One of Japan's most successful pop stars.
Born in Fukuoka Prefecture, on October 2, 1978, Ayumi, or 'Ayu', as her fans and mother affectionately call her, is an enigmatic star of music and fashion in modern Japan.
Although her debut with Avex Trax began in 1998, she previously dabbled in acting and modeling. In these she was not very successful. However, her producer, Max Matsuura, discovered her when she was singing karaoke, and asked if she would be interested in pursuing a singing career. At first she was rather suspicious and declined his offer, but after months of his persistance, she eventually relented and took up vocal lessons.
Although she had never done so, Matsuura urged her to try writing her own lyrics to her first song, 'poker face'. (Note: all capitalizations are correct. Ayumi does not always use proper capitalization, likely due to the fact Japanese itself lacks capitalization.) She relates that she was scared at first of the prospect, but was too proud to admit she couldn't do it. At first, she says, the song was about a weak girl. She thought to herself after the demo recording, "What a difficult song!" But she re-wrote the lyrics until they just flowed. In the end, the song is about a strong girl who wants to smile even at the saddest of moments. Since then she has penned the lyrics to every one of her songs, with the exception of LOVE ~since 1999~, which she co-wrote with Tsunku. Eventually she grew to writing her own music, too, under the name "CREA", starting with the platinum single 'M' (2001).
So began her career. Never in her career has she ever had a single or album (remix albums, remix singles and re-releases not included) that has not hit top twenty in Japan's Oricon Chart (similar to the Billboard of the U.S.). In fact, aside from a scarce few of her earliest singles, which were not well accepted, she has never even strayed from the top ten, and most often doesn't dip below even top three. Her last fifteen singles, Free & Easy to Startin'/Born To Be..., have all been consecutive number 1 hits. She hasn't had a single not reach at least top three for the past six or seven years. Each of her albums have gone platinum (once again, remix albums not included), with the exception of one compilation album, A BALLADS, which sold over 900,000 copies, and (miss)understood, which is still selling. Her biggest seller thus far is A BEST, released in 2001, a compilation of her best selling songs to that point. A BEST sold over four million copies. Ayumi has released eight platinum albums and five platinum singles... Not bad for a young woman standing at a scant 5'1''! What she lacks in size she certainly makes up for with inner strength.
Shying away from statistics and back to art...
Ayumi's lyrics view life objectively, be it painfully, beautifully, happily, sadly, confusedly, strongly, weakly, or some combination thereof. Her lyrics tug at the heartstrings, and her voice, which I can only describe as beautifully strong and mournful (which, admittedly, can be irritating, if you haven't learned to like the style of her singing), makes it even more emotional, and then add splendid lyrics such as those she writes and equally splendid music... Well, you have a song that really just hits you and inspires you.
Ayumi currently holds the record for most hit singles of a female Japanese artist. She's also high on the list of most records sold.
I think it's difficult to classify Ayu. She's done so much, almost every genre of music... She has touched bubble gum pop, R&B, rock, ballads... You name it. Recently she's even dipped her feet in gospel-esque pop!
Ayu as a fashion figure. That's another thing indeed. If you keep up with Ayumi's news, you'd see that she is in magazines and commercials all the time. She's been the spokesperson for numerous companies. Once she did a commercial for a certain brand of lipstick, and the company sold a record amount of lipstick in the next few days. The thing is, so many people in Japan follow wherever she leads... And not just young women. Older ones, younger ones, men... Everyone seems to be infatuated with the beautiful young singer. The amazing thing is that Ayumi has not been, for the most part, overly sexy in her dress. Although she has had something from time to time, she has not been constantly outright provactive in her dress, unlike many other pop stars.
The truth is, Ayumi does not fit into the stereotype of 'pop star.' She's much more personal, much more honest about herself and life and people. She makes more of her own decisions about her image than many other singers even have the ability to.
Ayumi is, truely, a powerful figure in this modern era of Japanese music.
Born in Fukuoka Prefecture, on October 2, 1978, Ayumi, or 'Ayu', as her fans and mother affectionately call her, is an enigmatic star of music and fashion in modern Japan.
Although her debut with Avex Trax began in 1998, she previously dabbled in acting and modeling. In these she was not very successful. However, her producer, Max Matsuura, discovered her when she was singing karaoke, and asked if she would be interested in pursuing a singing career. At first she was rather suspicious and declined his offer, but after months of his persistance, she eventually relented and took up vocal lessons.
