“Pop leader” Ayumi Hamasaki
In people’s impressions, Ayu is always associated with sexy, wild, and avant-garde, but under her irresistible attire, she can still capture a little girl’s innocence, sweetness, and sometimes Even silly. This popular artist, who can be called Japan’s “super idol”, is a popular singer, leading fashion and coquettishness, and has also been featured on the cover of the American “Time” magazine. She is not only a classic of a star upstart, but also the ultimate product of today’s consumer society. .
●Leading Japanese fashion
Ayumi Hamasaki has no intention of concealing her age—this Libra girl born in 1978 always looks like a high school student. Just arouse the passion of others, but he has very little expression. Ayumi Hamasaki has no intention of concealing her “artificial creation”—the nose, eyes, and mouth are all perfect like a Barbie doll, but she has never denied that she has undergone plastic surgery, but it seems that she deliberately convinces others that it is In an artificial world, blond hair is dyed, blue eyes are colored contact lenses, and even the voice of speech seems to be processed by a machine, without any emotion.
In the bustling Japanese entertainment industry, this realistic Barbie always maintains a secluded lifestyle, and her icy, machine-like polite attitude also makes reporters dare not mention anything to her that is almost “out of the circle” “The problem.
It was only in the autumn of 2001 that a ring brought a ray of light. Someone dared to test a few words first, but the always-ice-faced female leader was actually very happy, and she confessed her love affair with Nagase Tomoya, which immediately broke into big news. And this initial little bit of sweetness soon developed into the news that Ayu was going to marry and retire. The fans were shocked, and magazines commented immediately that getting married is far from the best choice for Abu, who has a prosperous career.
”I’ve never experienced anything like this,” says Leslie Lee, a photographer for Singapore’s Celebrity and Vogue magazine, who has been shooting the cover for Ayumi Hamasaki recently. “She knows all the details of her image. Yu Xin. She knows what she wants, what she likes, what she needs, what she hates. She’s very special.” In one of her jacket photos from last year, she wears a pair of oversized sunglasses and a field suit. At the buckle of her belt, a decorative fox tail draped down. Ayumi Hamasaki leads Japanese fashion, and various industry associations have presented her with a series of fashion awards, such as “Best Female Jeans Dresser”, “Nail Queen” and more.
What photos Hamasaki will publish on magazine and album covers is the intelligence obtained by some “spy agents”. Because Ayumi Hamasaki’s every move determines the direction of the Japanese fashion industry, once the “spy” gets hold of her new image in the photo, it can be sold for more than $10,000 to designs eager to learn about the next fashion style division.
Ayumi Hamasaki’s influence on pop culture has attracted legions of businessmen eager to cash in on her charm. Ayumi Hamasaki is also happy to share with others. To date, all but two of her singles have been “bundled” with commercials or TV shows. She currently advertises for six companies, from Panasonic digital cameras, to Kirin sports drinks… After Ayumi Hamasaki started advertising for cosmetics manufacturer Goss, Goss’ mascara sales went from fourth place in less than two weeks. Jumping to No. 1, a new transparent lipstick sold half a million units a day or two after it hit the shelves.
However, it’s not just her strong fashion sense that makes Ayumi Hamasaki so star-studded. Ayumi Hamasaki’s fans themselves can’t tell why they are so fascinated by her. “How do you say it?” said 16-year-old Tamura musingly, staring at her idol’s poster in a crowded record store in Shibuya, Tokyo, “I want to be like Ayumi Hamasaki, she Worthy of admiration.” As a singer, Ayumi Hamasaki is not perfect, but it is precisely because of some of her fly in the ointment that she has truly won her fans’ love. It wasn’t just the teenage schoolgirls who fell in love with her singing. “Her voice is a little hoarse, harsh, and sometimes annoying,” said the 28-year-old TV writer Goldilocks. “Perhaps that’s what makes her more human. She’s singing with her heart.”
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Ayumi Hamasaki was originally born in Fukuoka on the southern island of Kyushu. When her father ran away from home, she was still a toddler. “I don’t even know if he’s dead or alive,” Hamasaki said. She was raised by a single mother and grandmother. In order to earn a little money to support the family, Ayumi Hamasaki began to model locally when he was 7 years old. It was an unusually lonely childhood, but Hamasaki said she had no idea what she was losing. “I think my mom’s life is weird, it’s not my life. Before I moved to Tokyo, I didn’t know how to be lonely,” says Hamasaki.
At the age of 14, Hamasaki decided to pursue a career in acting and modeling. Large color pages in some magazines feature the sweet-smiling young star in a bathrobe or a wide suit that doesn’t belong in her closet. She finally got tired of acting after playing small roles in five low-budget films and a string of TV series. Moreover, with her short stature, she has no future as a model. Ayumi Hamasaki was expelled from her acting talent agency and dropped out of school in 10th grade. Since then, she has spent the day shopping at fashion stores in Shibuya and dancing at night at the Velfarre nightclub in Roppongi.
Later, a friend who works in a nightclub owned by Auex Records invited her to sing karaoke, and that night’s singing changed her life completely. This friend also invited Song Pu Zhengren (Avex’s manager). Masato Matsue introduced himself to Ayumi Hamasaki as a producer. “I never heard of Avex,” recalls Ayumi Hamasaki with a laugh. “When he asked me if I wanted to sing as a career, I said, ‘Impossible.’ He was a guy of his age. , I don’t think it’s reliable.”
However, for the next year, Songpu Zhengren repeatedly asked her to at least take part in vocal training. In the end, because Ayumi Hamasaki really had nothing better to do, she reluctantly agreed. However, this is just “unintentional planting of willows”. These vocal lessons are very boring and the teachers are very strict. “I feel like I’m back in school. I can’t stand so many rules, I’m going to break them,” Hamasaki said.
