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Revision as of 04:44, 9 October 2010

Hamasaki Ayumi promoting "L" (2010)

Hamasaki Ayumi (浜崎あゆみ) is a Japanese pop star. She has had many chart-topping releases. With record sales of over 75 million copies, 50 million copies of which is in Japan alone, Hamasaki is one of Japanese music's highest earning performers and a legend in the industry. Her appearance and style has had a huge impact on Japanese fashion, even influencing countries in other parts of Asia. She is also an energetic performer, known for her intricate and flashy live shows.

After a rough childhood, Hamasaki was discovered by current avex trax president Matsuura Max. Ever since, she has had numerous number 1 releases and is consistently reinventing her image. In 2007 and 2008, Hamasaki expanded outside of Japan by holding 2 concert tours with show locations throughout Asia

Hamasaki will celebrate the release of her 50th single by leading up to the release in three parts. The three-single project begins with "MOON / blossom", followed by "crossroad", and finally concluding with her 50th single, "L".

Profile

  • Stage Name: Hamasaki Ayumi (浜崎あゆみ), Hamazaki Kurumi (浜崎くるみ)
  • Birth Name: Hamasaki Ayumi (濱崎歩)
  • Nicknames: Ayu (あゆ), CREA
  • Birth Date: October 2, 1978 (1978-10-02) (age 46)
  • Birth Place: Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
  • Blood Type: A
  • Height: 157cm (61.8 in; 5'1")
  • Weight: 40kg (88.18 lbs)
  • Measurements: 80cm-53cm-82cm (31.5 in-20.9 in-32.3 in)
  • Favorite Artists: KEIKO (globe), Miyazawa Rie, Matsuda Seiko, Babyface, En Vogue and Tohoshinki
  • Favorite City: New York
  • Favorite Actors: Nicolas Cage, Miyazawa Rie
  • Favorite Movies: The Bodyguard, Betty Blue, Leaving Las Vegas
  • People I Respect: People who have things I don't have.
  • People I Dislike: Liars, people who don't say hello.
  • Current Interest: Collecting white things for my room
  • Favorite Food: Biscuits (maybe my staple diet!), cakes, chocolates, kimchi (Korean marinated cabbage)
  • Favorite Things to Read: Most fashion magazines. Modern-language translations of the Manyo tanka poems are especially interesting. Poems of Giniro Natsuo, Aida Mitsuo, etc.
  • Lessons: Piano, Japanese calligraphy (5th rank), abacus calculation, Japanese flower arrangement, Kumon-shiki study system

Biography

Early Life

Hamasaki Ayumi (1995)

Hamasaki Ayumi was born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1978. Her father left her and her mother behind when Hamasaki was only three years old. One night, Hamasaki awoke in the night and witnessed her father packing up his things. When she asked where he was going, he said he was leaving on a business trip. After wishing her father a safe journey and going back to bed Hamasaki never saw him again.

Following her father's deprture, she and her mother moved in with her grandmother. Hamasaki's mother worked most of the time, and thus the responsibility of caring for young Hamasaki fell on the shoulders of her grandmother. Hamasaki would later say that her grandmother felt more like a mother to her than her "Mommy" did. When she was seven years old, Hamasaki began working as a child model for local institutions to help contribute to the family.

At the age of 14, Hamasaki moved to Tokyo and signed with the talent agency SOS. Hamasaki worked as a model, doing many swimsuit photoshoots for magazines like BOMB, Young Teioh, Takarajima, and Up To Boy. She also starred in several movies and TV series, including Yami no Purple Eyes and Miseinen on TV, and movies such as Ladys Ladys!! Soucho Saigo no Hi, Like Grains of Sand, and Sumomo mo Momo. However, her career as a model did not last very long as she was deemed too short to be a model. She was transfered from SOS to the music agency, Sun Music.

