Music video: Ayumi Hamasaki "Dreamed a Dream" of an expensive music video, and she got this

Ayumi Hamasaki has released a music video for "Dreamed a Dream". Unlike "Ohia na Ki", Ayu didn't shoot this in her back garden on her iPhone. Avex actually gave her enough money to shoot on a sound stage with some dancers and her white gay holding a hose off-camera for some rain. But by peak Ayu standards, this was a far cry from the productions she used to give.

Avex had to give Ayu SOME budget though, given that the woman headlining a-nation on Saturday. But they were never gonna give her that Next Level money, and let her know they ain't giving out budgets like its 2008. Hence the refuse sacks for a cape, no backdrop for some clouds, no set dresser to hide the edges of the sound stage wrap, and raggedy VFX. Did you see that rain? Of course you did. Because it's ALL you could see. It was distracting as hell. Somebody just used the particle generator in After Effects and cranked that shit to the highest setting, with no regard for matching the camera moves.

I like the concept of this video, but it was so boringly done. It would have been really cool if the entire video was focused around choreography. Think Namie Amuro's "Mint". Ayu wouldn't even need to dance that much. It'd just be everybody else around her giving us formations. But it was cool seeing Ayuana Grande do some choreo towards the end, even if a bitch struggled to get up after going down onto the floor.

The music video for "Step You" did many a thing that "Dreamed a Dream" tried to do, and did it better.

ANYWAY.

It is what it is. The music is dusty. The music videos are dusty. I guess we have consistency between the two if nothing else.

💿 Album reviews: Colours | Love Again | Party Queen | Five | Love Songs | Rock 'n' Roll Circus | Next Level