[Article] Will she sing like before?

[rikku411]

Well, I can't really say much except that this article was well written. She will definitely need to practice harder, but I know she will, she is Ayumi Hamasaki after all

[AyUmIXx]

hmm..does that mean that Ayu still can have a cure?
because from the doctor said up there~

But there are possible rehabilitative options.

This could include wearing a hearing aid or undergoing surgery to install a device in the skull to 'divert sound to the good ear'.

wearing a device...
but, having surgery is pretty much a dangerous option...
hmmm~

all i can say that Ayu should start to take a little break on her activity..especially after reaching her 10th year anniversary..she can take a break for a year..

[DA1SUK1DAY01691]

Originally Posted by namiie

Uh. No. I've been an Ayu fan now for seven years strong, and I have to say that 2007 was really, really bad in terms of vocals. The beginning of the year wasn't so bad but the clips I've seen of AT '07 were not very good, and a-nation 2007? Uh. I really felt embarrassed for Ayu during her a-nation 2007 performances (especially during the vocal disaster that was "fated", geez).

Nearly all TV performances of "talkin' 2 myself" were too deep and strained-sounding. Nearly all TV performances of "Together When..." were off-key somewhere (not to mention they employed the really terrible "o" vibrato that Ayu unfortunately whips out sometimes). Countdown Live 07-08 was actually better compared to the rest of the year, though "SURREAL" sounded off-key at some parts and "untitled~for her~" was full of voice cracks.

I love Ayu a lot, but her voice during 2007 really did go downhill compared to how great it was before. I don't think people are "suddenly noticing"; it's more like they're connecting observations to this new left ear conclusion.

I agree with you. Although glitter sounded fine druing studio performances, talkin' 2 myself and Together When... were pretty much trashed during performances.

And I was researching this. (Source) Her type of hearing loss can come from either physical trauma or acoustic neuroma (a small tumor). I'm assuming it's trauma as she said herself it's "inoperable". However, it makes me wonder if it really is neuroma, because many patients admitted to ringing in the ear. (Not to scare anyone, hopefully. Just out of curiosity.)

[namiie]

I don't know how the whole Kumi replacing Ayu as Queen of J-pop thing ever got started...sales and fame isn't enough. One of Ayu's biggest strengths is her well-roundedness...not only the types of music that she does but the types of people that she appeals to: young and old. I doubt you can show your mother Kumi's "JUICY" PV or whatever and have her go, "Oh yeah, I'd go to this young lady's concert!"

There's also levels of control in their respective careers. Ayu doesn't like where hers is going? She takes charge, even if she has something to lose (ex: her shrugging off Max during her early days since she felt her voice lessons were too oppressive). Kumi whines a lot about how avex is pushing the sexy envelope too far with her and she feels embarrassed or whatever and yet she continues to do the same thing again and again. That kind of giving up doesn't bring long-lasting success.

And about Hikki taking her place? I'd say Hikki is already on Ayu's level; when people talk of a new Queen of J-pop I think they think more about people who are below Ayu's level. Hikki always gives Ayu a run for her money and sometime even bests her.

Originally Posted by DA1SUK1DAY01691

(Source) Her type of hearing loss can come from either physical trauma or acoustic neuroma (a small tumor). I'm assuming it's trauma as she said herself it's "inoperable". However, it makes me wonder if it really is neuroma, because many patients admitted to ringing in the ear. (Not to scare anyone, hopefully. Just out of curiosity.)

Interesting....well, hopefully Ayu pursues whatever course of action is best

[angelwing886]

thanks for the article

[Huaka]

Originally Posted by DA1SUK1DAY01691

And I was researching this. (Source) Her type of hearing loss can come from either physical trauma or acoustic neuroma (a small tumor). I'm assuming it's trauma as she said herself it's "inoperable". However, it makes me wonder if it really is neuroma, because many patients admitted to ringing in the ear. (Not to scare anyone, hopefully. Just out of curiosity.)

Umm, ImpactBreaker has already made extensive posts about what her ear condition might be. Try look those up.

