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Ayumi Hamasaki




  Img Ayumi Hamasaki 2007jpg
  Img Capt Ayumi Hamasaki, March 2007
  Background solo_singer
  Birth Name 濱崎 歩 (Hamasaki, Ayumi)
  Alias Ayu
  Height 155 cm(5'1")
  Origin Fukuoka , Japan
  Genre Japanese Rock / Pop , Trance , House , Eurodance , Electronica , RnB , Gospel
  Occupation Singer , Songwriter , Producer , Actress , Model , Spokesperson
  Years Active 1994–1995, 1998-present
  Label Columbia Japan , Avex Trax
  URL Official Website


is an award-winning 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. Oricon Style – Ayumi Hamasaki is the first to break 20,000,000 single sales in solo history

With the release of her 39th single '' Startin' / Born To Be... '' in 2006, Hamasaki became the female solo artist with most #1-hits. To date, Ayumi has 28 #1 singles and 39 singles in the Top 10 of the Japanese Oricon charts. She has 16 consecutive #1 singles to date (starting from '' Free & Easy ''). Hamasaki is also the first Japanese artist to have her first original eight studio albums top the charts.http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/special/061206_03.html


BIOGRAPHY


Although Hamasaki lived with her mother, she was primarily raised by her grandmother.http://homepage2.nifty.com/morimasa/rockin.html Rockin' On Japan Interview She has vague recollections of her father as he supposedly divorced her mother and left the family at around the time she was five, and she has not seen him since. She grew up in a very liberal household where she was expected to do what was right for her without her mother intervening in her affairs, since her mother was always out working to support the family.http://www.time.com/time/asia/features/ayumi_hamasaki/cover3.html

In her youth, Hamasaki started her modeling career as a model for a local 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. She found studying chemistry a very easy thing to do, but eventually dropped it because she found that it didn't seem necessary to make a living.

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 people she met at work. After graduating from junior high school, she had her mind made up to go to a 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 to fail — much to the surprise of herself and the school.

When taking the entrance exams again, Hamasaki ventured from her former talent agency SOS (targeted mostly at young models) to Sun Music, because the chief of SOS felt she would not do well because of her short height and would do much better in other activities, such as appearing on television.

Hamasaki reportedly used the Pseudonym ''Kurumi Hamazaki'' once during her works, as she acted in low budget dramas like ''Miseinen'' and B-movies like '' Like Grains Of Sand ''; however, she did not find success.

Hamasaki recalls the times of her activities in show business as a terrible period. She felt she simply couldn't quit her agency as she lived in the agency dormitory at the time, and she needed her jobs to make a living. She remembers the confusion she felt when acting in dramas with people she had seen on television back in Fukuoka. Also, she was unable to understand many of the girls in the business, who acted flamboyantly towards photographers during photoshoot works and were often selfish, which gave her the impression that they were very silly. This resulted in her having a lot more boys as friends rather than girls.

In order to release pressure and forget about her confusion, Hamasaki would spend her free time wandering the streets of Tokyo, shopping, and dancing at clubs in the Shibuya district with her friends.

She finally decided to leave show business after finding out about certain aspects that did not feel right to her. For example, many photos from some of her photo shoots were not used afterwards, and while working on television productions, not all of the footage would end up in the final product.

Hamasaki decided to drop out of high school at fifteen, something she vaguely remembers by sending a fax message with the words "I quit." written on paper. The reason for quitting was because she did not want to see the people and teachers anymore, feeling conspicuous among them, as her appearance and looks were different to others' in the entertainment school.

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 having fun with friends in fashionable places in Tokyo's entertainment districts.


PROFESSIONAL CAREER


1995: ''Nothing from Nothing'' era


The first steps Hamasaki gave on music was in the rap scene. On December 1 , 1995 , Hamasaki's first album along side with Dohzi-T, DJ Bass '' Nothing From Nothing '' was released. There's poor information about this era in Ayu's life, but it is known that there was virtually no promotion for the album. After failing to chart in Oricon , the project was most probably dropped by the company Nippon Columbia .

