Singer Hamasaki Ayumi (27) has become Japan’s most successful female pop artist. With her 39th single, “Startin’/Born to Be…” making No.1 in the Oricon charts, she now has 26 chart toppers, one more than ’80s diva Matsuda Seiko. It’s also her 14th No.1 single in a row, dating back to “Free & Easy” in 2002. She’s also tops in overall single sales with almost 20 million, and in Top 10 singles with 37. Ayu is currently in the middle of a nationwide arena tour that includes 30 shows in 14 cities.
• Meanwhile, one of Ayu’s main rivals these days is doing well with her latest album. Chart topper “Best – Second Session” is Koda Kumi’s second hits collection and includes all twelve singles that she released over the last few months. With sales of over 930,000, it is guaranteed to become a million seller.
• Okinawan singer Chinen Rina (25) has given birth to a baby boy. It’s the first child for her and model Nakamura Kentaro (22), who she married last August. Another new mother with a baby boy is Katsu Keiko (39), former weather announcer on TV Asahi’s “News Station.” She married the editor of a major weekly magazine in 2004.