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Ayumi Hamasaki

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Ayumi Hamasaki (浜崎 あゆみ, Hamasaki Ayumi, originally 濱崎 歩, born October 2, 1978) is an award-winning J-pop singer. Also known as Ayu, Hamasaki is one of Japan's most popular pop singers and has been dubbed "The Empress of J-Pop".[1][2] Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo to pursue a career in entertainment. Since her 1998 debut with the single poker face, she has sold around 50 million records[3] with the releases of her nine full-length studio albums, one mini-album, four compilation albums, 42 singles, and numerous non-studio albums.

Ayumi Hamasaki

With the release of her 39th single, Startin'/Born to Be..., in 2006, Hamasaki became Japan's female solo artist with most number-one singles. With the release of her 2007 single Talkin' 2 Myself, Hamasaki has 29 number-one singles (30 when A Song Is Born is included) and 39 singles in the Top 10 of the Japanese Oricon charts. She has 18 consecutive number-one singles to date (starting with Free & Easy in 2002). She is also the first Japanese artist to have her first original eight studio albums top the Oricon charts.[4]

Early life

Hamasaki was born in Fukuoka Prefecture,[5] raised by her mother and grandmother in a single-parent household, as her father had left the family when Hamasaki was three and never came into contact with Hamasaki since.[6][7]

File:AyumiHamasaki Biography 1995 2.jpg
The 1995 promotional video Swimsuit Special, produced by Hamasaki's talent agency "SOS".

Hamasaki began her modeling career at the age of seven, modeling locally to earn money for the family. At fourteen, Hamasaki moved from Fukuoka to Tokyo to take various modeling as well as acting jobs, using the pseudonym Kurumi Hamasaki[8] when she acted in low-budget dramas like Miseinen and b-movies. However, Hamasaki did not find much success with her talent agency and was deemed too short to be a model. She was eventually dropped by her talent agency, and dropped out of school by the tenth grade. A high school dropout with no job, Hamasaki spent much of her time shopping at Shibuya boutiques and dancing at Velfarre, an Avex-owned disco club.[7]

File:NothingfromNothing.jpg
A shot from a rare promotional video for Hamasaki's pre-Avex album Nothing from Nothing

Hamasaki's first professional musical endeavors were in the rap scene. On December 1, 1995, her first album, Nothing from Nothing, featuring Dohzi-T and DJ Bass, was released under the Nippon Columbia label. When the album failed to chart on the Oricon, Hamasaki's label dropped her.[9]

It was at Velfarre where Hamasaki was introduced to her future producer, Masato Matsuura.[7] Introduced to Hamasaki by a mutual friend, Matsuura offered Hamasaki a recording deal immediately after hearing her sing, but Hamasaki was suspicious of Matsuura and turned the offer down.[7] Matsuura, however, persisted until the following year, when Hamasaki agreed and began taking vocal training.[7]

Finding the instructors too rigid and the classes too dull,[7] Hamasaki skipped most of her classes. When she confessed to Matsuura, he sent her to New York for training. While there, Hamasaki corresponded with Matsuura who, impressed with her writing, suggested she try writing her own lyrics.[7]

Music career

1998–1999: A Song for XX and Loveppears

File:PokerFace1998.jpg
A scene from the promotional video for Hamasaki's debut Avex single "poker face"

In the April of 1998, Hamasaki's debut single under Avex, "poker face," was released,[10] peaking at number twenty on the Oricon.[11] Likewise, her second single, "You," performed no better, also peaking at number twenty. It wasn't until Hamasaki's third single, "Trust," which peaked at number nine, was Hamasaki able to enter one of the top ten spots on the Oricon weekly chart.[11] Like its predecessor, Hamasaki's fourth single, "For My Dear...," released on October 7, 1998,[10] peaked at number nine on the Oricon.[11] "Depend on You," Hamasaki's fifth single, peaked at number six on the Oricon[11] and was used as the main theme of video game Thousand Arms.[12] Hamasaki's debut album, A Song for XX, which was released on January 1, 1999, held the top position on the Oricon for five weeks.[5]

Hamasaki earned her first number-one single with the release of her seventh single, "Love ~Destiny~," a song produced by Tsunku.[7][13] Her eighth single, however, "To Be," released a month after its predecessor, was unable to match the success of "Love ~Destiny~," only peaking at number four on the Oricon. Hamasaki's ninth single, "Boys & Girls," however, not only claimed the number-one position on the Oricon weekly chart, but also became Hamasaki's first million-selling single.[11] Also, with the release of "Boys & Girls," Hamasaki began to release her singles on 12 cm rather than 8 cm discs, following the trend of the music industry at that time. As the 12 cm discs were able to hold more data than the 8 cm discs, Hamasaki began releasing more remixes on her singles.

