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Old 1st August 2004, 09:55 AM
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Ayumi Hamasaki DataBank.

Ok so here's an idea I had a few hours ago!....i was bored LoL. So as you can see below there is like a index of all things Ayu -very much incomplete-. I was thinking though that maybe one of mods or someone could make this a sticky in the forum -not sure if Ayu-chat is the right place so feel free to move it-

So basically the idea is that everyone could post all those interesting little tid-bits they know about Ayu and they could be added to the databank or index or whatever... you know what i mean! Just so that anyone new -or old- to the world of Ayu -and jpop- has a run down of little facts about her! A one-stop-shop if you like! So i'm trying to include lingo like 'engrish' and 'kawaii' for those complete newbies. But still keeping it Ayu specific!

There's still alot missing at the moment as this was just thrown together this morning as a draft copy of sorts, so if any of the info is wrong please feel free to post a correction! This should be as accurate as possible! So what do you all think? good idea.. bad idea?? Feel free to say what you think -i'm a toughie- !

Anyways you'll all help right?? I'm sure we could all shock each other with the strange and wonderful facts we know about our idol, so start posting them and they will be added! And dun worry, creds will be given at the bottom of the post for all members that contribute!

A
A - Ayu's blood type.

A Song For XX - Ayu's debut album, released 01.01.99, AVCD-11691. Produced by Max Matsuura, included 16 tracks, all lyrics written by Ayumi Hamasaki. 5 singles released from the album included the titles 'poker face', 'YOU', 'Trust', 'For my dear...' and 'Depend on You'. Although written 'A Song for XX' it is generally spoken simply as 'A song for..'. Album shifted 1,451,910 copies.
-■-Track list-■-
01. Prologue
02. A Song for XX
03. Hana
04. FRIEND
05. FRIEND II
06. poker face
07. Wishing
08. YOU
09. As if..
10. POWDER SNOW
11. Trust
12. Depend on you
13. SIGNAL
14. from your letter
15. For My Dear...
16. Present

ABallads - Ayu's 2nd compilation album, released 12.03.03, AVCD-17278. Produced by Max Matsuura, included 14 tracks, all lyrics written by Ayumi Hamasaki with the exception of 'Sotsugyou sashin'. No singles released with this album, however there was a PV of the only original song on the album, 'Rainbow'. This album consisted of 12 of her previous songs, some of which were remixed into more ballad-ish type songs. It also included a cover version of 'Sotsugyou sashin' [or 'Graduation picture' in english], which was originally sung by Yumi Matsutoya. There were 4 different inner jewel CD cases available with this CD. This album sold [X] copies.
-■-Track list-■-
01. RAINBOW
02. appears "HAL's Progress"
03. Key ~eternal tie ver.~
04. YOU "northern breeze"
05. TO BE "2003 ReBirth Mix"
06. HANABI
07. M "HAL's Progress"
08. Dearest
09. Dolls
10. SEASONS "2003 ReBirth Mix"
11. Voyage
12. A Song for XX "030213 Session take #2"
13. Who... "Across the Universe"
14. Sotsugyou sashin

ABest - Ayu's 1st compilation album, released 28.03.01, AVCD-11950. Produced by Max Matsuura, included 16 tracks, all lyrics by Ayumi Hamasaki. No singles were released with this album. Sold 4,281,620 copies. Featured 6 different variations of inner jewel CD case. -more info to come-
-■-Track list-■-
01. A Song for XX
02. Trust
03. Depend on you
04. LOVE ~Destiny~
05. TO BE
06. Boys & Girls
07. Trauma
08. End roll
09. appears
10. Fly high
11. vogue
12. Far away
13. SEASONS
14. SURREAL
15. M
16. Who...

A book - Ayu´s First Photobook released after joining Avex trax. Published in 1999.

Actress -

A-Nation - -info to come-

AOV - Acoustic Orchestra Version. One of Ayu's many series of remix albums is the AOV remix albums I, II, III, & IV. These albums feature remixed versions of her original albums songs, but instead of being remixed in a trance or upbeat style these are toned down and are played with orchestral instruments to acheive a much more classical and laid back feel. Ayumi's voice is often much more prominent on these albums and her vocal skill shines through strongly.

All night Nippon - Radio show Ayu once hosted on 28th Dec 1998. The theme of the show was "Hamasaki Ayumi is not stupid" and during this show Ayu talked a little about her child hood and accepted calls and faxes from the public. A translation of the tranliteration of the interview can be found at Masa's site.

Ankh - Perfume sold by Ayu through her MTRLG fashion label. It comes in a pink bottle in the shape of the egyptian symbol Ankh, the symbol for eternal life. Which is basically just a cross with a loop at the top.