Hamasaki met her future producer, ). Afterwards, he asked Hamasaki if she wanted to pursue a singing career. Not feeling confident in singing, she stated firmly that she didn't want to.

After a while, Hamasaki lost contact with Matsuura. She had given him her phone number before, so he left few messages on her answering machine, but as she quickly forgot his name, she didn't do anything about it. One day, when she was walking through the center street of Shibuya , she received a phone call from Avex . She was put through to Matsuura and as they talked, she initially expressed new interest in singing, because she didn't have any other activities, but as Matsuura mentioned vocal training and singing classes, she resigned again. A week later, she changed her mind once more and went to Avex offices herself.

Hamasaki was contracted to take vocal training in , an event she would later say was exactly what she needed. Impressed by the writing style in her letters to him, Matsuura suggested that she try her hand at writing her own lyrics for her songs.


1999: ''A Song for XX'' and ''Loveppears'' era


Hamasaki has never had any formal instruction in lyric writing, but is able to draw on her emotions to write her lyrics. Her producer, Max Matsuura, has stated repeatedly that she has a gift which only develops with practice and that it is highly unusual for such a young artist to be so articulate and mature in her writings. Also, Hamasaki's song writing abilities have been repeatedly compared to those of Utada Hikaru , although their styles are in fact markedly different.
".]]
In 1998 , Ayumi's debut single, "poker face", was released. Her grandmother died shortly before her debut single was released - it's now believed that, due in part to that, Ayumi strongly dislikes the song. The single debuted #22 on the Oricon charts and sold 43,000 copies, and started to gain more fame since then. At the release of her 3rd single, '' Trust '', she got into the Top 10 of the charts for the first time. '' Depend On You '' which is Hamasaki's 5th single was the main theme of video game Thousand Arms . She got her first #1 spot on the charts with her debut album '' A Song For XX ,'' released on January 1 , 1999 . '' A Song For XX '' held the top spot for a total of 5 weeks and quickly became certified platinum.

Her first #1 single also came in 1999 with the release of '' Love ~Destiny~ '', song produced by Tsunku . Since the release of the 9th single, '' Boys & Girls '', her singles changed format from 8 cm to 12 cm discs (which could hold more data), following the trend of the music industry. As a result her singles began to feature more tracks, namely, remix tracks. ''Boys & Girls'' its first week didn't get the 1st spot on the charts (mainly because of known rival Ami Suzuki and her single " Be Together "), but in the second week she reached the 1st place; ''Boys & Girls'' is her first certified million seller single. ''Be Together'' ended up selling around 800,000 copies total. However, '' Boys & Girls '' sold over one million copies.

Her 10th single "A" is at the moment her best-selling maxi with more than 1,600,000 copies sold. Oricon recently announced "A" as the 6th highest selling single from a female artist during the last 10 years. In November 1999, she released her second album, '' Loveppears ,'' less than a year after her first. The album sold over two million copies. However, a controversy arose due to the front cover of the album which featured her topless with only her hair covering her breasts. The single ''Appears'' was released the same day. Following the release of ''Loveppears,'' were two recut singles from the album because of her big success. Those singles were '' Kanariya '', released in December, and '' Fly High '', released in March of the following year. The song Trauma was also a popular hit.


2000: ''Duty'' era


In 2000, she became a spokeswoman for ''Kosé'', a cosmetics company in Japan. When she appeared in commercials to promote Kosé's lipsticks, a record 500,000 lipsticks were sold in only two days. TIMEasia.com: Japan – Empress of Pop (Page 2) Her single "Vogue", which was used as background music, also benefitted from this commercial, selling over 700,000 copies. She also became a spokesperson for ''Tu-Ka'' and promoted their cell phones. At this moment she was already very popular, being featured in articles about her successful life and style.

From April to June of 2000, she released one single per month, '' Vogue '', '' Far Away '', and '' Seasons '', which would later be coined as ''The Trilogy'' because of the similar themes in lyrics and connected music videos. September saw the release of her third full-length album '' Duty .'' Like her previous studio albums, ''Duty'' topped the charts and went on to sell 3,000,000 copies, making it her highest selling original studio album. On the same day, the limited pressing single, '' Surreal '' and her ''Ayumi Hamasaki Concert Tour 2000 A'' were released, both topping the charts in the Single and DVD Charts respectively. These three releases on the same week made her the first artist to top three charts on the same week.


