Editing Ayumi Hamasaki (section)

=== Lyrics ===
{{quote box
| quote = In the beginning, I was searching for myself in my music. My music was for me. I didn't have the mental room to be conscious of the listener; I wrote to save myself. I didn't understand what it was to write songs. But over time I began to see many things, my influence, the responsibilities that gave me.
| source = — Hamasaki on the new lyrical directions in ''I Am...''.<ref name="TimeInterview"/>
| width = 30%
| salign = left
}}

Having trouble voicing her thoughts out loud, Hamasaki began writing as an outlet; she draws inspiration from her own experiences and emotions, as well as from the lives of those around her.<ref name="AvexProfile">{{cite web |title=Ayumi Hamasaki's Profile (Avex) |url=http://www.avexnet.or.jp/english/ayu/#profile |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051217103237/http://www.avexnet.or.jp/english/ayu/#profile |archive-date=December 17, 2005 |access-date=March 23, 2008 |publisher=[[Avex Trax|Avex Network]]}}</ref> She has stated that honesty is essential to her lyrics, saying, "If I write when I'm low, it will be a dark song, but I don't care. I want to be honest with myself at all times".<ref name="AvexProfile" />

In Hamasaki's debut years, Tetsu Misaki noted a large change in the lyrical style between ''A Song for ××'' and her following albums ''Loveppears,'' and ''Duty''. Misaki believed that Hamasaki's meteoric rise to fame had impacted her perspective, signaled by her using the words {{nihongo|''bokura''|僕ら||"we"}} and {{nihongo|''tsutaeru''|伝える||"convey/tell"}} more often; it gave the impression that she was thinking more on her influence as a public figure.<ref name="Jpopnonihongo1" /> Hamasaki's awareness of her fame went on to shape the lyrical direction of her albums ''I Am...'' and ''Rainbow,<ref name="Time" />'' only returning to a more autobiographical style with ''My Story''; in a 2004 interview, she stated that her goal was to return to making something "unmistakably human", instead of writing to give people hope or comfort.<ref>{{Cite book |title=NEW ALBUM [MY STORY] INTERVIEW |date=December 2004 |publisher=Avex: Team Ayu Magazine }}</ref>

Hamasaki's lyrics went on to define her public image; in two surveys conducted by Oricon, respondents voted Hamasaki's writing as their favorite aspect of her artistry.<ref name="10thoricon">{{cite web |date=September 10, 2008 |title=Ayumi Hamasaki 10th Anniversary Commemoration: Different Aspects of Her Charm! |url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/music/special/080910_04.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601114243/https://www.oricon.co.jp/music/special/080910_04.html |archive-date=June 1, 2009 |access-date=October 17, 2008 |publisher=[[Oricon]] |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Yuuki |first=Tai |date=February 28, 2007 |title=A Thorough Analysis! Her Best-of Albums and Approaching Her Charm! |url=http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/special/070228_01.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302074028/http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/special/070228_01.html |archive-date=March 2, 2007 |access-date=November 3, 2009 |work=[[Oricon Style]] |publisher=[[Oricon]]}}</ref> Steve McClure of ''[[The Japan Times]]'' noted that Hamasaki quickly developed a reputation as a "thoughtful, introspective lyricist";<ref>{{cite web |last=McClure |first=Steve |date=December 19, 2001 |title=2001 – A Sound Odyssey |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fm20011219a1.html |access-date=November 4, 2009 |work=The Japan Times |publisher=The Japan Times Ltd.}}</ref> ''[[The Village Voice]]'' went further, complimenting her ability to sing of "the pain and happiness of millennial life".<ref name="VillageVoice" /> Subaru Tomioka, in regard to the singer's impact on the [[LGBTQ]] community, appreciated how she "replaced love songs between men and women with ones between people of the same sex, in a world where role models hadn't previously existed outside of your own imagination."<ref name=":6" /> Tomioka also highlighted her ability to bring emotion into her work, specifically the enmity Hamasaki has conveyed through songs such as "[[My Story (Ayumi Hamasaki album)|My Name's Women]]", "[[Rock 'n' Roll Circus|Lady Dynamite]]", and "[[Remember You (album)|Vibees]]".<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=浜崎あゆみが表明する社会への「怒り」。フェミニズムの視点で歌詞を紐解く {{!}} CINRA |url=https://www.cinra.net/article/202302-ayumihamasaki |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=www.cinra.net |language=ja}}</ref>

A notable aspect of Hamasaki's discography is her consistent use of English for her song, album, and tour titles; in an interview for her fifteenth anniversary, the singer stated "The meaning would be more restricted in Japanese—for example, if I use 'red' instead of 'aku' (赤), wouldn't you wonder, "What's the meaning? It's not simply 'aku', right?" I want to evoke more ideas (from the reader)."<ref>{{Cite book |title=ayu x TA INTERVIEW: 15 years of history |publisher=Team Ayu Magazine |year=2014}}</ref>{{Listen
|filename=Ayumi_Hamasaki_-_Evolution.ogg
|title="Evolution" (2001)
|description=Many of Hamasaki's songs are dance tunes, such as "Evolution" (2001), a self-composed single that also has rock elements.
|filename2=Ayumi_Hamasaki_-_M.ogg
|title2="M" (2000)
|description2="M", the first song composed by Hamasaki under the pseudonym "Crea", shifts to a [[relative key]], like most of her self-composed songs.<ref name="sheet">''Ayumi Hamasaki&nbsp;— Piano Solo&nbsp;— New Piano Sounds Top 25''. Volume 7. {{ISBN|978-4-89638-944-9}}</ref>
|filename3=Ayumi_Hamasaki_-_Bold_&_Delicious.ogg
|title3="Bold & Delicious" (2005)
|description3=Hamasaki took new directions on ''(Miss)understood'', as epitomized by the single "Bold & Delicious", a [[funk]]-influenced song that used a gospel-style chorus.
|pos=right
}}