[Article] The Empress Has No Voice
Ayumi in 2001
I’m watching Stadium Tour 2002 right now. I’m watching Ayumi Hamasaki, looking naturally gorgeous and well-appointed in a pseudo-Western leather outfit. She’s taking the stage from left to right and back again, spinning, dancing, singing her heart out. She never misses a beat, a pitch, a chance to pump the crowd (but never at the sake of the song). She improvises and plays to the camera. She is smiling, she is winning, she is dripping sweat by the third song but she is radiant with confidence and star power.
It’s a very elaborate concert, but it is like nothing we have seen from Ayumi since. Stadium Tour 2002, you see, allowed for one key thing: Ayumi’s movement as a performer and a singer.
As a singer.
I’m reading new updates at J-Cast and Livedoor. I’m remembering her public apology for the recent performance of ‘evolution’ at Music Festival. The Japanese media is finally pulling back the gag on trash-talking Ayumi, and no one seems afraid, anymore, to shout that the Emperor has no clothes, or, in this case, the Empress has no voice.
I’m watching Stadium Tour 2002 again. Several minutes of the inter-cut documentary footage have passed, and she is performing ‘Whatever’ in a scant and understated outfit. She is letting her ferocity as a performer speak for itself, allowing for her voice to make the statements, not her fashion or her trove of dancers. She is owning the stage.
There is so much movement, so much raw power to this concert.
I want to turn to Countdown Live 09-10 again. I want to wonder. I want to ask myself why I’m accepting “the best of 2009″ from Ayumi and thinking it’s okay in comparison to this, to seven years ago, to something amazing. A time I can never go back to.
On a personal note, I think it is because, in the back of my mind, I don’t want to believe that I never had the chance to see Ayumi Hamasaki live while she was still the fiercest singer in Japan.
She is singing ‘monochrome’ in 2002 and it sounds a thousand times better live than it does on record. I switch to the album cut for a moment, to remind myself. Ayumi on record in 2001 sounds staid, held back. On stage, in 2002, she is booming and holding on to each note. That voice. That singer. Where did that singer go?
I often tout Arena Tour 03~04 as Ayumi’s best. And it really is. It combined the singer with the show-woman that Ayumi has become. It defined her at a perfect point between two eras, while she still had the vocal chops and had not yet resigned to style over substance.
There is nothing wrong with style. I am a strong proponent of Arena Tour 2006, which seems to be as far as she was willing to go with over-the-top. Look at the performances for ‘alterna’, ‘STEP You/Ladies Night’, and ‘Bold & Delicious’, just to name a few. AT06 was a blisteringly stylish affair. There was flash to spare, and yes, her voice was still holding up. It was in the early stages of deterioration, but it was still strong, and it helped that the songs of ‘(miss)understood’ were tailored to her deeper, richer sound.
How much is too little?
She is standing still more than ever. In performances such as last month’s Countdown Live, she could barely move without straining her voice. As I watch her in 2002, she is moving wildly from song to song, around and around the stage, unburdened by costume changes for every two songs, unburdened by an obviously absent vocal range.
I am not happy about this. But I refuse to live in denial. I quote Ayumi herself:
“I have to sing these songs, I have to transmit these songs. That is the meaning of my existence, and I want to continue working hard so I can have a stage where I can feel at ease and have fun.”
I refuse to be in denial, but I will not refuse to admit that it breaks my heart. This woman remains my idol. Even as I watch performers like Beyonce and Lady Gaga and wonder “Ayumi. Honey. Why can’t you do that? Why can’t you be a fierce actress and rock the stage during every song like they do?”, I have to remember: Ayumi was a singer, first, a singer foremost. Watching Stadium Tour 2002 reminds me, as the sky darkens and she rushes the catwalk to sing ‘independent’. Then she takes the stage in that iconic Union Jack sequined dress, belting out ‘Free & Easy’ and making the hairs on my arm rise.
She has very little makeup on, and what is there just enhances her natural beauty. No wigs. No pre-recorded video segments to set the stage. No gigantic dress is needed to enhance a powerful ballad. The powerful ballad is the thing. It is not the accessory to the style.