Arena Tour 2002 - Ayu´s 4th Tour. -more info to come-
-■-Dates + Locations-■-
27.04.02 - Fukuoka ?
28.04.02 - Fukuoka ?
02.05.02 - Kanazawa ?
03.05.02 - Kanazawa ?
06.05.02 - ? Saitama
10.05.02 - ? Osakajo
11.05.02 - ? Osakojo
18.05.02 - Hiroshima ? Arena
25.05.02 - Sapporo Aisu Arena
26.05.02 - Sapporo Aisu Arena
08.06.02 - Hamamatsu Arena
16.06.02 - Yokohama Arena
-■-Track list-■-
01. I am...
02. opening Run
03. Naturally
04. NEVER EVER
05. A Song for XX
06. Free & Easy
07. evolution
08. AUDIENCE
09. UNITE!
10. independent
11. flower garden
12. Trauma
13. no more words
Special Unpluged Version
14. M
15. Dearest
16. Daybreak
17. Who...

Avex Trax - Record label Ayu is signed to. AKA that evil-blood-sucking-money-grabbing-S.O.B-company that has Ayu working 24/7, 365 days a year.

A Visual mix - Playstation 2 game

Awards - Ayu has won many awards thought her career these include... [NOTE: LIST IS VERY INCOMPLETE!!!!!]
-■-1998-■-

-■-1999-■-

-■-2000-■-
-- 'Best Jeanist' Award

-■-2001-■-
-- Barbie Award
-- 'World's Best-Selling Asian Artist' award from World Music Awards.

-■-2002-■-
-- MTVJapan 'Best female artist'
-- 'Nail Queen' Award

-■-2003-■-

-■-2004-■-
-- 'Best Jeanist' Award
-- MTVJapan 'Best Pop Video'
-- MTVJapan 'Best Female Video'
-- MTVJapan 'Best Live Performance'


AX Music - Variety music show. Airs on NTV. Various pop acts including Ayu appear on this show to perform live and promote their singles/albums. AX Music official site

Ayu - Nickname of Hamasaki Ayumi, used mostly by fans.

Ayupan - Cartoon character fashioned after Ayu herself, named by Ayu because she thought the illustration had eyes like a panda. Some Ayu fans find the character 'disturbing' and 'evil', though there are still many fans of the little character and a batch of over 100 ayupan mini-figurines were released on an unsuspecting public. These figurines are highgly collectable as each Ayupan figurine has a different outfit, hairstyle and make-up all designed after Ayu's own looks from past years etc. Each time Ayu has a new single release or changes her image, another figurine is released mimicking this new style. There was also a 19 episode cartoon series made, in which Ayupan, Marron and -that other dog- have mini adventures etc. Aimed at 5yr olds, enjoyed by all. Ayupan official site

Ayu-mi-x - A series of remix CDs featuring Ayu's songs. There are currently 10 CDs released in this series, 6 club remix cds and 4 AOV cds. Titles include...
-■- [ayu-mi-x - Double disc featuring both ayu-mi-x and the AOV -17.03.99 - AVCD-11716]
-■- [ayu-mi-x II version US+EU - 08.03.00 - AVCD-11797]
-■- [ayu-mi-x II version JPN - 08.03.00 - AVCD-11798]
-■- [ayu-mi-x II AOV - 08.03.00 - AVCD-11799]
-■- [ayu-mi-x II version Non-Stop Mega Mix - 29.03.00 - AVCD-11800]
-■- [ayu-mi-x III Non-Stop Mega Mix Version - 28.02.01 - AVCD-11930]
-■- [ayu-mi-x III AOV - 28.02.01 - AVCD-11928]
-■- [ayu-mi-x IV + selection Non-Stop Mega Mix Version - 20.03.02 - AVCD-17104]
-■- [ayu-mi-x IV+selection AOV - 20.03.02 - AVCD-17094]
-■- [ayumi hamasaki RMX WORKS from ayu-mi-x V - 25.095.03 - AVCD-17379].
Remixers who worked on this series include...
-■- [Johnny Vicious]
-■- [Izumi "Dub Master X" Miyazaki]
-■- [Huge]
-■- [Hex Hector]
-■- [Warp Brothers]
-■- [Thunderpuss]
-■- [Orb]
-■- [RANK1]
-■- [Hybrid]
-■- [Mad Professor]
-■- [BUMP & FLEX]
-■- [Ferry Corsten].. amongst many others.

Ayuready? - TV variety show hosted by Ayumi. Aired once a week on Fuji TV. Each episode featured a different guest from the entertainment industry and entertained a live audience with chat, games, resturaunt of the week, and a live performance, usually with the guest, at the end of the show. Guests included ELT, Mini moni, Sonim, Maki Goto, and Kyoko Fukada, amongst others. The show was eventually cancelled and the last episode aired on 20.03.2004. Translation of some of the episode's transcripts can be found at this site. Complete series contains 74 episodes. Ayuready? official site.