[bluegie]

Originally Posted by AyUta

And one more thing...when Ayu leaves the music scene(Not saying I'd be happy if she did, honestly), I would really want Utada to take her place. She's practically the only person that is capable of taking her place and is a really good person, just like Ayu. They are two of the best people in the world IMO. And I don't think Ayu would mind either, because when they talked on that one show, they got along pretty well and I'm sure both respect each other (which I know Utada does because she said so herself, and I'm pretty sure Ayu does too ) But if Ayu knew Kumi took her place.... >.> UGH! xD But Ayu's not like that, she'd probably just be like "Oh..oh well.."

Judging from how you called hikki as "Utada", I guess you're relatively new to hikki's world . Hikki has a nickname of Heisei Songtress in the music industry. (side story: I dunno if this is true or not, but this is what I heard from my dad. When the emperor died in Japan, they would name the most important songtress during that era. Of course this is something I dunno if that's true or not.)

But what is true is that hikki is called 平成歌姬 (Heisei Songtress). This does imply that she's really important in the music industry. And to tell you the truth, she went to the top before ayu did (even tho ayu came out a few months earlier). She and ayu were the recent most important female singers in the music industry. I can proudly say that so far no one has beaten their records (I'm comparing the female artists that are still in this industry). Hikki still holds the most selling record in Japan (First Love, over 7.6 million copies sold according to oricon; not to mention Distance was the highest debut album in weekly chart; not to mention her first three studio albums + best albums were all no. 1 in yearly oricon album chart; CYKAS? no. 1 in yearly single chart; etc.)

Tho ayu never has a no. 1 album yearly (well... she always got no. 2 yearly beaten by Mai, Hikkii (2x), and CHEMISTRY), she does hold many records, such as most no. 1 singles in female; selling records in females; H as no. 1 yearly single in 2002; Duty, A BEST, I am..., RAINBOW all no. 2 yearly albums from 2000 - 2003; Ninhon Record Taisho Grand Pix Award 3 years in a row (only two people achieved this in history... the other person was Teresa Tang), etc.

So... providing the data (and actually I dun have time to include more), do you think hikki is lower than ayu, or vice versa? Not even Namie Amuro can compared with them IMO (well if she wasn't accidentally pregnant during her peak, I guess that would be another story). In Japanese music history, many female singers went to the top, then sank really quickly. Not many singers can survive at the top for more than five years or so. Also, how many female acts can actually beat the male acts and even boy bands during their prime era? Objectively speaking the recent female acts that could do that were Namie (probly for 2 years), Hikki, and Ayu. It seems like only male acts and boy bands sell records lately, but we can't deny the fact that female acts were pretty dominant a few years ago. I guess it's just a cycle... probly a few years later female acts will become dominant again. (wow I'm going too off topic now LOL).


PS: Ayu, and even Mai + MISIA were considered as 平成歌姬 as well, but I guess Japanese people use it on hikki the most often...

[DA1SUK1DAY01691]

^^ Wouldn't she be the "Showa Songstress" then? Or did an emporer die recently? Even so, Showa would be like Yamaguchi Momoe or Hibari Misora. So yeah, I don't know.

I think the difference is how they influenced the music industry. Utada is just straight up talent; composing and writing most (if not all) of her material. Her MUSIC is what influenced the industry. I think Ayu on the other hand influenced it as a whole, bringing FASHION and a "brown bags to stardom" sort of appeal. Ayu was also the one to introduce the CD+DVD format, I believe. So she really set some standards. As a whole, these two, along with artists like Amuro Namie, Morning Musume, SPEED, and ZONE will be the "Heisei Era".

So actually, with news of Ayu's deafness, this just might be the headline of the Heisei era. I think no other entertainment news (may be besides record concert sales by Amuro) would be able to top this.

@Huaka: I never came across it yet, so I'll look at it soon. The wiki article does have a better explanation of the hearing aids suggested in the article, though. So it's not a complete waste.

[bluegie]

Originally Posted by DA1SUK1DAY01691

^^ Wouldn't she be the "Showa Songstress" then? Or did an emporer die recently? Even so, Showa would be like Yamaguchi Momoe or Hibari Misora. So yeah, I don't know.

