New single 'オヒアの木' composed by Kazuhito Kikuchi out now!

[ExodusUK]

I love Anything For You..at least something actually happens in the songs..the other ballads from around that time and since just plod along in MOR land.

[hud]

Originally Posted by Earth_maiden

I don't know why Anything For You isn't more popular, its probably one of my favourite ballads of the last few albums. Maybe people just don't like the long run time? It clocks in at 7 minutes.

the length can be a problem for some people but I like some tracks that are 10-13min so that's not a problem for me lol. I also love the key change in the end and the chorus is very very beautiful.

[KittyKathy]

I love both songs, but I like Walk more.

[*Petit*]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Yeah, a lot of the acts that are pretty "hot" right now are either groups or male soloists. There's a few artists that have been making slight waves and are sort of considered J-pop darlings by the overseas community but none of them quite have the impact Ayu did/does.



With the presence of Dave Rodgers, I wonder if there'll be a Eurobeat flair to some upcoming music. Daisuke Suzuki also has done a lot of that kind of "hi NRG" type feel stuff and he was present too.

I love eurobeat, but hope Ayu doesn't decide to release a eurobeat single like Da Pump's USA. Even if I LOVE that song, it's basically a novelty / comedy act that doesn't go with Ayu's image. Although it would be so funny to see Ayu dancing around stage screaming COME ON BABY AMERICA!

[Chris85]

Originally Posted by Toniayu123

Who else wants more like Terminal? A bop. A masterpiece. Hope she brings something in this vein for the upcoming projects.

Connected is sooo much better. Terminal gets on my nerves, sounds depressing and I dislike her screamy vocals.

Originally Posted by KittyKathy

I love both songs, but I like Walk more.

Same.

[Toniayu123]

Originally Posted by Chris85

Connected is sooo much better. Terminal gets on my nerves, sounds depressing and I dislike her screamy vocals.

Blasphemy.

I also prefer walk but both songs are beautiful. Now that I think about it, even ayu’s worst song (what is forever love btw) is better than other’s whole discographies imo lol Damn Avex and her secret plans, this period of Ayu’s “hitus” made my almost lost interest in Ayu spike strongly again.

[truehappiness]

Terminal and Connected are pretty even IMO. I'm excited either way for w/e comes next even if it does end up being more midtempo stuff.

[relmy]

Originally Posted by DavidChaiLatte

I think all in all the general consensus here is that she should fire Yuta Nakano and hire someone who’s a tad bit more sonically adventurous. It’d be cool to see her collaborate with Clarence Clarity tbh but still with compositions from Japanese composers. Like I’d absolutely PAY to hear it.

Isn't he Rina Sawayama's collaborator? Alterlife is a perfect update of the early Ayu style.

I feel like all my favourite recent songs are people inspired by Ayu and taking parts of her sound.

I really like both A ONE and Made in Japan, but six and TROUBLE have that indestinct mid-tempo sound for me. I've only listened to Ohia no Ki a few times because it's more of the same.

[summerain]

Originally Posted by Chris85

Connected is sooo much better. Terminal gets on my nerves, sounds depressing and I dislike her screamy vocals.

That's why I like Terminal to begin with, the sense of urgency and the stress she puts on her voice. It fits so well with the message she's trying to convey. And the verses of the song are pretty soothing and not screamy, so there's some dynamic going on.

[channy]

Originally Posted by Evolution7/4

Ok then we can call it Neo-classic Ayu lol

Neo-classic Ayu. I like that term

For me the "classic Ayu era" ended with the release of "GUILTY" but quite a lot of Her newer songs do still appeal to me, nonetheless.

I for one didn't like "Ohia no Ki" due to its very generic and uninspired nature. However, there are many songs from Ayu that are just as generic but for some reason I can't get enough from them. I'm still having a hard time to enjoy Ayu's more mature vocals, though, so this may cast a better light on older songs for me in the first place.

[truehappiness]

Ohia no Ki hit a million views on YT! Here's to a million more perhaps~

[njanjayrp]

It also has 100 000+ plays on Spotify!

[truehappiness]

Nice! I think that should go up too after Natsu no Trouble.

[hud]

I think it's her fastest song to get to 100k on Spotify.

[Cahz-]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Ohia no Ki hit a million views on YT! Here's to a million more perhaps~

And the other version with comments allowed have 76k views as of now

[truehappiness]

Yeah that's the YouTube Music one. It's pretty nice that they have that as an option, seems to be dependent on what "isn't" available with a video already for her older stuff. Their system for adding songs to that is really bizarre but it works.

[RealLight]

I know it's out of the Top 20 on the Oricon charts, but anyone know how much it sold this week?

[jbrat2219]

This is great news! I'm glad fans in Japan are receptive to the song!

[mi|kshake]

Originally Posted by ExodusUK

I love Anything For You..at least something actually happens in the songs..the other ballads from around that time and since just plod along in MOR land.

Yeah, I agree! This discussion here has made me realise that Ayu's ballads over the past few years have been...serviceable but she's capable of so much more!

[truehappiness]

I thought she had pretty good ones since 2015. Out of control, Shape of Love, Breakdown, Sorrows, You are the only one, Last minute... for all of the ones that may have been lacking, there was also one that was stellar too.