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 ten of the Oricon weekly charts. However, her debut album, A Song for XX (1999), made her a success. Though it was composed of "cautious" and "unassuming" pop-rock tracks, it topped the Oricon charts for five weeks straight and eventually sold over a million copies. Additionally, Hamasaki earned a Japan Gold Disc Award for "Best New Artist of the Year."
With the release of ayu-mi-x (1999), the first of a set of remix albums, Hamasaki began moving beyond the pop-rock of A Song for XX and began to incorporate different styles including trance, dance, and orchestra. Most of the singles released later that year contained dance tunes; this proved shrewd, because Hamasaki earned her first number-one single and her first million-selling single. Owing to the success of its singles, Loveppears (1999), Hamasaki's second
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...