COUNTDOWN LIVE 2011-2012 A ~HOTEL Love songs~ information thread

[perfectodub]

for all the comments, pictures, set list and reviews this concert looks more boring than CDL 10-11

[YUKARI]

Originally Posted by Lady_Eowyn

On the other hand, sometime ago you mentioned she might got her voice deeper because of smoking, and back then i didn't make sense to me, but since i sing opera now and recently got an otitis when i went to Chicago, i'm afraid to say you're probably right. I had the typical symptoms of a cold and i realized i was totally unable to sing. I couldn't catch my breath for a long time and force my throat to sing is painful yet. I've heard her in studio versions and her lung capacity is very short, especially for a singer. I REALLY HOPE she's not smoking anymore, for her career's sake.

+1

Thanks God, I'm not the only who thinks so

[perfectodub]

and what about the girl of portishead band?
she usually smoked while singing on stage, ahd her voice was amazing!

[Coelacanth]

Originally Posted by Lady_Eowyn

On the other hand, sometime ago you mentioned she might got her voice deeper because of smoking, and back then i didn't make sense to me, but since i sing opera now and recently got an otitis when i went to Chicago, i'm afraid to say you're probably right. I had the typical symptoms of a cold and i realized i was totally unable to sing. I couldn't catch my breath for a long time and force my throat to sing is painful yet. I've heard her in studio versions and her lung capacity is very short, especially for a singer. I REALLY HOPE she's not smoking anymore, for her career's sake.

I've yet to see any concrete evidence that Ayu ever smoked. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that most of the damage to her voice was done by using improper vocal technique throughout most of her career and also singing under conditions where her throat was already under enormous stress. I know she had bronchitis or something during CDL 02-03 - which I'm sure permanently messed up her voice. But even before that when she was promoting Voyage, her throat sounded like it was in poor shape, probably from general overwork/straining.

[Kesteral]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

https://twitter.com/#!/go_mi_sweet/s...19787060948992

It appears that GO-MI has graduated from Ayu's troupe.

No! This is terrible news! GO-MI has always been my favourite.

Really not feeling the costumes this year. I wonder if any are the costumes they put on hold from HLS, or if they're still keeping those for the 2012 tour. Admittedly I'm always more interested in what Ayu wears in every show (terrible costume nerd). Maybe they'll grow on me when I see the video.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Lady_Eowyn

On the other hand, sometime ago you mentioned she might got her voice deeper because of smoking, and back then i didn't make sense to me, but since i sing opera now and recently got an otitis when i went to Chicago, i'm afraid to say you're probably right. I had the typical symptoms of a cold and i realized i was totally unable to sing. I couldn't catch my breath for a long time and force my throat to sing is painful yet. I've heard her in studio versions and her lung capacity is very short, especially for a singer. I REALLY HOPE she's not smoking anymore, for her career's sake.

Yeah, I believe it is possibly due to a combination of smoking/drinking; alcohol can ruin your voice too if not careful. But every person is different. I'm always amazed at Hyde who is a heavy drinker and smoker yet he has managed to have great vocals for decades now. I would say that is very much the exception though and not the rule. As to how much she actually drinks or smokes now, who knows. Maybe she quit, maybe she still does it. Honestly by now though, I'm kind of used to this singing voice. That's why I don't ever really say that her vocals are great/excellent etc., because there are certainly artists that have better live vocals. So now I'll just say if they were good or bad for her. These vocals were about her average I would say. The only performance that I really wanted better vocals on was Rainbow - it's like she lost that soft part of her voice.

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

I've yet to see any concrete evidence that Ayu ever smoked. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that most of the damage to her voice was done by using improper vocal technique throughout most of her career and also singing under conditions where her throat was already under enormous stress. I know she had bronchitis or something during CDL 02-03 - which I'm sure permanently messed up her voice. But even before that when she was promoting Voyage, her throat sounded like it was in poor shape, probably from general overwork/straining.

Her best vocal years were from late 02 to early 06, so if anything, that bronchitis had a good effect.

She was photographed with a cigarette in her hand, so I'm fairly certain she smoked at some point. Plus, A LOT of Japanese smoke, not just heavy smokers, but a huge amount of casual smokers. So, it really wouldn't surprise me if she is/was a smoker.

