Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer-songwriter and producer. Nicknamed the "Empress of Pop" on account of her influence throughout Asia, she is widely recognized for her versatile music production, songwriting, and live performances. Hamasaki is the best-selling solo artist in Japan, and a cultural icon of the Heisei era.
Duty is the third studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on September 27, 2000, by Avex Trax. Duty is Hamasaki's first studio album inside the 2000s decade, and her third consecutive studio album to be fully produced by Japanese musician and businessman Max Matsuura. The album's composing and arrangement was handled by several music collaborators, such as Ken Harada, Kazuhito Kikuchi, Dai Nagao, HΛL, among many others. Hamasaki contributed to the album as the primary and background vocalist, and songwriter to every song. Three different formats were released to promote the album: a standalone CD, a limited edition Playbutton, and a digital download. The cover art portray Hamasaki wearing a leopard-print catsuit.
"Surreal" is a song by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki, taken from her third studio album Duty (2000). It was written by Hamasaki and produced by Max Matsuura. The song is a rock with elements of alternative rock. "Surreal" describes Hamasaki's madness and sense of confusion, while the themes of "Surreal" are based on Hamasaki's concept of loneliness, chaos, confusion, and the burden of her responsibilities, aimed mostly toward her public image as a recording artist. It was released as the fourth single from the album on 27 September 2000 by Avex Trax and Avex Taiwan.
(Miss)understood is the seventh studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on New Year's Day 2006, by Avex Trax. Hamasaki acted as the album's sole lyricist, as she had on all of her preceding albums. (Miss)understood marked new musical directions for Hamasaki: she explored new influences such as funk and used gospel choruses in some of the songs, foreign to her previous works. This was the result of her having heard compositions by Geo from the German-based pop music project Sweetbox and asking him for his works. Subsequently, Hamasaki rewrote the lyrics entirely to fit (Miss)understood.
"Audience" is a song by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki from her third studio album Duty (2000). It was released as the album's fifth and final single on 1 November 2000 by Avex Trax. Hamasaki wrote the track and Max Matsuura Lewis produced it. Dai Nagao and HΛL composed both the single and album version. The single artwork was shot by Japanese photographer Toru Kumazawa and features duplicate clones of Hamasaki, resembling an audience. Musically, "Audience" is a dance–pop and disco song.
Guilty is the ninth studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on New Year's Day 2008 by Avex Trax. Guilty marks Hamasaki's ninth consecutive album to be fully produced by Japanese producer and manager Max Matsuura, while she contributes to the album as the lead vocalist, background vocalist, and songwriter to all songs. Recorded in Japanese with minor phrases in English, Guilty is a rock album with numerous musical elements such as pop rock, heavy metal, synthrock, and power ballad melodies.
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.
"Sunrise/Sunset " is Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki's forty-sixth single, released on August 12, 2009. The song "Sunrise: Love is All" is used as the theme song to the 2009 Japanese drama show, Dandy Daddy? In addition, the song "Sunset: Love is All" was used in advertisements for the Panasonic Lumix FX-60 digital camera. The single debuted at #1 on Oricon weekly charts and became her 44th Top 10 single, making her the first artist to have 44 Top 10 singles in Oricon history. The single became Hamasaki's 21st consecutive single to debut at number-one position since her 2002 single "Free & Easy" on the Oricon weekly charts, making her the first solo artist and the first female artist to have 21 consecutive singles to debut at number-one position. It is also her 33rd number-one single on the Oricon weekly charts.
Rock 'n' Roll Circus is the eleventh studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on April 14, 2010, by Avex Trax. It was also released just a little over a year after her 2009 album, Next Level. Rock 'n' Roll Circus marks Hamasaki's eleventh consecutive album to be fully produced by Japanese producer and manager Max Matsuura, while she contributes to the album as the lead vocalist, background vocalist, and songwriter to all songs. Recorded in Japanese with minor phrases in English, Rock 'n' Roll Circus is a rock album with numerous musical elements such as electropop, J-pop, rock, pop ballad, and dance music.
Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2009 A: Next Level is the twelfth concert tour DVD by the Japanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on April 14, 2010, the same day as the release of Rock 'n' Roll Circus. On the Oricon weekly chart, it peaked at second place and is currently still charting. The tour consisted of 32 shows across Japan and played to over 300,000 fans.
"Dream On" is a song recorded by Japanese singer Naoya Urata of the band AAA. It features vocals from the singer-songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki. The song was released as a single on December 22, 2010. The song is Hamasaki's first collaboration since 2001's "A Song is Born". Moreover, this is Hamasaki's 26th consecutive song to reach number 1 and 39th number-one single overall.
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.
Japanese musician Ayumi Hamasaki has released more than 100 music videos since her debut in 1998, creating works for songs she has released as singles, as well as songs found exclusively on albums. Hamasaki has released 37 video albums, including 27 concert footage releases. Many of these have been successful, debuting at number one in Japan or Taiwan, while several have been certified gold by the RIAJ: Complete Live Box A (2003), A Museum: 30th Single Collection Live (2004), Arena Tour 2005 A: My Story (2005) and Arena Tour 2006 A: (Miss)understood (2006). Most of these concerts feature footage from her arena tours in Japan, or from her annual Countdown Live New Year's events. Her Tour of Secret video album featured footage from her concerts in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shanghai in 2007, while her Ayumi Hamasaki Asia Tour 2008: 10th Anniversary concert recording was filmed exclusively in Taipei, Taiwan.
Made in Japan is the seventeenth studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It initially debuted on the streaming service AWA Japan on May 11, 2016, before receiving a physical and digital release on June 29, 2016. It is Hamasaki's seventeenth consecutive studio album, since her debut album A Song for ×× (1999), to be fully written by her and produced by Japanese musician Max Matsuura. Musically, the album encompasses a variety of genres including hard rock, ballad, and electronic dance music.
Trouble is the seventh extended play by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released digitally in Japan on August 6, 2018, and was eventually released physically on August 15. The EP features five original tracks, with all the tracks written by Hamasaki herself.
Ayumi Hamasaki 21st Anniversary: Power of A^3 is Japanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki's 42nd video release. It was released on September 4, 2019. The concert was a special live that was held twice at Saitama Super Arena on April 6 and 7, 2019 to close out her 20th anniversary year.
Ayumi Hamasaki Countdown Live 2014–2015 A: Cirque de Minuit is Japanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki's 14th Countdown concert DVD. It was released on April 8, 2015. The concert was held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium on December 29, 30 and 31, 2014.
Ayumi Hamasaki 15th Anniversary Tour: A Best Live is Japanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki's 36th DVD/Blu-ray release. It was released on October 30, 2013. The tour was held to celebrate Hamasaki's 15th anniversary in the music industry, with her performing 28 shows in Japan from mid-April to late July. The tour started on April 13, 2013 at Saitama Super Arena and finished with two final shows at Yoyogi National Gymnasium on July 27 and 28, 2013.
Ayumi Hamasaki Premium Showcase: Feel the Love is Japanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki's 38th DVD/Blu-ray release. It was released on October 22, 2014. The tour was promoted as a "premium live", visiting only 3 cities – Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo – with 11 shows in Japan from late May to early July. The tour started on May 30, 2014 at Nippon Gaishi Hall and finished with four final shows at Yoyogi National Gymnasium on July 3, 4, 5 and 6, 2014.
Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2015 A: Cirque de Minuit – The Final is Japanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki's 40th DVD/Blu-ray release. It was released on October 28, 2015. The tour started on April 11, 2015, at Saitama Super Arena and initially ended on June 7, 2015, at Yoyogi National Gymnasium. However, four additional dates - promoted as "The Final" - were added and the tour finished on July 5, 2015, at Yokohama Arena.