When did it all go wrong? Here she is, in 2002, completely alone, all 5 feet and 1 inch of her, commanding a packed stadium in Tokyo on a hot summer night.
Re-evaluating is not a thing I like to do. I like to root for my idols, I live to root for my idols, and Ayumi Hamasaki is an idol I hold as dear as I hold some family members. She has treated me, as a fan, with respect and unbridled desire to please for so many years now, but…somewhere along the line, it all went wrong.
What you compensate with says everything about what you are compensating for. We have not been treated to an intimate, dancer-free, stripped-down and vocally-driven Ayumi Hamasaki performance to blow us away since 2006, and even that was just the encore.
I adore and still hold up the 2008 performance of ‘A Song for XX’ at a-nation as a magnificent moment for Ayumi, but with almost two years passed to reflect on it, I realize that it was less of a return to power than it was a resolution to fight.
Ayumi is not giving up. Ayumi will not give up. And I will not give up on her.
She follows ‘Free & Easy’ with ‘M’. Just a woman, her mic stand, and her incredible voice. Not Utada Hikaru, not YUI, not Namie Amuro. Different in every way, singing the hell out of a song she not only wrote, but also composed. Where did this woman go?
I am somber, as I watch Stadium Tour 2002, now, in 2010. At the risk of using a very similar word, I am also sobered to the fact that the Empress has no voice.
She casts her eyes skyward as the now-classic piano strains begin. She sings, with a voice that is no worse for wear from the two songs she just nailed to the stage:
“In a nonexistant place
I stand as I am.
Please be yourself.
That’s how I want you to be.”
It’s my favorite line from ‘SURREAL’, and one of my favorite Ayumi lyrics of all time. She is being lifted above the crowd in a cherry-picker, but the way she reaches over the barriers, it seems more that she is in a cage that is only barely doing its job of keeping her from physically imposing upon the audience the message of her lyrics.
By now, in any other Ayumi concert since 2003, it would be easy to imagine ourselves 6 costume changes in, as she sings ‘HANABI’ and a young dancer performs one of his first flaily solo dances in an Ayumi concert, his hair rather normal and wearing standard jeans and a white tank top.
It’s like watching a bizarro version of Ayumi Hamasaki. The carnivale-inspired costumes and opulence of the final set are familiar now, yes, but by today’s standards they seem absolutely tame, downright “boring” against giant stage mechanics, fountains, and rotating platforms.
Ayumi is singing every word of ‘Boys & Girls’. It was a lovely gesture to the fans in 2002 when, during the final chorus, they were asked to join in, but the mixing of the DVD is superb in showcasing Ayumi’s vocals rather than the crowd’s – if you compare 2002 to 2005, hardly anyone from the crowd joined in. Now, the crowd is a crutch during ‘Boys & Girls’, and is indicative of a larger problem. Listening to her sing every word of this song is downright odd.
Fireworks go off around the stadium, lighting up the Tokyo sky when she is finished.
I want fireworks to go up for Ayumi the singer again. I love her as a singer first, as a singer foremost. If we are to take her at her word, she will continue to sing as long as people will listen. I will continue to listen, but I have to wonder when it will be beyond criticism, when we will officially pass into the era of Ayumi the celebrity, of knowing simply who she is rather than what she is currently responsible for in the music world.
If scuttlebutt is any indicator, that era has come. But I believe in ‘You were…/BALLAD’, especially in ‘RED LINE ~for TA~’.
Give me a good concert again, Ayumi, or refuse to put yourself in the position of ridicule. This is something I have absolutely no desire to snark over. You are my heroine, my goddess, and my inspiration. I will always be listening, but right now it is comparable to watching Kerri Strug make an Olympic vault on a broken leg. Only, Ayumi…you’re not in the running for a gold medal.
“Please be yourself.
That’s how I want you to be.”
[...] [Article] The Empress Has No Voice (Pink Wota) [...]
Very nicely written article. I was quite moved reading this and feel the same way. Though I only recently became a fan, I’m well aware of her storied history and especially those golden days. Watching her perform her old hits now, I do become nostalgic and feel a little sad. I find most of these performances to be either hit or miss. Unfortunately, a majority are misses. I can’t help but think this after having seen some of her best, like in “Stadium Tour 2002″. Songs like “evolution”, even when sung without forgetting lyrics, is quite choppy and finds her straining to belt out all those lyrics while throwing in crowd-inviting “COME ON!’s” when a breather is needed.
