[Charts & Rankings] The Official Oricon Thread of ~A BEST 15th Anniversary Edition~ - Page 6 - Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai
Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai
· Ayu's Official Site · Ayu's twitter · Ayu's YouTube · masa's translations · Misa-chan's translations ·


Go Back   Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai > Ayumi Hamasaki Forums > Ayu Music News

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #101  
Old 7th April 2016, 08:10 AM
truehappiness's Avatar
truehappiness truehappiness is offline
ANGEL'S SONG H-Initiate
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Anaheim, California
Posts: 35,493
I don't think Japan had those criticisms as much as Western fans did.

I'd say Japan really enjoyed sixxxxxx, A ONE, LOVE again, and Love songs, but were extremely confused by Colours.

Main thing hurting Ayu is a lack of promotion. Like, most of Japan probably has no idea she even has a new release coming unless they're actively looking or in the shops when it's promoted after the fact.

Last edited by truehappiness; 7th April 2016 at 08:13 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #102  
Old 7th April 2016, 12:06 PM
rikku1994's Avatar
rikku1994 rikku1994 is offline
POWDER SNOW Initiate
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 384
Quote:
Originally Posted by truehappiness View Post
I don't think Japan had those criticisms as much as Western fans did.

Main thing hurting Ayu is a lack of promotion. Like, most of Japan probably has no idea she even has a new release coming unless they're actively looking or in the shops when it's promoted after the fact.
I just wish she would work twice as hard when it comes to new music, like, I don't even care if it would be an all ballad album or EDM, I just don't want her new songs to be sooo stale.

I mean, if she can put a lot of effort with her tours, why not with new music?
__________________


praying for your souls

Reply With Quote
  #103  
Old 7th April 2016, 12:12 PM
LONJJONG LONJJONG is offline
Far away Initiate
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Singapore / Indonesia
Posts: 1,305
#36 today!
__________________
Reply With Quote
  #104  
Old 7th April 2016, 03:36 PM
visionfactory's Avatar
visionfactory visionfactory is offline
ANGEL'S SONG Initiate
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Chile
Posts: 5,426
Quote:
Originally Posted by orbitalaspect View Post
I think Ayumi's had consistent criticism over the last five years that has contributed a lot to her sharp fall in sales:

* Working with producers who don't understand her sound very well.
* Writing songs that don't build on her talent as a songwriter (i.e., low effort songs compared to her work from as recent as NEXT LEVEL or RnRC)
* Under-promoting or not promoting her work
* Not building on her prior work in a meaningful way (i.e., doing what she wants vs. at least taking into consideration what fans want to hear and see)

Until 2010-2011, there were occasional criticisms of her actual work, but now it's an every-release bit. With Ls, people criticized the lackluster album tracks. With PQ, people criticized the amateur sound. With La, people criticized how boring the album was, and why she couldn't at least pick an original title. With Colours, it sounded like a blob of songs put together like a mix CD, no cohesion. With AO, people criticized the staleness of almost every track. Ayumi has also been highly criticized for low effort PVs since 2010. The last PVs she invested any significant work in were the PVs from Love songs and FIVE.

So, I criticize because Ayumi is still not the norm, and she will never be "the norm" of Japanese Pop. She's just not giving it her best these days. And we all know she could do a little more to promote her releases, or maybe take an extra month to work on the next album, or maybe work a little harder to make her tours and CDLs different from each other. But she's been cutting corners for the last several years, and it's had an effect. Just like Koda has cut corners and been hurt by it as well.
I agree on that she's been cutting corners sometimes (Like A BEST release they would have made a bigger promotion or better bonus material) but you also have to take in count that ayu is a product and she has like 200+ songs (I mean which solo artist nowadays has 200+ songs and doesn't bore people?) I think a big part of decrease in sales is that people DON'T NEED more songs from ayu, she already has her gems in that number-.
__________________

My first J-pop cover album is out on Spotify! Please check it out!
Reply With Quote
  #105  
Old 8th April 2016, 01:20 PM
Yukitora's Avatar
Yukitora Yukitora is offline
BEST Initiate
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,732
^actually i think it's more to do with budget. Ayu still has to make a profit. Every year she brings in less and with every new contract ayu herself becomes more expensive.

Ayu at her peak has amazing quality work because she was bringing in the money. We've been spoilt with ayu.
Reply With Quote
  #106  
Old 8th April 2016, 02:03 PM
pimenta's Avatar
pimenta pimenta is offline
winding road H-Initiate
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Brazil
Posts: 2,610
Quote:
Originally Posted by truehappiness View Post
I don't think Japan had those criticisms as much as Western fans did.

I'd say Japan really enjoyed sixxxxxx, A ONE, LOVE again, and Love songs, but were extremely confused by Colours.

Main thing hurting Ayu is a lack of promotion. Like, most of Japan probably has no idea she even has a new release coming unless they're actively looking or in the shops when it's promoted after the fact.
This.