As of November 2007, Hamasaki's tenth single, "A," released in the August of 1999,[10] is her best-selling single with more than 1.6 million copies sold.[14] On November 10, 1999, Hamasaki simultaneously released her second studio album, Loveppears, and her eleventh single, "appears."[10][15] Loveppears topped the Oricon weekly charts and went on to sell over 2 million copies.[16] Following the release of Loveppears, two singles from the album were released, "Kanariya," released in December, and "Fly High," released in the February of 2000.[10]

2000–2001: Duty and I am...

In 2000, Hamasaki became a spokeswoman for Kosé, a Japanese cosmetics company. When she appeared in commercials to promote Kosé's lipsticks, a record 500,000 lipsticks were sold in only two days.[17] Her single "Vogue," which was used as background music, also benefited from the commercial, selling over 700,000 copies. She also became a spokesperson for Tu-Ka, a now defunct mobile phone carrier, and promoted the company's cell phones.

File:ABESTINSTORECM.jpg
The commercial for Hamasaki's first "greatest hits" album, A Best

From April to June 2000, Hamasaki released three singles, "Vogue," "Far Away," and "Seasons."[10] On September 27, Hamasaki simultaneously released her seventeenth single, "Surreal," and her third full-length studio album, Duty. Not only did Duty top the charts like its predecessors A Song for XX and Loveppears, it went on to sell almost 3 million copies, making it her best-selling original studio album to date.[18][16]

In December of 2000, the single "M" was released[10] and became Hamasaki's fourth million-selling single, selling over 1.3 million copies. "M" marked the beginning of Hamasaki's increased creative control over her music, as she started to compose some of her songs under the pseudonym "CREA."[19] The following year, shortly after the release of Hamasaki's single "Never Ever," Avex forced Hamasaki to release her first compilation album, A Best, on March 28, putting the album in direct competition with "rival" singer Utada Hikaru's sophomore studio album, Distance.[20] The "competition" between the the two singers, which both claimed was merely a creation of their record companies and the media, was supposedly the reason for the success of the albums, with A Best and Distance becoming the two best-selling albums of the year.[21]

In December, following a string of singles including "Endless Sorrow," "Unite!," and "Dearest" (the last used as an ending theme for the anime Inuyasha),[22] Avex released the single "a song is born," a collaboration between Hamasaki and fellow Avex singer KEIKO for Avex's non-profit Song+Nation project, which raised money for the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.[23] On January 1, 2002, her fourth album, I am..., was released,[15] and like its predecessors Loveppears and Duty, it became an RIAJ-certified million-seller,[24] selling over two million copies.[5]

I am... was a retreat from the themes of "loneliness and confusion" which had characterized some of Hamasaki's earlier songs.[25] Following the September 11 attacks, Hamasaki, affected by the events, decided to revise her vision of I am..., focusing on issues such as faith and world peace in her lyrics. "A song is born," in particular, was directly influenced by the events.[26][25] As Hamasaki explained,

"In the beginning, I was searching for myself in my music. My music was for me. I didn't have the mental room to be conscious of the listener; I wrote to save myself." Hamasaki also revised the album cover, dropping the planned cover and opting instead to be portrayed as a "peace muse," explaining

I had a completely different idea for the cover at first. We'd already reserved the space, decided the hair and makeup and everything. But after the incident, as is typical of me, I suddenly changed my mind. I knew it wasn't the time for gaudiness, for elaborate sets and costumes. It sounds odd coming from me, but I realize what I say and how I look has a great impact.[26]

File:VOYAGE shortmovie 2002.jpg
Hamasaki in her first short film, Sinking into the Moon. Hamasaki played the lead role as well as wrote and performed the theme song, her 2002 hit single "Voyage."

