Japanese Pop 1 - AYUMI HAMASAKI

So, I thought I would present a series of posts on current J-Pop stars. Now I am not really a fan of Japanese music (although there is one song that I have heard recently that is hauntingly beautiful and plays with a trailer to a animated movie), but I thought I would let the readers of this blog make up their own mind.

So, I begin with the Queen of J-Pop, Ayumi Hamasaki.



Ayumi Hamasaki

Born October 2, 1978 in Fukuoka, Japan.

Commonly known just as Ayu, Ayumi Hamasaki is one of the most popular and influential Japanese pop singers and Japanese idols, considered one of the biggest J-pop artists. She is also considered to be the Queen of J-Pop.

Since her debut in 1998 with her first single "poker face", she has sold more than 46 million copies, with the releases of her seven full-length studio albums, one mini-album, two compilation albums, 40 singles, and several non-studio albums, being the fourth top selling Japanese artist in the history of Japan. [1] With the release of BLUE BIRD, Hamasaki's single sales have passed the 20 million mark[2], making her the first solo and female singer to do so.

With the release of her 39th single "Startin' / Born To Be..." in 2006, Hamasaki became the first female singer to have 27 #1 singles (the most #1 singles a Japanese female artist has ever achieved) and 38 singles in the Top 10 of the Japanese Oricon charts. She is also the first Japanese artist to have her first original seven studio albums top the charts.

Ayumi has also won the golden prize on the Japan Record Taishou (the most important award in Japanese music) three times in a row, in 2001, 2002 and 2003. She would have also won it in 2004, but she rejected the award saying she didn't want her song INSPIRE to win an award, also Ayumi no longer accepts awards.


(Taken from Wikipedia)

http://ayumi.primenova.com/