Ayumi is going downhill...

[walt1112]

i don't think ayu is going downhill...just in contrast, i think ayu is preparing for her second leap!

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by RXS

I think Ayumi is just as good as she ever was, or ever will be. She's always doing something different. Her videos change with each cd, to reflect the cd itself usually. At least that's what I think. I think the ONLY thing about Bold&Delicious I didnt like was the yaya gaga part, but after a few listens i had me and my 32 year old sister addicted. Just because something sounds weird in english doesnt mean it sounds that weird to other languages.

The same reason english speaking people make fun of the Nintendo Wii, because wii all know what that sounds like. But i think Wii is a cute name for the system, and once u get past stupid toilet humor, its not a bad name.

But Ayumi will always have loyal followers, and those who change their allegiance every other single, and those who never liked her, until they heard that one specific single. And yes, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. So I admire you for saying her stuff has gone downhill, but I dont agree. I think it has gone maybe lefthill or righthill, but not down. Shes trying new things. Every artist does. Sometimes you make a bad video, or bad song, or you shoot an incredibly ugly CD cover (miss understood). But the poibnt is, Ayumi is an immense breath of fresh air and fun, and she always writes her own lyrics, whether somebody believes she should get a poets award or not, she is still pouring out her heart.

Oh and about the fake crying thingy, i noticed some people when they cry, for real, it looks fake. Not every hug and kiss and shock can be made as wonderful as it is shown on TV. Half of the emotion you see on TV is fake, thats why they call it acting. They ALWAYS exxagerate it to make it more intense, but normal people are not always that intense looking. Some people when they laugh it sounds like some bad actress in a commercial, but it is how they laugh.

Eh. Ayu isn't exactly comparable to the Wii.. >> [I still hate that name LOL~]

[RoboNyanya]

One thing that's not quite on topic that I want to say. Everyone here seems to regard the Startin' PV as a ripoff or just similar to Britney's music videos and therefore tasteless. I personally found it to be a blatant PARODY of American music videos in general as well as Kill Bill. Anyone who's seen the movie knows that Ayu's oufit couldn't have been just a coincidence. It seemed pretty obvious considering Ayu's never tried to be so salacious in her videos either. And the way the guy sitting at the desk takes off the mask and is revealed to be Ayu at the end. It's completely done in jest I say.

[truehappiness]

Eh. A lot of people disregard the overall 'parodiness' and just dismiss it as Ayu-suck. :[

[Coelacanth]

Yeah, that's nonsense. I would hope everyone would know that it's definitely a parody. x_x

[elepop]

I don't think it's a parody. And even if it was one, it's still an extremely bad PV. As I said before, I think some people consider the PV as a parody as an excuse for the many, many, many silly scenes.

[BanFan]

I wouldn't say she's going downhill, it's more like she's just in extremely commercial/super pop mode right now (Yeah, I get that Startin' is a parody, but there are well made parodies out there, and this just is not one of them). Wasn't it noted that people were turned off by the darker and sad videos like alterna and Rainy day? Aftet hearing that it doesn't surprise me that she hasn't made a single ballad all year. But, seeing as she changing styles more often than I change my set I wouldn't be surprised to see her with a jazz band or some crazy tripped out, incredible style next year.

Like every previous album, I'm expecting that with the bad, there will also be good. LOVEppears had some awesome songs, but some I didn't like, such as kanariya and TO BE, and then Duty was absolutely perfect. Next was I am... which was far from perfect or even amazing, then she came back with the incredible pop work RAINBOW. Then she's been kind up and down with Memorial address, MY STORY and (miss)understood. But each time it's something different.

I'm expecting the next album to be terrible, probably her worst, but then the next one after that will probably be one of her best. You really never know with Ayu, because no two albums from her are the same.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by RoboNyanya

One thing that's not quite on topic that I want to say. Everyone here seems to regard the Startin' PV as a ripoff or just similar to Britney's music videos and therefore tasteless. I personally found it to be a blatant PARODY of American music videos in general as well as Kill Bill. Anyone who's seen the movie knows that Ayu's oufit couldn't have been just a coincidence. It seemed pretty obvious considering Ayu's never tried to be so salacious in her videos either. And the way the guy sitting at the desk takes off the mask and is revealed to be Ayu at the end. It's completely done in jest I say.

