Ayaka celebrates her 15th anniversary in the house of Jebus

Over the course of 2021 Ayaka has been pretty active on YouTube; sharing live sessions, televised performances and interviews. The bitch is even giving the people TikToks. Of all the artists to be doing the work to grow their YouTube channel, I didn't think it'd be Ayaka. But I also didn't think I'd be spending the past 2 years in a pandemic and that England would roller blade its way straight into Valhalla.

Life chile.

Ayaka, Online Live | YouTube Music Weekend 2021

Ayaka's latest YouTube upload (or at least it was until she dropped another performance video) was a gig she shared as part of YouTube Music Weekend which kicked off in Japan on December 4th, 2021.

The performance was short and sweet and featured the following set list.

Mikazuki
Arigatou no Wa
365
The Beginning
Nijiiro
Michishirube
Beautiful
Minna Sora no Shita

Ayaka pretty much said 'Fuck the early shit'. The only song from way back that we get is "Mikazuki", which unfortunately got the weakest performance. It makes sense that Ayaka wouldn't give her Warner Music releases much air time, given that she's been releasing music through her own label A stAtion for the past decade, and her Warner Music releases aren't available on streaming globally anyway. And in a smart move, since then she's managed to put out equivalents and counterparts to some of her earlier Warner hits. For instance, "The Beginning" could easily be a replacement for "Blue Days". Also, it's not like Ayaka's sound changed once she jumped ship.

Ayaka started off a lil'...well, off. But from the second song in, she found her footing and sounded great. I find Ayaka's voice these days to be a little hit and miss on recordings. Ayaka's latest single  "Kinmokusei" is a recent example. She has so much more clarity and strength in her voice on the live performance of the song than she does on the studio recording. I don't know what's up with that. Maybe Ayaka's decision to release more of these live performances over the past year is her trying to reconcile this vocal discrepancy.

Ayaka has a really nice voice and a powerful one, and she knows it. Hence why she chose to perform in a church with crazy reverb and acoustics, which can either make you sound great or sound like a foot. But Ayaka knew the house of Jebus was not going to play her. If Kumi Koda had tried anything in a church, lightning woulda struck a bitch.

Ayaka, Online Live | YouTube Music Weekend 2021

I don't listen to Ayaka as much as I did when she first came onto the scene. (Shout-outs to the J-drama Suppli for putting me onto her). But it's great to know she's still active and putting out music - signed to her own label, out here touring and everything.

I really thought when the fax went out about Ayaka being diagnosed with Graves' disease that it would be a wrap on her music career. But nope. A bitch kept it moving, got married, had a baby and is staying on her grind. Sure, she may be doing the same ol' same ol'. But Ayaka's music is consistent if nothing else. It's not like it's fallen off or gotten worse. And Ayaka knows her brand and her lane.

Ayaka's 6th studio album Love Cycle releases on February 1, and will feature the singles "Xmas Santa", "Motto Ii Hi ni", "Tender Love" and "Kinmokusei".

💿 Album reviews: First Message | Sing to the Sky