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| jaysr |
 Posted: Jan 28, 2006 12:49 pm |
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甘えんぼ
Joined: 02 Aug 2005
Posts: 55
Location: Costa Rica
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Its been a while since i posted for the last time in this forum. I m glad that today i decided to come around and find such interesting posts.
Well, i would like to see Ai Otsuka kicking Koda Kumi´s ass in 2006... I dont like Ku, at least not as much as i like Ai. Ku is abusing of her sex appeal to sell her music, and sometimes i find that discusting. She wont be the next Ayumi Hamasaki.As some of you wrote, Ayu is the queen, and she had some great songs in 2005, got good sells and she remains popular in Japan.
As for Mika Nakashima, her ballads are really nice, and the whole hype of Nana, help her to make a huge groundbreaking debut in Asia... Mika is getting really popular, and she is really talented.
Hikki is not having a good time, perhaps she focus too much on her American debut and forgot about her japanese roots, the source of her success. I would like to see Hikki making it big in both markets, Japan and America, without chaging her image and her music. I hope that 2006 bring better thinks for Hikki. |
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| Rinoa |
| Posted: Jan 29, 2006 5:32 am |
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クムリウタ
Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Posts: 2011
Location: Europe
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Yes I agree. I like Koda but lately she's just being really sexy to the point of being slutty which is not really that impressive. Many might argue that her music is great but personally her lyrics are poor compared to Ai's and lately they've gotten to the level of being either ridiculous or extremely sexy. One single got banned by Korea for it's sexy lyrics which is getting ridiculous now.
She's trying so hard to be sexy and be in the spotlight by doing transgressive attempts at being sexy which are getting boring after seeing her for years being sexy. Honestly I'm not impressed.
Also live I find most of her songs really hurtful to my ears. She's not a very good live singer especially to songs like 'you' and 'No Regret'
Personally I agree with jay another Ayumi Hamasaki must have good music which must be high in quality and sorry to say but Koda's is not. I'm a fan of hers but seeing people calling her the next queen is definately a big no. Her music is not up to that level, sorry to say. I can't see her producing awesome material with the high quality of evolution, M or Dearest. |
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| and_etude |
| Posted: Jan 29, 2006 12:10 pm |
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上塩タン焼680円
Joined: 24 Nov 2005
Posts: 287
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aww...I like You and no Regret, and I think Koda Kumi has a descent voice. It's nowhere as strong nor emotional as Ayu's or Hikki's voice, but with training it could be. Like Nami Tamaki and Ami Suzuki, she has a pretty steady voice, and with training it could be good. Now...with her sexiness....
Maybe it's just me, but I always feel that Koda's sexiness is too much of a "in-your-face" sexy. No subtlety whatsoever. I dunno, it's gotten for me where the "in-your-face" sexiness is just not...sexy anymore. It feels like she's working rather than she's being naturally sexy. I had similar problem with Ai too when it comes to "sakuranbo", "ponpon", or "smily". It's too much "in-your-face".
Somewhat offtopic, but both of them (Ai and Koda) needs to work on their breathing techniques. Something in their way of singing tells me that they're singing with their throat, not diaphram. They don't have much power if they sing with their throad. Properly sung, Ai should not have to breath that much in Planetarium. |
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| beck_ken |
| Posted: Jan 30, 2006 11:47 am |
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Happy Days
Joined: 08 Sep 2005
Posts: 107
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Ai or Kuu? Kuu or Ai? that's the hottest topic discussing nowadays cuz both of them did very well last year, that's why people will compare both of them and will monitor their results this year. We can't predict what will happen this year cuz it's only the beginning of the year and based on current trend, kuu is dominate the chart with her 12 single and soon to be "Best~second session" album on March and he "Best~first things~ still selling well compare to "Love Cook".
Kuu has a decent vocal, not to say very bad but Ai has an upper hand on vocal. LIke what and_etude said, both have alot of to learn to achieve that "queen" status and i can see the "Queen" status will takes a bit longer to achieve that.
I agree with Rinoa, to be "Queen", you must have good music which must be high in quality and must sing in various type of songs like Ayumi Hamasaki.
If either one of them can produce songs that have almost same quality or better than the like of "M", "Dearest" or "Evolution" or have high sales/popularity like "First Love"...Well, then the next "Queen" is born, until then we will have to wait and see |
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| Rinoa |
| Posted: Jan 31, 2006 1:01 pm |
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クムリウタ
Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Posts: 2011
Location: Europe
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Well yes both have yet to learn, however Kumi has been around for longer since 2000 and so in a way I suppose she doesn't need any more experience or training in vocals. Personally I find most of her lives pretty weak. She can't sing "you" to save her life and "No Regret" is always sounding off-tune. Compare it to Ai who has managed to control her voice and only took two singles to get in the spotlight while Kumi needed almost five/six years, a best album and a ton of promotion from avex to get people notice her. I think it says a lot.