I agree, it is a parody, it just wasn't done well enough to clearly be one. Also the Kill Bill reference was so random - that seemed almost more like an homage than a parody.

[RoboNyanya]

I agree it shouldn't have been done, nor was it an even amusing parody (my roommate found it to be funny though), but people who deny it wasn't at least an attempt to poke fun at American pop culture are just pretending. It's not a big deal; I just wanted to make a note of it on this topic.

And another thing; if Ayu is going downhill in terms of quality, I don't really care. So long as listening to her stuff is still more enjoyable than most of the other crap out there. I mean, it's always a case of "Well I like some of so-and-so's songs but just those songs and nothing else about so-and-so interests me". Maybe I'm just too picky?

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by BanFan

I wouldn't say she's going downhill, it's more like she's just in extremely commercial/super pop mode right now (Yeah, I get that Startin' is a parody, but there are well made parodies out there, and this just is not one of them). Wasn't it noted that people were turned off by the darker and sad videos like alterna and Rainy day? Aftet hearing that it doesn't surprise me that she hasn't made a single ballad all year. But, seeing as she changing styles more often than I change my set I wouldn't be surprised to see her with a jazz band or some crazy tripped out, incredible style next year.

I'm expecting the next album to be terrible, probably her worst, but then the next one after that will probably be one of her best. You really never know with Ayu, because no two albums from her are the same.

LOL~ She's so varied. However, the next album will probably be balanced between all the genres that she's samples..ish. Usually we never see ballads until the autumn-y time anyway.

I think that as long as Ayu doesn't believe she's going downhill.. then she isn't. Simple as that, really. =3

I feel that she's very consistent in terms of quality no matter what anyone really says. If anything, she really is getting better.. [but her directors that are handed to her need to be shot. ]

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

first of all the crying in hanabi episode 2 didnt look fake at all...when people cry, it isnt always glamorous, especially if its really deep and emotional. what about that crying was fake? id just like you to tell me where it looks fake so i can try to understand what u are talking about becuz to me it doesnt look fake at all

[ayumeg]

Originally Posted by pyro2787

EDIT: Since everyone's asking what I like about Ayumi...here it is:

I like to listen to Ayumi because she is the first jpop artist I got into. Her songs were catchy and her PV's were also different from the ones I've seen before. Also, I liked her because of her improvement since poker face. For example, her voice and vocals improved since poker face and now, I can barely hear any random sqeaks in her performances. Another quality I liked about her is her originality, all her PV's and songs looked different...with the exception of the PV for Startin'. Also, she is someone a person can look up to since after rising into fame, she didn't become ****ty and wear tea cloth sized clothing.

And another thing...yes, I like to listen to Rainy Day, Alterna, and Rainy Day, there were too many songs so I forgot to list them.

And for those who blame me for posting soooo many negative comments, you are blunt! Just because your a fan, doesn't mean you have to like everything she does, or what she wears, eats...etc.

Yukitora says: "If everyone was allowed to post their (often negative) opinions with no reason whatsoever, this part of the forum would have just died ages ago. You could atleast asked for other peoples opinions on how she is going."
"If you want good reponses, atleast be thoughtful."

Is there a rule about not posting opinions? Nope, therefore, I can post my opinions!
Have you've seen a forum die due to opinions?? This is a chat-room! Do you want the whole chat-room to be about gossips? "OMG! like, she has a humungo pimple...and it's like...so gross!" or "ooooh, who is Ayumi dating now???".....People should be able to express there opinion, you don't like it, don't read, simple as that.
And did I say that people can't post their own opinions? No I did not...people, post away! People aren't dumb enough so I don't have to ask them to post their opinions, in fact, they already are.
And I never said I wanted good responses, people have different thoughts, posts what ever you think is right...GOD!
And be thoughtful?...yeah, what's your definition of thoughtful? only saying good stuff about ayumi?
Sorry if this is harsh, but you like to jump into conclusions way to quickly!

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YAY! Jump for joy, you get to read me blab about Ayumi....Alright…you guys don’t have to agree with me, but this is what I think: Ayumi is slowly going downhill!!

K, I’m gonna talk about her songs starting from the song Moments to BLUE BIRD (not talking about all the songs and not going in order btw).

