[Discussion] Ayumi Hamasaki

浜崎 あゆみ



Ayumi Hamasaki (浜崎 あゆみ Hamasaki Ayumi?, also 濱崎 歩; born October 2, 1978) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, record producer, model, lyricist, and actress. Also called "Ayu" by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of Pop" because of her popularity and widespread influence in Japan and throughout Asia. Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo at fourteen to pursue a career in entertainment. In 1998, under the tutelage of Avex CEO Max Matsuura, she released a string of modestly selling singles that concluded with her 1999 debut album A Song for ××. The album debuted atop the Oricon charts and stayed there for four weeks, establishing her popularity in Japan.

Hamasaki's constantly changing image and tight control over her artistry has helped her popularity extend across Asia; music and fashion trends she has started have spread to countries such as China, Singapore, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. She has appeared in or lent her songs to many advertisements and television commercials. Though she originally supported the exploitation of her popularity for commercial purposes, she later reconsidered and eventually opposed her status as an Avex "product".

Since her 1998 debut with the single "Poker Face", Hamasaki has sold over 50 million records in Japan, making her the best selling solo singer in Japanese history and ranking her among the best-selling singers in the country. As a female singer, Hamasaki holds several domestic records for her singles, such as the most number-one hits overall by a female artist, the most consecutive number-one hits by a solo artist, the highest sales, and the most million-sellers. Since 1999, Hamasaki has had at least one single each year topping the charts (except 2011, which she released a mini-album, Five, without any singles). Hamasaki is the first female singer to have eight 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. -[i]Wikipedia

Discography:

Studio albums:

◊1999: A Song for ××
◊1999: Loveppears
◊2000: Duty
◊2002: I Am...
◊2002: Rainbow
◊2004: My Story
◊2006: (Miss) understood
◊2006: Secret
◊2008: Guilty
◊2009: Next Level
◊2010: Rock 'n' Roll Circus
◊2010: Love Songs
◊2012: TBA

EPs:

◊1995: Nothing from Nothing (as "Ayumi")
◊2003: Memorial Address
◊2011: Five

Filmography:

[1993]
Twins Teacher as Momo Tachibana
Battle Spirits Ryûko no Ken as Yuri Sakazaki (Voice role)

[1995]
Sumomo mo Momo as Kuriko
Miseinen as Hitomi Tabata
Ladys Ladys!! Soucho Saigo no Hi
Like Grains of Sand as Kasane Aihara

[1996]
Gakko II

[2002]
Tsuki ni Shizumu as Minamo (Hamasaki's song "Voyage" was the theme song for this movie)

[2007]
Distance Love as Herself (Short film based on her songs "Glitter" and "Fated")

Skye-N-Rain wrote: All i can say is ewww. And why didn't you just sleep with the last person in the band. Why Ayumi?

Haha that's mean....and she was the first Jpop artist I started listening to!

Skye-N-Rain wrote: You know what im talking about right?:P She is the singer who slept with nearly everyone in her band, no?

She is? I don't know anything about that, I just listen to her music, I've never heard that about her but I dunno. She's married now though

Skye-N-Rain wrote: Hmm maybe im thinking of another Ayumi because i can't find anything on her.

Yeah I tried looking for what you were talking about but I couldn't find anything like that, so probably haha.

Skye-N-Rain wrote: What are some of your favorite songs from her?

I love a lot of her songs haha, some of my favorites are "Love Song" , "Last Angel" , "Memorial Address" , "Moments" , "Momentum" , "Walking Proud" , "Jewel" , "Free & Easy" , "Startin" ... haha a lot of them. Some of her PV's are kinda weird though , I think she writes a lot of her own songs, too, I'll see if I can find any of them.

The only singer I know that slept with her band members is Aya Hirano. She was involved in a scandal because of that and the studio fired her if I remember correctly.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/aya-hirano-sex-scandal-060800561.html

Yeah, I think so too..since the only one with whom she didn't sleep was the bassist.. :)))
Poor guy..I'd feel so left out :p

I love her music. Especially Evolution. Unfortunately they completely obliterated all vids of the full MV and instead uploaded this pathetically short version of it. :(



BTW Her outfit is so adorable in this performance. And it's crazy how fast she sings in this song, the fact that she's actually able to stay in tune at that speed! :O