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| Birth Name(s) : 濱崎 歩 (Hamasaki, Ayumi) |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
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| Profession:
Singer, Songwriter, Producer, Actress, Model, Spokesperson |
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Full Ayumi Hamasaki Biography
Ayumi Hamasaki (浜崎 あゆみ, Hamasaki Ayumi?, born October 2, 1978) is an award-winning J-Pop singer. Commonly known simply as "Ayu", Ayumi Hamasaki is one of the most popular and influential Japanese pop singers, and has been dubbed “The Empress of JPop”. She was born and raised in Fukuoka and moved to Tokyo to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Since her debut in 1998 with her first single poker face, she has sold more than 45 million records in Japan alone, with the releases of her eight full-length studio albums, one mini-album, four compilation albums, 42 singles, and several non-studio albums, being the top selling solo and female artist and the fourth top selling Japanese artist in history. With the release of her 40th single Blue Bird, Hamasaki's single sales have passed the 20 million mark, making her the first solo and female singer to reach that milestone.
In her youth, Hamasaki started her modeling career as a model for a local food bank. During high school, she was considered a delinquent because she dyed her hair and wore short skirts, both of which were considered extremely unconventional in Japan at that time. She did not enjoy her time at school much and did not get along well with the teachers or students. She found studying a very easy thing to do, but eventually dropped it because she believed that education wasn't necessary to make a living.Screencaps of the 1995 promotional video also known as 'Swimsuit Special', produced to promote Ayumi Hamasaki for her talent agency 'SOS'.
Occasionally, Hamasaki would go from home Fukuoka to Tokyo for short periods of time, to do various modeling jobs and during her stays, she would make friends with older men she met at work. After graduating from junior high school, she had her mind made up to go to senior high school in Tokyo. She took entrance exams to Horikishi Gakuen (art/entertainers school) together with her friends, and she was the only one in the class to fail — much to the surprise of herself.
Around the time when Hamasaki dropped out of both high school and the talent agency, where her contract was soon to expire, her mother was coming to Tokyo to start a new job. Ayumi went on to live with her together in the apartment her mother rented. As peaceful days entered her life again, she would once more go back to spending long hours drinking with friends in the lowly slums of Tokyo's entertainment districts.
Later in 2001, her second eurobeat remix album became the second remix album in Japanese history to top the charts, following Misia's Little Tokyo. When her 4th album's release was delayed, stock prices for Avex Trax began to decrease, showing the amount of influence she wielded. It was estimated around that time that she was responsible for 40% of the Avex Trax's profit. In December, her duet with Keiko of Globe was released as a single for Avex's nonprofit project, Song Nation, which raised money for the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. On the first day of 2002, her fourth album I am... was released, and like its predecessors Loveppears and Duty, it achieved triple-million status, with sales of 2.3 million copies.
Her 36th single "Fairyland" was released on August 3, 2005. It debuted at #1 on the Oricon charts. The single was coupled with (c/w) the rock-track "Alterna." It is also her first single to feature different cover art for the CD version and the CD + DVD version.
Hamasaki's 37th single "Heaven" was released on September 14, 2005. The song was used as the theme song of the movie Shinobi: Heart Under Blade. The single had also included "Will", which she co-composed under the name of CREA. It was her 12th consecutive #1 single starting with "Free & Easy" in 2002.
Hamasaki's thirty-ninth single Startin' / Born To Be... was released on March 8, 2006. The single debuted at #1 on the Oricon chart with sales of 116,000, and thus broke the record of most #1 singles in Japan for a solo (female) artist previously held by Seiko Matsuda. It was her 26th #1 single. However, Seiko still holds the record of the most consecutive No.1 singles for a female artist, a record that she has been holding for two decades and not likely to be broken anytime soon (Ayumi has 16 consecutive number 1 singles as of July 2007).
From March to the end of June, Hamasaki held an Asia tour, Tour of Secret, visiting not only Japan, but also Taiwan, Shanghai and Hong Kong. According to her official fanclub Teamayu, the Japanese version of the tour will promote her album Secret, while the ones held in the respective countries will bring back more of her older songs.
Setting yet another record, Hamasaki's is the first time in 36.5 years that a female artist has occupied the #1 and #2 spots on the Oricon album charts at the same time. And she is the only artist ever to do this also in the United World Charts.
The PVs of three songs, fairyland, my name's WOMEN, and JEWEL are among one of the most expensive music videos ever made, making Hamasaki the only non-American to have such a distinction.
ayu-mi-x | ayu-ro mix | ayu-mi-x II JPN | ayu-mi-x II US+EU | ayu-mi-x II Orch. | ayu-mi-x II Mixayu-mi-x III Mix | ayu-mi-x III Orch. | ayu-ro mix 2 | ayu trance | ayu-mi-x 4 Mix | ayu-mi-x 4 Orch.ayu trance 2 | ayu-mi-x 5 Mix | ayu trance 3 | ayu-ro mix 3 | My Story Classical |
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