It’s funny and quite significant that the year of the concert tour you and I enjoyed watching so much was back in 2002. I want to bring up the fact that this was arguably her biggest and busiest year ever in her career. It kicked off with an album release accommodated by rising popularity in Asia, which saw her go overseas to places like Hong Kong and even the Mainland for the very first time as an established pop icon. Arena Tour 2002 kicked off thereafter, which means rehearsal and planning most likely commenced around album release. This would then mean she was coming straight out of a Countdown Live and hectic end of the year rehearsals for it. As if one tour was not enough, she kicked off another one in what would become Stadium Tour 2002. In between these two large-scale tours she released two new original singles. After Stadium Tour 2002 came to an end, she participated in avex’s first ever a-nation summer festival. The last quarter of 2002 saw one more single release and concluded with another original studio album release (“RAINBOW”). Keeping up with the longstanding tradition started back in 2000, she closed out the year and rang in a new one with CDL 02-03. While rehearsing for this end of the year spectucular, she took part in many end of the year music and awards shows. The bags under her eyes and her deteriorated voice was readily apparently by the time she performed at the 53rd Kouhaku Uta Gassen. In my eyes, these signs were already present during Stadium Tour 2002. Clearly, she was exhausted by the end of that year. All of this was thrown on top of her after she had just come out of the massively successful but harrowing Dome Tour 2001 the previous year, which saw her go on with spectacular performances despite having a serious leg injury and a risk of losing her hearing. As if this was not bad enough, the period preceding Dome Tour 2001 was the tumultuous and controversial A BEST period.
To me, it is no wonder why she is the way she is now. It is exactly because she had “those days and those times”. What escapes me is how avex let her, or to put it more bluntly, made her go on with those two very large-scale tours despite her almost losing her hearing during Dome Tour 2001. A doctor had made it clear she would become deaf if she continued on the way she did. It is just too unethical and immoral. There is no doubt in my mind she would still be hearing out of her left ear had she not embarked on such a harsh and trying schedule. It was in the year of 2002 that everything was going right but also going wrong. While there is no proven correlation between becoming half deaf and having it affect your singing, I think it is pretty safe to say it played a significant role. Naturally, she had to adapt and compensate. The result is exactly the person and thing we both wish would revert back. She still gave great vocal performances even while having an elaborate stage set along with accompanying dancers running amok all the way through AT07. Up until this point her voice was still phenomenal and struck the perfect balance. “An intimate, dancer-free, stripped-down and vocally-driven Ayumi Hamasaki performance to blow us away since 2006″ may no longer be possible now or very rare due to the aforementioned reasons. The a-nation 2008 “A Song for XX” performance caught the attention of many fans that longed for such a performance from her. The AT08 performance of “Dearest” and “Voyage”, two of her warmest songs, were not exactly her greatest. The CDL 08-09 performance of “POWDER SNOW” was spectacular. It would seem her condition works against her in a way that she cannot be consistent in her solo performances. Perhaps a show that focuses more on fancy props and effects than vocals to compensate is unappealing, but it could also be viewed in a positive way. Is it not a trademark of Ayumi Hamasaki to give a great performance with or without her once great vocal prowess? While she is foremost a singer, she is also a great entertainer that makes do with what she has. These are two things I believe cannot be separated. All of these traits define who she is as an artist.
Lastly, from my understanding, while 2001-2002 might have been her period of shining performances, she was not at all at ease with herself and struggled greatly internally. Many concerts and singles later, at least now she is more at ease than ever, though it came at a great expense. It is because of this that I am happy of the way she is now, no matter how much she has changed. It would break my heart more seeing her give me a great performance I want to see at the expense of her happiness. Clearly no longer as successful on the charts, she is still as popular and as significant as ever. It will never detract from the fact that she accomplished all these things. Her ability to weather the test of time is laudable. Perhaps this is due to her embracing many faces and styles, but undoubtedly it is a result of her knack for music and hardworking tenacious demeanor. To the end she will be a fighter and I will always be in anticipation of her next move.
