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Ayumi Hamasaki

Ayumi Hamasaki
Ayumi Hamasaki 2007.jpg
Ayumi Hamasaki in Taiwan in March 2007
Native name 浜崎 あゆみ
Born (1978-10-02) October 2, 1978 (age 38)
Fukuoka, Japan
Other names
  • Ayu
  • Crea
Occupation
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • performance artist
  • record producer
  • lyricist
  • actress
  • model
  • spokesperson
  • businessperson
Spouse(s) Manuel Schwarz (m. 201112)
Tyson Bodkin (m. 201416)
Musical career
Genres
Years active
  • 1993–present
Labels
Website www.avex.jp/ayu

Ayumi Hamasaki (浜崎 あゆみ Hamasaki Ayumi?, born October 2, 1978) is a Japanese recording artist, lyricist, model, and actress. Hamasaki has achieved popularity in Japan and Asia by enforcing her position as an artist and not trying to be forced as a "product", which was a common factor within the Japanese music culture and Avex Trax. Through her entire career, she has written all her lyrical content, produced her own music and has sometimes co-composed her music, which is evident in her albums I Am..., Rainbow and My Story.

Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo at fourteen in 1993 to pursue a career in singing and acting for her entertainment. In 1998, under the tutelage of Avex CEO Max Matsuura, Hamasaki released her debut single "Poker Face" and released her million-selling record A Song for XX. The album debuted at the top of the Oricon charts and remained there for four weeks, establishing her popularity in Japan. Her next five albums accomplished over one million shipments in Japan, with her third effort Duty selling near three million units, becoming her best selling studio album. A Best, her first compilation album, is her best selling album, with more than four million copies sold in Japan. In 2009, after her album Next Level was released, album and single sales declined due to ongoing competition with new upcoming artists. Throughout her career, Hamasaki has had all her albums within the top five position in Japan and has five million-selling singles, including "Boys & Girls", "A", "Seasons", "M" and "H".


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Wikipedia

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