Nothing from Nothing

Hamasaki signed very briefly with Nippon Columbia under the name AYUMI featuring DOHZI-T and DJ BASS and released one single and one mini-album, both titled "NOTHING FROM NOTHING". It sold dismally and Nippon Columbia dropped her. Hamasaki found little success as an idol and gave it up in favor of hanging out with friends.

Debut with A Song for XX

Disattisfied with her job as an actress and an unsuccessful singer, Hamasaki quit work and moved in with her mother (who had recently moved to Tokyo).

As a junior high student back home, Hamasaki was a initially a dedicated student. However, her interest in the curriclum soon disintegrated and with it, her grades. Once in Tokyo and living with her mother, Hamasaki attempted to return to school and enrolled in Horikoshi Gakuen, a high school for the arts. She dropped out after the first year.

A jobless high school dropout, Hamasaki decided that her time was best to spent shopping in the Shibuya district of Tokyo and dacning at Velfarre, a club owned by Avex. One fateful night at Velfarre in 1997, Hamasaki was introduced to Matsuura Max (her future producer) by a friend. After hearing Hamasaki sing karaoke Matsuura told her she had a nice voice, but couldn't sing well. He wanted to send her to voice lessons and sign her to his label, avex trax. She found him to be shady and rejected the offer at first. However, Matsuura persisted and convinced Hamasaki to sign with the label in the following year.

Hamasaki promoting "poker face" (1998)

Hamasaki was then sent to New York for voice lessons but rarely attended, having always had a problem with authority. She never told Matsuura that she ditched the lessons and went shopping in New York instead. While in New York she exchanged letters with Matsuura, oddly displaying a remarkable talent for expressing her feelings.

Finally she returned to Japan to record her debut single, "poker face". Up until the day of recording, Hamasaki had been dissatisfied with the lyrics. Matsuura, remembering Hamasaki's letters, suggested she try writing new ones. Her lyrics were the used in the final recording of the song. The day before that recording session, Hamasaki's grandmother was sick in the hospital. Hamasaki visited her briefly saying that she'd come again later, and that tomorrow she had to record her first single. The day of recording, Hamasaki received a fax saying that her grandmother had passed away.

"poker face" was released on April 8th, 1998. Soon afterwards, she released her second single "YOU". Neither release was a hit. However, Hamasaki's emotional lyrics resonated with the Japanese public and people began to take notice of her. Hamasaki's third single, "Trust", managed to chart within the Oricon top 10, coming in at #9. Her next two singles both charted within the Oricon top 10.

Hamasaki promoting A Song for ×× (1999)

On January 1st, 1999 Hamasaki's debut album was released. Titled A Song for ××, the album reached number one on the Oricon album chart, selling over 1 million copies. Due to the success of the album, she received the Japan Gold Disc Award for Best New Artist.

Rise in Popularity with LOVEppears and Duty

In February of 1999, Hamasaki released her first single since her debut album. "WHATEVER", featuring two different versions of the song with neither labeled as the original, peaked at #5 on the Oricon charts.

In April of 1999, Hamasaki released her first #1 single with the TSUNKU composition "LOVE ~Destiny~".

Hamasaki's August 1999 single "A" was initially released in five different versions (distinguished by different colors). To commeorate sales of 1 million copies, a version of the single with a gold colored disc was released. When sales reached 1.5 million copies, a special edition gold disc was released. The single sold over 1.6 million copies total, and is to this date her best-selling single.

Hamasaki promoting "LOVEppears" (1999)

Hamasaki Ayumi's second album, LOVEppears, effectively solidified her status as "Japanese pop royalty". Released on November 10th, 1999 the album immediately reached #1 on the Oricon charts, where it remained for three consecutive weeks. The album sold 1,443,490 copies in 1999 making it the #15 album of that year. In 2000, the album sold 1,077,960 copies making it the #14 album of the year. In total the album sold 2,562,130 copies and charted for 64 weeks.

