Ayumi Hamasaki
Age: 29
October 2 1978
Years active:199-1995, 1998-present
Label: Avex Trax
Selected Discograhy:
A Song For XX: First proper album staying on the Oricon album charts for 63 weeks aswell as selling a total of 2 million in the whole of Asia.
Loveppears: Ayumi's second album in a year selling a total of 3 million in Asia (2.5 million in Japan) combined with all the singles releases this selected track of songs garnered more than 7 million sales.
Duty: Sold 3.5 million in whole of Asia becoming her best selling album in Japan with 3 million.
I am: Ayumi's highest selling album to date with 3.75 million in Asia as well as a total sales including singles of 8 million.
(miss)understood: First album of Ayumi's to reach No.1 on the United World Chart garnering her sales of near 2 million.
Secret: Her most recent album selling in total of 2 million in Asia.
Best: Ayumi's first compilation album released in 2001 topping all charts and selling over 4 million copies.
Best 2 White: Ayumi's first compilation album to reach the United World Chart No.1 spot with sales of near 1 million.
Super Eurobeat presents Ayu-ro mix 2: Ayumi's first No.1 remix album selling near half a million.
Selected Singles:
Love ~Destiny~: Ayumi's first No.1 Singles selling over 600,000.
Boys & Girls: Ayumi's first singles to sell over 1 million.
A : Ayumi's first singles to reach in the top 3 of the yearly top singles at No.3, selling 1,670,000.
Seasons: No.5 single in year end sales of 1.3 million.
M: Selling 1.319 million and was the second best single of the year 2000.
Evolution: Her best song in 2001 reaching 7th and selling just under 1 million.
H: Ayumi's first single to be the best song of the year in 2002 selling just over 1 million.
Heaven: Ayumi's most legally downloaded song at 1.58 million.
She is dubbed as the Empress of J Pop, born in Fukuoka. Since her debut she has sold more than 45 million records in Japan alone making her the best selling female artiste in Japan's history aswell as the fourth best selling artiste in Japanese history. Her 40th single garnered her a total sales of 20 million in singles alone making her the first solo artiste to achieve that. To date all of Ayumi's albums have topped their charts being the only Japanese artiste to do so. She has the most No.1's out of all Japanese female artistes with 29 out of 39 since Startin'/ Born to be.
Ayumi left school at 15 because she didn't want to see that life again, it took a long time afterwards for her career to take flight. In 1998 she released her first single which she states she really dislikes maybe because her grandmother who took care of her died shortly before the release. In 2000 with the release of Duty, Ayumi Hamasaki Concert Tour 2000 and Surreal made her the first artiste to top three charts in the same week. At the end of 2000 she released M which became her fourth million selling single. In 2001 her rivalry with Utada Hikaru went to full flow where both of them released an album at the same time, both Utada and Ayumi's album were massive hits both selling in excess of 4 million becoming the No.1 and 2 album of the year however Ayumi believed she shouldn't have released a "Best" album so early in her career.
In 2003 her single & became her last single to sell over 500,000 to date. Her first mini album Memorial Address however made her the only female artiste to sell over 1 million in a mini album. In 2004 after a feud in Avex Trax she decided to stop participating in major music awards. In 2005 her 38th Single made her match a record that Seiko Matsuda was holding and that was most No.1's by a solo female artist: 25, she would eventually break that achieveing 29 to date. Hamasaki's 7th album (miss)understood also became her first album to reach the World Global Charts No.1 spot. Her 40th single Blue Bird outsold her competition in a single day garnering her 27th No.1. Hamasaki in 2006 filmed the MV Jewel which used near a million US dollars of crystals and diamonds making it one of the most expensive MV's. Though Secret is by no means her best selling album she gained the most international success with this album topping most worldwide charts.
Her first tour outside Japan garnered success for her where in Taiwan tickets for the concert were sold out in 2 hours, less than 3 hours in Hong Kong and six hours in Shanghai, the three places that it was held. In the concert at Hong Kong many famous musicians attended including Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Joey Yung & Eason Chan. A Best 2 the black version and white version were also successes topping the oricon charts aswell as being No.1 and No.2 respectively both also came third and fourth in the year end album sales. The two albums made her the first artiste in 36 years to place 1st and 2nd on the oricon charts and she became the first to do so on the United World Charts. In 2007 her No.1 glitter/fated tied her in another record of most consecutive years with No.1's (9) tying with Akina Nakamori who is now inactive. Her most recent single talin' 2 myself became the lowest first week sales since Love ~Destiny~ however still garnering her a No.1.
Because of the difficulty Ayumi had in her early years she has now been able to write emotive lyrics as all her songs are self written, she tends to write more about self-doubt, loneliness and hope instead of love which works better for the younger generation. Seasons one of her singles in 2000 won the Best Lyrics Prize at the Japan Record Awards.
With all the awards and records she has achieved she deserves the name of the Empress of Jpop.
