[Utada Hikaru] ☆ Goodbye Happiness in Utada Hikaru's 45th Thread ☆

[Pieces_of_SEVEN]

people shouldn't get their hopes up~

also...boyfriend?? HAHAHAHHAA LMAO someone is in the dark

[bluegie]

Originally Posted by drdolce

And I'm not gonna lie. I thought there were news about her making her comeback in January or something. -_____-;;

Well I was wondering about that when I clicked on this thread, but I didn't expect her return that early anywayz.

Hopefully she'll return sometime next year .

[Lady~Deviance]

Congrats to Hikki! She is definitely well looked upon in Japanese society. The comments on that article were hilarious! I almost literally died of laughter when I saw people wondering why Ayumi and Kumi were not the list.

[koumori]

^ Lol, why? Whenever they release a single, they both reach the top ten pretty easily. I'd say it was a valid question to ask why they still sell quite well in terms of sales positions, but aren't popular amongst the Japanese public.

I'm really happy to see Hikki is still popular, especially in different age groups. It's a nice surprise that she's still so thought-of even though she's now a year into hiatus.

[Lady~Deviance]

Originally Posted by Koumori

^ Lol, why? Whenever they release a single, they both reach the top ten pretty easily. I'd say it was a valid question to ask why they still sell quite well in terms of sales positions, but aren't popular amongst the Japanese public.

^That's just stating the obvious.

I thought it was hilarious because of the posters comedic reactions to them not being listed, not because of the the fact they weren't listed to begin with. To be honest I was shocked myself. I assumed they would place in the top 10 at least.

[koumori]

^ Yeah, I just wonder whether it's because they both have large fan-groups of hardcore-buyers that will buy every single/album they release..even if they're not gaining many new fans, thus becoming less popular with those that keep up with who's releasing. It must be sad, but it makes you wonder how Utada keeps so current despite hardly releasing, next to two singers that release numerous singles/albums/DVD's etc every year. But whatever, that's another discussion.

And I have to agree some of the comments made me laugh, lol

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by Lady~Deviance

Congrats to Hikki! She is definitely well looked upon in Japanese society. The comments on that article were hilarious! I almost literally died of laughter when I saw people wondering why Ayumi and Kumi were not the list.

Well... Hikki always was way more popular than Ayu, even during Ayu's peak...^^

[CoriKaru]

Originally Posted by Koumori

^ Yeah, I just wonder whether it's because they both have large fan-groups of hardcore-buyers that will buy every single/album they release..even if they're not gaining many new fans, thus becoming less popular with those that keep up with who's releasing. It must be sad, but it makes you wonder how Utada keeps so current despite hardly releasing, next to two singers that release numerous singles/albums/DVD's etc every year. But whatever, that's another discussion.

And I have to agree some of the comments made me laugh, lol

Well it's kind of common knowledge that ayumi's popularity in Japan has dwindled. One commenter on that article, while shocked, stated as much as well, saying she/he didn't realize it was happening so quickly. The problem is she has a group of hardcore fans that buys her stuff, and that's it. They are the only people who buy it. And she doesn't bring in any new fans at all. ayumi has over-saturated Japan and so they've grown weary. The public has also had problems with her image and the type of idol they've marketed her to be. They view her as unobtainable and above it all and that also doesn't set right with them.

As for Kumi......well she just naturally hit her peak with......I think it was called Black Cherry or something and then you have to factor in the whole "Old Woman Fluid Is Pew On The Inside" debacle.

[koumori]

^ Yeah, I understand that. I remember someone commenting on AHS ages ago that whilst in Japan studying, someone asked her what music they liked. When she said Ayumi Hamasaki, her classmate had shrugged and said she was a bad role model and her music was old, lol. Ayu's image is just not current and she's not setting trends anymore. I guess the Japanese public feel they've heard and seen everything Ayu has to give

And Koda was never going to be popular out of the 15-21 year old range..she's just rebellious pop music, from the lyrics to how she dresses. She has sweet ballads too and she seems a genuinely nice person, but I can't imagine older generations enjoying her songs and the messages she gives to people through the lyrics.

