Single Review: Ayumi Hamasaki – Bye-Bye

Ayumi Hamasaki’s music has become incredibly inconsistent, to such a point that every release from her feels like a lottery. And It’s more annoying than anything when Ayu chooses to put out crap songs, because we all know that she is actually capable of delivering good music. As much as folk like to claim that I ‘hate’ Ayumi Hamasaki, I fully acknowledge that she is capable of releasing something good. It’s the exact same deal with Koda Kumi, who I’d argue has sought to copy much of Ayu’s career down to the detail, that her music being an inconsistent mess is probably just her following suit. So, when Ayu finally does put out good music, it’s a weird feeling for me. Because I want to appreciate and just sit in the moment of her having released something good. But at the same time, there’s a sense that the song being good is a happy accident, because there is a high likelihood that Ayu will follow it up with something terrible. But for now, let’s just revel in “Bye-Bye”. Because this is not a crap song. In fact, it might just be one of the strongest singles Ayu has put out in a long time.

Ayumi Hamasaki – Bye-Bye | Avex Music Creative

Ayu has been stuck in the past for at least the past decade. She won’t budge for shit. And as a result of this, the music she puts out sounds like things she’s released before. This would be fine, if these songs came with some element of newness or [turns and looks into the camera] evolution. Ayu just sticking to a tried and tested sound style is a smart move at this point in her career. But hone and refine that sound to such a point that you can easily push it in new directions. Just doing the same thing over and over and over AND OVER, and not always being able to do it well shows how little of an understanding that Ayu has of her own sound—the elements which make it work and those that don’t. But it also shows a level of delusion. There seems to be a consensus within Ayu’s team of ‘Well, these songs must be good, because when we released songs like this 15 years ago, they were successful.’ But even a broken clock is wrong at least twice a day.

Is “Bye-Bye” fresh and new? Absolutely not. Is it pushing Ayu in any way? Hell no. But I’ll take it, because it is a really solid refinement of what Ayu has done before. And I feel locking her sound down at the most micro of levels should be her basis before she starts pulling her sound in new directions. And the charm of “Bye-Bye” is that it manages to sound like it was dragged into the present day from 2006, yet still works in 2024, without sounding dated in the ways that “Dreamed a Dream”, “Summer Again” and “Mask” did.

Ayumi Hamasaki – Bye-Bye | Avex Music Creative

As good as I think “Bye-Bye” is, there are two sticking points for me.

Firstly, Ayu’s voice. The only thing more inconsistent than Ayu’s music is her voice. Sometimes she’ll sound good on a song. Sometimes she’ll sound bad. On “Bye-Bye”, she sounds good. Ayu is singing in a range which feels right for her voice, so she’s able to run through the song pretty easily and sound decent enough doing it. Because of how snappy the melody is, Ayu’s singing is very in the pocket, so she’s not holding or sustaining notes and hitting us with that horrid vibrato. And there are some really nice background vocal moments on the verses—something I’d like Ayu to explore a little more. Vocal exploration is generally what this song lacks. There are so many moments across the song where Ayu could have given more, and I suspect that she will when she performs “Bye-Bye” live. The song could have benefitted from some harmonies on the second and third runs of the chorus. Harmonies during the refrain. Ad-libs during the breakdown. Although, given that Ayu’s ad-libs are usually nothing more than ‘LA-LA-LAAAAAA, LA-LAAAAAAAA’ or ‘WOOH-YEEEEAAAAAHHH-EEE-YEAAAAH’ it’s probably for the best she didn’t bother. But Ayu further developing her singing to be more intuitive and give variation with her ad-libs would really help her songs, and it definitely would have helped elevate “Bye-Bye”, because the breakdown in particular really needed something from her.

Secondly, the song structure. “Bye-Bye” is structurally very similar to “Nonfiction”, with its theatrical intro and dance breakdown, but is a MUCH tighter song. The breakdown section is pretty damn good. It shouldn’t work at all. Because who the fuck is doing these early 2000s synth-stabbin’ ass, record-scratchin’ ass breakdowns in 2024? But this is exactly why it works. It’s also a cool nod to a song such as “Startin’”, which had a similar vibe, although it didn’t quite work there. But the breakdown would have been cooler if it had also included an electric guitar solo. The “Bye-Bye” breakdown as it stands would be fine on a song for somebody like Namie Amuro who would more than likely dance during this section. But Ayu is not gonna give you a cute lil’ two-and-three-and-BOOM-KAT-and-a-six-and-turn-and-PAP-PAP. Her dancers will. And this isn’t to say that just because Ayu doesn’t really hit routines like this, that her songs shouldn’t feature these types of breakdowns. But I do think tailoring the breakdown more to Ayu’s music and performance style, would have added another layer to the song and really shown an extra level of consideration for this being ‘an Ayu song’ right the way through. Because one thing Ayu can and will do during an electric guitar solo is bring that guitar player forward onto the stage and whip her lil’ fried out bob as he shreds. So the song should have given her a moment to do this.

Ayumi Hamasaki – Bye-Bye | Avex Music Creative

“Bye-Bye” hits a really sweet spot of sounding like something Ayu has done before, but not a sound she’s done so many times that you roll your eyes at hearing it. But what makes “Bye-Bye” work ultimately, is that it sounds like a refinement of sounds that Ayu has done before. This is where Ayu often fucks up when she retreads these days. She doesn’t improve upon what she’s done. But “Bye-Bye” truly does feel like Ayu having honed this sound, evoking a similar vibe to songs in her discography such as “Step You”, “Startin’” and “My Name’s Women”, whilst actually bettering at least two of these songs.

I’m usually very much against Ayu working with people she’s worked with for years in the Avex bubble, because of how it keeps her in a cycle of the same thing, repeating bad habits and not growing. But Kunio Tago—who first worked with Ayu way back on Duty in 2000—actually came through here. Whatever the approach was internally for “Bye-Bye”, Ayu and co. need to assess it and apply it to her other songs. Tinkering as they go. Because I think they could be onto something here.