Childhood and early endeavors
Hamasaki was born in Fukuoka Prefecture and raised by her mother and grandmother, as her father had left the family when she was three and never again came into contact with her. Because her mother worked to support the family, Hamasaki's grandmother became her primary caretaker.
Hamasaki began her modeling career at seven, working locally for institutions such as banks to earn money for the family. At fourteen, she moved from Fukuoka to Tokyo to take modeling jobs under SOS, a talent agency. Although she got good grades at first, she decided that the subjects she was taking were of no use to her; her grades then dropped drastically and she became a delinquent. Her modeling career did not last long; SOS deemed her too short to be a model and transferred her to Sun Music, a musicians' agency. Under Sun, Hamasaki released Nothing from Nothing, her first album, on the Nippon Columbia label. This rap album, released under the name "Ayumi", failed to chart on the Oricon; Hamasaki w
More about Ayumi Hamasaki (From Wikipedia)
Childhood And Early Endeavors
Hamasaki was born in Fukuoka Prefecture and raised by her mother and grandmother, as her father had left the family when she was three and never again came into contact with her. read more...
1998–1999: Rising Popularity
Hamasaki's first singles under Avex—"Poker Face", "You", "Trust", "Depend on You", and "For My Dear..."—were not major hits, although the last three reached the top read more...
2000–2002: Commercial Peak
In sharp contrast with Loveppears, Duty (2000), Hamasaki's third studio album, only contained one upbeat dance track—"Audience." The creative process behind Duty was not a read more...
2003–2006: Decline In Sales
In November 2002, as "Ayu", Hamasaki released her first European single, "Connected", a trance song composed by DJ Ferry Corsten that had previously appeared on her album I am.... read more...
2007–present: Foray Into Asia
On February 28, 2007, Hamasaki released A Best 2, a pair of compilation albums containing songs from I am... to (miss)understood. The two versions, Black and White, debuted at first read more...
Ayumi Hamasaki (浜崎 ã‚ゆ㿠(also 浜崎æ©) , Hamasaki Ayumi?), born October 2, 1978, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and former actress. Also known read more...