2001–2002: ''A Best'' and ''I am…'' era


for her first Greatest Hits album " A Best ".]]
To round off the year 2000, the single ''M'' was released, and became her fourth million selling single, selling over 1,300,000 copies. The song ''M'' saw Hamasaki take more creative control of her music, as she started to compose some of her songs under the pseudonym ''Crea''. The following year, a controversy was started when the label forced Ayu to release '' Never Ever '' followed by her compilation album '' A Best . '' Its release date was changed to put her in direct competition with Utada Hikaru 's second album ''Distance.'' Though ''Distance'' topped the charts first week, ''A Best'' topped the following week, and although both albums sold over 4,000,000 copies, this change staggered the sales of both albums. ''Distance'' and ''A Best'' were the 1st and 2nd best selling albums of 2001 respectively. However, it was made clear in interviews that it was not her wish to release the best album, as she felt that was too early to release a best album. Matters were made worse with all the public attention on the "competition" between the two.

Later in 2001, her second 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.


2002–2003: ''A Ballads'' and ''Rainbow'' era


''. Hamasaki played the lead role as well as wrote and performed the theme song, her 2002 hit single '' Voyage ''.]]

The release of " Free & Easy " in April saw a complete shift in the trend of Hamasaki's singles, away from multiple remix tracks. The single only featured two remixes alongside the title track. The single also threatened to break her string of consecutive number ones, as Mai Kuraki 's "Feel fine!" single (released on the same date), briefly topped the daily charts. However, "Free & Easy" eventually claimed the top spot only the weekly chart. Her fifth million-seller single "H" was released in July of that year. Like "A", this single featured multiple a-sides; however, unlike "A," this single did not contain any remixes. Her followup single " Voyage " had an extended music video to promote it — a short film titled '' Tsuki Ni Shizumu '' (or ''Sinking into the Moon''), which featured Hamasaki acting for the first time since her idol days. Voyage set a new record for Hamasaki for it topped the Oricon Chart for a total of 3 weeks. This makes Voyage the first and only single from Hamasaki which has stayed at the top spot for so long.http://www1.coralnet.or.jp/isikuro/datab/cds2002.gif

The much-hyped studio album ''Rainbow'' was released in December. Though Rainbow broke the one million mark in the first week, it was the first of Hamasaki's albums since ''A Song for XX'' that failed to sell two million units. The album featured more of ''Crea'' songwriting and composition like the previous album, and saw her first use of English phrases in her songs (other than her song "Limit" on her first album '' Nothing From Nothing ''). The album had a massive promotional campaign, where the buyers of the more-expensive initial pressings could access a password-only website that featured a part of the instrumental version of the title track ''Rainbow'' that was not on the album. Once accessed, fans could submit their own lyrics and suggestions for the song. Over 100,000 people accessed the website. The song was later featured on her ballad compilation album '' A Ballads ,'' which was released on March 2003. Though promoted extremely well, ''A Ballads'' experienced slow but steady sales, and has recently passed the million threshold. Many of the songs on the album had already been featured on her previous compilation album, '' A Best ,'' and the album featured only two new songs, possibly leading to these low sales.


2003–2004: ''Memorial Address'' and ''My Story'' era


for her first Mini Album " Memorial Address ".]]

In July, ''&'' was released — her first single in nine months. Like the single ''H'', "&" featured three prominent tracks, but also featured the b-side "theme of a-nation '03". This was Hamasaki's last single to sell over 500,000 units on the Oricon Charts. The follow up single, "Forgiveness" would continue Hamasaki's string of number one singles, but underperformed saleswise in contrast to her previous efforts, barely selling 220,000 copies in contrast to the sales of "&", which netted sales of over 570,000. After the releases of the ''Forgiveness'' (August) and '' No Way To Say '' (November) singles, she released her first mini-album, '' Memorial Address '', which only featured three new songs. ''Memorial Address'' was unique because all of the songs, except for the title track (which was a bonus track), had a music video. ''Memorial address'' was also her first album to be available in CD only or CD+DVD formats. ''Memorial address'' made her the only female solo artist to have a million selling mini-album.

