Ami Suzuki (鈴木亜美, Suzuki Ami; born 9 February 1982) is a Japanese recording artist, DJ, and actress from Zama, Kanagawa, Japan. Following her late 90s fame as a popular teen idol, Suzuki went on to become known for her self-penned lyrics and music production.
In 2000, Suzuki entered a legal battle with her management company, which resulted her being blacklisted from the entertainment industry. Suzuki independently released two singles before signing to Avex Trax in 2005. Suzuki has also made a name for herself in the acting field, starring in various movies, television series, and musicals.
While attending high school, Suzuki auditioned for Japanese talent show Asayan, which was searching for a young vocalist under the direct guidance of Tetsuya Komuro. She preferred athletics at the time and was reluctant to travel from her home in Kanagawa, but was convinced by a friend. From 13,500 contestants, only five girls were chosen to be in the final round, and 15-year-old Suzuki was voted as the finalist winner.
Her debut single, "Love the Island", was released on 1 July 1998. The song was used to promote Japanese tourism in the island of Guam. The single debuted at number five on the Oricon charts. On 17 September 1998, her second single "Alone in My Room" was released, which debuted at number three.
In October 1998, Suzuki started her own radio show on Nippon Hōsō called Run! Run! Ami-Go!, and signed a deal with Kissmark for advertisements and promotion all around Asia. Sony then began promoting her third single, "All Night Long". Later that year, Suzuki won the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist.
In 1999, Suzuki released her first photo book, titled Ami-Go, which sold around 200,000 copies. In March, her debut album SA was released, becoming one of the top ten best selling albums of 1999. During the release of her seventh single "Be Together", Suzuki competed with later chart rival Ayumi Hamasaki for the first time, who had just released her ninth single "Boys & Girls". Suzuki's next single, titled "Our Days", ranked number one in the charts later that year. At the end of the year, Suzuki released her eighth single: "Happy New Millennium".
In January 2000, Suzuki released "Don't Need to Say Good Bye" which debuted at number 5. A week later, the singer released her second studio album, Infinity Eighteen Vol. 1, which debuted at number one. Suzuki has said of this first period of her career that she was not free to do what she wanted and only followed what she was told, leaving her feeling "pretty disheartened and down, like there was no future". Suzuki had been writing lyrics from an early age, and continued to pass these on to her manager and producers. The first song to feature them was her tenth Sony single: "Don't Need to Say Goodbye". The lyrics were influenced by events occurring in her personal life at that time, Suzuki commenting: "Putting my thoughts and feelings into my singing is more important to me than sales, and chart rankings."
Three months after Infinity Eighteen Vol.1, Suzuki released "Thank You 4 Every Day Every Body" in the beginning of April, and her third studio album, Infinity Eighteen Vol.2, later that same month. "Reality/Dancin' in Hip-Hop" was later released as Suzuki's 12th single in September 2000.
2000–2002: Industry blacklisting
In 2000 Suzuki's career came to a halt when Eiji Yamada, the President of her production company AG Communication, was convicted on tax evasion charges. AG Communication had evaded tax by under-reporting their earnings, and by consequence were underpaying royalties to artists. Suzuki's parents Tadao and Miyako Suzuki sued AG Communication for termination of her contract on these grounds, and that the association would taint her image. The Tokyo District Court ruled in Suzuki's favor, but the lawsuit resulted in Suzuki's blacklisting from the entertainment industry. In court documents, it was revealed that AG Communication had paid her very little: despite eight-figure record sales that year, Suzuki earned just $1500 a month at the start of her career, and a 0.4% royalty rate on CDs, raised to 0.55% in 1999.
Having lost all of her endorsements, Suzuki was faced with the problem of production companies refusing to work with her publicly. Her relationship with long-time collaborator Tetsuya Komuro also ceased. A compilation album of Suzuki's tracks, Fun for Fan, was released on 30 May 2001. It reached number one on the Oricon charts, despite the fact that Sony had ceased all public promotions and removed her back catalogue from stores.
2003–2004: Independent activities
In 2003, Suzuki negotiated an out-of-court agreement with Sony. Her contract with the label was scheduled to end in December 2004. Eiji Yamada was subsequently fined; government officials eventually linked to the scandal to former Education Minister Takashi Kosugi and two other legislators, who allegedly received 34 million yen in unofficial payments. About this period, Suzuki herself has said "I really didn't know what was going on, there were many lies were being thrown about in the media. For people to hear things and believe that to be the truth was a surprise, and I suddenly realized the kind of world I was in. What kept me going was the thought of one day being able to tell the truth myself."
Following the blacklisting, Suzuki changed her stage name from 鈴木あみ (kanji/hiragana) to 鈴木亜美. In April 2004, the singer found that "adding a CD to a book, such as those found in language-teaching books, would be a possible alternative" for being able to independently release her work. Suzuki later debuted a photobook called Tsuyoi Kizuna that included a CD single, published by Tokyo-based Bungeishunjū. The photobook went to sell over 150,000 copies, reaching number one of best-selling non-fiction books in Japan. In August of the same year, she released another single titled "Forever Love", this time on her own independent label Amity. The release reached number twenty-one on the Oricon chart, and number one in Oricon's Indies Singles Chart. In addition, a four-track mini concert DVD titled 2004 Summer Fly Hight: Ami Shower was released on 17 November.
Through October and November Suzuki had performances at various festivals, and in December she began the Ami's Love for You – Live tour. During its final concert, Suzuki officially announced her transfer to Avex, and her comeback to the major music industry.
On 1 January 2005, Suzuki's website under the Avex label was opened. Her first song under her new label, "Hopeful", was released digitally on 9 February, and on 25 March her first physical single, titled "Delightful", was released. Her second single under the Avex label, "Eventful", was released on 25 May. "Negaigoto", was later released on 17 August; its b-side, "Times", was used as the theme of a TV commercial for N's Street Online Shopping. During August, her new official Mobile Fan Club Ami Sapuri was opened, and Suzuki announced that a live tour would start in the following months. That summer, the singer also participated in A-Nation for the first time.
Suzuki released her first studio album in five years, Around the World, on 12 October 2005. In November, celebrating the Japanese 55th Anniversary of Snoopy, Suzuki released a single titled "Happiness is...", which was sold exclusively at the Snoopy Life Design Happiness is the 55th Anniversary event held in Tokyo. On 7 December, Suzuki released her fifth Avex single, "Little Crystal". On 31 December, Suzuki was awarded with the Gold Prize for Best New Artist at the 47th Japan Record Awards.
On 8 February 2006, Suzuki released her sixth Avex single, "Fantastic", which was used as third opening theme of the TV anime series Blackjack. On 29 March, her first remix album, titled Amix World, was released. The album included remixes made by Japanese and international producers, including Space Cowboy, Clazziquai Project, Jonathan Peters and Ferry Corsten. For her fifth single "Alright!", released on 17 May, she distanced herself from her previous trance-influenced dance material and explored a more mainstream sound. Suzuki's eighth single on Avex, "Like a Love?", was released 26 July 2006. In October of the same year, Suzuki debuted as a movie actress in Rainbow Song, directed by Naoto Kumazawa and produced by Shunji Iwai.