Ayu-ro mix - info to come-

Ayu-trance - A remix CD series containing trance remixes of Ayu's songs, presented by Cyber TRANCE it now consists of 3 discs.
-■- [Cyber TRANCE presents ayu-trance - 27.09.01 - AVCD-17028]
-■- [Cyber TRANCE Presents Ayu Trance 2 -26.09.02 - AVCD-17200]
-■- [ayumi hamasaki RMX WORKS from Cyber TRANCE presents ayu trance 3 - 25.09.03 - AVCD-17380].
Remixers that have contributed ot this series include..
-■- [Armin van Buuren - a huge name in the trance world]
-■- [Darren Tate - remixed 'Audience']
-■- [Dirt Devils - A.K.A above & beyond]
-■- [Dumonde - Duo also known as JamX & DeLeon]
-■- [Koglin & Heath - remixed Ayu's 'Immature']
-■- [Lange - remixed 'HANABI' on Ayu-trance II]
-■- [Megara - Remixed Ayu's 'Real Me']
-■- [Ramon Zenker - remixed 'WE WISH' on Ayu-trance III]
-■- [Svenson & Gielen Known to have remixed Ayu's 'Depend on You' on Ayu-Trance]
-■- [Voodoo & Serano Remixed Ayu's 'Fly High' and 'Endless Sorrow']... more details can be found on Ayu's discography.

B
BOSS - Product endorsed by Ayu, in the form of iced coffee in a can. The company that manufactures this product is Suntory. There are (X number of) commercials Ayu features in, each with a different look and theme, though the theme is generally comical. All the Commercials feature a catchy jingle with the phrase "Boss I can't live without you" which is pronouced in Ayu's trademark engrish. The melody for the BOSS theme song is taken from Nat King Cole's song "L-O-V-E." Suntory official site

Biscuits - One of Ayu's favourite foods as listed on her profile. She also mentions that they are 'maybe my staple diet!'.

C
CDTV - CDTV AKA Countdown TV is a variety show which showcases upcoming single, albums, and includes a few live performances. CDTV Official site

Chameleon - A term synonymous with Ayu's ever-changing fashion and music styles.

CM - Short for Commercial. Ayu features in many commercials to promote her single and album releases. Ayu also endorses products such as 'Boss' iced coffee, 'KOSE Visee' make up, 'Panasonic' electronics (usually CD players) and other brand name goods. CM's can be found for download floating around the internet and are thought highly collectable by many fans.

CREA - Alias under which Ayu composes the music for some of her songs, She chose this name because she feels Crea-one of her many dogs, looks the most like her of all her pets.

D
DAI - Refering to Dai Nagao, member of Jpop group Do As Infinity. He has composed many songs for Ayu under the name 'DAI', also composing some with CREA. Wrote the music for.....(help anyone??) DAI official site

Deji Deji Diary - Segment featured monthly in ViVi magazine. Includes hand written messages from Ayu and pictures of what she's been up to in the last month etc.

Dome Tour - -info to come-

Drizzly Records - A German label established in 1996 by Volker Diehl and Faris Al-Hassoni. Drizzly has released a series of Ayu songs in Europe under the name AYU.
AYU Drizzly Discography: 12" Vinyls..
-■- [Connected - Release date: 18.11.2002 -Catalog #: DRIZ3001]
-■- [M (part 1) - Released 28.08.2003 - Catalog #: DRIZ3002/1]
-■- [M (part 2) - Release date: 18.09.2003 - Catalog #: DRIZ3002/2]
-■- [M (part 3) ltd. - Release date: 30.10.2003 - Catalog #: DRIZ3002/Ltd.]
-■- [Depend on you - Release date: 15.01.2004 - Catalog #: DRIZ3003/1]
-■- [Depend on you (Remixes) - Release date: 05.02.2004 -Catalog #: DRIZ3003/2]...
Maxi-Singles -
-■- [Connected - Release date: 07.04.2003 - Catalog #: 5050466-4923-2-6] (This CD was distributed by Warner Strategic Marketing)
-■- [M - Release date: 03.11.2003 - Catalog #: DRIZ3002-CD]
-■- [Depend on you - Release date: 08.03.2004 - Catalog #: DRIZ3003-CD]
Drizzly records official site

Dub Master X - Izumi Miyazaki aka Dub Master X is probably Japan's no.1 remixer. He blazed new trails when he was signed to record label avex trax as a remixer in 1999. He's now viewed as the premier remixer in Japan, having worked with big names like Pizzicato Five, ELT, Namie Amuro, MAX, DA PUMP, DAI, HAL and of course Ayumi Hamasaki. His name-recognition is so wide and his remixes so popular that avex trax released a compilation of his remixes called "Dub's Music Box" (AVCD-11856).
Tracks remixed for Ayu include...
-■- A Song for XX [dub's loverdub remix』
-■- appears [Dub's Eurotech Remix]
-■- As if… [Dub's L.B.M Remix]
-■- AUDIENCE [Dub's Floor Remix Transport 004]
-■- Boys & Girls [Dub's club Remix]
-■- Depend on you [Dub's electro Remix]
-■- Dolls [Dub's Wax Figure Remix]
-■- Duty [Dub's mellowtech 002 Remix]
-■- Endless sorrow [Dub's Forever Mercy Mix]
-■- evolution [Dub's Floor Remix Transport 004]
-■- Far away [Dub's Mute & Feedback Remix]
-■- Fly high [Dub's F Remix]
-■- Hana [dub's trance remix]
-■- July 1st [Dub's FunFUn Remix]
-■- kanariya [Dub's Energy Remix]
-■- M [Dub's Hard Pop Remix]
-■- monochrome [Dub's full color Remix]
-■- NEVER EVER [Dub's Uncategorized Mix 001]
-■- P.S II [Dub's Kingship Remix]
-■- POWDER SNOW [dub's sentimental remix]
-■- SEASONS [Dub's Rain of duv Remix]
-■- SURREAL [Dub's Floor Mix Transport 006]
-■- TO BE [Dub's cool wind Remix]
-■- vogue [Dub's mellowtech Remix]
-■- Voyage [Dub's Old Style Basic Remix]
-■- WE WISH [Dub's Club Remix]
-■- WHATEVER [Dub's 1999 Remix]
-■- WHATEVER [Version M]
-■- WHATEVER [Version M -Instrumental-]
-■- YOU [Dub's Uplifting Remix].
Dub Master X official site