Although she had never done so, Matsuura urged her to try writing her own lyrics to her first song, 'poker face'. (Note: all capitalizations are correct. Ayumi does not always use proper capitalization, likely due to the fact Japanese itself lacks capitalization.) She relates that she was scared at first of the prospect, but was too proud to admit she couldn't do it. At first, she says, the song was about a weak girl. She thought to herself after the demo recording, "What a difficult song!" But she re-wrote the lyrics until they just flowed. In the end, the song is about a strong girl who wants to smile even at the saddest of moments. Since then she has penned the lyrics to every one of her songs, with the exception of LOVE ~since 1999~, which she co-wrote with Tsunku. Eventually she grew to writing her own music, too, under the name "CREA", starting with the platinum single 'M' (2001).
So began her career. Never in her career has she ever had a single or album (remix albums, remix singles and re-releases not included) that has not hit top twenty in Japan's Oricon Chart (similar to the Billboard of the U.S.). In fact, aside from a scarce few of her earliest singles, which were not well accepted, she has never even strayed from the top ten, and most often doesn't dip below even top three. Her last fifteen singles, Free & Easy to Startin'/Born To Be..., have all been consecutive number 1 hits. She hasn't had a single not reach at least top three for the past six or seven years. Each of her albums have gone platinum (once again, remix albums not included), with the exception of one compilation album, A BALLADS, which sold over 900,000 copies, and (miss)understood, which is still selling. Her biggest seller thus far is A BEST, released in 2001, a compilation of her best selling songs to that point. A BEST sold over four million copies. Ayumi has released eight platinum albums and five platinum singles... Not bad for a young woman standing at a scant 5'1''! What she lacks in size she certainly makes up for with inner strength.
Shying away from statistics and back to art...
Ayumi's lyrics view life objectively, be it painfully, beautifully, happily, sadly, confusedly, strongly, weakly, or some combination thereof. Her lyrics tug at the heartstrings, and her voice, which I can only describe as beautifully strong and mournful (which, admittedly, can be irritating, if you haven't learned to like the style of her singing), makes it even more emotional, and then add splendid lyrics such as those she writes and equally splendid music... Well, you have a song that really just hits you and inspires you.
Ayumi currently holds the record for most hit singles of a female Japanese artist. She's also high on the list of most records sold.
I think it's difficult to classify Ayu. She's done so much, almost every genre of music... She has touched bubble gum pop, R&B, rock, ballads... You name it. Recently she's even dipped her feet in gospel-esque pop!
Ayu as a fashion figure. That's another thing indeed. If you keep up with Ayumi's news, you'd see that she is in magazines and commercials all the time. She's been the spokesperson for numerous companies. Once she did a commercial for a certain brand of lipstick, and the company sold a record amount of lipstick in the next few days. The thing is, so many people in Japan follow wherever she leads... And not just young women. Older ones, younger ones, men... Everyone seems to be infatuated with the beautiful young singer. The amazing thing is that Ayumi has not been, for the most part, overly sexy in her dress. Although she has had something from time to time, she has not been constantly outright provactive in her dress, unlike many other pop stars.
The truth is, Ayumi does not fit into the stereotype of 'pop star.' She's much more personal, much more honest about herself and life and people. She makes more of her own decisions about her image than many other singers even have the ability to.
Ayumi is, truely, a powerful figure in this modern era of Japanese music.
by sakuraraine April 21, 2006
Get the Ayumi Hamasaki mug.shameless, unabashed harrassment to a hot male co-worker
Contrary to popular belief, male coworkers are not always the perpetrators of sexual harrassment; and females (such as myself) practice daily sexual harrassment towards sexy male cowokers.
Contrary to popular belief, male coworkers are not always the perpetrators of sexual harrassment; and females (such as myself) practice daily sexual harrassment towards sexy male cowokers.
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An extremely popular female J-pop singer in Japan. She writes all her own lyrics, that are very brilliant. She has a very beautiful voice which to some people. She composes some of her own songs under the name CREA.
She is the spokeswoman of Panasonic, and has been spokeswoman for many products since her debut in 1998.
