Ayumi Hamasaki is an award-winning J-Pop singer. She was born and raised in Fukuoka and moved to Tokyo to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. She dropped out of high school, only to be discovered by chance at a karaoke night.Her first album, the more rap than pop Nothing From Nothing, was released in December of 1995, but the album was a bust, and Hamasaki was dropped by her label, Nippon Columbia. Her career in limbo, Hamasaki decided to take the advice of producer Masato Matsura, who encouraged her to take vocal lessons and become a singer. After studying in New York, Hamasaki returned to Japan, and in 1998 released her first single for her new label (Avex), "Poker Face." Since her debut in 1998 with her first single "Poker Face," she has sold more than 50 million records, being the top selling solo and female artist and the fourth top selling Japanese artist in the history of Japan. Hamasaki is also the first Japanese artist to have her first original eight studio albums top the charts. Ayumi has also won the Grand Prix at the Japan Record Taishou (the Japanese equivalent of the Grammys) three times in a row, from 2001–2003.
Ayumi Hamasaki Photos