Duskin - Ayu promote's this company's donuts. Duskin

Duty - Ayu's 3rd album, released 27.09.00, AVCD-11837. Produced by Max Matsuura, included 12 tracks, all lyrics by Ayumi Hamasaki. 5 singles were released from the album including 'vogue', 'Far Away', SEASONS', 'Surreal' and 'AUDIENCE'. Duty sold 2,904,420 copies.
-■-Track List-■-
01. starting over
02. Duty
03. vogue
04. End of the World
05. SCAR
06. Far away
07. SURREAL
08. AUDIENCE
09. SEASONS
10. teddy bear
11. Key -eternal tie ver.-
12. girlish

E
Engrish - Ayu is not fluent in english and speaks with a heavy accent when she does speak it. This way of Japanese pronunciation of the english language has been nicknamed 'engrish' after the way the Japanese pronounce the word english. Ayu uses engrish in some CMs such as the 'Boss' CMs, and also in some of her songs like 'Real Me', 'Heartplace', and 'Forgiveness'.

Enrique - Member of ayu's band, plays bass. Enrique's official site.

F
Fashion - coming soon ^_^'

Fashion Magazines - Ayu features in editorials for Japan's most popular fashion magazines on a regular basis. Magazines Ayu has appeared in numerous times include ViVi, Popteen, CD Data, Sweet, Zappy, Cawaii and SCawaii.

Ferry Corsten - Known to have based 'Connected' from the song 'The Love I Lost', and has created several other Ayu remixes, whether it's 'Kanariya', 'A Song For XX', or 'Whatever'. Ferry Costen official site

Fukuoka - Place Ayu was born and raised. She lived here until she was 14, at which point she moved to Tokyo to pursue her modeling career.

G

H
H/\L - Created several remixes of Ayu's songs, including "Daybreak" and "Two of Us", among others. Also known to work with Ayu when creating several songs mostly on the LOVEppears album.

Hamasaki Ayumi - Undisputed J-pop Goddess. -will include short Bio at later date- Hamasaki Ayumi official site .

Hamasaki Kurumi
- For some reason during her younger years -whilst she was still an actress/model- Ayu decided to change her name from Ayumi to Kurumi for a short period. No one really knows why, but her original name is Ayumi, just as we know it now.

Heart Aid Taiwan Earthquake - A Charity Concert in Taiwan where Ayu sung “LOVE~destiny~“ held on 15th December 1999

HEY! HEY! HEY! MUSIC CHAMP - Music variety show hosted by comedy duo 'Down Town' which consists of Matsumoto Hitoshi and Hamada Masatoshi. Hey! Hey! Hey! -commonly reffered to as HEYx3- Airs mondays at 8:00pm on Fuji TV. Very popular show, with comical hosts who like to pick on their guests. Includes live performances from pop musicians, chat segment other fun and games. Ayu graces this show with her presence frequently, 2 of her memorable appearences were the 'car parking challenge' and 'learning how to ride a bicycle'. Hey x3 official site

HONDA - Japanese motor manufacturers. Ayu sponsered a motor scooter called 'GIORNO Crea' for them. CM's featured Ayu's song 'Too Late' and the 'Too Late "Soul Solution Remix"' Honda's Japanese official site

I
I Am... - Ayu's 4th Album, released 01.01.02, AVCD-17037. Produced by Max Matsuura, includes 15 tracks, all lyrics by Ayumi Hamasaki. 7 singles were released from this album including 'M', 'Evolution', 'NEVER EVER', 'Endless Sorrow', 'UNITE', 'Dearest' and 'Daybreak'. The first single released, 'M' sold over 1 million copies. Ayu's 4th album managed to sell 2,286,640 copies.
-■-Track list-■-
01. I am...
02. opening run
03. Connected
04. UNITE!
05. evolution
06. Naturally
07. NEVER EVER
08. still alone
09. Daybreak
10. taskinlude
11. M
12. a song is born
13. Dearest
14. no more words
15. Endless sorrow ~gone with the wind ver.~

Idol on stage - Tv show where idols perform cover songs live in front of an audience. Ayu apeared on this show a few times before she joined Avex Trax and performed songs like 'get out of my life', 'rasberry dream', 'Mizuiro no koi', 'Hold on me', 'Dance Dance Dance' and 'heart de shoubu' performed with Rieko Miura.

