Ayumi Hamasaki

Hamasaki Ayumi (浜崎あゆみ, born October 2, 1978) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and producer. Nicknamed the "Empress of Pop" on account of her influence throughout Asia, she is widely-recognized for her versatile music production, songwriting, and live-performances. Hamasaki is the best-selling solo artist in Japan, and a cultural icon of the Heisei era.

Born and raised in Fukuoka, Hamasaki moved to Tokyo in 1993 to pursue a career in modeling and acting. In 1998, Hamasaki released her debut single "Poker Face" and debut major-label album A Song for ××. The album debuted at the top of the Oricon charts and remained there for five weeks, selling over a million copies. This rapid rise to fame was attributed to her lyrics, listeners praising her insight and relatability. Her next ten albums shipped over a million copies in Japan, with her third, Duty, selling nearly three million. A Best, her first compilation album, further established her position as a crowning artist with more than four million copies sold in Japan. It was at this time that she represented more than 40% of her record label's income.

After A Best, Hamasaki went on to experiment with her music style and lyricism, incorporating English into her work from Rainbow onwards. Later albums would range from electronic dream-pop to rock genres, the singer commenting that she focuses on what she wants to create "whether it is trendy or not". Hamasaki currently holds the record for the most albums to place in the top ten by a female artist in Japan.

Hamasaki has sold over 50.708 million units in Japan, and has several domestic record achievements for her singles: the most number-one hits by a female artist (38); the most consecutive number-one hits by a solo artist (25), and the most million-sellers. From 1999 to 2010, Hamasaki had at least two singles each year topping the charts. Hamasaki is also the first female recording artist to have ten studio albums since her debut to top the Oricon, and the first artist to have a number-one album for 13 consecutive years since her debut. In addition to this, Hamasaki's remix albums Super Eurobeat Presents Ayu-ro Mix and Ayu-mi-x II Version Non-Stop Mega Mix, are recognized as two of the best selling remix albums of all time worldwide.

Born in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Hamasaki was raised as an only child by her mother and grandmother. At age seven, Hamasaki began modeling for local institutions to supplement the family's income. She continued this career path by moving to Tokyo alone at fourteen, signing as a model under the SOS talent agency. Under the name "Ayumi", Hamasaki released a rap EP, Nothing from Nothing, on the Nippon Columbia label in 1995. After her mother moved to Tokyo, Hamasaki began attending Horikoshi Gakuen, as well as taking on acting work in movies and television dramas. From August 1995 to March 1996, Hamasaki co-hosted the SoundLink show Hōkago no Ōsama (After-School King) for Nintendo Satellaview with Shigeru Izumiya.

Hamasaki struggled to adjust to student life, and described living aimlessly after dropping out in tenth grade. It was during this time that she was introduced to Max Matsuura through an acquaintance, who offered her a record deal after hearing her sing at the Velfarre nightclub. Hamasaki suspected ulterior motives and turned the offer down, saying later "I'd never heard of Avex. When he asked if I wanted to pursue a singing career, I said, 'No way.' He was this older guy, and I thought the whole thing sounded fishy."

Matsuura persisted, and Hamasaki eventually agreed to take voice lessons in 1996, most of which she would end up skipping due to reminding her of school. When Matsuura found out, he offered to send her abroad for one-to-one training instead. "I thought he was kidding" Ayu said later of this time, "I mean, I was seventeen". Hamasaki stayed in New York for three months, corresponding frequently with Matsuura. Due to difficulties voicing her thoughts, that correspondence was usually through letter; impressed by her writing style, the producer asked her to try her hand at lyrics while they prepared for her debut through 1997. "No one had ever asked anything of me before, or expected anything," the singer said later. "He's the one who found me and drew me out."

Hamasaki made her debut on April 8, 1998 with the single "Poker Face". Almost a year later, the singer released her debut studio album A Song for ××; it was an unprecedented success, topping the Oricon charts for five weeks and selling over a million copies. Later in 1999, she received the Japan Gold Disc Award for "Best New Artist of the Year".