“One by one, little by little, see?
We leave behind footprints.
They form one path,
they form now.
…
“These days aren’t bad at all, are they?”
I do write this long winded comment (if you can call it that) as an argument or antithesis that attacks, but merely to cast a different light on things. After all, I too feel very strongly about it.
*I do not write this long winded comment …
^^ This is my favorite comment EVER. EVER. EVER. Were I even slightluy coherent right now I’d respond, but I mean…
My Thoughts Exactly. You’re completely right, Jimmy. Being a fan of Ayumi now is like burning a candle at both ends – appreciating the Big Damn Show and also wishing she could sing like she used to, but in the end, it all boils down to your last paragraph. I would not trade her happiness for the world, which is what makes ‘SUNRISE’, for all its so-called faults, one of my favorites. It’s so genuine, so happy, and it shows. Same for ‘RED LINE’.
Hi
I share some of your thoughts but, while reading i felt u have never actually watched live broadcasts of stadium tour. Am I right?
I have not. Is there a broadcast recording floating around still available for torrent? I’d like to compare the two.
Keep in mind, also: written for dramatic effect.
I believe I have found a rival in Ayu love…
…there is no rivalry in Ayu love. Only love. <3
*__*
I see the light.
I agree that some of Ayu’s recent live vocal performances have been embarrassing, especially the last Countdown Live show, which I have seen in its entirety. I have been reading the phrase “her voice didn’t come out” countless times. I don’t know if this comes from lack of English vocabulary, lack of musical knowledge or plain tone-deafness on the part of the critics. The fact is: she was flat (below pitch) on many notes in every song, sometimes as much as a semitone! Even on “Teddy Bear”, probably the easiest song to sing, she was having problems. It also breaks MY heart that such a great live performer can fall so far below her own standard, as, over the years, she had become a very good singer… with the exception of that ultra-wide pitch vibrato on long, low notes, which often annoyed me (and still does), e.g. a theoretical C, that actually oscillates from Bb to C.
I beg to differ on one point made by Vee. In 2002, her voice was still juvenile and thin and her timing a little untight, in spite of some otherwise good performances. Without breaking it down to individual songs, I have never heard better live vocals from Ayu throughout a concert than in the 2007-2008 Countdown Live show, where she also lit up the stage and the entire hall with her incredible charisma! I wasn’t even watching the dancers (never mind counting them), so I didn’t let them distract me. Also, her 2008 Asia Tour had some great moments (possibly from different concerts) that vocally overshadowed her records, e.g. “Decision”. I actually sent that YouTube link to a number of pro musician friends at Christmas and the response was: “WOW! WHO’S THAT?!” – or words to that effect.
Ayu’s voice had matured by this time: she no longer sounded like a teenager, but like a grown woman. Her voice was now full and commanding, her intonation and timing impeccable, unlike in 2002. OK, she wobbled a bit on “Surreal” in the 2007-2008 Countdown show, but that song is very demanding, going from A below middle C to a high E in chest voice (over 1½ octaves), where she was almost constantly in motion. It was overall a stunning performance, where she simply dazzled, in spite of being a bit overweight at the time. A thing that always fascinated me about her is her complete confidence that never comes across as arrogance. Watching that video was one of those magical moments when I simply had to say, “This girl was born to be a star!” It’s interesting to note that the 2007-2008 Countdown Live DVD is currently selling for $55.99 at YesAsia, whereas the 2009-2010 show is going for $14.99!!!
It is not true that she sang higher notes when she was younger, as I have sometimes read – she just sounded higher to some ears, because her tone was thinner. It is true, however, that, after 2002, she started reaching lower notes more powerfully and confidently than before, which means that her total vocal range has expanded over the years. She has simply grown up.
I know Ayu has seen the video of Countdown Live 2009-2010 and can only hope she has listened to some good advice in the meantime. She is certainly aware of the problem and, knowing her determination, she’ll get it sorted out, sooner or later, but her heavy schedule could mean later, rather than sooner. Max Matsuura (MD of Avex) must also be aware of the problem, because he has had to slash the DVD price! So, hopefully, he will not pressure her too much for an early 2011 album and give her the rest that she needs.