In the end, Hamasaki confessed to Masato Matsue that she skipped most of her class hours. However, Songpu Zhengren did not give up her because of this. Instead, he defied all opposition and suggested that she be sent to New York for formal training. “I think he’s joking. I mean, I’m 17 years old,” Hamasaki said. She went reluctantly, staying for three months in a downtown hotel, taking singing lessons a few blocks away. “New York is a place where I feel relaxed, there are no rules and regulations,” says Hamasaki. After Ayumi Hamasaki returned to Japan, Masato Matsushi made another suggestion to her. Because Ayumi Hamasaki couldn’t tell what he thought, he kept correspondence with Masato Matsue for a year. There may be some very beautiful words in these letters. “After he read the letters, he said to me: ‘Why don’t you try writing lyrics?'” Hamasaki said.
●”I am a product”
can express her thoughts with songs, which gave her a new sense of direction. “No one has ever asked me for anything, and no one has ever expected anything from me,” Ayumi Hamasaki said of Matsushita Masato, “I feel flattered and uneasy on the one hand, but I don’t want to Admit that I can’t do it. Many people pat me on the head and say, ‘Can you do it?’ But when Songpu Zhengren praises me, I know I will get what I want. He found me and put me on the music scene people.” When Ayumi Hamasaki did not become popular, Masato Songpu still supported her as always. Ayumi Hamasaki’s earliest two singles, recorded in 1998, were only 20th on the charts; the next four albums barely cracked the top 10. Then, in 1999, “The Fate of Love” finally topped the list of the first position. Her singles have been in the top three ever since.
Ayumi Hamasaki knows exactly what the price of fame is: while struggling to gain the right to tell her story in song, she also loses the freedom she cherishes. In fact, Ayumi Hamasaki is no longer just a singer, she has become a pivotal figure in our consumer society. “I must be seen as a product,” Hamasaki said. Her record label, Avex, is well aware that Ayumi Hamasaki has a disproportionate amount of influence on the company’s fortune. Her record sales accounted for 42.6% of Avex’s total revenue. That said, she has a 14.8% share of the Japanese pop music market. But precisely because the company’s performance depends so much on one big star, Avex is vulnerable. Avex’s stock fell in response to the news last year that Hamasaki’s latest album would be delayed until January this year. “Ayumi Hamasaki is equal to Avex. Once Ayumi Hamasaki’s starlight is dim and the scenery is gone, the Avex record company will come to an end.” Someone said.
However, if Hamasaki continues to become popular, then the entire Japanese pop music industry will continue to prosper. Ayumi Hamasaki’s next goal is to grab a share of record sales in foreign markets. According to international standards, Japan’s pop music industry is still booming, after all, consumers need to buy a record for 23 US dollars, but only 13 US dollars in the United States. Record companies can quickly recoup their investment in singers. However, with the rapid aging of the population and the frequent occurrence of CD piracy, this means that the number of young people buying CDs will drop sharply every year.
●The most eye-catching singer
Overseas, Avex is still betting on Ayumi Hamasaki, just like in China. Ayumi Hamasaki’s image is prominently featured in record stores from Singapore to Taiwan. Her videos were played repeatedly on Asian Music Television. When the TV station held its first Asian Music Awards last year, fans invited Ayumi Hamasaki to participate. Although Nippon Music Television is an independent TV network and has its own grand prix, to everyone’s surprise, Ayumi Hamasaki Invitation accepted. Ayumi Hamasaki has made her name overseas, but she has never been to any other country in Asia. Ayumi Hamasaki sang her own composition “Maria” at the Singapore Music and Television Awards. More than 7,000 audiences attended the concert, and 150 million TV viewers across Asia watched her performance. She wore a kimono that she had carefully designed with the Japanese characters “fraternity”, “peace” and “future” written on it. According to MTV, she was the most eye-catching singer at the Grand Prix. “She has a huge fan base in the world,” said Shar Walmart, the producer of the Grand Prix. “The young people love everything about her. She has the pulse of the young, like Madonna.”
When Hamasaki arrived in Singapore, thousands of fans surrounded her at the airport and in her collapsed hotel, and she and her entourage had to dodge the fans. However, fans contacting by cell phone will soon know her whereabouts. When her white Mercedes drove to the airport and stopped, screaming boys and girls squeezed towards Ayumi Hamasaki like a flood, and Ayumi, surrounded by bodyguards, squeezed hard to the VIP room. But the trip to Singapore was a big boost for her. “The fans are so enthusiastic,” she said with a laugh. “I didn’t expect to receive such a warm welcome. It made me realize how much Asian people like me, and I must come back.” Because she realized this One point, at the end of February last year, she changed the location for taking pictures on the book that was originally placed on the coffee table as a display from Los Angeles to Hong Kong. She made the decision at the last minute, as usual. “That’s how she is,” sighed Kikuchi, Hamasaki’s manager. “Asia is her next step in her plan. That’s her style: do what she wants.”
The timing of Hamasaki’s choice seemed as timely as usual. “Ayumi Hamasaki’s smash hit situation won’t last long,” said one record analyst. “The Big Madonna has reached the height of her stature and remains one of the most popular singers in the world. But her records can’t sell anymore.” Considering Ayumi Hamasaki’s admiration for Madonna, once there is a downturn in her career, Ayumi Hamasaki must be able to accept it. Because of this, it is understandable that Ayumi Hamasaki suddenly dabbled in costume design, dancing, and even making movies. These are just choices, not goals, Hamasaki insists. “I have no dreams,” she said slowly, shaking her head, “because I am a dream myself!”
