The brightest sun in Japan - Ayumi Hamasaki

Ayumi Hamasaki is the greatest female pop star ever in Japan. So much so, that she was dubbed ‘the Empress of JPop’ shortly after she released her sophomore (and first commercially successful) album A Song for XX, in 1999. During the most recent eight years of her career, she has amassed a spectacular collection of thirty eight Top 10 hits (27 of which have reached the number one position), received more awards than anyone and sold sixty million records, which has a lot of merit when one thinks that there are not many fans of JPop outside of Taiwan, Hong Kong and its country of origin. Her success has been such, that she no longer accepts awards – she’s so massively popular, that they are irrelevant to her and don’t affect her public image and professional prestige anymore.

Born in 1978 in an unstable underclass environment, Ayumi has had what by all means is a very uncommon upbringing for Japanese standards. Her father, a factory worker, left the family when she was four, and has never made any efforts to contact his wife and two children again. Her mother, who barely had any academic credentials, had to work all day long to be able to sustain her family, and left Ayumi and her brother under the care of their liberal and imaginative grandmother. A highly emotional woman who prized spontaneity above all things, Ayumi’s grandmother loved the arts and encouraged her grandchildren to express themselves in any way they wanted, especially if music was involved in the process.

At the age of twelve, Ayumi started working as a stewardess and model at a bank to contribute to her family’s economy. Shortly after, her grandmother died. A distraught Ayumi, who had never enjoyed school in the first place, abandoned the plans of becoming a chemical engineer that had been set for her, and decided that she wanted to go to Horikishi Gakuen, a prestigious stage school in Tokyo. After failing the entrance exams, she moved to Tokyo and had a disastrous experience as an aspiring actress – tired of always living in anguish because she didn’t have enough money to survive, she finally decided to drop out of High School and sever all ties with her management, whom she felt had never believed in her.



After convincing her mother to move to Tokyo so that she could support her, Ayumi spent all her time partying in the trendy nightclubs of the Shibuya district, where she would become part of the rap scene. Rapidly signed to Columbia, in 1995 she released her début album Nothing From Nothing, which was a crass failure. Dropped by the label, Ayumi then met Masato Matsuura, the director of a then mid-sized record company called Avex Trax. After much negotiating, she agreed to sign a contract and promised to educate her voice. Soon enough, Ayumi stopped attending music classes, and Matsuura, who was convinced that she would become a star, sent her to New York for a year. When Ayumi returned, she was a changed person and started recording what would be her massive début album with Avex Trax. From there onwards, the rest is history! :-)

Making a selection of Ayumi’s work has been a bit of a daunting task (all of it is excellent), but I’ve finally brought myself to do it for you, my dear readers (that’s the kinda boy I am! ;-) – I’m just joking!). If you want to buy her records, please go to Amazon.

Trust

Ayumi’s third single and first Top 10 hit, this impossibly sweet song is one of the highlights of her Avex début album A Song for XX. However, this isn’t exactly it. This is the re-recorded version of the song that can be found in her first greatest hits collection A-Best, from 2001, and is far superior to the original. With its melancholic, slow verses and swift, agitated choruses, it is a simply irresistible spoonful of sugar, which is only moderated by its sad lyrics about a broken relationship. Lovely. Video.

Startin’

This is Ayumi’s 14th consecutive number one since 2002, and was the first single from her album Secret, from 2006. It is an aggressive electro-rock track that juxtaposes a melody sweetly carried by her delicate dulcet tones, to a mind-boggling instrumentation that fuses endless layers of distorted guitars to produce a feeling of anguished expectation. Video.

End Roll

This lovely song is pure JPop! It uses the sound of clinking chains and repetitive piano scales to bring us into a slow, reposed ballad that retains its urgency thanks to a wobbly bass line and a fast, insistent beat. However, it suddenly rises into a majestic chorus the power of which is hidden behind Ayumi’s pretty, careful delivery. It feels like one of those storms in which the sun keeps appearing in between the clouds – beautiful, but leaving in us a lingering sense of incompleteness, of wanting something that cannot be attained… Very special. Taken from Ayu’s third album, LOVEappears (1999). Video.

BLUE BIRD

Her latest single, and 15th consecutive number one, this cheerful and delicate song is the sort of thing one wants to hear when afflicted by feelings of hopelessness and self-doubt. You know, one of those songs that make you want to get out in the sun (IF there is sun, unlike most of the time in England! :-D) and be glad that you’re alive! I love this song, and think that it was a very well deserved hit. It talks about a bright, beautiful Summer day devoid of all worries… Lovely! Video.

M

A song about an imagined conversation between Ayumi and the Virgin Mary (?!), this extremely pretty ballad resorts to ever-changing instrumental lines that swirl around the main melody to create a warm atmosphere, only to suddenly explode into a fast chorus that is driven by what could be best described as a house beat on valium (sorry, I’ve had a hard day and I’m not at my best :-S). The instrumental bridge is excellent, with a very accomplished electric guitar solo that will leave you in awe! Video.