In a 2007 CNN interview, she once said “Who needs holidays?” (You do, Ayu!). She needs to take at least a couple of months off, forget music, relax for a while in a quiet, sunny place in Andalusia and then visit her old vocal coach in New York for a refresher course before resuming work again. She is now breathing wrongly, straining and bending forwards too often on difficult notes. Being a professional producer/arranger/songwriter and ex-singer myself, I also know that when a good singer like Ayu constantly goes flat, it’s usually a sure sign that she is hearing her own voice in relation to her references too loud. She especially needs to hear the chords from the keyboards well to pitch accurately and certain parts of the drum kit well to be rhythmically tight. (Her musicians are superb, so they are definitely not to blame.) Another possible cause of bad pitch is lack of sleep, overwork or both. I don’t think the Empress has lost her voice: just that her crown urgently needs repair.
I also don’t think that her alleged total deafness on the left accounts for her recent bad intonation. She has coped well with that for years and delivered her best performances during that time. I say alleged, because it’s interesting to note that she can be seen with two in-ear monitors on shows since 2002, so perhaps there is still a bit of low-frequency response in the left ear and she hears the kick drum and bass on that side. It’s also possible that she uses the left monitor simply as an earplug, to block out reflections from the hall, which can throw a singer off pitch (the so-called Doppler effect) and out of time, but that would also indicate that she can’t be totally deaf on the left. It is most certainly true that a singer’s intonation and timing depends VERY much on what he/she is hearing and that a bad monitor mix can throw a singer off pitch.
I can only think of three possible explanations for the recent disasters: either she is burnt out, she has a new monitoring engineer who doesn’t cut it, or she has been sniffing or taking something that she shouldn’t (it also dries out the throat!). I just hope the rumour about the latter isn’t true. It could be a combination of the first two possible causes. The second one can be solved by firing the person concerned! If she takes a holiday, however (and it really is high time), it looks like it won’t happen before July 26th, at the earliest. Her Arena Tour schedule (so far) goes on until July 25th, but, at least, this year’s tour hopefully won’t go on into October like last year’s did. The rehearsals for it already began in early January, before her trip to London to record, and will presumably now keep her busy for the coming weeks, not forgetting promotional appearances for her forthcoming album (will it be in English?). With any luck, that could perhaps, at the most, leave her August-September for herself, before Ayumi “Kamikaze” embarks on the 2011 album, PVs and, in December, once again starts frantically rushing from one TV show to another in between rehearsals for the next (hopefully in-tune) Countdown Live…unless she postpones that 2011 album a bit.
Regardless of what one sometimes reads, stars don’t make complete albums in 10 days. If Ayu’s lucky, she might manage her final vocal tracks in that time, but there is so much more that has to be done before and after that. After all the songs are written (music and words), they have to be arranged and rehearsed with her musicians to find the best key and tempo for each one. Then, anything from 16-32 instrumental tracks will be laid down (but not all simultaneously) for each song, probably including her guide vocals at an early stage for the musicians’ orientation. Even after the final main vocal tracks are done, the BVs have to be tracked and every song has to be mixed, which also takes time. The whole process takes weeks or months and she needs to be there for at least half of that time.
There are many time-consuming things that don’t appear in the official schedules, like interviews, photo sessions, rehearsals, preparing upcoming tours/shows including stage sets, costumes etc. and she probably spends an estimated 6-10 weeks a year writing lyrics for the next album – possibly while the roadies are setting up the stage…
Somebody should tell her the old English saying: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”! If Ayu were to disappear for a year (Avex permitting) and then come back with a cracking new album, she wouldn’t lose a single fan, but probably gain some new ones. Michael Jackson proved this time and time again. She would also come back with tons of new ideas (believe me: I speak from experience). I think she is simply afraid of losing her status if she isn’t constantly in the limelight, but an artist can also suffer from over-exposure and Jacko was well aware of that!