Oh and one more good thing I thought about the show: her boobage looked good; not saggy, haha.

[Bigtop]

Originally Posted by Ashen Twilight

omg she needs long hair right now.

Agreed

[LONJJONG]

Wow she sang how beautiful you are.
Sounds interesting!

[*hearT_Place*]

No more Peco...to my surprise, I'm slightly sad about that. She'd been growing on me these past few years.

But...but...GO-MI!!! He'd been there since her very first concert tour, right? I can't believe he's gone! Best of luck to him, though!

[truehappiness]

Yeah, GO-MI has been around since concert tour 2000!

[Coelacanth]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Her best vocal years were from late 02 to early 06, so if anything, that bronchitis had a good effect.

Lol speak for yourself.

That period had some of Ayu's worst moments vocally imo (but at the same time, some of her best lol) and started her up with the cutesy nasally singing and heavy vibrato:

-Ending part of RAINBOW
-ANGEL'S SONG
-HONEY
-Humming
-Greatful days
-CAROLS (I wonder if anyone noticed how nasally the studio version is... especially the verses)
-Voyage (bothersome vibrato, although more controlled than it is currently)
-AT '03-'04 had disappointing vocals compared to the flawless AT'05.

Bottom-line: she's an inconsistent vocalist. On the same album she'll sing like crap on one song and sing beautifully on another.

[TITANIC]

uhh I hate this setlist

[HilaryDuffFanboy]

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

Wait, Timmy is singing backup on MOON? How is that working out?

And oh god, Party Queen sounds like it could be some hot mess kpop song.

It's not serious/edgy enough to be Kpop like... It's hard to say after hearing it only once while being totally shocked, but definitely not Kpop.

[emi♡]

I hear she's pregnant.

[Coelacanth]

Originally Posted by HilaryDuffFanboy

It's not serious/edgy enough to be Kpop like... It's hard to say after hearing it only once while being totally shocked, but definitely not Kpop.

Hmm. You guys said it was unlike any other song she's done? I don't know what to expect.

[SunshineSlayer]

^ imo it sounded kinda like a more poppy Sparkle. At least something along those lines.

[ayumisrael]

I'm still so happy she sang Sparkle, I love this song to death.

So how was Party Queen?

Did she sing Sparkle well? Was there the No No No part with the crowd?

[Corvina]

I love the short sparkle dress with the black hat from the pics!
But the rest of the outfits aren't my cup of tea, especially that colorful one.

Not a big fan of the setlist andf the show is full up with dancers again, oh my... then I'll hate it. Rock'n'Roll Circus Tour was already destroyed for me by the heavy use of her dancers. And Ayu sitting in upbeat songs? Hm, that's sad.
Gonna watch the rip nevertheless, but I won't have high expectations.
Maybe that will make me enjoy it.^^

[BabyJane]

I'm a bit disappointed in the costumes. They seem so incomplete and not thought over. The only costume I like is the silver dress with the hat. Most of her old costumes were so fancy and these... They look so...not like her. But still I want to see the show and the costumes "live", maybe my opinion will change ;-)

[krazeyo]

The bikini top reminds me of the & cover....Would've probably been a nice outfit for a cover, but I still like it.

Her outfits are becoming a bit too weird for my tastes. I wished she wore a big dress to make up for her lack of movement. At least it would've made more sense for why she didn't walk around. She hasn't worn a big dress in a while

I find it kinda weird that she would feature her dancers so much after the whole a-nation backlash. Fans complaining that they came to see Ayu and not urata/juno and how some people felt gypped...but now she features her dancers...

The whole show kinda sounds...disappointing (maybe too strong a word). The ideas sound good, so hopefully the implementation is better for arena tour. It makes you wonder what Ayu is thinking given that she's had HLS plans for so long. Love song's performance sounds worrying. I only really like the Love songs tracks on the setlist...I could do without everything else imo.

Maybe I expect too much after last year's CDL since I assumed that was the test run for HLS. I still have high hopes for AT2012 She has time to rehearse and critique now that she's done recording!