Ayumi Hamasaki

[ai-chan]

Ayumi  Hamasaki  (浜崎 あゆみ, Hamasaki  Ayumi, also 浜崎歩) (born October 2, 1978, Fukuoka, Japan) is an award-winning Japanese singer, and one of the most popular and influential artists to come from Asia. Apart from being a singer, Ayumi is also a songwriter, a model, an actress, and a composer. Ayumi started her musical career in 1994 and released her first album “NOTHING FROM NOTHING” in 1995; the album was not successful, and she was subsequently dropped by her record label. In 1998, Hamasaki  released her first single, Playpoker face, via the Avex Trax label, after being discovered by label head Masato “Max” Matsuura partying at the avex-owned club, Velfarre. Hamasaki’s debut album, “A Song for ××”, was released in 1999, and won her a Gold Disk Award. She has since sold more than 50 million records in Japan alone with the releases of her 9 full-length studio albums, 1 mini-album, 4 compilation albums, 45 singles, and 17 remix albums, becoming the top selling solo and female artist and the 4th top selling Japanese artist in history. With the release of her 40th single “PlayBLUE BIRD”, Hamasaki’s single sales passed the 20 million mark, making her the first solo and female singer to reach that milestone.

With the release of her 45th single “PlayRule/PlaySparkle”, Hamasaki currently has 20 consecutive #1 singles (starting from “PlayFree & Easy”) and 32 #1 singles in the Japanese ORICON charts. In addition, she is the first Japanese artist to have her first original 8 studio albums top the charts.

From: last.fm