Quick Facts
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| Profession | Musicians |
Popular as The Empress of Pop, Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, actress, model, and businesswoman who has not only entertained Japan but has become an inspiration to many. The significant thing about Ayumi who is considered among the greatest Japanese singers of all time is that she had failed in almost everything she did including music before finally coming to earn her place. Beyond just her music and professional life, here is all to know about her.
Ayumi Hamasaki – Profile and Biography
Popularly known as Ayu, the singer was born on the 2nd of October 1978 in Fukuoka, Japan. While growing up, she did not have the smoothest of lives as she was raised mostly by her mother and grandmother after her father whom she never got to see again walked out on the family when she was still just a little girl.
Her situation forced her to grow up fast and by the age of only seven, she had begun her career as a model doing commercials for banks and other institutions. As a result of her height, her career as a model ended when she was only 14 after she was signed to a talent agency in Tokyo, Japan. This was what got her to move to a music agency, Sun Music, to attempt a career in music, but with a debut album that failed in 1995, she got dropped.
With no career in modeling and a failed music career, the next decision of Ayumi Hamasaki was to become an actress but after a few productions such as Ladys Ladys!! Soucho Saigo no Hi, Twins Teacher, and Sumomo mo Momo, she left acting because she didn’t record any success there and her works were poorly accepted.
The story of the failures of Ayumi Hamasaki is still nowhere near its ending as she tried co-hosting shows but failed again and then tried going back to continue with her education after moving back in with her mother, but she failed again and eventually dropped out.
Still not the one to give up, she got introduced to Max Matsuura who was a music producer and after hearing her sing a karaoke, he got her to sign a deal with Avex label after much persuasion that he was honest. Because she kept missing her vocal classes due to the fact that she felt it was too rigid and she was sent to the United States to train. In letters exchanged between her and Matsuura, he told her that she could start writing her own songs which was a big boost to her self-esteem.
Her first single, Poker Face was released in 1998. Even though it was not a hit, it was a significant improvement from what she did, and with each work she released, she kept making her way into the hearts of fans that when her debut album A Song for ×× came in 1999, it became a success selling a million of copies. Her next album, Loveppears which was released in the same year was even bigger as it sold 3 million copies.
By the time she released her Made in Japan album in 2016, she had already had 16 other albums and has already made it as one of the greatest the country had ever seen with over a hundred awards to her name including various Japan Gold Disc Awards and MTV World Music Awards.
Family Life and Husband
Looking at her family life and the men in her life, Hamasaki has been married twice. The first man that became her husband was the Austrian model and actor, Manuel Schwarz whom she met in 2010. The two got married in 2011, unfortunately, the marriage ended in 2012.
A year after her divorce, the Queen of Pop met and started dating Tyson Bodkin. Although 10 years younger than herself, Ayu married Bodkin but just like her first marriage, this was not to last forever as the duo got divorced only two years later.
Other Facts About
- After her father left the family when she was only 3, the responsibility of raising her mostly fell on her grandmother as her mother had to work to provide for the family. She lost her grandmother in 1998.
- Growing up, the singer has suffered from an overwhelming sense of insecurity and low self-esteem, as well as loneliness.
- The Empress of Pop is deaf. She first lost hearing in one ear as a result of an infection she suffered since 2000. Unfortunately, she announced in a blog post in 2017 that she was going completely deaf as confirmed by her doctors.
- With all the failures that she has endured, Ayumi Hamasaki is now the best-selling solo artist in Japan.
- Ayumi Hamasaki has worked with many brands such as Honda, AUBE, and Lycos Japan.
- She has a net worth that has been estimated at $70 million.
- A very beautiful singer, Ayumi Hamasaki has a height of 5 feet 1 inch (1.57 m).
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