Ayumi Hamasaki - First Asian Solo Artist To Sell Over 50 Million Units

With the release of her summer best of album "A SUMMER BEST", Ayumi Hamasaki's total single and album sales have surpassed 50 million units, becoming the first solo artist to reach the 50 million mark.

The singer, who debuted in April of 1998, has sold 50,023,000 units according to Oricon's latest ranking.

Ayumi Hamasaki's impressive accomplishment has only been achieved twice before. B'z reached 50 million in sales on July 13, 1998, while Mr.Children reach the sales mark on March 26, 2007.

In addition to being the highest selling solo artist in Japan, Ayu has numerous other Oricon records, including most consecutive #1 singles (25 singles), most #1 singles (37 singles), most years reaching number #1 on the charts (12 years) and highest number of total copies sold (21,416,000 copies).

Hamasaki spoke happily about her new record, commenting, “When I debuted, I did not think I would be able to reach this far, but I’m really glad to have established a great record like this while gaining the support of many people.”  She continued, “This is not Hamasaki Ayumi’s record – I believe it is my fans’ record who have cheered me on and have been continuously supporting me.  From here on out, I will continue to deliver more songs, so please support me.”

Sources - JpopAsia, Tokyohive