2002–2003: Rainbow and Memorial Address

The release of "Free & Easy" in April marked a change in the format of Hamasaki's singles, as the single only contained two remixes alongside the title track. Hamasaki's twenty-seventh single, "H", was released in July of that year, becoming not only Hamasaki's fifth million-selling single, but also the best-selling single of the year in Japan, as it was the only million-selling single.[24][10] Like her previous single "A," "H" had multiple a-sides; however, "H" did not contain any remixes. Her follow-up single "Voyage" had an extended music video to promote it — a short film titled Tsuki ni Shizumu . "Voyage" set a new record for Hamasaki, as it held the top spot on the Oricon chart for three weeks, making it Hamasaki's only song to hold the top position for so long.[27]

Hamasaki's next studio album, Rainbow, was released on December 18, 2002.[15] Though Rainbow broke the one-million mark in the first week, it was the first of Hamasaki's albums since A Song for XX that failed to sell at least two million units. The album featured more songs composed under the pseudonym "CREA," and became Hamasaki's first album released under Avex to incorporate English lyrics.[28] Avex launched a promotional campaign for Rainbow in which those who bought the album online could access a password-protected website that featured a part of the instrumental version of the title track "Rainbow," which did not appear on the album.[28] However, "Rainbow" later appeared on Hamasaki's ballad compilation/remix album A Ballads, which was released in March 2003.

File:AyumiHamasaki memorialaddresscommercial.jpg
Screenshot from the commercial for Hamasaki's first mini album, Memorial Address

In July, Hamasaki's first single in nine months, "&," was released.[10] Like the singles "H" and "A," "&" featured multiple a-sides, but "&" also included a b-side, "theme of a-nation '03." Hamasaki's next single, "Forgiveness," released on September 1,[10] continued Hamasaki's string of number-one singles, netting sales of 220,000 units. After the release of the single "No Way to Say" in November,[10] Hamasaki released her first mini-album, Memorial Address,[15] which contained three new songs. Memorial address, Hamasaki's first album to be available in CD-only or CD+DVD formats, became an RIAJ-certified million-seller.[29]

2004–2005: My Story and (miss)understood

In the spring of 2004, Hamasaki released "Moments" in both a CD-only and CD+DVD combination, something which she continues to do now. It was featured in her last Kose Visee commercial before her contract with the cosmetics company ended. Following the release of "Moments," Hamasaki released her thirty-third single, "Inspire," which reached the number-one spot on the Oricon charts, adding to her string of number-one singles.

Shortly after the release of "Inspire," a feud between Max Matsuura and Avex's then-chairman Tom Yoda, regarding Avex's business practices, created division that caused Matsuura and Ryuhei Chiba (president of talent-agency subsidiary Axev) to temporarily resign. However, when Hamasaki along with other Avex performers, including Koda Kumi and Exile, expressed their support for Matsuura, saying that they would follow Matsuura, fears arose that Avex would lose its top performers, fears that led to the sixteen-percent decline in Avex's stock prices by the end of August 2. Avex then immediately held a meeting with Matsuura and Chiba, and by August 3, Avex released a statement saying that Matsuura and Chiba had decided to withdraw their resignations. On the same day, Avex disclosed that Yoda had stepped down from his position as CEO.[30]

In December of 2004, Hamasaki released her sixth studio album, My Story,[15] which, like its predecessors, became an RIAJ-certified million-seller.[31] The album was initially released in two formats, CD-only and CD+DVD. Following Hamasaki's Arena Tour 2005 ~My Story~ tour, however, My Story was released in Super Audio CD and DVD-audio formats as well. [32][33]

File:Ayumihamasaki bold&delicious2005.jpg
The promotional video for "Bold & Delicious/Pride," which was filmed in New York City

Hamasaki's thirty-fifth single, "Step you/Is this Love?," was released in the April of 2005.[10] It was a double a-side single featuring "Step You" and "Is This Love?" The single topped the daily, weekly, and monthly Oricon charts. It held the number-one spot on the weekly charts for two weeks in a row[34] and went on to sell over 345,000 copies, becoming Hamasaki's highest-selling single of 2005.

Her thirty-sixth single, "Fairyland," which was coupled with the song "Alterna," was released on August 3, 2005.[10] It debuted at number-one on the Oricon charts. "Fairyland" was Hamasaki's first single to feature different cover art for the CD-only version and the CD+DVD version. Shortly after the release of "fairyland," Hamasaki released her thirty-seventh single, "Heaven," on September 14, 2005.[10] The song was used as the theme song of the movie Shinobi: Heart Under Blade.[35] The single also included "Will," which Hamasaki co-composed under the pseudonym "CREA."

