"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.”
Ayumi Hamasaki (often stylized as 'ayumi hamasaki', Japanese: 浜崎あゆみ), often known as Ayu, is a Japanese singer-songwriter who has been dubbed the Empress of Pop because of her popularity and widespread influence in Japan and throughout Eastern Asia. She is known for her tight control over her artistry and ever-evolving appearance in addition to the numerous domestic records she holds. She is the best selling female and solo act in the history of Japanese music, and has earned the most #1 singles both consecutively and overall.
Albums:
Nothing from Nothing (1995; pre-Avex album)
A Song for XX (1999)
LOVEppears (1999)
Duty (2000)
I am… (2002)
RAINBOW (2002)
Memorial address (2003; mini-album)
MY STORY (2004)
(miss)understood (2006)
Secret (2006)
GUILTY (2008)
NEXT LEVEL (2009)
Rock’n’Roll Circus (2010)
Love songs (2010)
FIVE (2011; mini-album)
Party Queen (2012)
Tropes
All Just a Dream: “Sweet Season”, subverted in “ourselves” in that we think it’s all a dream, but then—#*@&!!
Answer Song: Several to her own songs: "HANABI ~episode II~" to "HANABI", "FRIEND II" to "FRIEND", and "Virgin Road" to "A Song for XX", "P.S. II" to "Powder Snow".
Audience Participation Song: Many songs have "Para Para" dances, which are taught beforehand. These would be "Trauma", "independent", "MY ALL", "RED LINE -For TA-" and "Sweet Season". To a lesser extent, songs like "UNITE!" and "AUDIENCE" count. The audience is also expected to respond during the very 'call & response' songs, "evolution" and "Boys & Girls".
Big Lipped Alligator Moment: Some might consider "Eyes, Smoke, Magic" from her album "Party Queen" to be this. In fact, the duo of "the next LOVE" and Eyes, Smoke, Magic is quite the BLAM not only for the album, but for her career.
Danger Takes A Back Seat: In the "ourselves" video, stalkers with masks of her face hide in the back seat of her car.
In "GREEN", a song that seems to be about homosexuality (though one can never be too sure, with Hamasaki's artistically ambiguous lyrics), the video features a story of unrequited love between Hamasaki and her female dancer Midori.
If one interprets the "BALLAD" performance from Arena Tour 2010 - a Romeo & Juliet-esque theatrical performance - in a certain way, it could easily be implied that Midori's place in the Love Dodecahedron is the one in love with Hamasaki.
Gratuitous English: Pops up occasionally, such as the chorus of "Real me". Other than that, she is a fairly decent English speaker, as can be seen in this interview.
Grief Song: "untitled ~for her~" was written to a close friend of Hamasaki’s who died in 2007. The upcoming album that year, GUILTY, was dedicated to her. "Memorial address" was, as rumor has it, written for her father who left when Hamasaki was around three years of age.
Hidden Track: "kanariya" comes after "Who…", "Memorial address" after "part of Me", and "flower garden" after "Endless Sorrow ~gone with the wind version~"
Hitler Cam: We get this shot in her music video for “Ladies Night” features her dressed as a dictator or military leader, addressing a crowd of clones.
Hitless Hit Album: The five singles from A Song for XX were average/mediocre sellers… and then the album itself sold almost 1.5 million.
"Marionette", and see its companion "Marionette –prelude-". Then go hide under your bed.
Furthered by the production of an actual spinning music box with the "Marionette" Ayupan from Asia Tour 2008, which plays a 35 second ominous music box tune.
Out-of-Genre Experience: She has a very wide range of styles, but some examples stick out like a sore thumb, most notably the rousing gospel-inspired "Bold & Delicious".
She's also done electro music quite a few times as well.
Her 2012 album "Party queen" featured two songs heavily inspired by Broadway musicals, with hints of cabaret and old-fashioned jazz.
"A Song for XX “030213 Session #II”", "Ladies Night ~another night~", the ballad intro to "evolution", "Endless Sorrow –gone with the wind ver.-" and her multitude of acoustic and orchestral rearrangements.
The 10th Anniversary Versions of "Depend on you", "LOVE~Destiny~", "Who…", "TO BE", and "YOU".
Many of HAL’s versions of her songs can be considered rearrangements instead of remixes.
"Sunrise" and "Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~".
Signature Song: Traditional examples include "evolution", "SURREAL", "Dearest", "M", etc.
Talky Bookends: Her “Startin’” video begins and ends with two friends continuing a conversation. This is played for humor, as the video is a parody of multiple pop music influences and artists.
The Oner: The music videos for “HEAVEN”, “Curtain call”, and “Daybreak”.
Translated Cover Version: She used compositions and some arrangements from Sweetbox for "Ladies Night", "Bold & Delicious", "Pride", "rainy day"/"Every Step", "Beautiful Day"/"Beautiful Girl", and "In the Corner". While Hamasaki’s lyrics aren’t exact translations, some of the songs deal with similar themes as the English versions.
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