Fans noticed a change in Hamasaki's musical style with the release of this album, going from the rock-style of A Song for ×× to a more dance-pop style. The single "appears" was released on the same day as the album and reached #2 on the Oricon charts.

The summer of 2000 saw Hamasaki's first concert tour, which was a huge success. It was later released on DVD, VHS, and VCD in two seperate releases, ayumi hamasaki concert tour 2000 A Daiichi Maku and ayumi hamasaki concert tour 2000 A Daini Maku.

In April of 2000, Hamasaki released "vogue", the first single in a special release project. "vogue", "Far away", and "SEASONS", were all released one month apart from each other and were marketed as a trilogy. The singles were very successful, with lyrics focusing on emotions on hopelessness, a reflection of Hamasaki's self disappointment with her past public image. Hamasaki described the lyrics as looking at her life from the front, the back, and the side respectively.

Hamasaki promoting Duty (2000)

In September of 2000, Hamasaki's third album, Duty was released. With lyrics dealing with issues similar to those in the trilogy singles the album stirred emotions in many fans and became an instant success. Duty sold 2,603,550 copies in 2000, becoming the #2 album of the year and sold 2,904,420 copies in total. It is Hamasaki's best selling original studio album to date.

At the end of 2000, Hamasaki held her first New Year countdown concert at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium. It is a tradition she still follows every year.

A-Best and Controversy

In 2001, Avex told Hamasaki that she was to release her best-of album after having released her previous studio albums. Hamasaki was not happy with this decision as she felt that her best album is something she wants to do perfectly and the way she wants. She was not ready yet as an artist to release a best album and was being forced to release a rushed release.

Nonetheless, work on the best album began. Hamasaki begrudgingly hand-picked the songs. As a small show of retaliation and control of her career, she re-recorded four of the tracks.

However, the friction with her label grew greater once the release date was chosen. At the time, the two most successful singers in Japanese pop were Hamasaki and Utada Hikaru. Utada was to follow up her massively successful debut album First Love with her sophomore album, Distance. Avex strategically placed the release of Hamasaki's best album within the same week as Utada's album. As a result, the media reported a heated rivalry between the two young female stars. Both Hamasaki and Utada vehemently denied these claims stating that the rivalry was fabricated by their record labels. The album was promoted heavily and Hamasaki appeared on the covers of numerous magazines.

Hamasaki promoting A BEST (2001)

A BEST was released on March 28th, 2001. In the first week, Utada's Distance took #1. In the second week, the album's positions flipped and A BEST claiming the top position. In the end, both albums were huge successes, with A BEST selling 4,295,353 copies (becoming Hamasaki's best selling album and the #6 best selling album in Japanese music history) and Distance selling 4,472,343 copies (making it the #4 highest selling album in Japanese music history).

To promote Duty and A BEST, Hamasaki toured the Domes of Japan, becoming one of the only artists to be able to fill the seats at Tokyo Dome. At the same time, she was being worn down physically and mentally. During the rehearsal of one of the shows she damaged her leg. Around this time, it was also discovered that the hearing in her left ear was deteriorating.

Although Avex's stock values rocketed with the success of A BEST, Hamasaki was unsure about staying with the label. In the end, she decided to stay and began to take more control in the production of her music.

Control over Career

Prior to the release of A BEST, Hamasaki Ayumi released the single "M" in December of 2000. It was her first single since the release of her album Duty as well as a turning point in her career. This was the first song whose melody she composed herself and it showed a definite stylistic shift for the singer. Hamasaki wrote the song and its lyrics under the name, CREA. Since this time in her career, nearly every single she released has reached #1 on the Oricon weekly charts. Following the controversy with A BEST, Hamasaki saught similar control over her career and threatened to leave Avex if she was not being treated "as a human being."

