Ayumi Hamasaki is a name you likely know, even if you are not a hardcore fan of J-Pop. If you have watched anime, played mobile video games, explored the world of US drama series. You have likely heard at least one of her songs. The best-selling solo artist in Japan, she has sold millions of CDs and claimed a bevy of top-league chart records. Indeed, the scope of her presence in Japanese pop culture could serve as the entertainment industry of an entire country: she's a fashion icon with her own clothing line, she had a cartoon about herself, she's hosted TV/radio shows, on top of all that, she even opened a restaurant of her own. As an example, she has shown artists that they do not have to sacrifice control over their artistry or image to succeed in the industry of music, much like one of her biggest influences, Madonna.

Ayu, started life with a fairly rough upbringing. Her father abandoned her at three years old. Due to this, Hamasaki worked as a local model from the age of seven to help her mother and grandmother with the finances, to try to make sure they could make ends meet. From a young age, she showed that she was a very intelligent and, in some stances, also a rebellious child. She dropped out of school to try her hand at full-time modeling but was denied due to her short height. This would prove positive for her, and it did not deter her drive to succeed, as she turned her attention to the music industry. 

Her debut was much different than the pop sensation we know now; the hip-hop EP, Nothing from Nothing (1995), was how she debuted. The album failed to chart, and her stabs at acting never extended beyond television and B-movies in Japan. Hamasaki began spending her time shopping in Shibuya and singing at karaoke bars. It was at a label-affiliated club where she met Max Matsuura, a producer from Avex Trax who would later go on to be the head of the label, and find many of the most influential artists in Japanese music history. Matsuura was impressed by Hamasaki's singing and offered to sign her. She initially refused, expecting his motives to be less than chaste, thinking he desired to get more than just music from her, but she eventually took him seriously. He enlisted her in a Japanese vocal school, but she dropped out, complaining the teaching was too rigid. Undeterred, Matsuura sent her overseas to another school in New York. While there, Hamasaki developed her songwriting and lyric composition to great heights. From then on, their storied partnership would carry Hamasaki from being extremely unknown to the top of the charts in Japan, as well as many other countries. 

On April 8, 1998, Hamasaki made her Avex debut with the single "Poker Face," which peaked at number 22 on the Japanese charts and turned out to be the beginning of a swift upward trend. Her debut studio LP, "A Song for XX" (1999), hit number one with a million-plus in sales. The follow-up, "Loveppears" (1999), nearly doubled this figure and topped the charts as well. These two albums would later influence the likes of Aiko and Mika Nakashima, to explore their creativity more in-depth than the style they debuted with. In 2000, she simultaneously topped the single, DVD, and album charts with "Duty," her strongest offering according to many reputable critics and best-selling studio effort to date with 2.9 million total units sold. At this point in her career, she experienced excruciating friction with her label, as she opposed the release of her first compilation, "A Best", because she believed there was insufficient material. Stating that given that she had only released three LPs, there was not enough music produced in her career to warrant the LP or to be worth her fans investing into purchasing the product. However, A Best would sell a whopping 6.7 million copies in Asia. Despite the commercial success, Hamasaki decided to take control of her own career, becoming, most importantly, a primary songwriter under the name of Crea. The first Crea-penned tune was "M" from 2002's "I Am," which became another two-million-selling chart-topper. The lyrical content of the album was influenced in part by 9/11, an introspective turn that marked the beginning of Hamasaki's international exposure. Hamasaki followed the success of "I Am" with her chart-topping album and genre-breaking "Rainbow" in 2002. It was her first effort to feature English lyrics. Her first EP, 2003's "Memorial Address," sold more than one million copies and included a harder edge, especially on songs like "Because of You" and "Ourselves."  

In 2004, Hamasaki became embroiled in a power dispute at Avex; this had so much of an effect that when the label's stocks plummeted at the rumor of her leaving, Matsuura, who enjoyed her backing, won the dispute, which resulted in increased creative/career control for Hamasaki in future projects. The same year, she issued her sixth album, "My Story," which was her most intimate musical work to date. The funky Sweetbox style "(Miss) Understood" arrived in 2006, headed by singles "Ladies Night" and "Bold + Delicious." With each subsequent release, her exposure in Asia grew immensely. In 2007, her eighth effort, "Secret," not only topped the charts in Japan, but also Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and China, prompting Hamasaki to tour these regions. The trek sold out within hours. However, the rock-edged "Guilty" broke her seemingly never-ending streak of eight consecutive number one albums, charting at number two in January 2008. Yet, this would not hinder Hamasaki's international expansion: the digital version of the record was released in 26 countries, and the accompanying remix albums featured a handful of Western DJs, including Armand Van Helden and Carl Craig. Later that year, Hamasaki announced that she had an inoperable condition that led her to become deaf in her left ear. Despite this, she vowed to continue and supported "Guilty" with a tenth-anniversary tour that included stops in Taipei, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, among other stops. 

The electro-pop "Next Level" arrived in 2009, stealing the highest first-week sales tally for any female artist in Japan. This would be her ninth chart-topper and helped Hamasaki become the first Japanese artist to have at least one number one album each year for 12 consecutive years. The more experimental "Rock 'n' Roll Circus" also fared well. The lead single, "Sunrise/Sunset," was her 21st consecutive number-one single and 44th to enter the Top Ten, which made her the artist with the most Top Ten singles ever. Introspective and personal, Circus was her first to be recorded overseas in London. Just months later, "Love Songs," which was comprised of mostly ballads, arrived in stores, including the single "L," which, as the Roman numeral noted, was her 50th single.

