Ayumi Hamasaki

Ayumi Hamasaki (浜崎 あゆみ, born October 2, 1978) is an award-winning J-pop singer. Also known as Ayu, Hamasaki is one of Japan's most popular pop singers and has been dubbed "The Empress of J-Pop". Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo to pursue a career in entertainment. Since her 1998 debut with the single poker face, she has sold more than 50 million records in Japan alone, with the releases of her nine full-length studio albums, one mini-album, four compilation albums, 42 singles, and numerous non-studio albums.

With the release of her 39th single in 2006, Hamasaki became the female solo artist with most number-one hits. With the release of her 2007 single Talkin' 2 Myself, Hamasaki has 29 number-one singles and 39 singles in the Top 10 of the Japanese Oricon charts.

Image and cultural impact
Hamasaki's tight control over her image has been attributed to her influence in Japan's pop culture. She is often considered a trend-setter and "icon of fashion" in Japan, regularly appearing in fashion magazines such as ViVi, Popteen, and Cawaii as well as repeatedly winning awards such as "Best Jeanist" and "Nail Queen" and earning the title of "Most Fashionable Female Artist" in Oricon's 2006 spring and summer polls.

Besides her CD releases and tours, Hamasaki has also become known for her expensive music videos. Often making videos for album tracks as well as singles, these promotional videos have become selling points in themselves, now packaged along with her albums and singles. The promotional videos of three songs, "fairyland", "my name's WOMEN," and "JEWEL" are among the most expensive music videos ever made,making Hamasaki the only non-American to hold such a distinction.

Personal life
On April 1, 2007, it was rumored that Hamasaki and her boyfriend of seven years, Nagase Tomoya of Tokio, were engaged. The wedding was to take place as early as October; however, with their hectic schedules, it was expected not to occur until December. However, on July 13, 2007, Hamasaki and Nagase broke up. Although various rumors have circulated among Japanese media speculating the cause of the split, Hamasaki has yet to confirm a reason. In a January entry on her TeamAyu blog, Hamasaki revealed that she had become completely deaf in her left ear, and that the condition is inoperable. Hamasaki revealed in a statement that she had been diagnosed with deafness in 2006, and that the problem dated back to 2000. As a result of her hearing loss, Avex experienced a thirteen-yen decrease in their stock prices.Despite the setbacks, Hamasaki stated that she wished to continue singing.

Original studio albums
1995: Nothing from Nothing
1999: A Song for XX
1999: Loveppears
2000: Duty
2002: I am...
2002: Rainbow
2003: Memorial address (Mini-Album)
2004: My Story
2006: (miss)understood
2006: Secret
2008: Guilty

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