Ayu is now, at 31, the richest woman in Japan and, since her dispute with Avex in 2001, probably has enough control over her career to largely dictate her own workload and pace, so she can now afford to slow down and concentrate on quality before quantity. I can’t imagine her being under much pressure from Avex any more, except to turn out one album and possibly 2-3 singles per annum, which is enough, when I think about it. I can imagine the reverse situation, however! If she were to leave Avex, their stocks would plummet overnight, because she accounts for at least 50% of their sales! I doubt that anyone except Ayu herself dictates how much she tours, but she is simply a workaholic and, if she doesn’t slow down, THAT could be the rope that hangs her!
@Gary
It’s always interesting and edifying to read the opinions and knowledge of someone in the music industry. However I respectfully disagree, as a casual fan. For me, I believe her finest, fullest vocals were in the 2006-2007 (“(miss)understood”/”Secret”, essentially) era. By Asia Tour 2008, I, as a music appreciator, was not as impressed at all.
Musicians and non-musicians always have different takes on what makes good music, and what sounds good.
And I agree that she needs to take a break. I hope I didn’t say something implying that I wanted her to be working all the time or I expected her to finish an album in 11 days (even I know that doesn’t happen).
I appreciate your comment, and I very much enjoyed reading it – if you have your own blog, this would make a wonderful entry on its own!
However, I must simply laugh at you for one comment – Ayu was certainly not overweight in 2008. This talk peeves me to no end. Fleshier, yes, but “overweight”? My God, man, what planet do you live on? *I’m* overweight. Ayu is ultra-skinny, and if she puts on five pounds it shows up much, much more noticeably.
@ Vee
No, I don’t have a blog of my own – or even a website at all any more, as I prefer to keep my privacy. I made an exception here, because it is the first place where I have found intelligent, well-written comments about the recent problems of an artist that I greatly admire. I was interested to see how many people had noticed that Ayu has been singing FLAT (below pitch) lately. I was also Googling for information about the forthcoming album, knowing that she recorded vocals at Metropolis Studios in London from around Jan 21st till the end of the month. For some months, there has been speculation as to whether Ayu would finally put out an album in English.
Not here, but on one or two blogs concerning the London visit, I noticed that some fans evidently think she just goes into the studio for 10 days, and then the album’s finished! There seems to be a widespread misconception these days that a producer just plays some “beats” he happens to have on the computer and the singer then steps up to the microphone and magically dreams up some kind of tune. The computer then does the rest… (LOL). I have had countless phone calls from would-be pop stars that indicate this.
Ayumi Hamasaki is an exceptional artist with an exceptional team that I feel very strongly about and I have been following her career very closely since last August, after stumbling on her on YouTube by accident, but that’s a long story. I spent a lot of time trying to read her, before writing an English lyric for her, but the outcome of that remains to be seen… One thing I do know in the meantime is that she had no British producer or British lyric writers with her at Metropolis, so I doubt that she has recorded anything in English. Surely, she wouldn’t be so stupid as to write her own English lyrics and record them without a native-speaker as a producer. I just wonder why she went to London to do something she could have done in Tokyo: perhaps because Madonna has recorded at Metropolis (g)?
Re. “a bit overweight”, I didn’t say Ayu was generally overweight in 2008 and certainly not on the 2008 tour: only on that 2007-2008 Countdown Live show, where she was obviously “fleshier” (as you put it) than usual and more so than she likes to be. I guess she had a relaxing Christmas in 2007, which obviously did her good. I have read far harsher comments elsewhere about this than my own (e.g. “She looks like a wrestler!”). Don’t take it too seriously: for me, she still looked gorgeous on that night.
Re. happiness, as mentioned twice here, I know that Ayu is certainly NOT happy with her recent performances. She is a professional, so how could she be? For that reason, she is sure to do something about it, as she is the last person to accept defeat. In her shoes, I would fly in her old vocal coach from New York while the tour rehearsals are going on. God knows she can afford it. She should also double-check that monitor mix (and the guy doing it), with emphasis on the important things she needs to hear, like keys and hi-hat, well separated from her voice by EQ. She is a fighter and that is the very reason why she has survived so long in the corrupt and unpredictable world of show business. Long live Ayu!
