Ayumi Hamasaki

Invariably dubbed �the queen of J-pop,� Ayumi Hamasaki is arguably the biggest star Japanese pop has ever produced, rivaled only in terms of cultural impact and record sales by her near-contemporaries Namie Amuro and Hikaru Utada. Using less English in her lyrics than either of those two vocalists, Ayu�s high-pitch, sometimes screeching vocals have done the most to define the sound of J-pop to Western ears. Hamasaki�s uninterrupted reign at the top of the charts since debuting in 1998 has much to do with marketing as any raw talent. She is, after all, as likely to win an award for her nails as she is for her music, a mix of Eurobeat, rock and R&B balladry. And in an industry where image counts more than credibility, her ubiquity on television commercials and billboards has fostered her longevity, not hampered it, helping her sell more than 20 million singles and 30 million albums. To date, Ayu has scored 26 No. 1 singles (15 of them consecutively) and 37 top 10 hits.

Ayumi Hamasaki -- known to her fans as Ayu -- was born in Fukuoka City on the southern island of Kyushu on Oct. 2 1978. Raised by her mother and grandfather, she moved to Tokyo alone in her early teens to pursue a career in modeling. Dropped by her modeling agency and soon dropping out of high school, Ayu landed the occasional role in minor B movies by day and hung out in clubs in Tokyo�s entertainment districts Shibuya and Roppongi by night. One such place was the club Velfarre, well known for spinning Eurobeat and owned by the record label Avex. It wasn�t long before Ayu met her mentor, Masato �Max� Matsuura, a producer at Avex, at karaoke. Matsuura soon packed off his latest charge -- aged just 17 -- to vocal-training classes in New York.

It took until Ayu�s third single �Trust Me,� released in August 1998, for her to crack Japan�s top 10. Since then, every one of her singles has gone top three. In early 1999, Ayu�s debut album �A Song for XX� occupied the No. 1 spot for five weeks and quickly became a million-seller. Industry plaudits soon followed: For three consecutive years, Ayu won the Japan Recording Award (the Japanese equivalent of the Grammys) for best song for the singles �Dearest� (2001), �Voyage� (2002) and �No way to say� (2003), a first for an artist from Japan; in 2002, she picked up MTV Asia�s Best Female Artist gong.

Ayu�s popularity in her home country has made her a sought-after figure for endorsements. From the early 2000s onward, she has lent her image to promote lipstick, jeans, cell phones, sports drinks and electronic products. This ubiquity - reinforced by a constant stream of new releases and remixes - is tempered with Ayu�s tendency to refashion her looks and sound, keeping her female fans guessing. The increasing profile helped make Ayu�s third album, �Duty� (2000), her biggest commercial success to date. Soon after, Ayu began writing her own lyrics under the pseudonym Crea.

Another milestone was reached in the following year with the release of the single �Startin�/Born to be� in 2006, Ayu�s 26th No. 1 single (the most for a solo female artist in Japan). Ayu�s eighth full-length album, �Secret,� went to No. 1 in Japan, Taiwan and Singapore, countries she toured in 2007. One year later, she released her ninth studio album, Guilty, which peaked at number two. ~ David Hickey, All Music Guide