Ami Suzuki

Overview

Ami Suzuki (鈴木亜美, born 9 February 1982 in Zama, Kanagawa) is a Japanese singer, DJ, actress, lyricist and YouTuber. She rose to fame as a teen idol in the late 1990s and later became known for her self-penned lyrics and music production. She was originally billed as Ami Suzuki (鈴木あみ) and nicknamed "Ami-Go". She is currently signed to Avex Management and releases through avex trax. She is also well known for her love of extremely spicy food.

Career

1998–2000: The Sony years

In February 1998 Suzuki won the final phone-vote round of the Vocalist Audition on TV Tokyo's ASAYAN, earning the chance to debut under Tetsuya Komuro's production. She debuted on 1 July 1998 with "love the island", followed by "alone in my room", "all night long" and "white key". She won numerous newcomer awards that year, including the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist, and started her own radio show, Run! Run! Ami-Go!.

Her first photo book, amigo, sold 200,000 copies within six days in January 1999. Her debut album SA (25 March 1999) sold about 2.5 million copies. Her seventh single "BE TOGETHER" topped the chart ahead of Ayumi Hamasaki's "Boys & Girls" and became her biggest single at 870,000 copies; "OUR DAYS" also reached number one, and she made her first appearance on the 50th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen. In 1999 she also made her first lyric-writing contributions, co-writing "Don't leave me behind" and "HAPPY NEW MILLENNIUM".

Her second album infinity eighteen vol.1 (February 2000) was also a million-seller. The single "THANK YOU 4 EVERY DAY EVERY BODY" reached number one in April, and INFINITY EIGHTEEN Vol.2 (26 April 2000) peaked at number two. She toured arenas nationwide that summer and took her first lead role in a television drama.

2000–2002: Hiatus

When the president of her management company, AG Communication, was arrested and convicted over tax evasion, trust broke down, and in December 2000 Suzuki and her parents sued to terminate her contract. The Tokyo District Court ruled for her in July 2001, but she was effectively shut out of the entertainment industry. The compilation FUN for FAN (May 2001) nonetheless reached number one on the Oricon album chart amid fan campaigns. Her working relationship with Komuro also ended.

2002–2004: Independent activities

Suzuki released the photo book Ami '02 Natsu in 2002, opened an official website in November, and announced she would use her real name, 鈴木亜美. In March 2003 her contract with Sony's companies was ruled terminated, and a settlement followed in November. She launched the paid fan club "AMI SAFARI" and released the DVD photo book ami book. In April 2004 she issued a single bundled with the photo book Tsuyoi Kizuna through a publisher, selling over 150,000 copies and topping the non-fiction book rankings. In May she performed her first public in-store live in three years and one month. In August she released "FOREVER LOVE" on her indie label AMITY, resumed live performances, and announced her move to Avex.

2005–2016: Avex era

Produced by Max Matsuura, she joined Avex in January 2005, issued the download-only "Hopeful" in February and her major comeback single "Delightful" (number 3) in March. Her album AROUND THE WORLD (12 October 2005) debuted at number 5, and she returned to the 56th Kōhaku. In 2006 "Fantastic" became the opening theme of the anime Black Jack, she released "Like a Love?" (written by Ai Otsuka), and she made her film debut in Niji no Megami (Rainbow Song).

In 2007 she began the "join" collaboration project with artists including Buffalo Daughter, THC!!, Kirinji, Yasutaka Nakata and SUGIURUMN, releasing the albums CONNETTA (21 March 2007) and DOLCE (6 February 2008). For her 10th anniversary in 2008 she released Nakata-produced singles "ONE" (2 July) and "can't stop the DISCO" (24 September), followed by the fully Nakata-produced album Supreme Show (12 November). She debuted as a DJ around this time alongside Nakata and Rem Rider. Later releases include "Reincarnation" (2009), "KISS KISS KISS" (2009), "love the island (new ver.)" (2011), Ami Selection (7 December 2011), Snow Ring (6 February 2013), "graduation" and ami suzuki Best Collection (2014), and the theme song of the anime Panpaka Pants (2016). She has also appeared in TV dramas such as Love Game and Dokushin.

2022 onward

In 2022 she released "BE TOGETHER <ORIGINAL MIX> / white key BEST Tag" (March) and the album Suzuki Ami ga Tomaranai. Digital NONSTOP (November). In 2023 she followed with "I just feel good (Prod. TeddyLoid)" (July) and "Dub-I-Dub (DNQ BASS Remix)" (December).

Musical style

Suzuki's music is classified as J-pop and kayōkyoku. Her early work was dance-pop under Tetsuya Komuro, and she began writing lyrics from a young age, reflecting her personal feelings in her songs. At Avex she broadened her range through collaborations with producers such as Yasutaka Nakata's electronic disco sound and TeddyLoid, as well as her DJ activities.