Ayumi puts solid emotion into her voice and her songs have good melodies. She is very versatile and re-invents herself from time-to-time. She has done trance, alternative, hard rock, R&B, etc. And yet still keeping her style. Unlike most J-pop stars, she rarely uses English in her songs (her song titles, however are almost all in English)
When some people think of J-pop, they might automatically think 'cutesy', 'bubble-gum', 'shiny-outfits'. It's not always true in Ayu's case. Her music can be enjoyed by both men and women of all ages, cultures, etc. So generally, although Ayu shares some characteristics of pop stars all around the world, she has a mind of her own. And unlike most pop stars, has control of her career. She is also very hot, considering her age. Plastic surgery or not, who cares?
I recommend this artist. Albums such as 'My Story' and her new single 'fairyland'. Ayumi Hamasaki is one of the most influential stars in Japan.
She is the spokeswoman of Panasonic, and has been spokeswoman for many products since her debut in 1998.
Ayumi puts solid emotion into her voice and her songs have good melodies. She is very versatile and re-invents herself from time-to-time. She has done trance, alternative, hard rock, R&B, etc. And yet still keeping her style. Unlike most J-pop stars, she rarely uses English in her songs (her song titles, however are almost all in English)
When some people think of J-pop, they might automatically think 'cutesy', 'bubble-gum', 'shiny-outfits'. It's not always true in Ayu's case. Her music can be enjoyed by both men and women of all ages, cultures, etc. So generally, although Ayu shares some characteristics of pop stars all around the world, she has a mind of her own. And unlike most pop stars, has control of her career. She is also very hot, considering her age. Plastic surgery or not, who cares?
I recommend this artist. Albums such as 'My Story' and her new single 'fairyland'. Ayumi Hamasaki is one of the most influential stars in Japan.
by AyumisLove July 27, 2005
Get the ayumi hamasaki mug.HMAS Fuerschke can only be defined as the home of the clinically insane, and are unbreakable. This group regularly meets and defies the laws of medical science, they can be seen practicing the art of getting shitfaced and pushing the boundaries of "binge drinking". Selection into this group of "PROFESSIONALS" is more arduous than selection for the SAS, producing a higher failure rate, with more injuries both mentally and physically. Rejection from this group has led to major psychosis for many of the participating candidates. This selection is known as a "the breaking of...".
HMAS Fuerschke 3 man version 2.0 (introduction of rules; 7, 4 and 10), Pants off Friday, room raids at rooting stations, pass the lollipop...
by HMAS Fuerschke candidate 006 July 4, 2011
Get the HMAS Fuerschke mug.It's a combination or hug and orgasm. It comes for a conversation with a friend that said," the girl needed a hug, not an orgasm." And I said, "why not both"
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by Skaku March 7, 2013
Get the Hugasm mug.A girl with big dreams and goals. Has been through a lot but you will never see it on her face. Will die for the people she loves. Got a lot of scars and proudly owns them. You’ll be lucky if she shows them to you. She is a loyal and trustworthy person who will listen to you and will always try to help you by giving advice and staying beside you. She is really kind and wants to help everyone all the time. She gets hurt by people but never stops believing in humanity. She is also artistic , fun to be with and has a lot of friends. She is a ride or die kind of person. You would not want to be on her bad side though.
by Sammirob November 23, 2021
Get the Humaira mug.1. A sub-genre of Country Music characterized by shredding on acoustic instruments and the replacement of traditional singing for loud obnoxious screeching.
2. A special mandolin/guitar technique pioneered by Jeff Michael that features random tuning changes due to the extreme force applied to the strings of the instrument when applied. Also known as "Beating the crap out of your instrument".
2. A special mandolin/guitar technique pioneered by Jeff Michael that features random tuning changes due to the extreme force applied to the strings of the instrument when applied. Also known as "Beating the crap out of your instrument".
Def. 1. Person 1. - "Did you hear Jeff Michael is number 1 the Hugastein charts again?" Person 2. "Of course he is, he's so huge and gyrates so much when he screams."
Def. 2. - Person 1. "My brother threw his guitar against the wall and destroyed it after Ashley dumped him"... Person 2. "Is he trying to learn Jeff's Hugastein technique?"
Def. 2. - Person 1. "My brother threw his guitar against the wall and destroyed it after Ashley dumped him"... Person 2. "Is he trying to learn Jeff's Hugastein technique?"
by HugestManAlive April 12, 2022
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