1998.04.08 - 2016.04.08 (18 years!)

[あーちゃん]

It's almost 18 years since her debut, what do you think about it and how long you all are still supporting her since debut or later?

[280301]

This year it has nearly been nine years since I first began listening to her, which is pretty scary really. She's been present for most of my formative years, so I think she'll always be special to me.

In terms of what she will release this year, I also think that the new album will be released in April, and I believe it already has a theme and direction - M(A)DE IN TOKYO. She focused on her roots last year, and I think that she is genuinely trying to 'give' something 'back' to her fans at the moment. CDL didn't expand on this theme too well, but I predict that AT this year will, just as what happened with CdM last year.

I'm hoping that we see some major structural changes in her brand this year.

[Delirium-Zer0]

I'd love to see some brand changes... they're long overdue. And Ayu's personality on social media has had all these hints of "yay, we need to see more of this!" like her love for those Monster Prada bags. She's coming across much more "working athletic young normal person!" and less "hime-gyaru" these days most of the time. When she does I'm always like "dangit.... so close!" lol

I agree that she seems to be looking at her roots again, and I hope she does her best to be a Japanese pop star again... The western aspects of her music & apperance always helped make her stand out before, but she really leaned WAY too far in that direction in recent years.

I also think she needs to find more inspiration in more places, both visually and musically. Back in the day it felt like she was inspired by lots of different things, but now it seems like she hasn't watched enough movies or TV shows, or listened to a whole lot of music besides her own these days XD

[njanjayrp]

It's been a bit over 10 years for me. I wish for her to simply keep doing what she is doing. I don't care if she is working with RedOne or whoever if I end up liking it.

I only wish her videos would be a bit more creative with A ONE she went a bit into the right direction, still nowhere near her golden, pre 2007 days.

[pimenta]

This year it's 10 years since she became my absolute favorite singer. I started listening to random songs of her from about 2003, but it was only on 2006 I actually started following her newer releases and became a total fan, so that's the year I usually count. 10 years... can't believe it's been this long, it's only a little less than half of my life!

Originally Posted by あーちゃん

It's almost 18 years since her debut, what do you think about it and how long you all are still supporting her since debut or later?
(I think, she'll probably release new album on a debut date as well.)

Nope, April 8th is not a Wednesday, not a good day to release an album.

[Delirium-Zer0]

Hasn't stopped Ayu from releasing on 1/1 or 4/8 when it wasn't a wednesday before. In 2008 it was a Tuesday but that's when she released Mirrorcle World for example.

[pimenta]

^ Tuesday is actually a pretty good day to release. I'm not sure why artist don't release on Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays (probably an Oricon thing), it actually gives them an extra day on the charts compared to the other releases... And Mirrorcle World was a 10th anniversary single, so it makes sense to release on the anniversary day no matter what. She also released a bunch of stuff on weird week days for the 15th, but for the 18th? She could, but I don't see the point...

[あーちゃん]

^ I didn't check the calendar date, you're correct. I totally forgot about that.

[orbitalaspect]

Ayu's 2016 release will be my tenth Ayu album. I've been around since just after BLUE BIRD's release. I still remember sitting with my friend watching the first clip of Born To Be... and thinking, fuck, that's bright.

My very first song was Moments. I remember being shown the videos from (miss)understood and I didn't think them very memorable at the time. My friend asked me what I'd like to hear, and I asked how well Ayumi's ballads were. Cue "Moments". I watched the PV more than a dozen times that day. When Secret came out in November 2006, we opened up my bedroom window and blasted JEWEL and momentum. Secret was also my introduction to an Enka song, and I spent an afternoon learning about Sukiyaki from the 1960s. (Enka still isn't my thing, but there are occasional songs I think are nice.)

The last album my friend and I shared was Love songs. From what I know, he was not heard anything from FIVE, Party Queen, LOVE again, Colours, A ONE, or sixxxxxx. And the last single he celebrated with me was Sunrise / Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~.

On occasion, I call him and talk about Ayu's upcoming stuff, and he says the same generic reply about Ayu not being interesting anymore.

I bitch about Ayu's choices sometimes, but she was where J-Pop and I took off. Without Ayu, I'd have never heard of Utada, Koda, MIKA, Otsuka Ai, Nishino Kana, Namie Amuro, and the list continues on and on. Though Ayu was not the first J-Pop artist I ever heard (that was Nana Katase's TELEPATHY, which I downloaded back when Napster was still around), she's been and still remains the only non-American artist I follow regardless of whether I like her releases.