I think the difference is how they influenced the music industry. Utada is just straight up talent; composing and writing most (if not all) of her material. Her MUSIC is what influenced the industry. I think Ayu on the other hand influenced it as a whole, bringing FASHION and a "brown bags to stardom" sort of appeal. Ayu was also the one to introduce the CD+DVD format, I believe. So she really set some standards. As a whole, these two, along with artists like Amuro Namie, Morning Musume, SPEED, and ZONE will be the "Heisei Era".

So actually, with news of Ayu's deafness, this just might be the headline of the Heisei era. I think no other entertainment news (may be besides record concert sales by Amuro) would be able to top this.

@Huaka: I never came across it yet, so I'll look at it soon. The wiki article does have a better explanation of the hearing aids suggested in the article, though. So it's not a complete waste.

This is the funny part... The emperor of this era hasn't died yet and they've already named hikki as 平成歌姬 since her debut...

Well yes Ayu was the person introducing CD+DVD in album, but I think Ai-chan has already introduced CD+DVD format since her debut single, which was released two months earlier (actually I dun even know if Ai-chan was the first person doing that). The thing is, yes the music industry did consider ayu as the person doing that (in album format?) in the first place.


Showa Songtress would be either Yamaguchi Momoe or Hibari Misora. When my dad told me about the songtress thingie, he told me that momoe was the one, but when I searched in yahoo a few hours ago, somehow many websites said Hibari Misora was the Showa Songtress. Also, my dad said only one female singer would be chosen as that era's songtress. So probly either hikki or ayu can assume that title, but definitely not momosu or speed (they dun even have that much power to greatly affect the music industry). I dun think Namie can be getting the title, tho I really consider she's one of those greatest songtress during the late 90's and now. What make me respect her is how she can climb back to the top (tho not the peak) from the bottom. Not many singers can do that (e.g., Ami Suzuki).

PS: Well, if you talk about some of the biggest entertainment news in Heisei era, I dun think ayu's only big one... hikki's health issue back in 2002 (before releasing SAKURA drops or DEEP RIVER) was an outbreak as wel. It was one of the biggest entertainment news that year (2 million people rushed to her official website immediately in just 1 day). Oh and also her sudden marriage that year as well. Many newspapers had to print the extra in order to deliver the news .

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by minkAYuko

Thanks for the info!.

IMO: She's been singing just fine since 2001, so it didn't stopped before and I don't think it will stop her soon.

PLus these recent lives (since glitter) have been the best of her career, I was suprised how good she started to sound (some lives better than others of courser) but in general it has been like that n_n.

Honestly I think her lives this year have been her worst year ever vocally, but it seemed like she was getting a bit better with Together When and the CDL. At least now there is a known reason for why she had troubles with the vocals this year - especially at A-Nation. And this isn't something that I just recently noticed after her deafness announcement(although yes, many people seem to be jumping on that bandwagon now), I've pretty much been saying this all year, I just couldn't figure out what was causing the change.

I saw her live in person over the last few years and here is how I was rating the vocals in my head:

2004 My Story Tour - GREAT. The best live vocal I heard from her.
2005 Miss Understood Tour - Still pretty great, almost the same as My Story Tour
2006/2007 CDL - This is where I noticed a bit of a downturn. Vocals weren't bad, but they weren't to previous standard either.
A-Nation 2007 - Like woah, the worst I've ever heard her. By a lot actually, a pretty drastic change. There were some sound problems the night I went, so originally I chalked the vocal problems up to that, but then I saw the news broadcast clips of the performance from the next day and it sounded just as bad as the night I had gone. What was aired on the full TV broadcast was NOT how it sounded. It sounded like in those short newsclips, so Avex obviously did some tinkering before the performances went to air. It also makes me wonder if that is part of the reason why Tour of Secret has taken so long to even be announced.

btw, this is overall a nice article, though a few inaccuracies.

Originally Posted by Maxker

This could include wearing a hearing aid or undergoing surgery to install a device in the skull to 'divert sound to the good ear'.

That maybe an intriguing choice for people who just live their everyday lives, but for someone who is constantly in high decibal environments, won't that just make her right ear deteriorate faster?

Also, any surgery that installs a device in your skull sounds too scary.

