Ayu - Anything Goes Thread -XIV-

[ayu-michan]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

The palm of my hand ~LOVE is ALL~

No but seriously that was cool to watch and actually very in line with everything we know about Ayu and her struggles.

Holy crap the guy in the video basically described Ayu's songs in like a video.

[Pieces_of_SEVEN]

I wonder when we can expect a new tour announcement and dates? I've gotta start making plans! Hopefully I can see Kumi or Namie if their tour dates sort of coincide with ayu's. That would be spectacular.

[ExodusUK]

Just a thought, is Ayu the most successful female lyricist/song writer in Japanese history for actual lyric credits on Oricon?

This guy holds the record
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%AB_Aku

I mean, is there a Japanese equivalent to Diane Warren or Linda Perry? Must be Ayu, right?

[DonkeyKongRemix]

What does everyone else think of the PV for Hanabi Episode II when she starts pretending to play the guitar? I can't help but feel like that is one of the trippiest moments in her PVs. The whole video is pretty surreal and even uncomfortable.

But, in my opinion, the "guitar playing" did convey some intense emotions.

[TheRainbow]

That's the one part I don't like... The rest feels really raw. Great video overall imo.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by ExodusUK

Just a thought, is Ayu the most successful female lyricist/song writer in Japanese history for actual lyric credits on Oricon?

This guy holds the record
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%AB_Aku

I mean, is there a Japanese equivalent to Diane Warren or Linda Perry? Must be Ayu, right?

I believe Matsutoya Yuming is also a lyricist (or does she only compose music or both?), she is the 2nd best selling female soloist and composed some of Seiko Matsuda's biggest hits

[Ashen Twilight]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

I believe Matsutoya Yuming is also a lyricist (or does she only compose music or both?), she is the 2nd best selling female soloist and composed some of Seiko Matsuda's biggest hits

I think Nakajima Miyuki would be a good contender as well. She wrote a lot of Kudo Shizuka's hits.

[Ryusei]

Originally Posted by nalini-dahlia

What does everyone else think of the PV for Hanabi Episode II when she starts pretending to play the guitar? I can't help but feel like that is one of the trippiest moments in her PVs. The whole video is pretty surreal and even uncomfortable.

But, in my opinion, the "guitar playing" did convey some intense emotions.

I was kinda surprised when I first saw it but for some reason it really stuck with me, that transformation from the long-haired ayu to the short hair and the strong image. It is a bit uncomfortable to watch because the emotions just seem so intense. The lyrics are really sad and intense too when I think of the "Please tell me some day that you are happy And smile" I already get teary-eyed, it's so heartbroken and relatable for most people I think. Anyways I really like it, I like the display of strength in between the frail crying scenes. Was also kinda surprised when I saw that she never sang it at any of her tours.

[DonkeyKongRemix]

Originally Posted by Ryusei

I was kinda surprised when I first saw it but for some reason it really stuck with me, that transformation from the long-haired ayu to the short hair and the strong image. It is a bit uncomfortable to watch because the emotions just seem so intense. The lyrics are really sad and intense too when I think of the "Please tell me some day that you are happy And smile" I already get teary-eyed, it's so heartbroken and relatable for most people I think. Anyways I really like it, I like the display of strength in between the frail crying scenes. Was also kinda surprised when I saw that she never sang it at any of her tours.

I was hoping to get more feedback on this, so thanks!

Anyway, I agree. There is something so powerful about those scenes and so uncomfortable. I can't help but kind of love it.

And no kidding, I didn't even realize she hadn't performed it during any tours! However, I did find this live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=durQoTMJYOc

[Gustavopc]

^ I had never seems this live, thanks for sharing!

I also love HANABI ~episode II~ btw, there's some rawness to it that always get me, and yeah I get the same feelings from the PV, I think she was so sincere in it showing her pain that it makes us fees that way. She was also very emotional in this performance, so the song must really also hit her with all these emotions as well...

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

I love that scene and video in general.

It's very well shot. I wish we had it in true HD--it's certainly in her upper tier of well made videos imo.

I love the setting of a rainy summer day, but the song is about fireworks. Really well thought out and executed.

[DonkeyKongRemix]

It almost made me wish we could see her play guitar, you know what I mean? Like...she could've been really intense with that. But her singing in the end is definitely good enough for me.

Does anyone know if she can even kind of play guitar or piano?

[280301]

^ I think she was taking piano lessons at some stage in the early 00s...?

[Delirium-Zer0]

She said in an interview about "MY STORY" that she was taking guitar lessons... I was really excited but nothing ever really came of that, it seems.

[relmy]

I'm so fed up with the cutesy versions of songs like Fly high and Ladies Night. It doesn't do the songs justice at all. Ladies Night would still be so fun without the cutesy thing!

[Earth_maiden]

My best friend knows I'm obsessed with Ayu but I never made him listen to her. He loves kpop but hasn't really really listened to any Jpop, so when he was over yesterday I showed him some of my collection and started introducing him to some of her performances. I'm so happy that he was impressed and said he understands why I'm so into it. He was blown away by some of her lives, like WAKE ME UP from CDL12-13 and ANGEL from Premium Showcase. I'm so proud of Ayu that I can show her to my friends and they can see a little bit of what I see in her.

[Ryusei]

Wish I could convince some K-pop friends to listen to Japanese music but all that's in their head seems to be PON PON PON and Heavy Rotation

[labello]

Originally Posted by Earth_maiden

My best friend knows I'm obsessed with Ayu but I never made him listen to her. He loves kpop but hasn't really really listened to any Jpop, so when he was over yesterday I showed him some of my collection and started introducing him to some of her performances. I'm so happy that he was impressed and said he understands why I'm so into it. He was blown away by some of her lives, like WAKE ME UP from CDL12-13 and ANGEL from Premium Showcase. I'm so proud of Ayu that I can show her to my friends and they can see a little bit of what I see in her.

That's so awesome!! I'm happy for you that he now understands her interest in Ayu and also thinks she's pretty good!
I had a similar experience recently! A friend of mine who is really into kpop and with whom I usually talk about which songs we are into lately, started to like a few songs of Namie so I recommended some Kuu and Ayu songs to him and he is obsessed with them. He is really into those upbeat/danceable songs so he really likes some of Ayu's newer songs but especially "Sparkle"!

[Surreal17]

Same with me. I was talking about favourite artists with someone I know and at first, I was a bit hesitant to confess my love for ayu. Not because I'm ashamed or anything (not at all), but because he didn't know a bit about asian music. I decided to send him immature from Arena Tour 2015 and hanabi from a-nation 2005 (because he confessed his love for sad, break up songs lol) He was really impressed with Hanabi, especially with the lyrics and her emotions. I'm glad it all turned out so good. He also liked immature, but he said he has a preference for slow songs.

[Pieces_of_SEVEN]

I wonder how much longer until she announces arena tour 2016...I need the dates soon!