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BIOGRAPHY

Ayumi Hamasaki
	BIOGRAPHY | GALLERY | GOSSIP | BLOG

Ayumi Hamasaki, born October 2, 1978 in Fukuoka, Japan, is a Japanese pop singer. Commonly known just as Ayu, Ayumi Hamasaki is one of the most prolific and influential Japanese pop singers in Japanese music history, and is dubbed "the Empress of J-Pop".

Since her debut in 1998 with her first single "poker face", she has sold more than 46 million copies, with the releases of her eight full-length studio albums, one mini-album, two compilation albums, 40 singles, and several non-studio albums, being the top selling solo and female artist and the fourth top selling Japanese artist in the history of Japan.[1] With the release of her 40th single "Blue Bird", Hamasaki's single sales have passed the 20 million mark, making her the first solo and female singer to do so.

With the release of her 39th single "Startin' / Born To Be..." in 2006, Hamasaki became the first female singer to have 27 #1 singles (the most #1 singles a Japanese female artist has ever achieved) and 38 singles in the Top 10 of the Japanese Oricon charts. She has 15 consecutive #1 singles to date (starting from "Free & Easy"). Hamasaki is also the first Japanese artist to have her first original eight studio albums top the charts.

Although Ayumi lived with her mother, she was primarily raised by her grandmother. She has vague recollections of her father as he left the family at around the time she was five, and she has not seen him since. She grew up in a very liberal household where she was expected to do what was right for her without her mother intervening in her affairs, since her mother was always out working to support the family.

In her youth, Hamasaki started her modeling career as a model for a local bank. During high school, she was considered a delinquent because her dyed hair and short skirts were considered extremely unconventional in Japan at that time. She did not enjoy her time at school much and did not get along well with the teachers. Surprisingly, she found studying chemistry a very easy thing to do, but she eventually dropped it because she found that it doesn't seem necessary to make a living.

Occasionally, Hamasaki would go from home Fukuoka to Tokyo for short periods of time, to do various modeling jobs and during her stays, she would make friends with people she met at work. After graduating from junior high school, she had her mind made up to go to a senior high school in Tokyo. She took entrance exams to Horikishi Gakuen (art/entertainers school) together with her friends, and she was the only one to fail — much to the surprise of herself and the school.