@Gary
Flat, indeed. I apologize for being short in my last comment – I’m never quite sure how to respond to such well-thought-out comments (and rarely engage in dialogues with other bloggers until I know them well, for reasons I canot really explain). You humble our blog, and I admit that I strive to take a more incisive approach to criticizing Ayumi, even a more incisive approach to mooning over her. Therefore, once again, I really enjoy reading what you have to say and suggest regarding the technical aspects of her current “problem”, and even her voice in days that a good number of fans consider her peak.
It’s interesting that you speak so highly of her performance at 2008’s CDL and that I was so quick to lambaste it in response I actually, looking back at my own review of that concert, I did not hesitate once to call it the Best CDL Ever (that may have just been because of the setlist, but in reading my own reactions I found praise of her voice among my chief “atta girl”s). Maybe Arena Tour 2008 is what soured me – perhaps it was the fact that I didn’t feel that ‘GUILTY’ was done justice onstage.
I did say that I’d sacrifice Ayu’s happiness for anything that I, as a fan, could hope for, but I agree wit you: publicly apologizing for a performance is a sure indicator that she is not happy with her work, and the Ayumi I know is a workaholic (again: TAKE A HOLIDAY, LOVE).
It never even entered my mind that Ayumi may be recording an English album. She has recorded in LA as well, and I never thought such a thing. I like to agree with your Madonna theory. Also, we know Ayu was a fan of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple in her teen years; perhaps London was calling? (No Clash reference intended).
‘NEXT LEVEL’ was certainly not my favorite Ayumi album, but I enjoyed it as an experiment. However, with all the luxuries she can afford in her position, I think she would not take a chance on an English album. Even Hikki’s second English album (a disaster, imho) was in production hell for far longer than most fans anticipated. Now, having seen the commercial failures of her peers in the Western music market, I don’t think Ayumi would be foolish enough to take the risk at such a time in her career.
What are your thoughts on Ayu’s longtime absence from the composer’s slot? I believe it was DAI who actually enabled Ayu to be a composer in the first place; they (he?) Are often credited alongside her onb albums such as ‘I Am…’ And beyond. According to interviews, Ayu wold usually just hum or vocally approximate what she wanted for the composition, leaving the rest to her collaborators. Still, CREA compositions are very distinctive. One has to wonder if she has willingly left this aspect of the creative process behind, or if it is simply a lack of time/collaborative resources? You’ll likely have a more insightfl take on it…
Re. Her weight. Sorry for taking it so seriously, but such remarks coming from men are usually not met well from women in general. (LOL) She is at a certain age, as well (I am nipping at her heels and I know). Weight nags around longer. We will begin to see more beautiful signs of character as she ages – which I am confident she will do gracefully.
I’m enjoying this dialogue…I only hope the 33 1/3 style book I am pre-writing about Ayu’s “Memorial address” will meet with your approval.
She is a fantastic artist, and I still believe she is a fantastic singer. Let’s hope she is working to correct things as we speak (or rather…resting, which might be even better for her).
@Vee
The reason I speak so highly of Countdown Live 2007-2008 is that it was ONE CONCERT, full of great performances throughout, which was a true indicator of Ayu’s overall form. With the tour excerpts, you don’t always know exactly where they were and on which night (there were usually 2 nights at each venue) and it’s a safe bet that the best performance of each song has been picked from various different concerts for YouTube. Perhaps other songs on the same night were great, perhaps they were rubbish! I just don’t know, not having been there, but if a singer is generally in good voice on a given night, the overall standard doesn’t usually fall much below the best moments, except for maybe the first songs, because of warming up. That’s why I wrote “her 2008 Asia Tour had some great moments…”.
Regarding the rumoured album in English, I remember reading speculation about this around October or November, where Avex (probably Max Matsuura himself) said something like, “If she wants to do an English album, we won’t stand in her way. It could be a good time, because she has already achieved just about everything that she CAN achieve in Japan.” I also know that Ayu has been taking English lessons for months. The improvement (remember the 2007 CNN interview?) is evident on her own blog, but I do sometimes wonder if her secretary translates this stuff from her Japanese. One way or the other, her English will never be the same as that of a native-speaker, but if she can get the pronunciation right… (I wonder if she can now say “Maria” [g]). Re. failures of other Japanese artists in English, I honestly believe that, with the right lyrics written by native-speakers and the right producer, Ayu could turn out a better album than they did. She has better composers and arrangers writing for her and she is a more emotional singer than most.