Ayu-mi-x (March 1999), the first of a series of remix albums, signaled Hamasaki moving beyond the pop-rock sound of A Song for ××. She began to experiment with musical style in her singles, releasing remixes which spanned reggae and house. Later singles became milestones: Hamasaki earned her first number-one single ("Love: Destiny") and first million-selling single ("A"). Her second studio album, Loveppears (November 1999), topped the Oricon charts and sold nearly 3 million copies. In support of Loveppears, she held her first tour: Ayumi Hamasaki Concert Tour 2000 A. Two DVDs of the tour were released. Ayumi Hamasaki Concert Tour 2000 Vol. 1 was released on September 13, 2000 with a multi-angle function to switch between backstage view and audience view. Ayumi Hamasaki Concert Tour 2000 Vol. 2 was released on September 27, 2000 with a multi-angle function to switch between audience view and the video effects on the giant video screen in the concert.

From April to June 2000, Hamasaki released the "despair trilogy": "Vogue", "Far Away", and "Seasons". Her subsequent studio album, Duty, reflected on the artist's feelings of loneliness, chaos, confusion, and the burden of responsibility; it resonated with fans, and became Hamasaki's best-selling studio album. At the end of 2000, Hamasaki held her first New Year countdown concert at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium.

In 2001, Hamasaki released her first compilation album, A Best. In support of Duty and A Best, Hamasaki held a tour of Japan's domes.

In 2002, the singer released her fourth studio album, I Am..., which featured her own compositions under the pseudonym "Crea". In light of the September 11 attacks, Hamasaki revised her vision of the album, focusing on issues such as faith and world peace. "A Song Is Born", a duet with Keiko Yamada, was released as part of Avex's Song Nation project. She also changed her idea for the album cover, opting instead to be portrayed as a "peace muse":

In support of I Am..., Hamasaki held two tours: Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2002 A, and Ayumi Hamasaki Stadium Tour 2002 A. Live albums of both tours were released in 2003. Later that year, Hamasaki performed at the MTV Asia music awards ceremony in Singapore, and received the award for "Most Influential Japanese Singer in Asia". In November she released her first European single, "Connected", under the name "Ayu". It was released in Germany on the Drizzly label. Hamasaki continued to release singles in Germany until 2005.

The singles "Free & Easy". "H", and "Voyage" were released ahead of Hamasaki's next studio album, Rainbow (December 2002).

In 2003, Hamasaki released three singles, "&", "Forgiveness", and "No Way to Say". The singer then held the A Museum concert at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium. The singer's next release, the EP Memorial Address, topped the Oricon chart and sold over a million copies. Despite this, sales of Hamasaki's singles began to wane — although all three of the album's singles topped the Oricon charts, "&" was Hamasaki's last single to sell over 500,000 copies. By the end of Arena Tour 2003–2004, Hamasaki had grown disillusioned with her position in Avex. This period of reassessment led her to begin work on her next studio album, My Story, ahead of schedule.

My Story and its singles, "Moments", "Inspire", and "Carols", all topped the weekly Oricon charts; moreover, with sales of over 1,100,000 units, My Story became Hamasaki's last million-selling studio album according to Oricon. From January to April 2005, Hamasaki held the nationwide Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2005 A: My Story tour. My Story Classical, a classical version of My Story, was released in March 2005.

(Miss)understood, Hamasaki's seventh studio album, was released in January 2006. In support of the album, Hamasaki held the Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2006 A tour, which spanned three months with thirty concerts.

"Startin'", Hamasaki's twenty-sixth number-one single, was released in March 2006. The subsequent studio album, Secret, was released in November 2006.

In February 2007, Hamasaki released A Best 2. The two versions, White and Black, debuted at the first and second positions on the Oricon weekly charts. Tour of Secret was then held from March to the end of June.

Hamasaki released "Glitter/Fated", "Talkin' 2 Myself", and "Together When..." ahead of her ninth studio album, Guilty, released in January 2008. In April, Hamasaki released the single "Mirrorcle World" to commemorate her tenth anniversary since debut. Between April and September 2008, Hamasaki held her second tour of Asia: Asia Tour 2008: 10th Anniversary. On September 10, Hamasaki released A Complete: All Singles.

Hamasaki's next two releases, "Days/Green" and "Rule/Sparkle", continued her streak of number-one singles. The subsequent studio album, Next Level, was released on March 25, 2009. Next Level reached the top of the Oricon charts, making Hamasaki the only artist to have a number-one album every year for eleven years in a row since her debut. On August 12, 2009, Hamasaki released "Sunrise/Sunset (Love Is All)". "Sunrise (Love Is All)" was used as the theme song for the Japanese television drama Dandy Daddy?. Hamasaki's third single of the year, "You Were.../Ballad", was used for Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure in Japan.