On September 27th, 2001 Hamasaki released her 24th single and one of her most iconic songs, "Dearest". The single was a huge success, selling a total of 750,420 copies and charting at #1 on the Oricon charts. It was also used as the 3rd ending theme to the popular anime, Inuyasha. However, the lyrics and promotional videos were a direct depiction of Hamasaki's feelings towards the way she was treated during the A BEST controversy.

In December of 2001, Hamasaki participated in Komuro Tetsuya's charity drive, song nation. The song project, featuring other popular avex artists such as Koda Kumi, BoA, and Amuro Namie, came together to help raise money for victims of the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Hamasaki collaborated with avex label-mate KEIKO on the single, "a song is born". The single reached number #1 on the Oricon charts (the only one of the song nation singles to do so).

Hamasaki promoting I am... (2002)

On January 1st, 2002, Hamasaki released her fouth studio album I am.... Nearly every single track was composed by Hamasaki under the name CREA. The album had a different photo and lyrical concept at first but following the attacks on 9/11, Hamasaki revised the album to focus on issues like faith and world peace. The album reached #1 on the Oricon charts and sold 2,308,112 copies.

A little less than a year later, Hamasaki released her fifth album RAINBOW. It sold 1,856,919 copies in 2003, becoming the #2 album of the year. In total, the album sold 1,857,870 copies. First press copies included a code to listen to a sample of the instrumental for the title song, "RAINBOW", which was released a few months later on the compilation album A BALLADS.

2003-2006

In August of 2003, Hamasaki Ayumi released her 30th single, "forgiveness". To commemorate this release, a special concert titled A museum ~30th single collection live~ was held at Yoyogi National Gymnasium.

Hamasaki promoting Memorial address (2003)

In December of 2003, Memorial address was released. It is the first mini-album released by Hamasaki, with each song on the mini having its own PV. The album reached #1 on the Oricon charts, selling over 1 million copies and becoming the best selling mini-album by a female artist.

Even with the A BEST controversy seemingly far behind her, Hamasaki still felt as if she was being treated as a product and not a person. She expressed feelings that her last two studio albums were rushed. It is about this time that her sales started on a gradual decline.

Hamasaki promoting MY STORY (2004)

This sense of dissatisfaction drove Hamasaki to begin work on her sixth studio album, MY STORY. In this album she wrote freely and honestly. As a result, the album had no set theme and instead focused on her emotions towards her career.

MY STORY was released on December 15, 2004. The album reached #1 on the Oricon charts, selling 1,131,776 copies. This would be Hamasaki's last album to sell over 1 million copies in Japan. To promote the album, Hamasaki embarked on a tour titled ARENA TOUR 2005 A ~MY STORY~. It is her first tour to be based on an album.

Following the release of MY STORY, Hamasaki released 4 more singles: "STEP you / is this LOVE?", "fairyland", "HEAVEN", and "Bold & Delicious / Pride". The "fairyland" PV became one of the most expensive music videos ever made, "HEAVEN" was used as the theme song to the movie Shinobi, and "Bold & Delicious / Pride" became Hamasaki's 25th #1 single; tying her with Matsuda Seiko for the record of most #1 singles by a solo female artist.

Hamasaki promoting (miss)understood (2006)

Nearly two years after the release of MY STORY, Hamasaki released her seventh album (miss)understood. The sound of this album is distinctly different from anything released by Hamasaki in the past. This is because many of the tracks were covers of demos songs composed by Roberto "Geo" Rosan and intend for an album for Sweetbox. Hamasaki liked the sound and asked for permission to cover some of the songs. She edited and rearranged some of the tracks, rewriting the lyrics until she liked the results.

(miss)understood reached #1 on the Oricon charts. However, It became Hamasaki's first album to not sell over a million copies in Japan.

On March 8th, 2006, Hamasaki released the single "Startin' / Born To Be...". The single became her 26th #1 single, breaking Matsuda Seiko's record for most #1 singles by a solo female artist.

