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Name: Ayumi Hamasaki
D/O/B: 2nd October 1978
Birth place: Fukuoka
Blood type:
A
Height: 156cm
Weight: 40kg
Measurements: 80-53-82
Favourite female entertainers: Keiko (Globe), Rie Miyazawa, Seiko Matsuda,
Madonna, Pink
Favourite actors: Nicholas
Cage, Rie Miyazawa, Brad Pitt
Favourite movies: The Bodyguard, Betty Blue, Leaving Las Vegas
Favourite food: Biscuits, cakes, chocolate, kimchee
Favourite literature: Modern translations of Manyo tanka poems, fashion magazines, poems by Natsuo Giniro, Mitsuo Aida
Skills and studies: Piano, Japanese calligraphy (5th rank),
abacus calculation, Japanese flower arrangement, poetry, drawing, ballet
Facts about Ayumi
-She speaks English pretty well. In 2006 she appeared on CNN, where she was interviewed
in English. You can probably find it on Youtube.
-She has always called her mother "Mommy" rather than the Japanese "Okaa-san".
-She
fell off the stage and tore a ligament in her leg during rehearsals for the Dome Tour 2001.
-She is good friends with
actress Kyoko Fukada and often writes her encouraging letters when Kyoko is depressed.
-She has regular phone conversations
with J-rock artist Gackt, who thinks she is "adorable".
-Her father left her and her mother when she was 4 years old,
so she doesn't know his name or if he is even alive.
-Her real name is Hamasaki Kurumi, but was changed to Ayumi early
on in her childhood. Now her nickname is Ayu.
-She has been dating, on-and-off, Tokio's lead singer Nagase Tomoya,
who is also a popular actor. There are constant rumours of wedding plans.
-She announced in early 2005 that she has no intentions of bringing her music
over the the United States, nor does she like to sing in English very much.
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Facts about her music
-She wrote "A Song for x x" for her father, whose name she doesn't remember.
-On
the day she recorded "Poker Face", her grandmother died. Ayu insisted on going ahead with the recording, even though her managers
told her to cancel.
-During concerts, in songs like "July 1st" and "Who..." that use the word "anata" (meaing "you",
as in a single person), Ayu instead sings "minna" (meaning "you", in the plural form), so that she is singing directly to
the audience.
-"M" was the first song she ever composed herself, and was so embarassed because it didn't sound
very good to her that she put the composer's name as CREA instead of her own.
-Among her own favourite songs are "Heartplace", "A Song for XX" and
"winding road".
Facts about her success
-Since 1998 she has sold over 40 million CDs in Japan alone. It is estimated that
her worldwide sales is around 50 million.
-Her highest selling album to date "A BEST" (2001) sold over 4 million copies
in Japan alone. It held the number one position in the charts for 48 weeks.
-She won the top prize for an unprecedented third consecutive time at the
45th Japan Record Awards
-In 2003 she was given her third prestigious award from the Japan Composers Association for
"No Way to Say", after "Voyage" in 2002 and "Dearest" in 2001.
-Her 4th album "I am..." reached the number one spot
in Canada's album charts shortly after its release.
-She has won over 50 awards, including "Best Album" quite a few
times, "Most Dedicated Artist", "Best Lyrics" and "World's Best Selling Asian Artist".
-At the MTV awards in 2004 she
was awarded "Best Pop Video" for "No Way to say" and "Best Live Performance" for "Moments".
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