she would never be able to do, if she was trying to satisfy her consumers by basing her works on formulas, instead of basing her works on a high quality standart, that is what she tries to do..

Again, I'm not saying everyone should love everything she does, I myself hate RnRC and Secret for example, and I'm not saying she should tolerate is just because it's Ayu...

But really... having this amount of disappointment because of a 6 tracks setlist from a summer festival? Saying she should be trying to please us cuz we consume her work? There's no artist in the world that can live totally alienated from their public, but at the time an artist starts focusing their whole career into pleasing this public by releasing exactly what they think the artist should, the thing that made this artist being interesting in the first place is killed.

Some (if not most) of Ayu most celebrated works where unexpected to her fanbase and general public alike.

And just to finish my big post Considering how this year tour worked, there's a big chance that the a-nation setlist will not be the same at every date, maybe not even her collab... and that would be really interesting to see...

But the form I'm talking about is not to sing in this way, or sing this kind of song, but the form I'm talking about is singing her solo songs just that, solo.

But I digress. I think Ayu understands what's going on from her TA diary. I'm not saying for people to attack her, of course not. It's just constructive when we offer sane and valid criticism of her work, so she can also grow and evolve as an artist. I love when she does things that she loves, because it usually turns out really grand. But sometimes it doesn't work, because as she said herself, she's not perfect. And let's tell her when it's not working, because she needs it. But let's do it in a way that will not create this chaos and crisis over a 6 song setlist. But even though it's only a 6 song setlist, when Ayumi Hamasaki doesn't do many public appearances, just her tours, then her performance at A-nation becomes more important to her fans than it might actually be.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by maikaru

But the form I'm talking about is not to sing in this way, or sing this kind of song, but the form I'm talking about is singing her solo songs just that, solo.

But I digress. I think Ayu understands what's going on from her TA diary. I'm not saying for people to attack her, of course not. It's just constructive when we offer sane and valid criticism of her work, so she can also grow and evolve as an artist. I love when she does things that she loves, because it usually turns out really grand. But sometimes it doesn't work, because as she said herself, she's not perfect. And let's tell her when it's not working, because she needs it. But let's do it in a way that will not create this chaos and crisis over a 6 song setlist. But even though it's only a 6 song setlist, when Ayumi Hamasaki doesn't do many public appearances, just her tours, then her performance at A-nation becomes more important to her fans than it might actually be.

Well... everytime we try something new, there's a chance that it will fail... She only performed once (or twice? Don't know) on this way, so, there's a chance people will get into it over the dates, or that she will fix whatever gone wrong at first...

She shouldn't stop it just cuz it had some bad feedback, cuz if she does so, she will not give this idea a real chance to work...

Again, I'm not really happy about this way she is performing, but if she felt like trying it, she should try it until she feels like it totally worked or totally failed...

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

But really... having this amount of disappointment because of a 6 tracks setlist from a summer festival? Saying she should be trying to please us cuz we consume her work? There's no artist in the world that can live totally alienated from their public, but at the time an artist starts focusing their whole career into pleasing this public by releasing exactly what they think the artist should, the thing that made this artist being interesting in the first place is killed.

I think its very easy to say that from the perspective of someone who isn't going to/has no plans to go to A-Nation. After hearing about this setlist and performance, I'm glad I made the decision not to go to A-Nation this year. But I would imagine that Ayu fans who bought tickets would be very disappointed. Only 6 songs, two of which are duets, one of which is a cover song, and another is a medley performed the previous year. But on top of that, none were actually performed solo? For someone that is a solo artist, that sounds completely ridiculous.

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

I've always thought that in the latter half of her career, she's started to surround herself with "yesmen" or people that are simply unwilling to provide any criticism to her so they can keep their jobs, they're intimidated by her.. or whatever the case may be. She also seems like she is too good of friends with her staff. This is not good. She needs to separate her work and her friends.

Been saying this for years now. It's also why I think she is having trouble accepting criticism now. Of course that's just speculation though.

I haven't read all of her TA posts or twitter posts about this, but what I have read (and from what I know of the Japanese language) she is often coming off as petulant. The quote posted earlier in this thread from twitter, when a fan asked her if she was banning people who were criticizing her, actually read more like this: "I haven't banned people, but believe whatever you want to believe." I'm not saying she can't show her true feelings but, she isn't exactly coming off as professional right now. However, if she is prepared to deal with the consequences of that, then it's fine. It's her choice.

[c_zou1987]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Nobody said people should accept, just that is not Ayu's function or duty to do what her fans want her to, but what SHE wants to...

If u dislike it, don't watch it...

And using your own thoughts... watching the first date of a tour because u like an artist is the same as buying a product u know nothing about cuz u like the brand... On both situations you have a big chance of getting a bad surprise...

I'm not really all into the decision of doing duets for all the songs, but really? It's just a concert... nobody will die because of it, and as hard as is it for some people to notice, there's more in life than Ayu's career...

It's easy to say if you haven't prepared weeks in advance to see her. No one is going to buy my tickets at this point, and I also bought them at a higher price point. I don't want my first Ayumi Hamasaki concert to be something like this nonsense, so yes I don't want to watch it but I'm not wasting all that money by letting the tickets go to waste. At least now I can go there and boo as loud as I can from my A-block seats every time that guy's face pops up.

If I was at home back in Canada, I could care less what she sings at a-nation - I'm not there at the concert. I can just forward all his parts (which seems like it's pretty much all of it).