J
Japan Record Awards -

JT - Company endorsed by Ayu. This company manufactures peach water. CM's for this product generally feature Ayu running around the streets with her bottle of peach flavoured water, while of her songs plays in the background. There are a total of 4 commercials feat. Ayu for this product. The songs featured in the CM's were 'TO BE', 'immature',' Trauma' and 'monochrome'. JT official site

K
Kawaii - the most important word in the Japanese language. Learn it, Live it, Love it. Often translated in english simply as 'Cute' it really symbolises something much more, it's the japanese little girl/teenage girl/ grown woman's way of life.The Japanese teen magazine CREA called kawaii "the most widely used, widely loved, habitual word in modern living Japanese". Ayu is uber-Kawaii. Her fashion, on-screen persona and most importantly those little puppies that follow her around, all epitomise 'kawaii' and is one of the reasons Ayu is as popular as she is.

Kirin - Company sponsered by Ayu. This company manufactures the 'Supli' sports drink, which is promoted by Ayu. Kirin Supli official site

KOSE Visee - Make-up brand endorsed by Ayu. CM's generally feature Ayu looking pretty, whilst holding the latest lipgloss/mascara/eyeshadow, as her new tune plays in the background. Billboards of KOSE products accompanied by Ayu's face also grace the streets of shibuya and other trendy spots, whilst beauty magazines are littered with fulll page advertisments. KOSE report that sales increased drastically since Ayu started endorsing them and that their mascara jumped from being the second, to the number one mascara sold in japan -note: at one point, current position unknown-. KOSE official site

L
Libra - For all those curious fanboys -and fangirls- out there Ayu is a Libra, born 2nd October 1978. So go check out her horoscopes and the numerous Libra personality descriptions floating round the net! You never know, you might be compatible with her!

LOVEppears - Ayu's 2nd album, released 10.11.99, AVCD-11740. Produced by Max Matsuura, Included 2 discs, the first contained 16 tracks + 1 hidden track, the second -a bonus remix disc- contained 5 tracks. All lyrics by Ayumi Hamasaki. 7 Singles were released from the album including 'whatever', 'TO BE', 'Boys & Girls', 'A', 'appears', 'Kanariya' and 'Fly High'. Sold 2,562,130 copies.
-■-Track List-■-
--DISC 1
01.Introduction
02.Fly high
03.Trauma
04.And Then
05.immature
06.Boys & Girls
07.TO BE
08.End roll
09.P.S II
10.WHATEVER
11.too late
12.appears
13.monochrome
14.Interlude
15.LOVE ~refrain~
16.Who...
--DISC 2+CD Extra
01. ayu's EURO MEGA-MIX "Y&Co. Mix"
02. ayu's HOUSE MEGA-MIX "N.S House Mix"
03. A Song for XX "MILLENNIUM MIX" from 1st Album
04. POWDER SNOW "Acoustic Orchestra Version" from ayu-mi-x
05. FRIEND II "MAKE MY MAD MIX" from ayu-mi-x

Lyrics - All Ayu's lyrics are penned by herself, with a few exceptions. -more detailed description to come-. Translations of Ayu's lyrics can be found at Masa's site.

M
Madonna - Ayu's Idol. -more info added later-

Make-up monster - Nickname lovingly bestowed upon her by j-pop star, label mate and rival, Amuro Namie. Ayu returned the favour and refers to her label mate as 'the monkey' supposedly drawn from Amuro's earlier music career when she was a member of a pop group called 'Namie Amuro and the super monkeys'.

Max Matsuura - Ayu's producer and 'father figure'. - more info added at a later date-

Maxi single - -info to come-

Memorial Address - Ayu's 1st Mini Album, released 17.12.03, CD;AVCD-17411 CD+DVD;AVCD-17411/B. Produced by Max Matsuura, included 8 tracks, all lyrics by Ayumi Hamasaki. Released after her 5th Album, Rainbow. There were 3 singles released from this EP including '&', 'Forgiveness', and 'No way to say'. Sold over 1,000,000 copies.

Model -

Morinaga - Japanese candy company. Ayu mostly sponsers a paticular product of their's called Hi-Chew chewing gum, there are many CM's featuring Ayu for this company where she delivers the catch phrase 'Kuchara Hapi Hapi Hi-chew' whilst popping some gum in her mouth in unusual locations -inside a whale/a space ship/about to jump out of a airplane- prepare to be surprised by it's cuteness. Another product from morinaga sponsered by Ayu is their chestnut cookies, this makes for more kawaii CMs. Morinaga official site

MTRLG - AKA Material Girl this is Ayu's Fashion Label. Packed with loads of trendy clothing and accessories, the first Material Girl (MTRLG) boutique opened in Tokyo's Shibuya 109 departmental store in 2001. There is also a MTRLB range for men. MTRLG official site

MTVAA - MTV Asia Awards. In 2002, Ayu attended this event in Singapore and sang "M".