[Delirium-Zer0]

It's so weird, I feel like you're one of those people who's been around WAY longer, and then I remember that BLUE BIRD was ten years ago x_X!

Yeah I'm at year 16 of my fandom.... My ayu fandom can drive in the USA now. That's just... that's just weird.

I'm proud of myself though. I'm not usually that good at committing to anything. XD

[rainbow_smile]

Wow, I've been an Ayu fan for 7 years already

I downloaded the Mirrorcle World single sometime in autumn 2008, because I was quite into anime at that time and been listening to some OSTs, so I decided to try some jpop. I literally downloaded the first thing I found in the jpop section of some torrent site lol

Who would've thought that Ayu would become such a huge part of my life? Definitely not me I always become so emotional when I think about how I discovered Ayu and where I am now. And the Mirrorcle World lyrics have become so much more special for me.

She's still my #1 favourite artist, way ahead of everyone else. She's the only artist I spend so much money on lol And she's the only one I would pay a fanclub fee for.

I still like a lot of her releases. Not all of them, of course. My fandom hasn't faltered the slightest. And I don't follow her blindly, it just so happens that I still have some emotional connection to what she does and she always seems to hit the right spot for me.

[axmish87]

Well my Ayu fandom started in 2005 thanks to njanjayrp. I remember very vividly that first video that i saw was Is this LOVE? and evolution song was on one of the many CD's that Nem burned for me back then��.
Ayu is still my favorite singer even though i at times listen to other female singers and i seemingly drift away from Ayu there is something that always pulls me back to her and to her music so i think that she will remain my favorite for a long time.

[Andrenekoi]

A fan since 2005, but know her since 2003. Love Songs and Party Queen are her two albums I like the best and IMO her tours from 2010 to now, minus AT13, are her best live performances to date.

I miss a bolder sound, but IMO she is at her peak as a performer, so, I'm pretty satisfied.

[koumori]

I've been a fan since 2005, so eleven years this year. Crazy how time has passed by... Ayu has seen me through high school, early college, moving out, moving around the country, and then moving internationally... her albums, her concepts, and her general legacy has been the soundtrack to so many important times in my life. It is rare that I can listen to an Ayu song without it bringing back some memory from over the years.

What I'd like to see from Ayu personally is a bit of a rebrand... I feel she's constantly caught between 'finding her roots' (like in A ONE) and then being very inspired by youthful Western trends (COLORS) and whilst the most important thing is for her to be happy with what shes's putting out, I would like her to be confident enough to explore new sounds again. I am... was unique to me because I had genuinely never heard anything like that before, and there was nothing else like that around, and the same goes for Duty and RAINBOW. Ayu was strong in her message and had a clear idea of what she wanted to put out, and I feel like that is missing in her career today. Whether she generally feels disconnected because of the way her life has changed or she simply doesn't feel the passion for music in the same way, I don't know... but there was an eagerness and rawness in her style back then that I would want to see again. I do know people have enjoyed her recent work and that's nothing against that at all - I've just turned into the stereotype of an older fan, wanting what first made me catch onto her music! Perhaps it's just not possible, and that's why I give her new stuff a try with an open mind each time.

Otherwise, simply her being happy and active. I love that she's still doing her traditional tours and CDL and that she seems so happy when off the stage as well. I'm always surprised when I remember she's literally gone her whole career without an extended break and every year I expect one, and she announces something new each time. I feel lucky to have followed an artist so dedicated to her work, my opinion on individual releases aside. It's never boring to be a fan of Ayu.

[Ryusei]

Been a fan since 2014 lol fresh fan here. I just always saw everyone giving her sh*t for everything she did so I decided to check her most recent work which was Feel the love at the time lol and I actually jammed to it (still do) so I decided to check out more and now I love her and her music. And I was even more intrigued by her after finding out about her backstory with her childhood and how she didn't really enjoy singing at first and just kinda did it.. and yet she created such masterpieces in her early days. Would really have loved to have been a fan since longer but I only listen to japanese music generally since like 2012 so.. whatever I'm a fan now and I don't intend on not being one in the future tbh

[Nu-NRG]

Is scary to think I've been a fan since the release of YOU o.O time sure flies..