This legendary star had a landmark year in 2011. In addition to a release blitz that produced four remix albums, her 15th live collection, and a tour compilation, she also released the EP "Five," her first since 2003's "Memorial Address." While simultaneously nabbing four spots in the Top Ten, the first Japanese artist to do so, she also spent much of her year participating in charity efforts in the wake of the devastating tsunami that hit Japan in March.  

She changed things up a bit in 2012, releasing her 13th LP, "Party Queen," without any physical singles, to the shock of many fans. Half dance-pop, half ballads, this was her second effort to be partially recorded in England; it was also her second release that did not top the Oricon charts, debuting at number two. Despite the small stumble, Hamasaki launched her 15th-anniversary celebration by announcing a tour and five consecutive months of new releases. Starting in late 2012, she unveiled a pair of EPs ( the highly adored, "Love" and "Again"), A Classical (a compilation of orchestral reinterpretations of past hits), another tour album; and her 14th album, 2013's "Love Again," which simply combined those aforementioned EPs. Love Again returned Hamasaki to familiar territory, debuting atop the charts once again. By 2014, Hamasaki was ready for another change of pace. The EDM-flavored "CoLOURS" arrived that summer, featuring more English lyrics as well as production by all-stars like Armin van Buuren ("Terminal"), RedOne affiliates De Paris and Rush ("XOXO"), Darkchild ("Angel"), and Fedde Le Grand ("Lelio"). CoLOURS also marked Hamasaki's first release not fully produced by longtime partner Max Matsuura.

Going back to her roots, and making a full 180 from her last album, Hamasaki issued 2015's "Love Classics," a mash-up compilation that combined her hits with classical music samples from Pachelbel, Debussy, Handel, Dvorák, Bach, and Chopin. Her 16th album also arrived that year. Released exactly 17 years after her "Poker Face" debut, A One featured a guest appearance by Singaporean R&B singer JJ Lin ("The Gift") as well as a songwriting credit for fellow Japanese icon and friend Hikaru Utada ("Movin' on Without You"). Her sixth EP, the aptly titled "sixxxxxx," was issued four months later. It featured six tracks for all of which, the titles of which all started with the letter "S" including a collaboration with Taiwanese boy band SpeXial ("Sayonara").

After a 15th anniversary reissue of her first hits collection, A Best, Hamasaki surprised fans with her 17th LP, "Made in Japan." Originally a digital-only release, it hit a million streams in under a week before it was released in physical formats. "Made in Japan" featured a cover of fellow Avex artist Globe's 2002 hit single "Many Classic Moments." After heading off from, April 7, 2018, to July 22, 2018, Hamasaki embarked on her arena tour titled Power of Music, in celebration of her 20th anniversary. In July 2018, she participated in a special concert alongside Crystal Kay, Daichi Miura, LiSA, and King & Prince. Hamasaki then returned to the studio to record her seventh EP, "Trouble," which was met by much praise. The EP arrived in the summer of 2018 and featured the single "We Are the Queens" from the game Clash of Queens

In August 2019, popular non-fiction author Narumi Komatsu released a novel about Hamasaki entitled M Aisubeki Hito ga Ite, in which it was revealed that the singer has had romantic feelings towards her producer Max Matsuura, despite showing disdain for any romance in the beginning. The book was written based on interviews with Hamasaki herself and gives a rare insight into the artist's private life and her road to stardom. The book instantly became a best-seller, and reached #1 in the charts—a television drama-series based on the novel aired from April to July 2020. A 20th-anniversary edition of Hamasaki's 1999 album "Loveppears" was released on November 10, 2019.

On February 20, 2020, after the birth of her first child, Ayu embarked on her national tour Trouble Tour 2020: Saigo no Trouble; however, after only two dates, the tour had to come to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, upon restrictions imposed by the Japanese government to stop the spread of the virus. On May 19, 2020, Hamasaki announced through her official website that all 36 remaining dates of the tour had been canceled due to the spread of the virus. On July 4, 2020, a surprise TV-commercial featuring a new song entitled "Ohia no Ki" was broadcast after the airing of the last episode of M Aisubeki Hito ga Ite. This would be Hamasaki's first new song in two years. It also became her first one to have been given a Japanese title instead of English. The song was composed by Kazuhito Kikuchi -known for having composed some of Hamasaki's signature songs, such as "Who..." and "Heaven"- and its lyrics were inspired by her newborn son. "Ohia no Ki" was released on digital platforms in Japan on July 5. Later on that month, on July 25, 2020, the singer performed her Premium Limited Live A: Natsu No Trouble - a special concert that was held without an audience and streamed on AbemaTV, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

On July 31, 2020, a new digital single called "Dreamed a Dream" was released, making it the first time the singer releases two digital singles within the same month. The song was composed by Tetsuya Komuro, who had previously composed songs such as "A Song Is Born," "Love Song," and "You & Me." It's their first collaborative effort since working together on 2015's "Winter Diary."

Over the years, Ayumi Hamasaki has inspired many of her peers and left a positive impact not only on the Japanese music industry but worldwide through her artistry. She still stands as one of the most successful artists of all time and as a person who has persevered through hardships time over time. Even when the odds were stacked against her, she held her ground and has shown people that you can overcome anything, that you do not have to stay in a mold, and that you can change, you can evolve, without losing your heart.