Promotion makes a huge difference, and she basically vanished from promoting on TV for a couple of years. Whenever she does promote on TV lately she tends to receive positive feedback from the Japanese public. Unfortunately she doesn't do it often and for a couple of years the only thing the general public new about her was her personal life issues that the media was turning into scandals, not her actual musical releases that weren't being promoted anywhere, and that damaged her popularity.
Last year, though, she seemed to promote a bit more and it did seem to help, A ONE and sixxxxxx where well received by the Japanese public, but she has needs to keep having good promotion to be able to keep improving her sales and popularity.
__________________

Reply With Quote
  #107  
Old 8th April 2016, 03:07 PM
//ABEST's Avatar
//ABEST //ABEST is offline
Who... Initiate
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Finland
Posts: 1,165
like it was all because she doesn't wanna promote. maybe tv shows doesn't need / care about her performing on their shows since she's not on top anymore

maybe it's all of these reasons, we can only wait and see
Reply With Quote
  #108  
Old 8th April 2016, 07:25 PM
js_surrealism js_surrealism is offline
TO BE Initiate
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Singapore
Posts: 570
Quote:
Originally Posted by truehappiness View Post
I don't think Japan had those criticisms as much as Western fans did.

I'd say Japan really enjoyed sixxxxxx, A ONE, LOVE again, and Love songs, but were extremely confused by Colours.

Main thing hurting Ayu is a lack of promotion. Like, most of Japan probably has no idea she even has a new release coming unless they're actively looking or in the shops when it's promoted after the fact.
Actually, is there any proof of this? Like album reviews, Japanese forum posts, that kind of thing. I know a lot of people seem to take this for granted but it's always felt like a bit of an assumption here that people make...
Reply With Quote
  #109  
Old 8th April 2016, 07:48 PM
Andrenekoi's Avatar
Andrenekoi Andrenekoi is offline
HAPPY ENDING Initiate
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Brazil
Posts: 6,930
I had collected some japanese reviews of her releases once and made a thread, but no one really cared xD

I do believe Ayu went through a exposition hiatus for some years as a way to rest her image without stopping from releasing music.
__________________

http://stan-wars.com/1989.html


I live around AHS (Ayumi Haters Sekai)

Reply With Quote
  #110  
Old 8th April 2016, 08:21 PM
attractive nausea's Avatar
attractive nausea attractive nausea is offline
ayu-ro mix 2 Initiate
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: France
Posts: 1,998
^ Awww, where is it? I must have missed it.
__________________


arena tour 2016 ~M(A)DE IN JAPAN~ @ Yoyogi : 08/07 & 09/07
arena tour 2018 ~POWER of MUSIC 20th anniversary~ @ Osaka-jô hall : 21/07 & 22/07
COUNTDOWN LIVE 2023-2024 A ~A COMPLETE 25~ @ Yoyogi : 30/12 & 31/12

浜崎あゆみ ~since 2009~
tumblr ; last.fm

Reply With Quote
  #111  
Old 8th April 2016, 09:05 PM
Andrenekoi's Avatar
Andrenekoi Andrenekoi is offline
HAPPY ENDING Initiate
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Brazil
Posts: 6,930
^

People actually did care... but mostly to say they don't need reviews because they are bullshit or to post blog reviews in English xD http://ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=113326

I remember I was planning to make more threads with other reviews from other albums (those sites have more reviews from her stuff if I remember right), but as this didn't work out I just gave up.
__________________

http://stan-wars.com/1989.html


I live around AHS (Ayumi Haters Sekai)

Reply With Quote
  #112  
Old 8th April 2016, 10:00 PM
truehappiness's Avatar
truehappiness truehappiness is offline
ANGEL'S SONG H-Initiate
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Anaheim, California
Posts: 35,493
Quote:
Originally Posted by js_surrealism View Post
Actually, is there any proof of this? Like album reviews, Japanese forum posts, that kind of thing. I know a lot of people seem to take this for granted but it's always felt like a bit of an assumption here that people make...
Well, you could tell they were a little confused just based on sales of Colours IMO. Usually I like to check out Amazon.jp reviews even though sometimes they skew towards a certain opinion, and usually they're positive. Also I am factoring in some TA comments I'd read or comments on Twitter I saw during release periods.
Reply With Quote
  #113  
Old 8th April 2016, 11:31 PM
tokyoxjapanxfan's Avatar
tokyoxjapanxfan tokyoxjapanxfan is offline
SURREAL H-Initiate
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Tokyo
Posts: 8,677
No one knows she's actually still releasing things. Like, at all. She has no presence in the media sphere. One performance isn't enough, either. Music Station's target is teenagers, tbh. Most young adults aren't home at 8 pm on Friday night lol.

Also my most common experience with Ayu is I always hear "Aww I used to love her. Is she still releasing stuff? Aoi sora o tomo ni ikou yo~ that was such a good song!"

Ayu's always in past tense lol
__________________

"Remember, don't let others dictate your music taste. If you like whatever you're listening to, keep listening to it."


