Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson and entrepreneur. Through her entire career, she has written all her lyrical content, and has sometimes composed her music.
A Song for ×× is the major-label debut album and second album overall by Japanese pop artist Ayumi Hamasaki, released January 1, 1999, by Avex Trax. Primarily a rock-pop album, it features musical composition and arrangements by Yasuhiko Hoshino, Mitsuru Igarashi, and others.
Rainbow is the fifth studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki, released on 18 December 2002 by Avex Trax. Production of Rainbow had commenced after the release of Hamasaki's fourth studio album I Am... that January; All lyrics were written by Hamasaki, and Japanese producer Max Matsuura returned to produce the album. The album was Hamasaki's first to feature conversational English lyrics, where in her previous works she had only used single words.
Memorial Address is the first extended play (EP) by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on December 17, 2003 by Avex Trax. Memorial Address is Hamasaki's longest extended play with a total of eight tracks. The album's composition and arrangement was handled by several musicians, such as Tetsuya Yukumi, Bounceback, CMJK, Dai Nagao, amongst others. Hamasaki contributed to the album as the primary and background vocalist, composer, and songwriter to every song. Three different formats were released to promote the album: a standalone CD, a CD and DVD bundle, and a digital release. It was Hamasaki's first album to be released as a CD+DVD package, a marketing strategy her label would often employ throughout her career.
"Heaven" is the thirty-seventh single released by Ayumi Hamasaki, released on September 14, 2005. "Heaven" ended up selling over 325,000 copies, making it Hamasaki's second highest-selling single of 2005 as well as her last single to date that has sold over 300,000 physical copies. "Heaven" was used as the theme of the Japanese film Shinobi Heart Under Blade, while "Will" was used in a television commercial for Panasonic. Heaven has been downloaded over 1,580,000 times to date.
"Step You/Is This Love?" is the 35th single released by Ayumi Hamasaki. It was a double a-side single released on April 20, 2005. "Step you"/"is this Love?" was the first single released by Ayumi Hamasaki in 2005. "Step you"/"is this Love?" was the best-selling solo single of 2005 by a female artist until September 2005, when Mika Nakashima's "Glamorous Sky" outsold it. The DVD featured 3 PVs, including one for "Step you," "is this Love?", and also for "my name's Women" from Hamasaki's 2004 album, My Story. Chiharu and Etsu from TRF were featured alongside Ayu in the PV. The "My Name's Women" PV is currently the second most expensive music video by a Japanese artist, behind Hamasaki's "Fairyland" PV. To date, the single has sold over 345,000 copies, making it her best-selling single of 2005.
"Carols" is the thirty-fourth single released by Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on September 29, 2004. It became her 21st single to claim the No. 1 spot on the Oricon charts and has sold over 380,000 copies to date. Carols is to date Hamasaki's only single to be released on the DVD-Audio and SACD formats. It was the last single to be released from the album My Story.
Inspire is the thirty-third single released by Ayumi Hamasaki. It came out on July 28, 2004. The single was the number-one single on the Oricon charts for that week. To date, Inspire has sold over 330,000 copies, making it Hamasaki's highest selling single of 2004. The PV for Inspire was filmed in Los Angeles, California.
"Moments" is the thirty-second single released by Ayumi Hamasaki and her nineteenth number-one single. It came out March 31, 2004. "Moments" was the first single in 2004 released by Hamasaki. The single debuted at the number one spot for the daily, weekly and monthly Japanese charts and went on to sell over 310,000 copies throughout its release. "Moments" was also featured on the album My Story, which came out in December that same year.
& is an extended play by Japanese recording artist and songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on 9 July 2003, by record label Avex Trax. Hamasaki's fourth extended play, & consists of four recordings; "Ourselves", "Greatful Days", "Hanabi: Episode II", and "Theme of A-Nation 03", with three additional instrumentals of the first three tracks. It was released in two different formats; a stand-alone CD, and a digital EP. The artwork for the EP depicts Hamasaki posing in front of a cloudy backdrop, with the title of the work superimposed over her hair. & contains predominantly J-pop and dance music.