Hamasaki released her thirty-eighth single "Bold & Delicious/Pride," a cover of the Sweetbox songs by the same name, on November 30, 2005.[10] The single had first-week sales of about 84,000, claiming the number-one spot on the Oricon charts. "Bold & Delicious" became Hamasaki's twenty-fifth number-one single, tying her with Seiko Matsuda for the most number-one singles by a solo female artist.

Hamasaki's seventh studio album, (miss)understood, was officially released on January 1, 2006.[15] It debuted with sales of about 650,000 copies, reaching the number-one spot on the United World Chart, a first-time feat for her.[36] (miss)understood contained six tracks originally written by Sweetbox composer GEO for use on the Sweetbox album Addicted including "Ladies Night," "Bold & Delicious," "Pride," and "In the Corner" along with "Rainy Day" (originally titled "Every Step" on Addicted) and "Beautiful Day" (originally titled "Beautiful Girl"); however, Hamasaki obtained his permission to use them, with her own lyrics, on her album.[37]

2006–2007: Secret and A Best 2

Hamasaki's thirty-ninth single, "Startin' / Born To Be...", was released on March 8, 2006.[10] The single debuted at the top of the Oricon chart with sales of 116,000, becoming Hamasaki's twenty-sixth number-one single, thus breaking the record of most number-one singles in Japan for a solo (female) artist, previously held by Seiko Matsuda. "Startin'" was used as the opening theme of the video game Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, making it Hamasaki's first single to be tied-in with a video game since her 1998 single "Depend on You."[38]

Hamasaki then embarked on the "Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2006 —(miss)understood—" in March, which spanned three months with its first stop in Saitama on March 11, 2006 and made its last stop at Yoyogi on June 11, 2006. With thirty concerts, it was her largest tour to date. The last concert of the tour was recorded and released on DVD in November.

Hamasaki released her fortieth single "Blue Bird" on June 21, 2006.[10] "Blue Bird" claimed the number-one position on the daily Oricon chart. Just one day after the release of "Blue Bird," Oricon confirmed the single had outsold its competition already, securing the weekly number-one spot for Hamasaki's fifteenth consecutive and twenty-seventh total number-one single.[39]

File:Jevelpromotionvideo.jpg
The music video for "Jewel," directed by Wataru Takeishi, is one of the most expensive music videos ever made

Hamasaki released her eighth studio album, Secret on November 29, 2006.[15] Originally, the album was planned to be released as her second mini-album with seven songs overall. October 2006, it was announced later on her official website that a change of plans would occur, and that Secret would be a full-length album. Hamasaki worked overtime to complete the album to have a full album. The album was completed on November 8. Hamasaki also raised media attention for the music video of "Jewel," in which almost $1,000,000 U.S. dollars worth of diamonds were used, making it one of the most expensive videos ever made.[40] Although the album debuted at the top spot on the Oricon charts, it became Hamasaki's first original studio album under Avex to fail to become a million-seller, becoming instead certified double-platinum by the RIAJ.[41]

File:AyumiHamasaki livesmap2.jpg
Hamasaki promoting A Best 2 on the TV program SMAP x SMAP, February 2007

On February 28, 2007, Hamasaki released a series of compilation albums titled A Best 2, which contained songs from her albums I am... to (miss)understood. A Best 2 came in two versions, -Black- and -White-, with both -Black- and -White- released in CD+DVD+DVD or CD-only packages. The DVDs of -Black- contained the respective music videos of the songs on the album as well as a "documentary film" of Hamasaki's Countdown Live 2006-2007 concert, while the DVDs for -White- also included the music videos for the album's tracks in addition to Best of Countdown Live 2006-2007, which contained highlights of the Countdown Live 2006-2007 concert.[42]

The first-week sales figures of A Best 2 (-Black- and -White- together) gained a total of 950,000 copies. -White- version sales totaled to 475,284 and -Black- version sales totaled to 470,057, while holding the first and second positions of the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart while also occupying the top positions of the United World Charts. In addition to being the first female artist in 36 years to hold the top two positions on the Oricon album charts, Hamasaki is the only artist ever to hold the top two positions on the United World Charts with her albums.[43] By the end of 2007, A Best 2 -White- and A Best 2 -Black- became Japan's fifth and seventh best-selling albums of the year, respectively.[44]

