10781 replies to this topic

[Quintaxos]

I really like the Black Haired woman, gives me the chills when

Spoiler

you see the face in the door window and when she is in the bed with Ayaya. Can't blame the Black Haired woman for sneaking into Ayas bed, who wouldn't?

[Mattthecat]

I have added all 44 SkyPerfecTV commercials that I have to the RS folders (as well as today's Uta Doki as a mpg - still waiting for the usual source to post it)

And Aya on "FromA" magazine (or whatever this is):

[mangomalte]

I really like the Black Haired woman, gives me the chills when

Spoiler

you see the face in the door window and when she is in the bed with Ayaya. Can't blame the Black Haired woman for sneaking into Ayas bed, who wouldn't?

....that short movie scarred the shit out of me.
especially when

Spoiler

she turns around in bed

, that freaked me out. and i don't really consider myself easily scarred...

[Vermillion]

I just discovered Aya about 3 weeks ago when I watched "Sukeban Deka". I found her to be really intriguing with those piercing eyes and badass attitude, so I decided to find out more about her. Little did I know she had this huge career as a cute singer/idol! Then I saw the videos for Ne~e and Momoiro Kataomoi and I was hooked! I had never seen such bright, cute, happy videos before, starring the cutest girl singer I think I have ever seen.

So now I am a big fan of Aya. She reminds me of my other favorite female star, Mandy Moore, in that they are both trying to transition from being teen stars to more mature roles. I also found Mandy in a similar way, after watching her in the movie "A Walk to Remember". They both went from the "big, toothy smile" to the "closed mouth smile" as they got older.

I love Aya's singing. I was never into the Celine Dion/Mariah Carey/Ethel Merman singing style that many female singers use these days; so I find Aya's style and tone very appealing. Plus she is just so nice to look at

Aya pulls off the "wide eyed look" so well... I've seen other Japanese singers who looked like they have had their upper eyelid removed or something to do what Aya does with her eyes.

Anyway, just wanted to share some thoughts on my new idol....

[Nights4Saturn]

Double Rainbow should be available NOW! Or, for the last hour or so!!

Here's best wishes for astronomically high sales, and a number one on the Oricon!


P.S. I also really like The Black Haired Woman. It's really quite creepy, and it was also the first time I had seen her act. She did quite well in a genre I'm sure she isn't used to.

[Quintaxos]

I just discovered Aya about 3 weeks ago when I watched "Sukeban Deka". I found her to be really intriguing with those piercing eyes and badass attitude, so I decided to find out more about her. Little did I know she had this huge career as a cute singer/idol! Then I saw the videos for Ne~e and Momoiro Kataomoi and I was hooked! I had never seen such bright, cute, happy videos before, starring the cutest girl singer I think I have ever seen.

So now I am a big fan of Aya. She reminds me of my other favorite female star, Mandy Moore, in that they are both trying to transition from being teen stars to more mature roles. I also found Mandy in a similar way, after watching her in the movie "A Walk to Remember". They both went from the "big, toothy smile" to the "closed mouth smile" as they got older.

I love Aya's singing. I was never into the Celine Dion/Mariah Carey/Ethel Merman singing style that many female singers use these days; so I find Aya's style and tone very appealing. Plus she is just so nice to look at

Aya pulls off the "wide eyed look" so well... I've seen other Japanese singers who looked like they have had their upper eyelid removed or something to do what Aya does with her eyes.

Anyway, just wanted to share some thoughts on my new idol....

WELCOME

Hmm.. "Vermillion" I recognize that from somewhere. Where is that name taken from?

[Vermillion]

WELCOME

Hmm.. "Vermillion" I recognize that from somewhere. Where is that name taken from?

Macross

[Quintaxos]

WELCOME

Hmm.. "Vermillion" I recognize that from somewhere. Where is that name taken from?

Macross

Aah ok looked up what that was, and I had never heard of it before ^^ I think I saw someone on some other community named Vermillion.

And btw, Aya got me hooked up on H!P aswell, but I don't know. Maybe you've only checked out Aya related stuff so far.

[soup]

I'm trying to download Double Rainbow... how is it like? What kind of songs?

[Quintaxos]

I'm trying to download Double Rainbow... how is it like? What kind of songs?

Don't know I'm not downloading it cause it's "FLAC", those files are huuuuge. I hope someone will rip normal mp3 versions.

[soup]

I'm trying to download Double Rainbow... how is it like? What kind of songs?

Don't know I'm not downloading it cause it's "FLAC", those files are huuuuge. I hope someone will rip normal mp3 versions.

It is in mp3 format too in the same torrent. You can choose the files you want. But my share ratio is not good enough, I must wait few hours

[Quintaxos]

Oh, then I'll give it a shot

[Azagrath]

Just finished my first spin through Double Rainbow, and the verdict is...

It's a nice and pleasant album. Can't really say I'm overly impressed, but I'm not disappointed either (I didn't really have any expectations beforehand). After the nice but kinda dull Naked Songs album I was hoping this album would be a return to form for Aya. Not nescessarily a carbon copy of her old stuff, but at least more up-beat and with a little more energy than the latest stuff. So, the big question is, is it?

Well, somewhat, but not quite there either. Largely a mid-paced album, the songs come and go. They're nice and pleasant to listen to, though I do miss the stand-out tracks. On first listen, only Happy To Go really shines (besides Suna wo Kamu You ni...Namida, which I love, but we've all heard that one already. Same with Egao basically.). It's the sort of fast and bouncy, fun and light-hearted Aya track I really love. Onna Day By Day also has it's moments, and kinda falls in the same category, though the melody is a little bit... I dunno, I don't really wanna use the word generic, but... still, a nice track by all means.