The problem lately is as etude has mentioned, Kumi has become too sexy to the point that whenever I see a sexy music video I say - Oh another sexy video and don't ever bother to watch it again. And Ai was sort of falling in this trap till she started on a more serious tone with Neko Ni Fuusen, Planetarium and Cherish pv which was refreshing and maybe the reason why LOVE COOK sold so well apart from having really good single tracks.
Anyhow these are based on my opinions but personally right now I think Ai has the upper hand and I do not know how long Kumi's popularity can be a keeper especially since she cannot release a single every week forever and thus she can't keep attention over her forever. |
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| and_etude |
| Posted: Jan 31, 2006 6:51 pm |
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上塩タン焼680円
Joined: 24 Nov 2005
Posts: 287
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Well, time it takes for a singer to get into spotlight is not a huge factor. It took Ayumi at least a year to get a no. 1 single, and although her album hit no. 1 and sold over a million, it was a lot more common to sell millions back then.
With the vocals, well, I do think Ku's vocals are actually slightly harder to control. To be honest, from what I see live, neither Ai or Kumi seem to have that hard of vocals to control. I say Mika Nakashima or Ayumi's vocals seems harder to control. Koda naturally has a very decent voice, but she needs to work on it (like get private vocal training). Ai, IMO, doesn't have that great of a voice naturally. She can compose, and unlike Ku's composers, Ai knows her vocal range and that helps. But Ai also needs more vocal training.
But I have a feeling that Ayu's going to cut back after ARENA TOUR 2006...no AYU....DON'T LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAVE YOUR FANS! [/fangirl] |
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| HilaryDuffFanboy |
| Posted: Feb 01, 2006 1:21 am |
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PEACH
Joined: 10 Oct 2005
Posts: 1926
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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I think Ai has a great voice, but that's me. But I agree when you say she knows her limitations, and she works around that, which is great. I actually think Otsuka Ai is a top notch live singer. I prefer her live singing much more than the CD version. The CD version can sometimes come across as too refined, and flat... like during the bridge of 'Cherish' when the music is soft, her voice is so flat and bland... Whereas live performances, her vocal is raw and unrefined, there is much more power, conviction and vibrato.
I think it is a good idea for Ayumi to cut back after ARENA TOUR 2006. Sure, us fans won't get tired of her, but generally, Japan is. I think it is best for Ayumi to go out on a high, rather than retire at the point she can barely sell say...... 300k albums.
I hope her last ever ever release is a Complete A-side collection. |
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| Rinoa |
| Posted: Feb 01, 2006 6:57 am |
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クムリウタ
Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Posts: 2011
Location: Europe
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Personally I prefer Ai's voice. It can be a little weak during fast songs but her ballads are simply amazing and her vocals excel there. Honestly I don't think Kumi's vocals can get any better. She's been around since 2000 and I've seen no huge significant improvement of her vocals so no I don't think I'm expecting better vocals.
Also about Ayu, I do not think she's going to leave or take a break anytime soon or else she'll be risking in losing all her popularity. She loves singing and has struggled to stay at the top so I don't think she'll easily give the throne to any artist. Personally I think she still has the potential to release a single which will be a hit and propel her again in the spotlight. |
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| and_etude |
| Posted: Feb 01, 2006 3:36 pm |
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上塩タン焼680円
Joined: 24 Nov 2005
Posts: 287
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I'm not a huge fan of Ai's voice (as in I don't hate it, but I don't think it's brilliant), but that's just me. But I can actually hear improvement in Ai's voice, which is great. I do enjoy seeing singers improving their voice and making re-recordings. I actually don't know what make Koda suddenly so big in Japan. She isn't like BoA, which had a steady fan buildup, nor is she like Ayu, who had several million-selling singles before she released the BEST album. But then again, I enjoy Ku's ballads because well, I'm not a huge fan of her hip-hop songs.
Ayu should release another BEST compilation of all her A-side (although that would be like 3 disks since she released 36 singles...some are double or triple A-sided), but from recent interview I do get the impression that Ayu is at a point where she enjoys singing, not sings because she's forced to. I remember reading somewhere that Mystory was the only album she's truly happy with, and that's good. |
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| HilaryDuffFanboy |
| Posted: Feb 02, 2006 4:33 am |
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PEACH
Joined: 10 Oct 2005
Posts: 1926
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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and_etude wrote: I actually don't know what make Koda suddenly so big in Japan. She isn't like BoA, which had a steady fan buildup, nor is she like Ayu, who had several million-selling singles before she released the BEST album.