Hamasaki promoting Secret (2006)

Hamasaki's eighth album, Secret, was released on November 29, 2006. At first it was meant to be a mini-album but Hamasaki changed her mind and wrote five more songs. It reached #1 on the Oricon charts but failed to sell over a million copies. However the album was a huge success throughout Asia, selling a total of 2,000,000 copies.

Foray into Asia

On February 28th, 2007 Hamasaki released two compilation albums, A BEST 2 -BLACK- and A BEST 2 -WHITE-. The compilations featured songs from I am... through (miss)understood. On the day of release, A BEST 2 -BLACK- reached #1 on the Oricon charts. A BEST 2 -WHITE- charted at #2, making Hamasaki the first female artist in 36 years to occupy the #1 and #2 positions on the Oricon album charts. Sales of both albums combined totaled at 1,424,734 copies.

Hot on the heels of the success of Secret, and the two compilations in Asian countries outside of Japan, Hamasaki decided to go on a concert tour of Asia. ayumi hamasaki ASIA TOUR 2007 A ~Tour of Secret~ was announced. The foreign fanbase was extremely excited by the announcement. Tickets for the shows in Hong Kong and Taipei sold out within 3 hours.

In July of 2007, Hamasaki released her first single in over a year, "glitter / fated". The single included a short film shot in Hong Kong featuring Shang Yue. On July 13th, 2007 it was announced that Hamasaki had split with her long time boyfriend Nagase Tomoya, whom she had been dating since 2001.

In Decmeber of 2007, Hamasaki released her first digital single "Together When...", which topped digital charts. On January 1st, 2008, Hamasaki Ayumi released her ninth album GUILTY. Unlike with her past albums, Hamasaki stated that the writing process was not very emotional for her. The album is noticeably darker and more rock driven than her past work. The album reached #2 on the Oricon charts and is Hamasaki's first album to not top the charts at #1.

Hamasaki promoting "Mirrorcle World" (2008)

10th Anniversary

To begin the celebration of Hamasaki's 10th anniversary in the music scene, Avex released "Mirrorcle World" on April 8th, 2008 exactly 10 years since her debut with "poker face" in 1998. The single reached #1 on the Oricon charts, making Hamasaki the only solo female artist to have a #1 single every year for 10 consecutive years.

Shooting for the "Mirrorcle World" PV took place in Paris, France.

Hamasaki then embarked on her second Asia tour ayumi hamasaki ASIA TOUR 2008 ~10th Anniversary~, which was used to promote GUILTY. Footage for the concert DVD was recorded at the show in Taipei.

On September 10th, 2008 Hamasaki released A COMPLETE ~ALL SINGLES~, a compilation album featuring all the A-side songs of all her singles. The album reached #1 on the Oricon charts and sold 852,259 copies, making it the third best selling album by a female artist in 2008, behind Amuro Namie's BEST FICTION and Utada Hikaru's HEART STATION.

In December of 2008, Hamasaki released the single "Days / GREEN".

To close her 10th anniversary celebrations, Hamasaki held her annual countdown concert, this time titled ayumi hamasaki PREMIUM COUNTDOWN LIVE 2008-2009 A and featuring many of her old hits.

NEXT LEVEL, Rock'n'Roll Circus, and the present

In February of 2009, Hamasaki released "Rule / Sparkle". "Rule" was used as the theme song to the international release of the live action movie, Dragon Ball Evolution. The single continued her long running streak of #1 singles.

Hamasaki promoting NEXT LEVEL (2009)

On March 25th, 2009 Hamasaki Ayumi released her 10th album, NEXT LEVEL. It reached #1 on the Oricon charts and sold 379,989 copies. This time, her style was more electronic. The album also came in an USB format, a first for Hamasaki. The PVs for "NEXT LEVEL and "Curtain Call" were both shot in Los Angeles.

To promote NEXT LEVEL, Hamasaki went on her ARENA TOUR 2009 A ~NEXT LEVEL~, her first Arena Tour of Japan in two years.