The rest of the songs are all good, though they lack that extra something to really make them stand out. Again, this is based on the first spin, so I'm positive they'll grow on me a lot.

[Alienpyon]

^ I'll wait till the album has been shipped. Then I'll get back on that!

A small comment on the black haired woman:

Don't you think Ayaya changed too many clothes in just a few hours?
This first scene is supposed to be taking place in just one morning. How many tops did she change? Three!







A nice little goof, there!

THANKS SO MUCH to the translating team and to Matt for making this one available! It was GOOD!

[Foxxy_Fuyumi]

the album is out.
Go to JPOPSUKI lol

[Alienpyon]

the album is out.
Go to JPOPSUKI lol

I have ordered it. I am waiting for my copy to arrive

EDIT: I won't listen to any preview clips till then!

[Mattthecat]

A small comment on the black haired woman:

Don't you think Ayaya changed too many clothes in just a few hours?
This first scene is supposed to be taking place in just one morning. How many tops did she change? Three!

That's girls for ya

the album is out.
Go to JPOPSUKI lol

Why go there when it's on the HO tracker :-)))



I did love Naked Songs and still hope she will travel that road further at one time, but I can understand the decision after the sales disaster to travel more succesful paths.
I'm in no way a musical expert (and am not interested in that aspect really), so my assessments come directly from the gut. And I can't talk about the lyrics as I don't know what they mean :-)
This is like Azagrath a first run impression. Could be that I'll think differently tomorrow.


01. Ima wa Let it Be
I like the song a lot as it has (like Hyacinth) a few moments and harmonies where you get the impression that this is an album coming from an Asian country. Something which is lacking in almost all H!P (if not Jpop itself) songs. Basically it's Western pop music that is no different than European or US pop. Just that it's sung in Japanese :-)
So thumbs up here

02. Happy to Go!
I am always reminded of Kylie Minogue here (and not only because of the word "Lucky" in the title). A happy song that will fare well at concerts I'm sure. Gets me in a good mood, so thumbs up again.

03. Soulmate
Could've been (and should've been) a whole lot "blacker" and harder (or jazzier). A missed chance by drowning it in the easy listening production style that is of course dominant on this album. So I guess it does fit in, but as an individual entry: thumbs down for reasons given above.

04. Double Rainbow
One of those melodies that sound great and emotional, but don't really have any substance at all. In other words: It pretends to be more than it is.
So like Soulmate nice listening but forgettable and thumbs down.

05. Blue Bird
Don't really have any feelings here. Maybe this one will grow on me, as it's not a "poser". So thumbs undecided :-)

06. Kaze ni Makasete
Another good mood head bopping song, a bit simple maybe. Thumbs undecided again until further notice.

07. Suna wo Kamu You ni... NAMIDA
I love the song, but why include an old one on a new album without doing it any differently? Thumbs down for that reason.

08. Toudai
See comment on 05. Pretty, but boring. Right now one of those songs that you skip to get to the next one.

09. Hikkosenai Kimochi
Could have been a VERY interesting number with more courageous production. Rockier for example. Again a missed chance. But I like it, so thumbs up.

10. Onna Day by Day
One of the better songs which like Happy to Go will do good live. Thumbs up

11. Egao
I like Egao a lot and I still can't understand that it didn't do better. Maybe they did overdo it on the high notes, but at least here you know what she is capable of and what hasn't been used on this album on the whole. Thumbs up

So.....
What is good is that they let Aya's voice stay in the foreground on all numbers, not having it get lost in multiple voice tracks, chorus or instrumental mixes. In the end it's her voice which makes this album worthwhile, though (except for Egao which was already a topic in this thread) there's not much of a challenge for her vocally. She can do a lot more and is given songs that can be sung by almost everyone really.
Azagrath is right. It's Easy Listening (at its best or worst - take your pick) without any real highlights. Good albums can make you associate with feelings of your own. This one doesn't. It's pleasant. Good to hear on your drive to work and while doing homework. But is that enough for someone who can do so much more? She did start to develop a style of her own, but instead of developing that they took half a step back. In German you have an expression: "weder Fisch noch Fleisch" (neither fish nor meat).
But I'll listen to it on my way to work tomorrow again. Maybe I'll think differently then :-)

[Alienpyon]

^ I'll wait till the album has been shipped. Then I'll get back on that!

After Matt's previous post, it's only fair that I DON'T get back on that! Is there more to say, anyway?

EDIT: Well, there is something, actually: "Give this album some more time!"

[mangomalte]

i'm currently downloading it... with anticipation.
hmm... 11 tracks? wasn't it 9 to start with? i'm not complaining (who would be?), just wondering.

[Mattthecat]

^ I'll wait till the album has been shipped. Then I'll get back on that!

After Matt's previous post, it's only fair that I DON'T get back on that! Is there more to say, anyway?

EDIT: Well, there is something, actually: "Give this album some more time!"

Lol. Can't wait till I get my copy too
And yeah I like the album. But I could've liked it even better. I guess after listening to "Rappa to Musume" I know (as if I didn't before) what she can do. And in which direction she should go - if she wasn't with H!P. She's the perfect swing singer. Well, maybe some time in the future...
Until then I'll love this album
Oh btw, in today's folders update....but BUY THE ALBUM!!