I KNOW!!! Her popularity seriously just happened overnight or something. It's pretty much proven by the fact that the sales of her BEST ~first things~ compilation album, ~1.5 mill, is more than the sales of ALL FOUR of her studio albums combined!! 
I think it was at a point in which she started to take on a sexier image, and that helped since her most recent studio album sold 500k and was her best effort yet. And then there were raunchu billboards and posters, with a revealing CD cover, and BANG Koda Kumi is the highest selling female singer of 2005 coming out of nowhere. |
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| reikoism |
| Posted: Feb 22, 2006 11:15 am |
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さくらんぼ
Joined: 06 Jan 2006
Posts: 34
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I think Ai is more suited to be J-Pop princess given her current image. 
Because Queen is something more mature in my opinion. But I notice she doesn have her serious side which is more attractive than her kawaii image.
I think she has the best expressions when doing photoshoots. I get so excited when I get my hands on them so that I can make icons and wallpapers. 
Regardless, I think with her talent, she has a chance. Perhaps a few more years of so-called "world's exposure" she'll be ready to take over?
Koda Kumi is sexy alright. I guess she has more chance of taking over Ayu (if that's how you put it) since they are more in sync when it comes to music styles and images.
I don't know much about Ami to give any objective comments though.
The 3 of them are pretty different so I guess they might end up taking over different reigns in the j-pop world. |
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| Cactuar |
| Posted: Mar 04, 2006 2:03 am |
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桃ノ花ビラ
Joined: 27 Feb 2006
Posts: 16
Location: Malaysia
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Wow, awesome article.. *__*
Rinoa wrote: With regards to image Kumi has been trying to use different images but she's not as flexible as Ayu to be honest. She tries but when you compare her ballads to Ai's - there's a huge difference. Plus she can't sing "you" live to save her life.
I agree. Kumi's ballads are either tepid or dull, and You reminds me too much of Flower. Just like Candy and Shake It. Too similar and not enough variety? Her songs come across as manufactured.
Ayu's songs are very different and every single she releases so far has worked and sounded amazing. Ai too. But I think Ai may be the one who gets hold of the throne. Ami Suzuki is quite out of the count for me, her sales don't really indicate that.
Rinoa wrote: Personally I think Ai has a bigger chance than Ku. Since her debut she's been climbing up the ladder of popularity. Kumi has spent years without getting noticed till her best album compilation and a ton of singles and promotion. Personally I'm sure Ai will get a ton of attention when her best compilation shall be out, maybe even more than Kumi's. Ai has showed how she can upkeep her popularity and even rise higher at a steady rate while I'm not sure about Kumi.
I agree again! Ai didn't need the amount of promotion Kumi got, and Ai already has 3 singles that have outsold Kumi's best selling single (Real Emotion, at over 230 000 copies). Those three Ai singles (Sakuranbo, SMILY, Planetarium) didn't have a particularly helpful Final Fantasy tag attached to it. |
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| Edvent |
| Posted: Mar 06, 2006 4:13 pm |
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Happy Days
Joined: 15 Nov 2005
Posts: 122
Location: Germany
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Well, well that's gonna be an intersting race...
In my opinion the race will probably only happen between Ai-chan and Kumi...
Ami hasn't got the stuff to come up this high again and keep up with Ai and Kumi, but maybe I just think like that because I don't like Ami that much.
However, I think no one of those three will be able to beet Ayu in the end... she really is and stayes the most successful artist ever, until she leaves the business.
(It's not that I don't grand Ai such great success. I really would be happy if Ai came up as high as Ayu! But I think thats just the way it will be...)
I'm a little sad that Ayu is gonna marry  ...dunno why  |
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| furitsuke |
| Posted: Mar 06, 2006 7:49 pm |
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ネコに風船
Joined: 10 Aug 2005
Posts: 532
Location: EARTH
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Edvent wrote: However, I think no one of those three will be able to beet Ayu in the end... she really is and stayes the most successful artist ever, until she leaves the business.
(It's not that I don't grand Ai such great success. I really would be happy if Ai came up as high as Ayu! But I think thats just the way it will be...)
Yup, agreed with you too. I doubt Ayu will leave this "Business" anytime soon. She just too hot to handle  |
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| Gin-Gen |
| Posted: Mar 06, 2006 11:23 pm |
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さくらんぼ
Joined: 08 Dec 2005
Posts: 49
Location: California
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Personally, I don't think that Hikki or Ayu will be beaten.  Ai's amazing, but she's still got a ways to go.
As for Kumi Koda, I havn't listenened to enough of her songs to judge her voice, but it kind of disgusts me how hard she's trying to be sexy. |
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