[Namie Amuro] ♬♫♪◖Don’t you know that she's a fighter? the 93rd thread ◗♪♫♬

[ahtka-chan]

Originally Posted by Cahz-

I don't want people to worship Ayumi, but after twenty years of writing her lyrics (where she has explored a lot of issues, even social ones: Mad world) composed almost 3 albums by herself, experimenting with rock, trance, "ethereal-pop"(RAINBOW), even traditional music, etc (I wouldn't have to mention it, since we're in an Ayu forum and I guess people here know all the things Ayu have done in her career); I won't accept that one person comes here and tell Namie is better than her.

This is not a competition, but none of what you said makes Ayumi better than Namie, sorry.

[love in music]

Just wanted to pop in and say Namie Amuro is perfect and can do no wrong.
That is all.

[thinkingoutloud89]

Cahz- please define artistry for me? Andy Warhol pretty much did a lot of the stuff he did not by himself - but, great artist!

And to your J.Lo comment - even if it reminds you of her, J.Lo is a different artist. when Namie went from Pop to RnB it was only HER choice, even her label was against it and sales reflected it - but she went through with it. Namie herself said, she does not sing or do songs she "can't envision an PV or dance routine" too - which pretty much already is a form of artistry - so please stop being so snobby and close-minded on what can be viewed as a form of art.

[Rocky Raven]

Originally Posted by Cahz-

Yes, "relevant""market", you just have said it: business. Where's the artistry?
I don't want people to worship Ayumi, but after twenty years of writing her lyrics (where she has explored a lot of issues, even social ones: Mad world) composed almost 3 albums by herself, experimenting with rock, trance, "ethereal-pop"(RAINBOW), even traditional music, etc (I wouldn't have to mention it, since we're in an Ayu forum and I guess people here know all the things Ayu have done in her career); I won't accept that one person comes here and tell Namie is better than her.
The Arama comments are the perfect example of what I'm talking about. And I end all this here, not my intention to fight with the users.
PS. If you consider the word "f*ck" disrespectful, 1st. I didn't use it to attack any user 2nd. I'm tired of people playing the "if you don't like her why you talk about her" card, as if one person is not allowed to say anything about other's work just because it's not his/her cup of tea.

Rather than something to be praised, what if I & other people say that Ayu seems to totally lost her way (music style/artistry-personality/personal life...etc.) based on what you say? The last 9 years?
You have to accept one fact that even through her career ups & downs, Namie's an artist who would never & will never need to be better than Ayumi to be respected and to be loved. She just silently does her job and her success says it all.

[S4MU3L]

Originally Posted by Cahz-

Come back to APT, puta

Say that Namie is better, recognize it and I will back, ardida





Dime el link que lo perdi

[orbitalaspect]

The fact that Namie Amuro is the ONLY solo artist to successfully return to prominence more than 20 years after her peak means we don't have anything else to prove. Ayu is a fantastic, diverse artist, but Namie actually resuscitated her career as idol groups became prominent, she had a completely different sound and style, and she makes music in one of the least forgiving music markets in the world.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by voltron

But ultimately, success is not the same as respect (and that's not just for Namie). She's popular and does very well (and makes some damn catchy music), but I personally have never spoken to any Japanese who speak about her with respect or reverence for her skill/artistry/etc.

I've heard from several people over there that respect her very much. Not necessarily as an "artist", but as a singer, performer etc. Japanese people in general from my experience have a very positive opinion about her. Or to put it this way, when ever talking to people about music over there and my favorite artists, I've never met someone who disliked her.


And about the artistry comment - agreed, that Ayu obviously writes her own lyrics and sometimes music, but that is not the only component of artistry (I do think it's a big one though and I love Ayu for it). But the fact of the matter is, is that we don't actually know how Namie is involved with the artistry side or not, people just assume that she isn't because she doesn't talk about it, but no one actually knows that. It's completely in her personality to not talk about how involved she may or may not be. What we do know is that over the last couple of years she is releasing stuff under her own production company, which is something even Ayu doesn't do. It is my personal opinion that Namie is probably much more involved with her own product than people know.

[voltron]

^ Obviously this thread has gone in a completely different direction than what I was intending, but I never meant to imply that she is completely vapid and devoid of artistry (regardless of what image she may or may not put out there). I do actually like her, lol.

I've also seen a generally favorable opinion of her/her music, which is why she is so popular and successful. My point all along was just that success and respect are different, and the comments in the Arama article are the more common positive things I personally hear about her. I don't think anybody who pulled her through the mud during her downturn feels the slightest bit of guilt about it, and I think they would be happy to do so again if she had some drama pop up. She deserves respect for her career and her comeback, but I don't think the "memory" of her career is that long, if you will. Sure, she has people who love her for the nostalgia, but she has also managed to gain new (and younger) fans that I don't think care about her past (a past where her fame was much higher, and she was much more influential).