Music Station - Music variety show hosted by Tamori and Shimohira Sayaka. Airs fridays at 8:00pm on TV Asahi. This program is very popular and has been running for more that 10yrs. Ayu often appears on this show to promote her latest songs. Music Station official site.

My Story - Ayu's 6th Album released 15.12.04. Produced by Max Matsuura, contains 17 tracks, all lyrics by Ayumi Hamasaki. Singles released off this album include 'Moments', 'INSPIRE' and 'Carols'. Comes in 4 different covers. This album sold [X] copies

N
Nails - Ayu seems to have a great love for nail art and design as she is almost always seen with immaculatey manicured finger nails in some of the most amazing and inventive designs. Some of the memorable designs have been feathers glued on to her nails in the 'RAINBOW' PV and gold chains attached to her nails with little star ornaments on the 'Memorial Address' Album cover.

NOTHING from NOTHING - AYUMI's pre-avex single featuring DOHZI-T & DJ BASS released on September 21st, 1995, a few years before she joined avex and debuted with the "poker face" single as "ayumi hamasaki". Contains 3 tracks: NOTHING FROM NOTHING, the KARAOKE version and PAPER DOLL. On December 1st, 1995, an album with the same title was released containing 5 tracks: 2 versions of NOTHING FROM NOTHING, LIMIT, PAPER DOLL and Gut it-pez. The style of the album is completely different from her actual style, mainly featuring rap with japanese mixed with english lyrics. While not an impressive work it still has a high value to her fans who are interested in listening to ayu rapping and how her voice sounded back then.
The discs were originally released on NIPPON Columbia but have been out of print for a long time and these days sell for outrageous amounts of money on Japanese auction sites. After Ayu rose to fame half a decade later, a small Japanese company re-released the tracks on a disc entitled "The Past of Ayu" (LECL-5501). That brought on a lawsuit from Ayu's current record company, avex trax, and that CD is also gone from the market as a result.

NTV Special 2000/2004 - In this event, Ayu expessed her thoughts and feelings about her career, both past and present, to the public for the first time.

O
Oricon - Japan's equivilant to the billboard charts. Oricon official site

P
Panasonic - Electronics company endorsed by Ayu. Ayu promotes several products for Panasonic including 'Lumix' + 'D-snap' camera's, 'T [tau]' + 'VIErA' TV's 'Dream' DVD players, 'Dockin' style' Mini disc players, and CD players. CM's usually feature Ayu using the product while plugging one of her songs as the background music. Panasonic

Pets - Ayu is most definetley an animal lover and has a variety of pets that has over time included:
-■- 5 Chihuahuas ['Crea', 'Melon', 'Vanilla', 'Pudding' + 'Choko']
-■- A Yorkshire terrier ['Ringo']
-■- A bulldog [Bu-chan]
-■- A miniature Duchshund ['Maron']
-■- A shiba ['Momo'],
-■- Along with puffer fish, octopus, tropical fish and an iguana called Ayu.
-■- She also has an Aibo robot dog, which bears the moniker Ayubo.

Popjam - Music Variety show hosted by Moriguchi Hiroko at the NHK Hall. Airs 10:00 on NHK. Japanese music artists including Ayu frequently apear on this show to promote their latest single/album this includes chatting with the hosts and then performing their latest song in front of a live audience. Popjam official site

Purchasing - want to buy Ayu CDs or DVDs? There are numerous stores online that stock Ayu goods, the most popular of these include YesAsia, HMV Japan and cdjapan. Other options are Ebay and Amazon.

PV - Promotional video. This is what the Japanese call music videos, so when Ayu's new 'PV' comes out, it's just that, her latest music video. Songs Ayu has released PV's for are as follows;
-■- 'Poker Face' - ??.04.98 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'YOU' - ??.06.98 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'Trust' - ??.08.98 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'For my dear...' - ??.10.98 -■- [Directed by Hiromitsu Odagami]
-■- 'Depend on You' - ??.12.98 -■- [Directed by Masashi Muto]
-■- 'WHATEVER version M' - 10.02.99 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'LOVE ~Destiny~' - ??.04.99 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'TO BE' - ??.05.99 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'Boys & Girls' - ??.07.99 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'appears' - ??.11.99 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'Kanariya' - ??.12.99 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'Fly High' - ??.02.00 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'vogue' - ??.04.00 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'Far Away' - ??.05.00 -■-[Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'SEASONS' - ??.06.00 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'Surreal' - ??.09.00 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'M' - ??.12.00 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'M ~ above and beyond remix' -■- ??.??.?? - Directed by
-■- 'Evolution' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'NEVER EVER' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'Endless Sorrow' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'Dearest' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Takahide Ishii]
-■- 'Dearest ~ acoustic version' -■- ??.??.?? - [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'Dearest ~ laugh and peace mix' -■- ??.??.?? - [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'Daybreak' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'Free & Easy' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'Connected' -??.??.?? -■- [Directed by STUDIO 4°C Connected PROJECT]
-■- 'Voyage' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Isao Yukisada]
-■- 'Real Me' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Ukon Kamimura[/I]]
-■- 'Rainbow' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]
-■- 'Ourselves' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Kouki Tange[/I]]
-■- 'Greatful Days' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Hideaki Sunaga[/I]]
-■- 'Hanabi~Episode II' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Shuichi Tan[/I]]
-■- 'forgiveness' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Yoshiya Okoyama + D.B.D]
-■- 'No way to say' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by --------]
-■- 'Angel's Song' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Hideaki Sunaga]
-■- 'Because of You' - ??.??.?? -■- [Directed by Kouki Tange]
-■- 'Moments' - ??.03.04 -■- [Directed by Tetsuo Inoue]
-■- 'Inspire' - 28.07.04 -■- [Directed by Tetsuo Inoue]
-■- 'GAME' - ??.07.04 -■- [Directed by Hideaki Sunaga]
-■- 'Carols' - ??.10.04 -■- [Directed by]
-■- 'About You' - ??.12.04 -■- [Directed by Hideo Sunaga]
-■- 'Walking proud' - ??.12.04 -■- [Directed by Ken Sueda]
-■- 'Humming 7/4' -■- ??.12.04 -■- [Directed by Wataru Takeishi]

