Quote:
Originally posted by Jack. Bauer
ddd but her singles are amazing. 
Namie and Utada had a lot of trash in their early years, with Namie later having a pretty consistent mid-high and Utada coming for those gems (Keep Tryin', Flavor of Life, Goodbye Happiness). Koda just had a pretty solid collection from the start which gradually got better, with Taboo/Pop Diva and a couple of ballads really hitting those highs.
Ayumi seems the most versatile imo (I know Koda probably is in terms of albums given that Japonesque is like every genre ever), she hasn't done so much electronic stuff but her upbeat rock and synth songs are amazing and her ballads throughout were incredible too. |
For me, I had to slowly ease into Namie's early discography when I started listening to her. Her discography just got so different after she ditched TK it was a shock hearing STYLE and then listening to break the rules which came before it. For Utada, I feel like she's got good music spread through her career with some mess occasionally dropped in. But the way she sings is just
Kuu's earlier discography is SO underrated imo. One of her best songs ever is on her 2nd album (One night romance, get into it! It's EVERYTHING! Without Your Love off of her 3rd album slays as well).
I find Ayu to be the most versatile because album after album just did a 180 every time she released. Europop with LOVEppears into this weird acoustic synthy rock with Duty into an orchestral rock tinged sound with I am... then switching to ethereal pop for RAINBOW and so on. Everything is just so different, you don't know what to expect. Kuu is also very diverse! She manages to incorporate many sounds without abandoning her core sound and I love that about her.
Ballad wise, my favorites are usually from Kuu. I love Kuu's huge ballads, they're so dramatic they make me feel like I'm on the titanic about to lose the love of my life or sth.
I usually average peoples ballots and she's rarely the highest out of them all. 
I grew up with a lot of these songs in my awkward teen years so they hold a lot of sentimental value for me.