First of all, I thought that Moments was a great song because it sounded different from the rest of the songs that I have listened to before. I also really enjoyed the PV because it had many symbolisms within the music video, it was creative, different, and it suited the song very well.

I also thought the song GAME was also really good mainly because this song has more of a “rock” feel in it. Once again, I liked this song because it sounded different. The PV also made me like the song because this is the 2nd time that I see Ayumi as a “rock star.” Like Moments, the PV was different and fun to watch.

CAROLS was a sad song…the chorus got some getting used to due to the high pitch of her voice, however, it was a nice song. The PV was a bit boring, but matched the song nicely.

“About you” was also good, I remembered being so excited to listen to the song. However, I thought that the video was horrible and cheap. The setting looked like it was done inside a horror house from an amusement park and even though I don’t understand Japanese, I didn’t think the PV suited the song.

Walking Proud was a good song…horrible PV. It was soooo boring and looked cheap.

my name’s WOMEN?good song, weird name. The PV was good because it was different from the stuff that she did before…and if you haven’t noticed, I like different and creative ideas in the PV’s.

Inspire…the PV was nice, I liked her claws, but I didn’t really like the song.
Humming 7/4…yeah, I hated the song and the PV, I won’t even talk about it.

All in all the album My Story was not bad, but not as good as her recent works.

After that, I just stopped having interests in her songs.

Bold and Delicious and Pride was probably the worse songs I’ve ever heard. What was she thinking when she decided to begin the song with yaya gaga dada whoa whoa???? What a “great” first impression I had with this song. Pride was boring. Not only that, I PV’s were horrible; yes she looked good, but horrible and boring. Both the videos for Pride and Bold and Delicious looked a like < looks like she’s running out of ideas.

Fairyland, I didn’t like the song, but I didn’t hate it either. The PV was one of the most beautiful one I’ve seen her done. Cept there were some dumb parts like her standing and staring at the fire looking stoned.

Step you and is this LOVE? was not bad…but once again, I hated the PV’s made for these songs, they were so boring… whatever happened to PV’s like Surreal, M, Moments…etc. where she would dress in something memorable????

Heaven was a nice song…the PV was nice, the fake crying wasn’t as bad as HANABI ~episode II~ …that was the dumbest PV (in my opinion) ever made…she cried from the beginning to the end, if it looked real, the PV would be ok, but nope, the crying was really fake and how she forces her crying gives her a million wrinkles on her face and makes her really unappealing.

In conclusion, I did not like this album, the cover art was also bad.

Yay…Startin’…maybe I was wrong about Ayumi going downhill.......or maybe not…

Although the song was really good and catchy…the PV made me not like the song as much. That was the most unoriginal PV I’ve ever seen. I thought I was watching a Britney Spears video, and I hate Britney. I like Ayumi because she didn’t turn ****ty after rising into fame. This PV was dumb, what’s with the butterfly mask? It made her face look like a frog! Motorcycle scene looked like Kill Bill and Britney’s Toxic fused together. And yea, if she actually danced, the PV wouldn’t be so bad…instead, she decided to have SEXY CONVULSIONS!!!! She just stood there and kicked her legs back and forth and waved her arms around.

I didn’t like the song Born to be but didn’t hate it either because it sounded too similar to her previous songs such as Fairyland. The PV was boring as hell and I could barely see anything since the back lights were on way tooooo dam bright. All I see during the whole PV is yellow light and silhouette of people.

BLUE BIRD…I didn’t like the song, it’s not catchy, sounds like Fairyland. PV was like Fairyland. I didn’t like this PV, looked like she got lazy and decided to film her vacation and turn it into a music video.

Beautiful fighters…the song was ok, I wasn’t excited about this song either. The PV was horrible!!! Come on, she’s like what? 28 or 29 years old and she acts like a teeny bopper during the car scene! It would’ve been better if the dance was more “advanced.” I mean come on, my lil sister could dance better, and she’s a horrible dancer. She could’ve tried a little more dancing like she did in Fairyland. The scene where she’s and her dancers are doing these odd jobs however was interesting and funny.

Hmm…well, to me, she’s going down, I’ve lost interest in her stuff after the My Story album was released. Hopefully I’m wrong since she’s really talented.