Q

R
RAINBOW - Ayu's 5th Album, released 18.12.02, AVBD-17239. Produced by Max Matsuura, includes 15 tracks +1 bonus track, all lyrics written by Ayumi Hamasaki. 3 singles released off this album including 'Free & easy', 'H' and 'Voyage'. Rainbow sold [X] copies. This was also released as a DVD Audio album. The initial print of this album was released with a password to access a special webpage where fans could submit lyrics for the full vocal track of RAINBOW [later released on A BALLADS] which influenced the way Ayu wrote the lyrics for this song.
-■-Track Listing-■-
00. RAINBOW
01. everlasting dream
02. WE WISH
03. Real me
04. Free & Easy
05. Heartplace
06. Over
07. HANABI
08. taskinillusion
09. everywhere nowhere
10. July 1st
11. Dolls
12. neverending dream
13. Voyage
14. Close to you
15. independent

Rainbow House - info to come

Ready Go! -info to come-

S
Shingo Kobayashi - Member of Ayu's band. Plays keyboard.

Singles - Ayu has to date released 34 singles, they are as follows;
-■- [No.01 - poker face - 08.04.98 - AVDD-20228] -■- [Oricon chart position '20']
-■- [No.02 - YOU - 10.06.98 - AVDD-20239] -■- [Oricon chart position '20']
-■- [No.03 - Trust - 05.08.98 - AVDD-20248] -■- [Oricon chart position '09']
-■- [No.04 - For My Dear... - 07.10.98 - AVDD-20267] -■- [Oricon chart position '09']
-■- [No.05 - Depend on You - 09.12.9 - AVDD-20278] -■- [Oricon chart position '06']
-■- [No.06 - WHATEVER - 10.02.99 - AVDD-20291] -■- [Oricon chart position '05']
-■- [No.07 - LOVE ~Destiny~ - 14.04.99 - AVDD-20309] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.08 - TO BE - 12.05.99 - AVDD-20316] -■- [Oricon chart position '04']
-■- [No.09 - Boys & Girls - 14.07.99 - AVCD-30049] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.10 - A - 11.08.99 - AVCD-30050] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.11 - appears - 10.11.99 - AVCD-30064] -■- [Oricon chart position '02']
-■- [No.12 - kanariya - 08.12.99 - AVCD-30067] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.13 - Fly High - 09.02.00 - AVCD-30066] -■- [Oricon chart position '03']
-■- [No.14 - vogue - 26.04.00 - AVCD-30108] -■- [Oricon chart position '03']
-■- [No.15 - Far Away - 17.05.00 - AVCD-30118 - AVCD-30119] -■- [Oricon chart position '02']
-■- [No.16 - SEASONS - 07.06.00 - AVCD-30119] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.17 - SURREAL - 27.09.00 - AVCD-30175] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.18 - AUDIENCE - 01.11.00 - AVCD-30184] -■- [Oricon chart position '02']
-■- [No.19 - M - 13.12.00 - AVCD-30197] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.20 - evolution - 31.01.01 - AVCD-30203] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.21 - NEVER EVER - 07.03.01 - AVCD-30231] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.22 - Endless sorrow - 16.05.01 - AVCD-30254] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.23 - UNITE! - 11.07.01 - AVCD-30275] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.24 - Dearest - 27.09.01 - AVCD-30294] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.25 - Daybreak - 06.03.02 - AVCD-30348] -■- [Oricon chart position '02']
-■- [No.26 - Free & Easy - 24.04.02 - AVCD-30364] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.27 - H - 24.07.02 - AVCD-30380] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.28 - Voyage - 26.09.02 - AVCD-30405] -■- [Oricon chart position '01']
-■- [No.29 - & - 09.07.03 - ] -■- [Oricon chart position '']
-■- [No.30 - forgiveness - 20.08.03 - ] -■- [Oricon chart position '']
-■- [No.31 - No way to say - 06.11.03 - ] -■- [Oricon chart position '']
-■- [No.32 - Moments - 31.03.04 - ] -■- [Oricon chart position '']
-■- [No.33 - INSPIRE - 28.07.04 - ] -■- [Oricon chart position '']
-■- [No.34 - Carols - ??.??.?? - ] -■- [Oricon chart position '']
Other singles released by Ayu that are not in her official discography are as follows... -YUP you guessed it, i'll add these soon!-

Sofina - Ayu promotes this make-up company, she made 3 cms featuring songs such as 'boys and girls', 'And Then' and 'Appears'.