In the spring of 2004, Hamasaki released '' Moments '' in both a CD only and CD+DVD combination, something which she continues to do now. It was featured in her last Kose Visee commercial before her contract with the cosmetics company ended. In July that year, internal strife in her recording company, Avex Trax, occurred. A feud between Max Matsuura and Yoda, an executive at Avex Trax, caused chaos and also sparked rumors that Hamasaki and other popular artists in Avex Trax including Hiro , Every Little Thing , Hitomi , and Do As Infinity might leave the record company and follow Max Matsuura. As a result, the stock prices for Avex Trax began to plunge; when Hamasaki sided with Matsuura (stating that whatever he does, she would do too), Yoda ended up resigning, effectively ending the feud. However, because of this, she also announced she would not participate in the major music awards anymore. She also announced that she felt she was receiving the same awards every year, and by forfeiting her right to claim awards she was giving opportunity to new singers.

In December of 2004, she released her sixth studio album '' My Story '' which was certified million-status, selling over 574,000 copies in the first week, and netting sales of over 1,140,000 copies, making it the second highest selling female album of the 2005 Oricon year.


2005–2006: ''(miss)understood'' era


.]]

Hamasaki's 35th single, " Step You/is This Love? ," was released in April. It was a double a-side single ("Step You" used in TV spots for Panasonic and "Is This Love?" for Morinaga chocolates). The single topped the daily, weekly, and monthly Oricon charts. It held the #1 spot on the weekly charts for 2 weeks in a row. This single went on to sell over 345,000 copies, her highest selling single since her 2003 single "No Way to Say" and for the year of 2005.

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 ". 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.

Her 38th single " Bold & Delicious/Pride " followed with its release on November 30 , 2005 . This single carried a remarkably different flavor, bringing with it a completely new sense of music style away from her previous works. She had listened to some of Sweetbox 's songs and had asked Geo (the composer), if she could use some of his music. The single had low first-week sales of about 84,000, and barely held the #1 position for the week although it continued her streak of #1 singles. This was the single that tied her with Seiko Matsuda for the most #1 singles by a solo female artist: 25.

Hamasaki’s 7th studio album, '' (miss)understood ,'' was officially released on January 1 , 2006 . It debuted with sales of about 650,000 copies reaching the #1 spot on the World Global Charts, a first-time feat for her personally. http://www.mediatraffic.de/albums-week03-2006.htm (miss)understood Charting Position (Worldwide)


2006: ''Secret'' era


, 2006 , CNN International channel aired a special 30-minute interview with Hamasaki, as a representative of entertainment in modern Asia.]]
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).

She then embarked on the "Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2006 ~(miss)understood~" which spanned three months with its first date in Saitama on March 11 , 2006 and made its last stop at Yoyogi on June 11 , 2006 . With 30 concerts, it was her largest tour to date. The last concert of the tour was recorded and released on DVD in November. It entered both the music-DVD and general-DVD charts at the top position.

Hamasaki released her 40th single " Blue Bird " on June 21 , 2006 . "Blue Bird" scored the #1 position on the daily Oricon chart. Just a single day after going on sale, Oricon confirmed the single had outsold its competition already, securing the weekly #1 for Hamasaki's 15th consecutive number one single and 27th total number one single,http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/rankmusic/25664/ Reference to total number 1 singles and consecutive number 1 singles selling 160,572 copies in its first five days.
'', directed by Wataru Takeishi, is one of the most expensive music videos ever made]]

Hamasaki released her eighth full-length album, '' Secret '' on November 29 , 2006 . Originally, the album was slated to be released as her second mini-album with seven songs overall. The speculation proved to be false when her official website announced a change of plans and that ''Secret'' would be a full-length album in October 2006. The album was completed on November 8 . Hamasaki also raised media attention for the music video of "Jewel," which shows 100 million yen (almost $900,000 U.S. dollars) worth of diamonds, jewels, and Swarovski crystals. The video is one of the Most Expensive Videos Ever Made . On that same day, she sang "Jewel" in an orchestra version on 130,000,000 Choose Best Artist 2006. The album debuted at the top spot of the Oricon weekly chart with first week sales of 386,280 copies, outselling the number two album for a large 160,129 copies.