[Cahz-]

Originally Posted by S4MU3L

Say that Namie is better, recognize it and I will back, ardida





Dime el link que lo perdi

Nice try, petarda. Me corto la lengua antes que decir que Amurata es mejor que Ayima.

Ps. You have a pm, corazón

[Isicio]

^ XD amo a la veneno

[Celaphorce]

So I guess no news then huh?

[SunshineSlayer]

There's got to be something big coming up this year. It's been way too quiet, which with Namie usually means she's been working a ton.

[thinkingoutloud89]

^and then we got Baby Don't Cry lol

[melissalove]

Didn't she realse 2 singles this year??

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by melissalove

Didn't she realse 2 singles this year??

It's now the third month of 2017, those two singles were quite a while ago now. lol Also there was no album of some kind last year, which is rare.

[orbitalaspect]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

It's now the third month of 2017, those two singles were quite a while ago now. lol Also there was no album of some kind last year, which is rare.

Well, to be fair, we had _genic in 2015, Ballada in 2014, FEEL in 2013, Uncontrolled in 2012, Checkmate! in 2011, and PAST<FUTURE in 2010.

She's basically kept to new studio albums every two years, so we may get a new one this year, sometime during or after summer. And she's done the best collections for collaborations and ballads. I think a new BEST FICTION last year or this year would be too soon. Her first was released in 1998, and BEST FICTION was released in 2008, so I'm thinking the next will be in 2018. And I think another studio album in 2016 would have been a bad idea considering she had so many singles come out almost back-to-back. It may have come off as oversaturation.

I don't think it's all that strange that we had a whole year without a release based on the above. And, to be honest, I'd rather her come back with an actual Japanese album. _genic, FEEL, and Uncontrolled were all great, but I think she could at least sell us something with the songs she's done. I feel like she's just been releasing Japanese singles so she doesn't completely lose a section of her fanbase.

[lfe.]

Originally Posted by voltron

I'm sure it's not even a thought on his mind.

Don't get it twisted -- Namie has had an admirable comeback story, and is no doubt one of the most successful female artists these days, but her current fame is very different from what her fame used to look like. She was the trend-setter in her hey-days and had a huge cultural impact (ganguro/yamanba/gal-culture), now she is exceptional at following trends and riding their popularity. Along the way, she's also lost most (if not all) of her edge, and her "personality" (both musically, and in terms of her persona -- i.e. getting her tattoos removed, never speaking about her personal life, etc.).

But ultimately, success is not the same as respect (and that's not just for Namie). She's popular and does very well (and makes some damn catchy music), but I personally have never spoken to any Japanese who speak about her with respect or reverence for her skill/artistry/etc.

(And not to derail, but shade as you may try, being an idol was never Ayu's image or the way she was promoted).

I can agree with the last thing, a lot of the Japanese people I meet at my job revere her for her beauty, not about skill or artistry, but I don't expect them to because musically she never really had an edge or uniqueness to it. Even during her PLAY era, she wasn't the first hip hop artist in Japan. The hip hop scene is pretty small in Japan, so she can be credited with expanding its community, but she didn't really do anything different from other hip hop artists, she just did it better and its always been like that in the past with her pop and the current present with her edm pop. Even "better" isn't really "better", she just makes very catchy songs, and I think part of that has to do with repeating short English phrases in her songs that may or may not have anything to do with the song, like Chase the Chance, Never End, Girl Talk, or better yet pretty much 90 percent of her songs.

As far as her personality, she doesn't really have much to say about her personal life cuz there doesn't seem to be much to share. Aside from her tours and magazine photoshoots, she devotes the rest of her time being a mother to Haruto. I felt like her sizable donation during the Tohoku earthquake goes to show that she lives a pretty modest life. I kinda like it better that we don't get exposed much of her personal life, I get tired of seeing stars post instagram or facebook updates for everything, literally grocery shopping or going to the bathroom. Plus the whole "less is more" approach is working well for artists like her and Hikki in the long run. It would be nice if she did more TV appearances like in the past but perhaps how she was treated on air with the divorce has something to do with that.

[ahtka-chan]

Originally Posted by lfe.

Aside from her tours and magazine photoshoots, she devotes the rest of her time being a mother to Haruto.

She puts out like 8594854 magazines every month, releases 9 singles each year and is doing concerts like the whole year.

I wouldn't be surprised if Haruto says the last time he saw Namie was like, 2005.

[oaristos]

^ That's not fair to Namie. Just because she works a lot it doesn't mean she is not present in her son's life. Recording songs (especially when you're not the one composing it and writing the lyrics) doesn't take that long, nor does taking pictures for a magazine.

[melissalove]

Ayu, namie and kumi are all great in different ways. Each of these Girls have made their own individual mark in music. So all these rants offensive rants need to stop :/.