Source: CCTV.com

04-02-2007 16:06

Chinese fans have too long been deprived of Ayumi Hamasaki's company. But this began to be remedied last Saturday when the Japanese pop star fired up the atmosphere for a wild night in Taipei.

The Taipei Concert is the first leg of Ayumi Hamasaki's Asian Tour. Later she'll be appearing in both Hong Kong and Shanghai. But to protect the super star's privacy and safety no further information has been released.

Ayumi Hamasaki has been a hit with Chinese fans since her album "A Song For XX" in the late 90's. At that time her unique musical sensibility and attitude to work took her to the very top of Japan's music scene. The busy schedule meant fans were gorged with songs, photos, and promo material.

Ayumi began her career in the spotlight when she was just 7 years old. Starting as a child model for commercial advertising, she later got parts on TV shows like "Twin Teachers". After graduating from University she moved to Tokyo and joined "Sun Mucis".

In Japan at that time wannabe starlets all had treat the same road -- it involved a lot of posing in bikinis for endless magazine shoots. Ayumi went through this but soon had enough. In September 1995 she released her first hip pop album simply titled Ayumi. It was a storming success, starting a J-RAP craze that swept the nation and set a new chart record with 5 weeks at No.1

In 1998, Ayumi released her first more intimate album "A Song For XX". She wrote all the lyrics herself, reflecting her worries about life and her work. They struck a strongly resonant chord with her young audience. She went on in 1999 to release 7 singles and two further albums. The same year saw her singing on stage for "NHK Red White".

2000 was also AYUMI's year. Nine singles, two albums and thirty-three national concerts. And she never let the heavy load affect the quality of her work, winning prizes for best song and best album.