''Secret'' is also believed to be Hamasaki's most successful album yet in worldwide sales. Not only did ''Secret'' top the Japanese charts, the album was an instant number-1 hit in countries as Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and China surpassing the (miss)understood international success, being in Taiwan the #1 Japanese album of the year with a 3.54% of total sales.


2007: ''A Best 2 and Tour of Secret'' era


on television program SMAP X SMAP , February 2007.]]

On February 28 , 2007 , Hamasaki released two compilation-albums entitled '' A Best 2 -Black- '' and '' A Best 2 -White- .'' They are both released as Limited edition 1CD+2DVD-packages, as well as a normal edition 1CD package. The songs included on this album are from her ''evolution'' single to her ''Bold & Delicious / Pride'' single, including a few album tracks. ''A Best 2 -Black-'' includes sad, dark songs, a black cover for the limited edition, and a new song entitled "part of Me" which will be featured in a new Panasonic CM . The backstage footage of her ''Best of Countdown Live 2006–2007 A'' can be found on the DVD for the Black edition, as well the PVs or promotional clips for the songs included.http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~dhmighty/ The white edition of ''A Best 2'' will feature up beat songs, as well as the live footage of her CDL 2006–2007, and promotional clips for the respective songs on the album.

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 .http://www.avexnet.or.jp/ayu/news/070101.html 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.
'' included on A Best 2 -White- .]]

The concert was already highly anticipated since it is her first time venturing outside of Japan. As a result, tickets were sold out to the Taiwan concert in less than two hours.http://www.ettoday.com/2007/02/13/340-2054709.htm Similarly, tickets were sold out in less than three hours in Hong Konghttp://61.129.65.8:82/gate/big5/enjoy.eastday.com/e/20070209/u1a2619858.html and six hours in Shanghai, Chinahttp://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/dailynews14.html

On the release day of ''A Best 2,'' the ''-Black-'' version reached to the top #1 position on the Oricon Charts while the ''-White-'' version reached #2. By the 2nd day, both versions switched positions as ''-White-'' got the #1 position while the ''-Black-'' got the #2 position. ''A Best 2'' first day sales totaled a whopping estimate of 170,000 copies.

The first week sales figure of ''A Best 2'' gained a total of 950,000 copies. ''-White-'' version sales totaled to 475,284 and ''-Black-'' version sales totaled to 470,057 respectively, while holding the first and second positions of the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart.Also both of the CDs ended up at the top of the United World Charts. Both albums reached to #3 & #4 positions on the Oricon Yearly Albums Chart.

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.http://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment/news/2007/03/06/03.html


2007: Third Chapter


On .http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=AVCD-31274 Cd Japan:''18 May 2007'' The single will also contain the track Secret.

On May 30 , it was announced that Hamasaki will be going back to Hong Kong to shoot a short movie for her latest single, Glitter / Fated .
The film has a leading male role, played by Shawn Yue . The film was supposed to be directed by Andrew Lau , but he was going to be in America at that time. It was also announced that Andrew Lau will be doing a special collaboration with Hamasaki, although the details are still unknown. The PV of glitter was aired on MTV Japan on July 10 , 2007 . It is said to show clips of the short film "Distance Love". The PV ends on a cliffhanger, tying into the second part of the short film, where fated will be played. On July 14, Fated was played on MON, continuing the story of Distance Love with a sad ending.

The release of Glitter / Fated tied another record for Hamasaki, who now has a #1 single every year for 9 consecutive years (1999-2007). She is tied with Akina Nakamori , who is now inactive giving way for Hamasaki to break the record next year.

