Jeebus Likes J-Pop Idols (Part 2): Ayumi Hamasaki

浜崎 あゆみ (Hamasaki Ayumi, born October 2, 1978) is an award-winning J-Pop singer. Commonly known simply as "Ayu", Ayumi Hamasaki is one of the most popular and influential Japanese pop singers, and has been dubbed “The Empress of JPop”. She was born and raised in Fukuoka and moved to Tokyo to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Since her debut in 1998 with her first single poker face, she has sold more than 45 million records in Japan alone, with the releases of her eight full-length studio albums, one mini-album, four compilation albums, 41 singles, and several non-studio albums, being the top selling solo and female artist and the fourth top selling Japanese artist in history. 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 reach that milestone.

With the release of her 39th single Startin' / Born to be... in 2006, Hamasaki became the female solo artist with most #1-hits. To date, Ayumi has 28 #1 singles and 39 singles in the Top 10 of the Japanese Oricon charts. She has 16 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.

TomC