Last edited by tokyoxjapanxfan; 8th April 2016 at 11:42 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #114  
Old 8th April 2016, 11:50 PM
ayumisrael's Avatar
ayumisrael ayumisrael is offline
Lelio Protector

 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Israel
Posts: 16,036
Yeah I gotta agree with this since every Japanese person I talk to (and I talked with a lot on the last 2 months) asks the same question. "Is she still making music?" and sometimes "She is not on tv anymore". Like a broken record.
Reply With Quote
  #115  
Old 9th April 2016, 12:50 AM
truehappiness's Avatar
truehappiness truehappiness is offline
ANGEL'S SONG H-Initiate
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Anaheim, California
Posts: 35,493
I actually heard similar things around 2008/2009 and she was still promoting a fair bit then but nowhere near as invisible as now. "You like Ayu? Oh, I loved BLUE BIRD! Ayu was so good. Does she still make new music?" is basically what you'll get.

A wide good tie-in and a run on promotional circuit would get her back in the public eye, but I don't think she even wants that anymore.

Also it's been pretty bad that when people do hear of her, it's because of some drama or something that has nothing to really do with music.
Reply With Quote
  #116  
Old 9th April 2016, 01:10 AM
Andrenekoi's Avatar
Andrenekoi Andrenekoi is offline
HAPPY ENDING Initiate
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Brazil
Posts: 6,930
I believe she reduced her exposure as a way to rest her image (she had almost a whole decade of hyper exposition after all), but as she still sparkes interest on the general public her personal life, that always was on a way or another fuel to tabloids didn't had her music to make a counter point.
__________________

http://stan-wars.com/1989.html


I live around AHS (Ayumi Haters Sekai)

Reply With Quote
  #117  
Old 9th April 2016, 04:31 AM
orbitalaspect's Avatar
orbitalaspect orbitalaspect is offline
appears Initiate
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Lakewood, WA (AKA The Real Hell on Earth)
Posts: 1,076
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrenekoi View Post
I believe she reduced her exposure as a way to rest her image (she had almost a whole decade of hyper exposition after all), but as she still sparkes interest on the general public her personal life, that always was on a way or another fuel to tabloids didn't had her music to make a counter point.
I'm not sure if I agree about it being to rest her image as much as I think it has to do with her being a "product" of avex. Over the last 15 years, she's largely done everything in her power to not be avex's sugar momma, and I think her dropping out of TV promo and other stuff was just another step.

It's sad though because it comes off like she doesn't realize people who like her aren't necessarily going to hunt her down to find out what she's doing. It's also sad because it waters down the experience of being a fan. Instead of the excitement of CMs and singles with PVs and TV performances and talk show interviews, we just sit around waiting for news. Not so exciting.
__________________

-> <-
Reply With Quote
  #118  
Old 9th April 2016, 04:39 AM
pimenta's Avatar
pimenta pimenta is offline
winding road H-Initiate
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Brazil
Posts: 2,610
Quote:
Originally Posted by tokyoxjapanxfan View Post
No one knows she's actually still releasing things. Like, at all. She has no presence in the media sphere. One performance isn't enough, either. Music Station's target is teenagers, tbh. Most young adults aren't home at 8 pm on Friday night lol.

Also my most common experience with Ayu is I always hear "Aww I used to love her. Is she still releasing stuff? Aoi sora o tomo ni ikou yo~ that was such a good song!"

Ayu's always in past tense lol
Well, this pretty much sums up the issue.

If she wants higher sales (which I'm not sure she cares tbh), she seriously needs promotion. Sometimes I see people taking for granted here that her lower sales mean people didn't like the release, while in reality the main reason is that most of the general public didn't even know about it...
__________________

Reply With Quote
  #119  
Old 9th April 2016, 07:44 AM
js_surrealism js_surrealism is offline
TO BE Initiate
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Singapore
Posts: 570
Slightly off discussion but I thought this would have been a fabulous way to do re-releases:

http://petapixel.com/2016/04/08/phil...reshot-covers/

He went and reshot ALL of his original album covers in the exact same style.
Reply With Quote
  #120  
Old 9th April 2016, 10:20 AM
mizuki-7's Avatar
mizuki-7 mizuki-7 is offline
ayu trance Initiate
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: France, Lorraine
Posts: 2,133
To me it's more fans that are bothered about things like exposure, promotion, sales etc... than herself ! Fans really need to do a closeup at how her carrer was from 1998 to 2008 ! She was everywhere without rest and I think she earned the right to stop all these things and live her life while continuing her career with less exposure !

I really think that if she cared about it she definitely would take steps concerning these issues ! On a side note she has always been very aware of the state of her career to begin with so she truly know that for most of people she is a singer from the past and there isn't so much she can do about it !
__________________

My Website Twitter Last.Fm
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
浜崎 あゆみ, 浜崎あゆみ, a best, oricon

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT +1. The time now is 02:17 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.