Ayumi Hamasaki (浜崎あゆみ, Hamasaki Ayumi, Chinese: 濱崎步, born October 2, 1978) is a Japanese recording artist, lyricist, model, and actress. Also called "Ayu" by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of J-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 at the top of the Oricon charts and remained 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 regionally to China, Singapore and other countries across 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 recording "Poker Face", Hamasaki has sold over 53,000,000 records in Japan, ranking her among the best-selling recording artists in the country. As a female vocalist, Hamasaki has several domestic record achievements for her singles, such as the most number-one hits by a female artist; the most consecutive number-one hits by a solo artist, and the most million-sellers. From 1999 to 2010, Hamasaki had at least one single each year topping the charts. Hamasaki is the first female recording artist 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.
World Music Award for World's Best Selling Japanese Artist
Nominations
World Music Award for World’s Best Album, World Music Award for World’s Best Female Artist, World Music Award for World’s Best Live Act, World Music Award for World’s Best Entertainer of the Year, BLUE BIRD, Depend on you, SEASONS
Movies
Like Grains of Sand, Tsuki ni Shizumu, Gakko II
TV Shows
Ayuready?, Miseinen
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Quote
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[about writing lyrics to her songs] I like to try to view [those] experiences objectively, and put my honest feelings into words. If I write when I'm low, it will be a dark song, but I don't care. I want to be honest with myself at all times.
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Fact
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Separated from her husband of a year Manuel Schwarz. [January 2012]
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On January 4, 2008, according to her entry of her TeamAyu blog, Hamasaki revealed that she became completely deaf in her left ear and that is no longer operable. The cause of this may possibly be tinnitus or Meniere's Disease as she was diagnosed with this in 2006. Nevertheless, she decided to continue singing despite Avex experiencing a 13 Yen decrease in their stock prices.
$70 Million