Stadium Tour - Ayu´s 5th Tour.
-■-Dates + Locations-■-
06.07.02 - Uminonakamichi Kaihinkoen
07.07.02 - Uminonakamichi Kaihinkoen
13.07.02 - Nishinomiya Stadium
14.07.02 - Nishinomiya Stadium
20.07.02 - Toyota Stadium
21.07.02 - Toyota Stadium
27.07.02 - Tokyo Stadium
28.07.02 - Tokyo Stadium
-■-Tracklist-■-
01. UNITE!
02. Fly high
03. evolution
04. medley
WHATEVER
too late
monochrome
End roll
Depend on you
vogue
05. July 1st
06. independent
07. Free & Easy
08. M
09. SURREAL
10. HANABI
11. Boys & Girls
12. AUDIENCE
13. A Song is born
14. flower garden
15. Trauma
16. Who...
17. SEASONS

T
Takano Yuri beauty clinic - Ayu promoted this company with 2 cms featuring songs such as 'Duty' and 'Still Alone'.

TEAMAYU - Ayu´s Official Fanclub.

Terima Kasih - Photobook featuring Ayu in her teenage years

TIME - The infamous TIME magazine featured an article about Ayu in their TIMEasia Magazine. The article can be read here.

TuKa - Mobile phone company endorsed by Ayu. TuKa official site

Tomoya Nagase - Ayu's boyfriend. -more info added later-

Tsuki ni shizumu - AKA Sinking Moon is 40 minute film staring Ayumi and directed by Isao Yukisada of "Go (2001)" (multiple Japanese-Academy-Award winning film) fame. A shorter version of this film also served as the music video for the song 'Voyage'. The DVD of this film unfortunatley doesn't come with subtitles, but a translation of the transcript by Masa can be found here

U
URAAYU - Photobook Ayu released April 16, 2002. Featuring photo's taken from a photoshoot in Hong Kong. Published by Wani Books.

V
ViVi - Fashion magazine that feature's Ayu´s monthly “Deji Deji Diary”.

W
WOWOW - Music variety show Ayu has appeared on a few times. Wowow official site

White things - Ayu once said in an interview that she likes to collect white things for her room.

X

Y
Yoshio Nomura - Memeber of Ayu's band, plays guitar. Very cute, tubby and kinda scruffy looking fellow, with long messy -unless it's braided- light brown hair. Usually with a cheerful smile on his face. Yoshio's official site.

Z

Big Thankyou to the following members for contributing;....leafyamazaki -- ayumaria -- Unimatrix Prime -- p3ayu -- nmskalmn -- dominika842000 -- shinji1698 -- Camille -- ayuspeed -- cutie honey -- tl1029530921 -- CREATE -- Bishoujo Ayumi -- Kinix - _Zora_ -- QT Mashi -- Let-Go -- Impact Breaker -- ~angel*ayumi~ --come on now, don't be shy!



Other Sources of info have been the numerous online articles + fansites dedicated to Ayu. No matter big or small I'll try to list as many links to fansites/articles here as I can find and organize them so fans can easily find what they're looking for.....
-■-ONLINE ARTICLES-■-
--TIMEasia Article/Interview

-■-OFFICIAL SITES-■-
- Ayupan official site
- Hamasaki Ayumi official site
- MTRLG official site

-■-FANSITES-■-
--General info--
- Divine Ayu
- Eneabba [The most complete referance site for Ayu's music]
- Hamasaki Republic

--Media--
- Ayutv [Live performances + CMs - Yahoo briefcase]
- Divine Ayu [Commercials - Direct DL]

--Gallery/Images--
- Perfect Ayu [Huge gallery with lots of rare pictures]
- ayumihamasaki.org
- superior pics.com [random Ayu images]

--Fanlistings--
- Ayumi Hamasaki: the fanlisting [The only Ayu fanlisting approved by thefanlistings.org and has over 1200 members]
- The official 'Angel's song' fanlisting [Fanlisting dedicated to Ayu's song 'Angel's song']
- The official 'Dolls' fanlisting [Fanlisting dedicated to Ayu's song 'Dolls']
- MTRL: the AYUMI HAMASAKI song fanlisting

--Forums--
- Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai forums [*HINT* you're here now LoL]
- Ayumi-hamasaki.org forums
- AYUNITE! forums
- Ayu Global Network forums

--INTERNATIONAL FANSTIES--



Last edited by Rei..; 23rd December 2004 at 06:27 PM.
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