With a string of successive hits, live and television appearances, model and spokesperson gigs, and interviews, Ayumi Hamasaki has reigned as Japan's undisputed queen of pop since before the turn of the century. The country's closest thing to Madonna in terms of her influence on pop culture and music industry clout, Hamasaki peers down from monstrous Shibuya billboards, train car and television advertisements, and magazine covers displayed in thousands of convenience stores and train platform kiosks across Japan. Focusing on Hamasaki's music, which spans several subgenres within the J-Pop spectrum, but which is arguably unspectacular when separated from its creator, would be missing the point of what Hamasaki is all about. Born in 1978 in Fukuoka, Hamasaki was still a toddler when her father left. Raised by her mother and grandmother, she began modelling locally at age seven, in part to help make ends meet. She moved to Tokyo at 14 to pursue modeling and acting, where she found work and some limited success, but knowing that her diminutive size would count against her when going for the high paying modeling jobs, and unsatisfied with acting, Hamasaki drifted away from work, hanging out in Shibuya during the day and dancing at Avex's Velfarre nightclub in Roppongi at night. Adrift, Hamasaki had the good fortune to meet Avex producer Masato "Max" Matsuura, who suggested that she try singing, later paying for vocal training and urging her to write her own songs - an unusua...
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With a string of successive hits, live and television appearances, model and spokesperson gigs, and interviews, Ayumi Hamasaki has reigned as Japan's undisputed queen of pop since before the turn of the century. The country's closest thing to Madonna in terms of her influence on pop culture and music industry clout, Hamasaki peers down from monstrous Shibuya billboards, train car and television advertisements, and magazine covers displayed in thousands of convenience stores and train platform kiosks across Japan. Focusing on Hamasaki's music, which spans several subgenres within the J-Pop spectrum, but which is arguably unspectacular when separated from its creator, would be missing the point of what Hamasaki is all about. Born in 1978 in Fukuoka, Hamasaki was still a toddler when her father left. Raised by her mother and grandmother, she began modelling locally at age seven, in part to help make ends meet. She moved to Tokyo at 14 to pursue modeling and acting, where she found work and some limited success, but knowing that her diminutive size would count against her when going for the high paying modeling jobs, and unsatisfied with acting, Hamasaki drifted away from work, hanging out in Shibuya during the day and dancing at Avex's Velfarre nightclub in Roppongi at night. Adrift, Hamasaki had the good fortune to meet Avex producer Masato "Max" Matsuura, who suggested that she try singing, later paying for vocal training and urging her to write her own songs - an unusual concept for the majority of Japan's "idols". In 1998, Hamasaki released her first two singles, the first stalling at number twenty on the Oricon charts, with the second climbing into the top ten. But in 1999, her third single
Love-Destiny shot to the top of the charts, starting an unprecendented run of hit records that continues today. More than the music, though, Hamasaki's real allure lies in her influence, her success, and her status as a cultural icon. Despite starting out as just one in a long line of manufactured pop stars, Hamasaki has pulled off the trick of wresting back control her of her career - another reason that her army of fans adores her and her label indulges her. Everything that the public sees or hears, including songs, costumes, makeup, promotional materials, concert planning, requires her stamp of approval, and many times she directly supervises the creative work. Her work as a spokesperson further magnifies her larger-than-life persona, and she has pitched products for companies including Aube Cosmetics, Honda Motors, Kose Cosmetics, Lycos Japan, Morinaga, Panasonic, and mobile phone company TU-KA. In addition, she continues to appear on countless magazine covers including multiple appearances on
Cawaii, the fashion and lifestyle bible for the legions of young Hamasaki fans. More and more, there are rumblings in the industry that she may retire, or at least scale back her full-scale onslaught on the consciousness of Japan, but there is little indication that this is going to happen in the near future.
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