Yes, I knew about her love for Led Zep and Deep Purple (I saw Purple live around 1995 and they were brilliant), but they never recorded at Metropolis, although, incidentally, the Clash did…
I didn’t like the “Next Level” album at all, to be honest, with the exception of “Days”. Having said that, I thought “Days” and “Green” (reminds me a bit of Edith Piaf!) were totally out of context with the rest of the album, which, for European ears, was 4-5 years too late anyway, but that’s Japan. Most of the album sounded to me like a desperate attempt to be 21 again. It’s out of character for her to do something as electronic as that, especially having such a great live band.
As for the CREA compositions, perhaps she has enough on her plate without getting involved in that again. I also think that she never completely finished composing “M” and spent years trying to get it right, but she couldn’t see the wood for the trees. I love the tune and the original arrangement, except perhaps for the hooligan guitar solo (complete with mistake at the end; Yoshio is otherwise brilliant), but the structure, i.e. the running order of the parts, is totally wrong: the first chorus starts at 2:34, which, for airplay, is an absolute no-no! When that chorus finally comes around, it cooks! I don’t know if it normally matters in Japan (probably it does, except maybe for a few superstars), but, in Europe, radio programme directors will normally just listen to the first minute or so of a song, so something exciting has to happen by then! I have heard live versions of “M” with at least two different structures and totally different arrangements that really spoilt it. The worst I heard was a version on the 2008 or 2009 “Happy Christmas Show” (g), where the chords had been completely changed, ruining the song. I know of no other Ayu song that has been messed around with as much as that one! All these unfortunate experiments just moved it further and further away from what once made it good, without successfully addressing its only real problem.
Tell us more about your book.
I might have to eat my words yet! I stumbled on different YouTube videos of “Rainbow” from the CDL 2007-2008 and, although they were both obviously the same performance, the uploads were from different sources. On one of them, Ayu was singing in tune (that one is, of course, on the DVD) and on the other, she most definitely wasn’t! I even compared certain lines at the same point in the song and it’s especially embarrassing that her vocal is out of tune on the HD version on YouTube! So what does that tell us?
Her vocals are obviously pitch-corrected before the DVD versions are mixed and mastered! Avex probably didn’t do it for the CDL 2009-2010 DVD (hence the bargain price), as anyone who saw it on Japanese TV or on the web would probably notice THAT! I don’t believe that the studio recordings are dubbed for the live DVDs, as some people have claimed on YouTube. That would also be too obvious. The audio of these concerts is always recorded on multitrack, meaning that Ayu’s voice is on its own separate track. Then, later in the studio, enter Pro Tools or Melodyne (pro audio computer programmes)! With these, bum notes and poor timing can be fixed on a vocal. It’s a fact that, for studio recordings, this has been common practice for years, but now, it seems that live is not as live as we once thought.
So now we can’t believe ANYTHING we hear any more, unless it’s out of tune!
I read, by the way, that Ayu was at an all-night party on Dec. 30th-31st, which could explain a lot!
Hello, Gary. I appreciate your educated comments on Ayumi’s vocals and other aspect of her career, but it seems that you haven’t actually seen many of her concerts(I’m guessing based on your comments). Most educated Ayu fans (meaning those who have seen everything) have always ranked CDL 07/08 as her worst ever in the vocal department. (until CDL 09/10) came along. It’s also commonly known that her vocals are “enhanced” before the DVD comes out. Its unknown to what extent this happened earlier in her career but it has been absolutely standard the last several years. I’ve always thought that when her vocals took a downturn, was 2006. It was very slight then, but that is where I trace it too and it has gotten progressively worse since then. The only way to really document it since the DVDs are doctored, is to watch her tv performances on music shows or to find downloads of the live broadcasts of her cdls (it is broadcast live each year, that’s how people know that her vocals are fixed for the dvd), so that’s something you might want to check out doing.
btw, my original reason for being here is I loved and agreed 100% with your article pinkwota, it really explained what I felt.