All of this talk about medical marvels that she should do is all just speculation though as no one except Ayu and her doctor know what exactly the problem with her ear is.

[KarenPang]

woah The New Paper wrote it ? that's cool considering that I don't buy New Paper but I like the way that it's written in that the article focuses on the positive aspect of things , not so much on the negative aspect regarding her left ear .

[alternarist]

Originally Posted by LacusClyne

The NewPaper?? that is a singapore newspaper...how come i miss it????

this is from yesterday's New Paper. i bought it!!!! its exact word for word..

anyway, i am alright after reading this article. it sounds more optimistic..

[Halla]

thx for the news.

Koda Kumi will never be the queen of j-pop, neither will Ai Otsuka. IMO They've released so many albums already withouth reaching "the top". most likely the next Queen will be some new artist rather than someone who's been around in the industry for years ...

I personally think Ayu is more of the Queen material than Hikki. Ayu is just more prominent figure in the japanese entertainment scene, she does more TV & magazine media, releases more music , tours more and does the Kouhaku Uta gassen every year.

Hikki declines kouhaku & distances herself from the typical j-pop scene. I'm not saying it's a bad thing necessarily, but I feel if you are "the queen of j-pop" you should really embrace the whole j-pop scene ...

[BoBo]

No One is takeing ayu's place!

[KuroixShiroi_Namida]

@ Halla

I agree. Hikki is lacking something which ayu has. When people talk about who the next queen might be ayaka always pops in my head XD!

[Sommernacht~]

yes, like Beethoven...
I so hope that ayu won't be worse ill. It's so sad!
I actually don't care at all if she sings the wrong notes or sounds high-pitched, really. Ayu do what you want to do! I think no one could replace her. if she indeed stopped soon, I'd be sad but I could understand it.

[ayumisrael]

Originally Posted by AyUta

No, I really don't think Kumi is going to take her place, she never could anyways. And I agree with v3lun420 about the whole Kumi thing too. My thoughts exactly .

But anyways, I hope Ayu will be alright, she should really take a break. And I'd give my left ear to Ayu in a heartbeat xD.

And one more thing...when Ayu leaves the music scene(Not saying I'd be happy if she did, honestly), I would really want Utada to take her place. She's practically the only person that is capable of taking her place and is a really good person, just like Ayu. They are two of the best people in the world IMO. And I don't think Ayu would mind either, because when they talked on that one show, they got along pretty well and I'm sure both respect each other (which I know Utada does because she said so herself, and I'm pretty sure Ayu does too ) But if Ayu knew Kumi took her place.... >.> UGH! xD But Ayu's not like that, she'd probably just be like "Oh..oh well.."

I always saw ayu and hikki exatly on the same level, they are both huge artists.

What let you think that ayu would stop her career before hikki does? They started almost around the same era, I wish they'll both stop around the same era as well, it will be awesome ^-^.

I don't think someone will ever take ayu's or hikki's place, it always seemed to me like they go hand in hand sitting in the 2 thrones of the j-music, no artist had such influences like ayu and hikki.
I really wouldn't be surprised if ayu has all of hikki's discography and hikki has ayu's.

[Pow!]

Nobody will take Ayu's place!! >_<

Umm, but It seems that Hikki is more famous... in some way,, but not the same with Ayu
they have their own position in J-pop..
So, I had some difficulties when I tried to compare them.

BUT, even she's still empress/queen of J-pop or not, I don't care.
I love her.

[ayumisrael]

Originally Posted by virandrabiramanandikusmanto

Nobody will take Ayu's place!! >_<

Umm, but It seems that Hikki is more famous... in some way,, but not the same with Ayu
they have their own position in J-pop..
So, I had some difficulties when I tried to compare them.

BUT, even she's still empress/queen of J-pop or not, I don't care.
I love her.

They are both popular in the exact amount, sales don't determine your popularity but the people who know about you and trust me all of Japan (or at least most) know who are ayumi hamasaki and Utada Hikaru, I don't think that both are any more famous or popular than the other, they are both at the top of japanese female artists popularity. (Sales is a different thing).

[ayu_ready?]

poor Ayumi

I hope she will manage to work in the future...please