From March to the end of June, Hamasaki held a tour of Asia, Tour of Secret, and performed not only in Japan but also in Taiwan, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.[45] According to Hamasaki's official fanclub Teamayu, the Japanese legs of the tour would promote her album Secret, while the concerts held outside Japan would feature older songs. The concert was highly anticipated, since it was her first tour outside of Japan. As a result, tickets for the Taiwan concert sold out in less than two hours,[46] while tickets for her Hong Kong concert sold out in less than three hours.[47]

2008: Guilty era

File:Distance Love.PNG
Ayumi Hamasaki and Shawn Yue in the short film Distance Love

On May 17, 2007 it was announced on Tower Records in Japan that Hamasaki was to release a new single, "glitter/fated," on July 18, 2007.[48] Shortly after the release of "glitter/fated", Hamasaki flew to Hong Kong to shoot 距愛 ～Distance Love～, a short film used as the music video for the two songs. The movie, Hamasaki's first short film since Tsuki ni Shizumu, co-starred Hong Kong actor Shawn Yue as Hamasaki's romantic interest.[49] Also, "fated" was used as the theme for the movie Kaidan,[50] while "Secret," the b-side of "glitter/fated" that had previously appeared on the album of the same name, was used as the theme for the Japanese release of the Hong Kong movie Confession of Pain.[51]

On September 19, 2007, Hamasaki released her next single "talkin' 2 myself."[10] It debuted on the top position of the weekly charts with approximately 70,000 copies sold, making it Hamasaki's 17th consecutive number-one single and 29th number-one single in total.[52][53] In December, Hamasaki released her forty-fourth single, "Together When..." as a digital-only release, a decision which, according to Avex, was made in light of Japan's diminishing CD sales. Avex also stated that the move was "an experiment" which would effect future releases depending on its success.[54] "Together When..." not only debuted at the number-one position with 1,000,000 downloads, but also claimed the top position on the monthly download charts, a first for Hamasaki.[55]

Hamasaki's ninth studio album, Guilty, was released on January 1, 2008.[56] It was released in CD-only and CD+DVD formats with the same photobook for each format. On its first day of release, Guilty reached the top position on Japan's Oricon charts, where it stayed for six days, selling more than 202,000 copies within its first initial week of release. However, the combined totals for the first and second weeks put Guilty at the number-two position with 432,000 copies sold,[57] making it the first original studio album from Hamasaki under Avex which did not debut at the top position.[58]

Recently announced were two remix albums to be released on March 26th, 2008, ayu-mi-x 6 -GOLD- and ayu-mi-x 6 -SILVER-, Hamasaki's first remix albums since 2005's MY STORY CLASSICAL. Along with the remix albums, 10 analog LPs have also been scheduled for an April 9th, 2008 release.[59][60]

Image and cultural impact

Hamasaki's tight control over her image has been attributed to her influence in Japan's pop culture.[61][5] She is often considered a trend-setter and "icon of fashion"[62] in Japan, regularly appearing in fashion magazines such as ViVi, Popteen, and Cawaii as well as repeatedly winning awards such as "Best Jeanist" and "Nail Queen"[63][17] and earning the title of "Most Fashionable Female Artist" in Oricon's 2006 spring and summer polls.[64] In addition, Hamasaki is often sought after by fashion houses such as Bulgari, Juicy Couture, and Christian Louboutin[62] and has appeared in commercials for numerous products, including Panasonic products and various snack foods.[5][17]

Besides her CD releases and tours, Hamasaki has also become known for her expensive music videos. Often making videos for album tracks as well as singles, these promotional videos have become selling points in themselves, now packaged along with her albums and singles. The promotional videos of three songs, "fairyland", "my name's WOMEN," and "JEWEL" are among the most expensive music videos ever made,[40][65] making Hamasaki the only non-American to hold such a distinction.[66]

Artistry

The influence of Hamasaki's music, sometimes considered one of the major forces in shaping Japan's current music trends,[62] is sometimes attributed to the "progressive sound" of the music as well as her self-penned lyrics,[62] while others attribute Hamasaki's success to marketing strategies.[17]

Composition

As Hamasaki is not a professional composer, she frequently employs others to compose her songs. As she explained, "I'm not a professional; I lack even basic knowledge about writing music." However, when Hamasaki was writing her song "M," she felt that none of the melodies composed by her staff appealed to her, and she decided to compose the melody herself.[6]

It's hard to decide how to match words to music. It's not like it's twice the work. It's always difficult for me to explain to the composer what I'm looking for. I'm not a professional; I lack even basic knowledge about writing music. But I discovered that if I do it myself, it's quicker and closer to what I have in mind. When I start from scratch, I can do exactly what I want.