On , 2007 , Hamasaki separated with Nagase and announced on her blog that the split was due to her love for him growing into something more of a brotherly love. Since then, it is rumored that she'd moved from their home. http://www.japannewsreview.com/entertainment/celebrities/20070714page_id=676

On July 24th, it was announced on the Panasonic Lumix website that the commercial for the new Lumix FX-33 would feature her Ayumi Hamasaki next single ‘talkin’ 2 myself’ to be released September 19 - Japan News Review

It was announced that Hamasaki will release a new single on September 19th. The single, named ' Talkin' 2 Myself ' contains a rock-track with the same name, as well as a track entitled ' Decision '. Ayumi Hamasaki next single ‘talkin’ 2 myself’ to be released September 19 - Japan News Review




CULTURAL IMPACT


Fashion

Hamasaki has been considered the fashion leader amongst Japanese females ever since reaching superstar status in 2000, especially amongst Japanese high-school girls. Regularly appearing in leading Japanese fashion magazines such as ViVi, Cawaii and Popteen, she became a trend-setter with her unique style. Japanese streets were filled with young females trying to imitate her style with fashion items such as oversized sunglasses and fake fox tails. Her influence in Japanese fashion has seen her win an unprecedented three consecutive Nail Queen awards and five Best Jeanist awards, and was inducted into the respective Halls of Fame for her achievements. Japan's cosmetics giant, Kose, has also used Hamasaki in many endorsements for Visee cosmetics pieces such as Mascara and Lipstick .

In Oricon 's 2006 spring and summer polls, she was named the most fashionable female artist. She has appeared on the cover of Vogue twice, once modeling for an entire spread featuring Bulgari , and the other for popular designers Dolce & Gabbana . Numerous pieces were designed for Hamasaki. She was recently featured in a spread for Dior jewelry and luxury items featuring an Ayumi in a manner of timeless and classic elegance, as compared to her usual "popstar" appearance. Hamasaki is also often seen with designer goods from major fashion houses from all over the world such as Louis Vuitton , Alexander McQueen , Juicy Couture , and Christian Louboutin .


Lyrics

As the Lyricist of all of her songs, Hamasaki is well known for her deep and poetic lyrics, setting her apart from other pop stars. As others concentrate on matters of love and heartbreak, recurring themes in Hamasaki's lyrics are loneliness, self-doubt, and hope, themes which deeply resounded with the younger generation of Japan. " Seasons " won the Best Lyrics Prize at the Japan Record Awards in 2000 .


Music videos

Besides her CD releases and tours, Hamasaki has also become known for her expensive, innovative music videos. Often making videos for album tracks as well as singles, these PVs (promotion clips) have become selling points in themselves, now packaged along with her albums and singles. This was considered a smart move by industry insiders in light of flagging CD sales and rampant piracy.

Her videos often have dark themes and imagery, including horror and supernatural elements. Popular clips have featured death (Free & Easy, HEAVEN, part of Me, glitter/fated), ghosts (HEAVEN), executions (Free & Easy, Voyage), werewolves (ANGEL'S SONG), reincarnation (part of Me), clowns (alterna, 1 LOVE), doppelgangers (RAINBOW), cyborgs (Real me), angels (Endless sorrow), and Santa Claus (No Way to say). Others have been pure upbeat pop in style, so much so that they are considered to be ironic and post-modern.


Ayumi Hamasaki x Hello Kitty

See Ayumi_Hamasaki_x_Hello_Kitty .


SYMBOLS

Ayumi Hamasaki uses some symbols to represent her own name or some of her singles/songs. Usually, when typed, the symbols are just replaced with the special symbols.

Her main symbol, is used to represent her full name while symbols such as the ''H'' and ''M'' were used for once only to represent their respective singles. Variations to the have been used on some of Hamasaki's albums such as ''My Story'', ''(miss)understood'' and ''Secret''


DISCOGRAPHY

See Also: Ayumi Hamasaki discography




Albums



Compilations



AWARDS AND RECORDS



REFERENCES





EXTERNAL LINKS






; Official sites




  NAME Hamasaki, Ayumi
  SHORT DESCRIPTION Japan ese Singer
  DATE OF BIRTH October 2 1978
  PLACE OF BIRTH Fukuoka , Japan