In the summer of 2009, Hamasaki released her 46th single, "Sunrise / Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~". It became her 44th single to chart within the top 10 on the Oricon charts, making Hamasaki the artist with the most top 10 singles ever in Japanese pop. Then in December, she released her 47th single "You were... / BALLAD". Both singles reached #1 on the Oricon charts.

On April 14th, 2010 Hamasaki Ayumi released her 11th studio album, Rock'n'Roll Circus. The album was recorded in London, England. The PVs were shot in London as well. The album reached #1 on the Oricon charts, making Hamasaki the first solo female artist in 20 years to have 10 number 1 original studio albums.

On July 14th, 2010 Hamasaki released her 48th single, "MOON / blossom". The single reached #1 on the Oricon charts and is the first in a special release project of three singles leading up to her 50th single. The 49th single "crossroad" was released on September 22nd, 2010 and the 50th single, "L", was released one week later on September 29th.

Discography

Studio Albums

Other Albums

Remix Albums

Singles

Digital Singles

Remix Singles

Re-released Singles

German Singles

Vinyls

Official Remix Vinyls

North American Vinyls

  • [1999.xx.xx] Boys & Girls
  • [2001.05.27] appears
  • [2001.06.12] kanariya
  • [2001.08.12] Duty
  • [2001.08.12] evolution
  • [2001.09.16] M
  • [2001.09.xx] Trauma
  • [2001.10.xx] monochrome
  • [2001.xx.xx] too late
  • [2001.xx.xx] Boys & Girls

German Vinyls

  • [2002.11.15] Connected (Part 1)
  • [2003.02.29] Connected The Remixes
  • [2003.09.06] M (Part 1)
  • [2003.09.26] M (Part 2)
  • [2003.11.02] M (Part 3)
  • [2004.01.16] Depend on you Svenson & Gielen Remixes
  • [2004.02.26] Depend on you (Part 2)
  • [2004.09.02] Naturally (Part 1)
  • [2004.09.16] Naturally (Part 2)
  • [2005.02.17] appears Armin van Buuren Remixes
  • [2005.10.04] appears The Remixes
  • [2005.10.21] UNITE! (Part 1)
  • [2005.10.24] UNITE! (Part 2)

International Vinyls

  • [2002.06.12] Connected (Belgian Vinyl)
  • [2004.05.05] M (Spanish Vinyl)

VHS / DVDs

Magazine Covers

For a list of magazines Ayumi Hamasaki has appeared on the cover of, click here.

Movies

Video Games

  • [2001.12.13] ["A" VISUAL MIX] <ayumi hamasaki DOME TOUR 2001 "A"> (PS2)
  • [2002.03.29] A TYPE (PC)

Back-Up Dancers

The Backup Dancers with Hamasaki at ASIA TOUR 2008 ~10th Anniversary~

Hamasaki Ayumi's Back-Up Dancers are prominent in all her concerts and a number of her PVs as well. Through their work with Hamasaki, they have earned fame in their own rights. They appear with her at almost every concert and TV live, and have even choreographed several of her dance numbers.

Current Line-up

Male Dancers

The Male Dancers look down on Hamasaki in an Interlude Video from ASIA TOUR 2008 ~10th Anniversary~
Saito Midori in her lead role in the "GREEN" PV

Female Dancers

  • Kayano "Kayanocchi" Nomura
  • Chisa Maehara
  • Midori "Midoring" Saito
    • Was featured prominently in the PV for "GREEN", having a solo dance number with Hamasaki.
  • Aki Yoneda

Former Dancers

  • Ryoji Akima
  • HIDE
    • HIDE Now performs with Amuro Namie. His last concert with Hamasaki was BEST of COUNTDOWN LIVE 2006-2007 A.
  • Naoto
"MY ALL" Parapara being performed at PREMIUM COUNTDOWN LIVE 2008-2009 A

Choreographies

External Links

Official
Others