"Voyage" is the 28th single released by Ayumi Hamasaki on September 26, 2002. "Voyage" debuted at #1 on the weekly charts with more than 319,020 copies sold in its first week and remained at the top position for three consecutive weeks out of a total 28 weeks on the chart, becoming her longest-charting single. The single sold a total of 679,463 copies and became the ninth-best-selling single of the year. To date, "Voyage" is Ayumi Hamasaki's only single which has remained in the top position of the weekly Oricon charts for at least three weeks other than "H" and "A"; however, "Voyage" is Hamasaki's only single to stay at #1 for three consecutive weeks. "Voyage" was used as the theme song of the Japanese film Tsuki ni Shizumu, which was created in lieu of a PV for the single. It was also used as the ending song of a Japanese television drama My Little Chef, starring Hiroshi Abe and Aya Ueto.
"Bold & Delicious/Pride" is the 38th single released by Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on November 30, 2005.
"M" is a song written by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki from her album I Am... (2002). The lead single from the album and Hamasaki's nineteenth overall, "M" marked Hamasaki's increased creative control over her music, as it was the first song she composed, under the pseudonym "CREA".
"Evolution" is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist and lyricist Ayumi Hamasaki, released on January 31, 2001 as the second single from her fourth studio album I Am... (2002).
A Best 2 is a series of greatest hits albums by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki, which were released simultaneously on 28 February 2007 by Avex Trax. The two-volume release is a direct successor to A Best (2001) and features material from a four-year period of her career. A Best 2 is split between contrasting "dark" and "light" themes, with the two volumes Black and White compiling songs of either nature, respectively.
"Talkin' 2 Myself" is J-Pop singer-songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki's 42nd single, which was released on September 19, 2007. The single contains two rock tracks, one acoustic orchestra remix of her previously released "Fated", and the instrumentals of the main tracks. It is her 29th #1 single, breaking her own record for the most #1 singles by a solo female artist. The drums in both Talkin' 2 Myself and Decision are played by Andy Selway from the band KMFDM.
A Complete: All Singles is a greatest hits album by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki, released on September 10, 2008 to commemorate her tenth anniversary with Avex Trax. It compiles all of Hamasaki's singles from 1998 to 2008, with one new track.
Next Level is the tenth studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released through Avex Trax on March 25, 2009 in five physical formats, and for digital consumption. The album was solely produced by Avex Trax owner Max Matsuura, whereas the album's content was written by Hamasaki herself. Additionally, it marks a return for several composers that helped construct her previous records, including Dai Nagao, CMJK, Kazuhiro Hara, HΛL, amongst others. Stylistically, Next Level is a departure from her previous albums, focusing on electronic music with elements of rock and dance.
"Fairyland" is the 36th single released by Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on August 3, 2005. It instantly shot to #1 on the Oricon charts where it stayed for the entire week. After one week of sales, "Fairyland" sold over 172,000 copies, the most any of Hamasaki's singles sold in one week in 2005. "Fairyland" is also Hamasaki's first single that featured different covers for both the CD and the CD+DVD.
Ayumi Hamasaki A 50 Singles: Live Selection is 27th live DVD by Ayumi Hamasaki, released on April 20, 2011. It is the compilation of her 50 best live performances selected from each of her singles, from her 1st single, Poker Face, to her 50th single, L. It was released on the same day with Ayumi Hamasaki Rock 'n' Roll Circus Tour Final: 7 Days Special. It was originally scheduled to be released at March 30, but was pushed back till April 20 due to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. It charted strongly at #2 while Ayumi Hamasaki Rock 'n' Roll Circus Tour Final: 7 Days Special charted at #1, making her the first artist to hold #1 and #2 positions on the Oricon DVD Weekly Chart. The sales of this 2 DVD make her the female artist with the highest DVD sales of 2,313,000 units sold, behind Arashi. As her song, Kanariya, had not been performed live before, it was replaced as a video clip.
