[News] ayumi hamasaki COUNTDOWN LIVE 2019ｰ2020 A (II)

[AJFmzk]

Originally Posted by AyuCanada

I wonder if the absence of the rock band could be due to her earing condition. Maybe it is easier for her to sing over a pre-recorded track. I first thought the absence of the band could be because of money, but since they have a string, brass and choir sections, I doubt having 3-4 musicians would make a big difference for the show budget.

That fall on snowy kiss also made me wonder if her ear condition isn't worst then it was.

It may be easier for her to sing over backing tracks, but then why have the live strings and brass? In-ear monitors are supposed to block out the sound from the stage so it wouldn’t change anything if the band was there or not. She shouldn’t be hearing them except in her monitors, and you’re supposed to do a sound check to balance the levels of all the instruments, so there really shouldn’t be any difference between having everything live and having only some stuff live or everything pre recorded. Maybe the band members were not available/wanted a break. Maybe it’s easier for her to practice to in terms of consistency, but the band members are pros and can play it the same way every time. I think the budget did have something to do with it, the strings, choir and I think horn players too are already on Avex regular payroll (they’re called A Strings/A Choir/A horns). I don’t think her band is employed by avex, I think they’re hired on contract for Ayu’s tours new every time. I’ve seen some of them (Yusuke and Enrique specifically) tour with other bands/artists before who I don’t believe are on Avex label. I’m just speculating here and could be entirely wrong though..

[AyuCanada]

Originally Posted by AJFmzk

It may be easier for her to sing over backing tracks, but then why have the live strings and brass? In-ear monitors are supposed to block out the sound from the stage so it wouldn’t change anything if the band was there or not. She shouldn’t be hearing them except in her monitors, and you’re supposed to do a sound check to balance the levels of all the instruments, so there really shouldn’t be any difference between having everything live and having only some stuff live or everything pre recorded. Maybe the band members were not available/wanted a break. Maybe it’s easier for her to practice to in terms of consistency, but the band members are pros and can play it the same way every time. I think the budget did have something to do with it, the strings, choir and I think horn players too are already on Avex regular payroll (they’re called A Strings/A Choir/A horns). I don’t think her band is employed by avex, I think they’re hired on contract for Ayu’s tours new every time. I’ve seen some of them (Yusuke and Enrique specifically) tour with other bands/artists before who I don’t believe are on Avex label. I’m just speculating here and could be entirely wrong though..

She does seem to struggle less vocally when she sings over a track... But I may be wrong too. Her vocals were really great last night compared to her previous lives.