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THE AYUMI HAMASAKI PIMP POST
OH! Y HALO THAR 8D
Yes, I C WHAT U DID THAR.
You clicked on the... *drumroll, please...*
*cheers, champagne, etc*
So you've seen this woman everywhere you go regarding Japanese music. Have you ever wondered why? Have you ever wondered why she's the #1 Female Japanese Artist in the world right now? Have you ever wondered why she is SUCH A BIG DEAL?
If you just follow me, you can find out! Just follow the cut!
Ayumi Hamasaki (浜崎あゆみ) was born in the Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan on October 2, 1978. She had brief stints in the early 90's as a gravure idol and B-film actress. In 1995, she released her first ever mini-album, NOTHING FROM NOTHING, under the Columbia label. This particular release is starkly different from her avex releases because...
Click to view...That's right! It was hip-hop! Ayu had a stint as an attempted hip-hop star!
Sadly, the mini-album did not sell well, and she was dropped from the label.
Sometime later, Max Matsuura, the CEO of avex trax, which was still a relatively small label at the time despite Namie Amuro joining it, spotted Ayu at a karaoke bar. He offered her a job, as he thought she had promise, and she initally declined, thinking he was a sleazeball trying to get into her pants (WHO CAN BLAME HER? XD)
(pfft... cha right XD)
But... she took him up on his offer. Several months later, she was training in New York, ditching the vocal lessons, and were set on recording her debut single poker face. It is said that she was dissatisfied with the lyrics of the song, so Matsuura-san, inspired by how much he liked the way she wrote her letters to him, suggested she write the lyrics herself.
Hence... we have poker face.
This song has extremely negative connotations for Ayu. While the song was being recorded, her grandmother was hospitalised. When the single was released, her grandmother died. This is probably the main reason why she hasn't performed this song in concert very often.
Flash forward 4 more singles, and we have her debut album A Song for ××. This album, released on January 1st, 1999, made its way to be #1 on the Oricon charts, stayed on the charts for 107 weeks, and became the #138 album of 1999.
This is the one that started it all. Ayu would go on to release several #1 singles (she currently holds the record for most consecutive #1 singles) and albums. With the exception of GUILTY, all of her albums to date have topped the charts at #1 upon debut of release.
L is her 50th single, and was released on September 29, 2010.
On December 22nd, 2010, she released her 12th studio album Love songs!!!
7 REASONS TO LOVE AYUMI HAMASAKI
1. She Writes Her Own Lyrics (Sometimes Songs, Too)
That's right. With the exception of Sotsugyou Shashin, which was a Matsutoya Yumi cover featured on her A BALLADS album, teens, which was a TRF cover featured on her Startin' / Born To Be... single, and SEVEN DAYS WAR, a TM NETWORK cover featured on both her crossroad single and her Love songs album, the lyrics to every song that Ayu has ever recorded and released were written by her.
She does, of course, compose some of her songs under the moniker CREA. These compositions were abundant in the I am... and RAINBOW albums. Most of these compositions were co-composed with another composer, but that does not make them any less touched by CREA.
M was her 19th single, and her first CREA composition, released February 7, 2001. The song refers to either the Virgin Mary or Mary Magdalene (because of the exclamation "MARIA" in the song), and is still one of the most well-known and poignant Ayu songs to date.
Will was the b-side for her HEAVEN single, released on September 14, 2005 (both songs made it on to the (miss)understood album), and her most recent CREA composition. Pessimistically, it's probably her last CREA composition for quite a while. (It's been 5 years ;A;)
2. She Is Not Plastic
Contrary to several unfounded rumours on the Internet, Ayu has not had any KNOWN cosmetic surgeries performed. The only work she has had done is on her teeth, and I think that was more a necessity to her health.
Supporters of this plastic rumour generally like to compare photos of when she was 15 and her current age, 32.
(left: Ayu at age 15-17 ; right: Ayu at age 30)
People also forget that in her official photoshoots, her images land in Photoshop Hell quite a bit of the time. Plus: THE WONDERS OF MAKEUP! IMAGINE! :O
3. She Is Still Grounded, and Loves Her Fans To Death
Despite being in the music business for 12 years now, and in turn becoming one of the most successful female singers in the world, Ayu has not forgotten her roots. She does not bask in the glory of her success, and the only real aspect of her personality that has changed over the years is that she's far more secure and certain about her life. She is more confident, although she does have her moments, and stronger. What doesn't kill her just makes her stronger.
She loves her fans very much. In fact, RED LINE ~for TA~, her B-side on the You were... / BALLAD, is dedicated specifically to her fans. TA stands for Team Ayu, the official Ayu fan club, but she has stated that she considers TA every single one of her fans, even if they aren't a member of TA.
4. SHE WAS INTERVIEWED ON CNN TALK-ASIA!
(well, okay, she isn't the only one that's made it on there, Jpop wise, but she's the only one we care about right now XP)
In 2006, CNN interviewed Ayu as part of their Talk-Asia segment, as she has obviously made such a huge impact in the music world. Here is where she explains her roots, why she stays grounded, and her musical approaches.
5. Her PVs Have Something For Everyone
What makes Ayu's PVs (promotional videos; what Japan calls music videos) stand out from the rest is that while they do have a common approach--which is to leave them extremely open for interpretation, they are NEVER boring. With Ayu, we have the funny PVs, the sad and depressing PVs, the simple PVs, the dark PVs, and even the sexy PVs.