— Ayumi Hamasaki, [26]

Since then, Hamasaki has composed some of her own songs; notable examples include her album I am..., in which many of the songs, including "Evolution" and "Endless Sorrow" are composed by herself.[25]

Lyrics

Hamasaki's lyrics, all of which are written solely by herself, have resonated among her fans, who praise the "honest and profound nature" of her lyrics.[62] Although "loneliness and confusion" were frequent themes in her earlier albums, Hamasaki has also touched upon themes such as faith and peace, most notably in her album I am...[25] Hamasaki, who explained that she has trouble voicing her thoughts, found an outlet in writing, saying:

In the beginning, I was searching for myself in my music. My music was for me. I didn't have the mental room to be conscious of the listener; I wrote to save myself. I didn't understand what it was to write songs. But over time I began to see many things, my influence, the responsibilities that gave me.[26]

Other activities

Further information: [[:Ayuready?]]
Further information: [[:Ayumi Hamasaki and Hello Kitty]]

Beginning on October 12, 2002, Fuji Television began airing "Ayuready?," a half-hour-long talk show hosted by Hamasaki. The weekly show, airing on Saturday nights from 11:30 P.M. to 12:00 A.M., often featured Hamasaki performing songs with the guests. Among her guests were the group w-inds and fellow Avex members such as BoA and Tomiko Van .[67] After less than two years on the air, "Ayu Ready?" ended, its last episode airing in March 2004.[68][69]

Also in 2002, Hamasaki released Ayupan, a line of merchandise (mainly figurines) featuring stylized versions of herself. In addition to the merchandise, a weekly cartoon series about the adventures of Ayupan and her dog Maron was aired; the last episode was released in December 2005.[70][71] In 2007, Hamasaki and Sanrio collaborated, creating a line of merchandise called Ayumi HamasakixHello Kitty, featuring Ayupan and Hello Kitty together, which was sold at Hamasaki's 2007 tour "ayumi hamasaki ASIA TOUR 2007 ~Tour of Secret~" and also online at mu-mo.net.[72]

Personal life

On July 13, 2007, Hamasaki announced that she and her boyfriend, Tomoya Nagase of the band Tokio, broke up, ending their seven-year-long relationship.[73] Hamasaki announced the split on her website, saying that she had "broken off with my lover." The split, which came as a surprise, as reporters had speculated that Hamasaki and Nagase would wed, prompted various rumors among Japanese media speculating the cause of the split. Hamasaki, however, has yet to confirm a reason.[74]

In a January entry on her TeamAyu blog, Hamasaki revealed that she had become completely deaf in her left ear, and that the condition is inoperable. Hamasaki revealed in a statement that she had been diagnosed with deafness in 2006, and that the problem (possibly tinnitus or Meniere's Disease)[3][58] dated back to 2000. As a result of her hearing loss, Avex experienced a thirteen-yen decrease in their stock prices.[75] Despite the setbacks, Hamasaki stated that she wished to continue singing.[76][77]

Selected discography

Main article: Ayumi Hamasaki discography

Tours

Year Title Format
2000 ayumi hamasaki concert tour 2000 A 第1幕 VHS, DVD
2000 ayumi hamasaki concert tour 2000 A 第2幕 VHS, DVD
2001 ayumi hamasaki DOME TOUR 2001 A VHS, DVD
2002 ayumi hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2002 A VHS, DVD
2002 ayumi hamasaki STADIUM TOUR 2002 A VHS, DVD
2003-2004 ayumi hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2003-2004 DVD
2005 ayumi hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2005 A ～MY STORY～ DVD
2006 ayumi hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2006 A ～(miss)understood～ DVD

Filmography

  • Battle spirits ryûko no ken (1993)
  • Nagisa no Shindobaddo (1995)
  • Sumomo mo momo (1995)
  • Miseinen (1995)
  • Gakko II (1996)

Awards and records

Main article: Ayumi Hamasaki awards and records

References

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  4. ^ Oricon (2006-12-06). ""Ayumi Hamasaki special section"". Oricon Style. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
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