[aliceshields]

Been fans since A Best (a gift from X) released, 15 years already o-O

[orbitalaspect]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

It's so weird, I feel like you're one of those people who's been around WAY longer, and then I remember that BLUE BIRD was ten years ago x_X!

Yeah I'm at year 16 of my fandom.... My ayu fandom can drive in the USA now. That's just... that's just weird.

I'm proud of myself though. I'm not usually that good at committing to anything. XD

On AHS, I've been here since Secret. I previously had a different account that I deleted after a rough time on these forums. But this will be my 10th year with AHS, 10th year with Ayu. I know you and SO many other people are still around, but my gosh did I tear up a little when that thread went around about members who aren't here anymore that people miss. We're still in this!

I have to share that surprise with you. There isn't actually another artist I've respected even when I thought their release was pure shit. Ayu, however, I've listened to everything, even NOTHING FROM NOTHING and that dreaded Moon album from 1995. What I miss today is that similar feeling of getting new music round-the-clock each year. It may not have seemed like much, but I always loved the satisfaction of ticking off #45, #46, #47... as Ayu released singles. Ahh... nostalgia...

As an aside, I want to say I was listening to Suzuki Ami's infinity 18, and it reminded me of how happy I am that autotune has not been a characteristic of Ayu's career. She may be off key and have poor form on her early releases, but she never tried to mask bad singing with autotune.

[voltron]

I first started listening to Ayu around the time Kanariya was released (I remember it as being new at the time, but it may have been slightly old at that point -- if anything, maybe a few months old). It's hard to believe I've been a fan for that long, and I haven't really had a real "down" period with her. I've had periods where I've liked her albums more or less, but I've always at least been drawn to singles and some album tracks. In a lot of ways, I feel like we've grown up together (she's about 6.5 years older than me), which is a really unique feeling as opposed to other artists I've liked.

In the end, I don't think I will ever completely dislike a project that she puts out, but there are certainly things I'd like to see. I Am... just is her ultimate album to me. Even listening to it today, it sounds so much more fresh than a lot of current J-Pop. At the time it was just so unique, and fresh, and forward thinking. I'd like to see more of her leading the trends than following them (slightly delayed at that).

I'm also torn about her concerts. I love that she takes touring so seriously, and that she's constantly trying to create a bigger, better show and improve her artistry. Around New Year's, I decided to watch CDL 2000-2001. It was her first CDL, and it was pretty no frills. This is probably her first concert that I had watched when I started liking her, and even being so young, inexperienced, and lacking polish...she had such a presence. I think she still has a great presence, but it sometimes gets lots on the business of the stage. Having seen her in last year's TA Tour, I think she really just shines in a unique way in a more scaled back offering. So I'd like to see her balance the two more, I think.

[Tomoyo]

I joined AHS 11 years ago in October, and I had kind of a rough start because I was an idiot child and made this MASSIVE request without anything to trade with and expected people to do it for me lol, fast forward to years later I understood how annoying I seemed. I'm just glad people still accepted me into this community.

I've been a fan since 2003's Memorial address, so it's been about 13 years for me. I remember that Ayu was one of my first Jpop Artists, Although Rikki was technically my first because that was the first Japanese song I had ever heard that I was in love with. And for the last 13 years Ayu has continued to be my favorite artist. I may not be as excited for her releases as I use to, and with A ONE I expected it to be far more epic than it was. I will still support her for as long as she is in the industry, because I know i will always like at least half the album.

The first album I ever purchased was I am... (2002), so I think that will always hold a special place in my heart. But my favorite Ayu album ever was probably (miss)understood (2006) because that was when i like HARDCORE got into my fandom, and my favorite songs ever are tied between Boys & Girls (1999), and SURREAL (2000).

The only songs I have ever flat-out hated from her are: from your letter (1999), Close to you (2002), and The GIFT (2015). Although my name's WOMEN (2004) irritates me and I can really only watch it during the lives, and that is because I don't skip anything during her concerts. Out of 17 Studio albums and 5 mini albums (i'm excluding Pre-Avex), over two hundred songs, only disliking 4 is a pretty amazing thing to me. I don't care who Ayu works with, and I don't really care what direction she takes. I will support her in the future probably until the day she stops making music. Ayu has been such a big influence in my life that the thought of not having her music to look forward too, makes the world seem pretty dark.