[amorphose]

^Agree
^^Agree
^^^Agree

[Bigtop]

Originally Posted by Koumori

^ Yeah, I understand that. I remember someone commenting on AHS ages ago that whilst in Japan studying, someone asked her what music they liked. When she said Ayumi Hamasaki, her classmate had shrugged and said she was a bad role model and her music was old, lol. Ayu's image is just not current and she's not setting trends anymore. I guess the Japanese public feel they've heard and seen everything Ayu has to give

And Koda was never going to be popular out of the 15-21 year old range..she's just rebellious pop music, from the lyrics to how she dresses. She has sweet ballads too and she seems a genuinely nice person, but I can't imagine older generations enjoying her songs and the messages she gives to people through the lyrics.

Yeah, I agree on both... This is why I've been distancing away from Ayu, disliking Kuu, and preferring other artists such as miwa...

[ストロボ・EdGE]

Not that Hikki isn't a beloved, amazing and legendary artist, but IDK about the people Oricon poll.

Case in point: aiko ever having the top stop.

[Andrenekoi]

^And also this... The Oricon Poll seens to aim the same kind of people every year, so, some older artists (that really ARE that populat, but aren't what's in right now) tends to get good positions.

Also, Ayu's pace of work makes her career age faster than Hikki's, and even if most of the time Hikki's music is more experiemental than Ayu's, Ayu image, lyric themes and position towards some aspects of Japanese culture is edgier than Hikki's... what keep a good amount of the public way from her... As far as image and themes go, Hikki plays it a lot safer than Ayu, and keep her most "controversial" statements (like pro-gay marriage, sexuality, her feelings towards fame, strugles with marriage, etc) to her english recordings...

Still, even if Ayu is not at the very top of the game right now, her sales still are some of the best among solo female singers and all of the big female acts that came after her peak are pretty much heavily influenced by her... including the nowadays it girl Kana Nishino^^

[greggerz189]

Originally Posted by Koumori

^ Yeah, I understand that. I remember someone commenting on AHS ages ago that whilst in Japan studying, someone asked her what music they liked. When she said Ayumi Hamasaki, her classmate had shrugged and said she was a bad role model and her music was old, lol. Ayu's image is just not current and she's not setting trends anymore. I guess the Japanese public feel they've heard and seen everything Ayu has to give

You know, I always find it interesting when I meet people who are good fans of hers. I was teaching this summer, and I met some co-workers and students who were pretty hardcore Ayu fans ,

[yukito]

I don't understand people saying ayu is not in the scene anymore when she still gets number 1 each time? Numbers don't lie really, it's not that I think she is a queen, but, honestly, she still sells very good for a 13 year old in the industry artist. Just saying.

[ExodusUK]

Originally Posted by yukito

I don't understand people saying ayu is not in the scene anymore when she still gets number 1 each time? Numbers don't lie really, it's not that I think she is a queen, but, honestly, she still sells very good for a 13 year old in the industry artist. Just saying.

Koda Kumi stans.

[yukito]

Yeah her too.

[Minttulatte]

Why are you talking about Ayu's and Kuu's declining sales/popularity/whatever in a Hikki thread? I had to check about 3 times before I was sure I was reading the right thread. :p

[CoriKaru]

Originally Posted by drdolce

Why are you talking about Ayu's and Kuu's declining sales/popularity/whatever in a Hikki thread? I had to check about 3 times before I was sure I was reading the right thread. :p

It is rare in an Utada thread, but is nice when it happens.

[hayasaki]

The fact that this thread is still active despite Hikki's absence to the music scene alone, is rather a GREAT THING. <3

As someone living in Japan, i think (or as to what I've noticed) that Ayu and Hikki both stand on their own stage in the J-Pop industry, both have different styles and image. And both (i guess) has their own title. Hikki is more of a music genius. While Ayu is the Glamorous diva.

As someone who grew up listening to them, on the very moment of their peaks, I'd say that even now, people still look up to them as Idols, or Legends. While new artists emerge, no one won't be able to replace them. Oricon should at the very least state the range of generations their respondents would be. XD