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Ayumi Hamasaki
The very first song I heard from Ayu was "Depend
on You," because it was the opening song for the PSX game "Thousand Arms."
I liked it, but wasn't impressed enough to go find her other songs. She was
still relatively new on the jpop scene, but I don't think anyone would have
predicted at the time that she would become the jpop juggernaught that she
is today. She is the only reason her record label, Avex Trax, are still around,
as she makes up for more than 50% of thier revenue and sells more records
than all the other artists under Avex combined. Despite her super success
I still largely ignored her for the most part since the only songs I had heard
were ballads (which I didn't dig so much back then). However, my brother downloaded
"Surreal" on a whim because it "sounded cool" and wow, I was blown away.
She sings techno-rock? I didn't know that! So I went and got another song
because it "sounded cool," which was "evolution" and after that, I was convinced
that I had to find more of her stuff. And so I did.
I read somewhere that her success isn't based
so much on her musical talent as her marketing, but at the same time she's
not as talentless and many people say. I agree with that statement. The amount
of cds that she puts out every year is amazing. Some of her singles come with
10 different remixes of the song! So I wouldn't exactly say "quantity over
quality," but that strategy certainly has worked for her since the quality
of her songs has been getting better as she's released more albums. Her voice
is kind of nasal sometimes, and it can get down right annoying during some
songs but for the most part, I think it's ok. The style of her songs vary,
but I would say her techno-rock songs are my favorite. Overall, she's a good
musician who is getting better as time goes by. Since she'll be around for
a very long time, that's a good thing.
Update: Sept 4, 2005
Ayu has put out a lot more hits since Rainbow, and I've come to expect good songs from her nowadays. Her style hasn't really changed at all, so her songs can get kind of stale sometimes, but overall she still is a good artist. You can't really ask for more than pretty good from J-Pop these days I think. The entire scene is kind of in a lull I feel and is waiting for the next big artist to come shake up the scene.
Top 10 Favorite Ayu Songs:
1) July 1st
2) Surreal
3) Independent +
4) Evolution
5) Appears
6) Angel's Song
7) Naturally
8) Daybreak
9) Hanabi ~episode II~
10) Rainbow
Favorite Albums:
1) Rainbow
2) I Am...
3) Memorial Address
4) My Story
5) Duty
6) Loveppears
7) A Song For XX
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Profile
Ayumi Hamasaki a.k.a. Ayu
Birthdate : October 2, 1978
Birth Place : Fukuoka Prefecture
Zodiac : Libra
Blood type : A
Height : 157 cm
Weight : 40kg
Measurement : 80-53-82
Favorite Female Entertainers : Keiko (Globe),
Rie Miyazawa, Seiko Matsuda
Musical Influences : As a child I listened to
rock music (Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple), influenced by a relative. Now I like
listening to soul music such as Babyface and En Vogue.
Favorite Actors : Nicolas Cage, Rie Miyazawa
Favorite Movies : The Bodyguard, Betty Blue,
Leaving Las Vegas
People I Respect : People who have things I don't
have.
People I Dislike : Liars, people who don't say
hello.
Current Interest : Collecting white things for
my room
Favorite Food : Biscuits (maybe my staple diet!),
cakes, chocolates, kimchee (Korean marinated cabbage)
Favorite Things to Read : Most of the fashion
magazines. Modern-language translations of the Manyo tanka poems are especially
interesting. Poems of Natsuo Giniro, Mitsuo Aida, etc.
Lessons : Piano, Japanese calligraphy (5th rank),
abacus calculation, Japanese flower arrangement, Kumonshiki study system
About My Lyrics : I like to try to view my own
and my friends' experiences objectively, and put my honest feelings into words.
If I write when I'm low, it will be a dark song, but I don't care. I want
to be honest with myself at all times.
Links
Time.com - Old Interview with Time Magazine Asia
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