[Charts & Rankings] The Official Oricon Thread of TROUBLE

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by Aga-chan

Ayu is also much older now than Namie was then. That likely plays into the backlash, too. "Almost 40, two divorces, no children."

When it comes to Ayu's voice, I observed something. Reading the comments to an old performance on youtube (I don't remember which one) someone asked who made her sing from her throat, because that's bad for the throat. Someone said that if it wasn't for that high voice she wouldn't have been selling as much. So it's basically not about skill and technique, but about her tone.
I'm curious to know what would have been if she'd properly attended singing classes before her debut. We'll never know.

I was also suprised to see that Otsuka Ai's latest albums (I don't know about LOVE HONEY, though) didn't even make it into the top 20. So Ayu isn't doing all too bad for herself.

I don't think Ayu ever got proper vocal lessons until the 2010's to be honest. Before that she was always going for that iconic but unhealthy singing she is known for. Over here, not that much, but there is always a comment here or there on Youtube videos complaining about her singing while she is actually doing well.

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

I don't think Ayu ever got proper vocal lessons until the 2010's to be honest. Before that she was always going for that iconic but unhealthy singing she is known for. Over here, not that much, but there is always a comment here or there on Youtube videos complaining about her singing while she is actually doing well.

I still think she sounded best from 2003 - 2005 and I blame PECO in a way as it's only when she joined that ayu's singing technique changed

[primavera♥]

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

I still think she sounded best from 2003 - 2005 and I blame PECO in a way as it's only when she joined that ayu's singing technique changed

Realistically, ayu didn't have the best singing technique in her early career even if it sounded nice for us and she honestly probably wasn't taking much care of her voice either based on what I remember from forever ago. She really tried to make the high pitched voice work for her, even using certain sounds to made higher notes easier for her. There are some early performances when you can tell she's straining already.

Eventually all of that catches up with you. Now, every now and then, she mentions vocal lessons, but at this point I really think she can only do so much. The hearing loss doesn't help either.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by primavera♥

Realistically, ayu didn't have the best singing technique in her early career even if it sounded nice for us and she honestly probably wasn't taking much care of her voice either based on what I remember from forever ago. She really tried to make the high pitched voice work for her, even using certain sounds to made higher notes easier for her. There are some early performances when you can tell she's straining already.

Eventually all of that catches up with you. Now, every now and then, she mentions vocal lessons, but at this point I really think she can only do so much. The hearing loss doesn't help either.

Yes, she appeared strained and her singing was unnatural in her early, early career, but not in the years he mentioned of 03-05. Her performances back then, honestly, looked effortless and her way of singing changed significantly from 00/01 for example. Imo, she clearly got some vocal training because her entire technique changed significantly. I do wonder if Ayu Ready might have been the cause. She was singing weekly with other artists, so maybe she did put a larger focus on her vocal ability.

[Aga-chan]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

I don't think Ayu ever got proper vocal lessons until the 2010's to be honest. Before that she was always going for that iconic but unhealthy singing she is known for. Over here, not that much, but there is always a comment here or there on Youtube videos complaining about her singing while she is actually doing well.

I read something like that. But I don't know if it was ever confirmed or if it's just speculation. Though seeing as her singing technique changed over the years I kind of find it hard to believe.
Honestly, if she says the stage is her ibasho, then I'd expect her to care more about her voice.

I think it's kind of sad and annoying that she could slay every note with her current voice and some people (mainly Japanese ones it seems) would say it's a bad performance just because her voice isn't as high anymore.

I'd like to know what Peco had to do with Ayu's voice changing, though. haha