Oh yea, no BASHING! These are my opinions, not saying that you have to agree with me.

It's true, statistically Ayumi's popularity has gone down in recent years, but that's to be expected. She's still immensely popular and I suppose it's your own individual opinion that determines whether or not the things she releasing are good. I personally loved HANABI ~episode II~'s PV because she cried all the way through it. It moved me. But that's my opinion.

I agree with several of the things you've said. Sometimes I look at things Ayumi's done and wonder why the hell she did it. But I'm not Ayumi. And apparently some people like what she's putting out, otherwise she wouldn't still be doing considerably well. So I also disagree with some of the things you said. That what makes a fan a fan.

No one has to like every single thing about their favourite singer. It's pretty much whatever Ayumi wants, since she's the one that puts work into what she does.

[Kikaru]

Agreed. Startin' was a parody, just not a very well done parody.

And Banfan, totalliy agreeing with you.

[Rurutia]

Okay, i became an ayu fan during the memorial address era, i bought the album and listened to because of you, and LUVED IT!!! Later on, i Bought i am...and no offense, i do think its an overated album, but its still a good album nonetheless, just not a favorite of mine, duty i thought was very good as well as loveappears, as for a song for xx..........im not even gonna go there

A lot of people have been unhappy with her recent songs, and i must say that i love her new songs. Especially heaven, startin, born to be....etc
But one thing that i do agree on is the quality of her pv's, born to be was absolutely horrid and startin was just.... ................However the song born to be, is so uplifting in my opinion, which is why i like it so much.

The blue bird single was good, but not an excellent one....ladies night anothe r night was spendid........

But i really do think she should attempt rock more, because every single rock song she's released, i have been impressed with (except for humming 7/4).....and especially is this love? (how can some people not like this song?)

In conclusion i dont think her music is falling in quality, its all a matter of opinion......and i think a lot of it has to do with when you became an ayu fan, but then again maybe not, you decide

P.S Rainbow the song Rocks my Socks

[Mad_Cactuar]

Originally Posted by Kikaru

Startin' was a parody, just not a very well done parody.

That's true.

[Pulsar]

Originally Posted by alternarist

i disagree with most of the things you said. its not that ayu is going downhill. its jus that you cannot accept what ayu is doing. ayu has to move on. she cant stick to singing evolution, UNITE! and SURREAL all the time. i feel that MY STORY is her best album as i skipped only 2 - 3 songs. since you have so much complaints about ayu's works. den what do you like about ayu? her nails?

I love her nails! I wish boys can also do those nails thinge..XD

[emi♡]

This thread reminds me of a thread I did not too long ago on the turning points of Ayu's career.

I asked the question: Most people say that they either started to like Ayu, or started to hate Ayu when the RAINBOW album came out, and I have heard many people say that they've known people who either became fans, or, stopped being fans of Ayu's when RAINBOW came out. Does (miss) understood deserve the same diagnosis?

Well, now that (miss) understood is out, and Ayu is making her new songs, with her new style, you all know what her new songs are like. Are we again at this point? Where people will now stop being fans of hers, or become them?

Is this "going downhill" as some agree, and some don't, or let's just call this phase, "Ayu's new era," a new turning point in her career? Is this a phase? Or is there anything even wrong at all? Will some of us leave, as PickleCookies already pointed out, there's no one from before 2003 here, which sadly enough is true...

Opinion, like beauty, is in the Eye of the Beholder. How many of us will still be here in 3 years? How many of us will still be fans of Ayu's in 3 years. Speculation is nothing, it gets us nowhere. Action is everything. What will you do? Leave or Stay or...perhaps you'll just be a watching spectator?

[truehappiness]

I ain't leaving LOL~

[alternarist]

i feel that ayu is constantly surprising me with her works. i think her arena tour 2006 is the best show case of her works in (miss) understood. it is also one of the reason why i am still a fan of ayu because her songs are good! perhaps some songs are boring. but there isnt any indication that she is going downhill! i love ayu forever!!

[walt1112]

Startin' parody...um i don't think so...i think it's just a style which was not firstly created by ayumi...besides i feel much better watching that pv than britney's nasty styles...

repeat: i don't think ayu is going downhill...just in contrast, i think ayu is preparing for her second leap!