Beautiful Fighters has a light-hearted, humourous PV that reinforces the feminine strength that Ayu is singing about.
BALLAD, one of her most recent PVs, is pretty sad, and is a sad song, anyway.
Daybreak is ridiculously simple (and some fans even call it boring), but it gives us some GORGEOUS shots.
ourselves is pretty dark, and even presents the destruction of releases Ayu was forced to release in the past.
my name's WOMEN is the ultimate girl-power anthem, and it comes with a very sexy PV to boot. Who says Ayu can't pull off sexy? :D (This is also her most expensive video to date, and is on the list of Most Expensive Videos of All Time)
fairyland is her second most expensive video to date, also on the list of Most Expensive Videos, and is just simply a gorgeous video. *A*
Sparkle is just... special. >_> But it has a message: YES! You ARE sexy! You CAN party! You CAN think outside of the box!
6. What Doesn't Kill Her Makes Her Stronger
Ayu is a very strong person, having experienced many unsettling and upsetting events throughout her lifetime.
When she was 3, her father walked out on the family. She grew up never knowing him, was essentially raised by her grandmother, and her mother worked a lot.
In 2007, she was (supposedly) engaged to Nagase Tomoya (of TOKIO fame). However, right before the giltter / fated single was released, they broke up. They stated the relationship had grown into more of a familial bond than a lover-type of bond. I believe that her feelings regarding this breakup can be heard on the song Together When..., which was her first digital single and was on her 9th studio album GUILTY.
A small while later that same year, Ayu received news that her best friend, a woman we have never gotten the name of--besides the information that Ayu referred to her as her "nee-san", had died. This devastated Ayu, and her confused mess of feelings can be expressed on untitled ~for her~, the conclusion track of GUILTY.
(Yes, you get a live performance of it. YouTube sucks and doesn't have a decent studio version)
Speaking of GUILTY, the album read more like a diary entry of several bad days Ayu has had, and it had a raw, dark rock sound to it. However, it perfectly summed up the horrid year that 2007 clearly was for Ayu.
Just towards the end of that year, as GUILTY was about to release, Ayu disclosed to her fans that she was now completely deaf in her left ear. The damage is irreparable, and now she has had to adjust her musical life to this condition. (I totally sympathise, Ayu, because I'm deaf in my right ear ;-;) Obviously this new hearing impairment has marked a stark change in her vocal style/ability, but it hasn't stopped her from doing what she loves most: making music.
Which brings us to our final reason...
7. She Just Makes Damn Good Music
Ayu does not stick to one certain style in her music. Just listening to her albums, you can tell she does not do this. All 10 of her released studio albums have different styles and themes, and Ayu tackles the various genres she samples well. She has sampled rock, techno, electropop, traditional Asian music, even R&B, to create a established rock-tinged pop sound that is uniquely Ayu.
Seriously, if I were to mp3-ify this assertion, we'd be here all night. But for now, I leave you with this, courtesy of one of my best friends, Trinity (amazonstorm ):
"The ULTIMATE collection of Ayumi Hamasaki, A COMPLETE ~All Singles~ is made up of all 43 A side single tracks Ayumi's released over the past decade, plus a re-recording of Who.... It's a must have for the Ayu newbies who want a taste of what she's got (and this one has ALL the classics) or the diehards (like me; who actually BOUGHT THIS). It's a big collection, over three discs, but it's a pretty decent one."
Track Listing:
Disc One
1. poker face
2. YOU
3. Trust
4. For My Dear...
5. Depend on you
6. WHATEVER
7. LOVE ~Destiny~
8. TO BE
9. Boys & Girls
10. monochrome
11. appears
12. kanariya
13. Fly high
14. vogue
15. Far away
Disc Two
1. SEASONS
2. SURREAL
3. AUDIENCE
4. M
5. evolution
6. NEVER EVER
7. Endless sorrow
8. UNITE!
9. Dearest
10. Daybreak
11. Free & Easy
12. independent
13. Voyage
14. ourselves
15. forgiveness
Disc Three
1. No way to say
2. Moments
3. INSPIRE
4. CAROLS
5. STEP you
6. fairyland
7. HEAVEN
8. Bold & Delicious
9. Startin'
10. BLUE BIRD
11. Glitter
12. talkin' to myself
13. Mirrorcle World
14. Who... (10th Anniversary version) A COMPLETE ~All Singles~The download link in question is on Megaupload. Let me know if you absolutely CAN'T use it, and I will provide a mirror.
External Links
So you want more information, or can't get enough of her? Great! That's awesome! Here's some links for you to be happy about:
JpopStop Article
A succinct wiki of Ayumi, listing her complete discography and the details of it.
Her Official Site
Duh.
Her Official YouTube Channel
This contains every single PV she's released thus far. 74 videos. 6.5 hours of AyuFun.
Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai
I will say that this is THE forum to go to for Ayu-related stuff.
Eneabba Ayu
Asserted to be the best Ayu fansite around.
....
Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this pimp post, and I hopefully expanded your horizons somewhat! Please enjoy the provided videos, GIFs, and music, and let me know what you think!
Peace out, dudes! ♥