For Asian artists, there are a few:

Maaya Sakamoto
There is a little pocket on my heart, and it is closed with a whimsical button and a colourful patch with large stitches. My love for Maaya lives in there, and I keep it to myself, and a select few people who are very close to me.

After Maaya, there are many who I love now, then, and going on. They fall in no particular order, as their importance and influence on me vary during my state of being:
Sa Ding Ding
Hajime Chitose
Utada Hikaru
HALCALI

These follow somewhere close after:
Ayumi Hamasaki
Koda Kumi
Bonnie Pink
Lee Jung Hyun
Kagrra,
Takasugi Satomi
Core of Soul/Love

For those outside of Asia, there are some that helped raise me, like The Chieftains, Elton John and James Galway. For that, they are given eternal respect.
The artists that I discovered as my own personality and taste developed would be:
VNV Nation
Faith and the Muse (although I've grown apart from their newer material)
Afro Celt Sound System
Sam Sparro
Kate Havnevik

and these are just the ones that really have on-going use in my musical diet.

1. Koda Kumi
2.Ayumi Hamasaki
3. Lily Allen
4.Mika Nakashima
5. Prince
6.moumoon
7. Metric
8. Beyonce
9. Rihanna
10. Crystal Kay

1. Utada Hikaru
2. Hikaru Utada
3. Hikki
4. Utada
5 ... mhmmmm ... maybe Utada Hikaru ... i don't know ...

... i also like ...

Namie Amuro, BoA and KOKIA ... :-)

Forever?

For musical artists, I'm defining 'forever' as 'willing to get a tattoo for that artist' to show your dedication'.

So, as of right now, Ayumi Hamasaki is the only one.

Ayumi Hamasaki, of course!
Other artists that I love and follow are PUFFY, Utada and Tomoko Kawase and YUKI, but I'm not fanatic for them, just for Ayu.

Top 3
Nana Mizuki
Ayumi Hamasaki
Globe

But I also really like :
Utada Hikaru
L'Arc~en~Ciel
Flow
Masami Okui
Akina Nakamori
Angela
Namie Amuro
Trf
T.M.Revolution
Jam Project

#1 - **** **** I never tell my absolute favorite of all (its a secret)

The Neighbourhood
Ayumi Hamasaki
David Bowie
Ellie Goulding
Florence + the Machine
Utada Hikaru
Metric
Sa DingDing
Bat for Lashes
M83
Anna Tsuchiya
Namie Amuro
Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs

This is just a short list of my top 100.

Once upon a time Ayu was my number one, but things have drastically changed since then. Currently, my list looks like:

1. Koda Kumi
2. Kana Nishino
3. Miliyah Kato

Those are my top three. I also reaaaaaally love Miray and Sifow, but they are no longer active. From there I like a lot of other singers, such as Jamosa, Lecca, Shion, Shoko Nakagawa, Miyavi, Mini, Perfume, Capsule, 2NE1, Back-On and Big Bang. Ayu... honestly these days I don't care for anything she's doing for a few years, but I love her past stuff so much I will never abandon her.

And of course there are the non-Asian singers I love.

Ayumi Hamasaki is number one.

then Eiko Shimamiya (goddess) and Utada Hikaru

then JASMINE

My favorite band is MUCC

I also loved many other v-kei bands once upon a time and I'd like to catch up on their careers so I can add them back to this list.

Another artist who has enough amazing songs:
MELL

I don't even know you, but I'm so happy to have found another Maaya fan. :luv2 I saw her live last year in Dec, I died. My review is in the Maaya Sakamoto thread if you want to have a look. :)

I hold Maaya and Ayu on the same level, they are my goddess and my queen respectively. Though I've been into Maaya since 1999, and Ayu since 2006, so sometimes the balance shifts.

After those two, my other top TOP artists would be:


Namie Amuro
Koda Kumi
Kana Nishino
MAA
BoA
BABYMETAL
Utada Hikaru
2NE1
BIG BANG
Gackt


Other artists I follow but don't jizz my pants when they release something new:

SHINEE
Arashi
the Gazette
ONE OK ROCK
EXO
Girl's Generation
KARA
Miliyah Kato
Perfume
Ai Otsuka
AILI

*gives you a great big hug that slowly starts to strangle you*
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, you saw her live? i would have died. completely. uuuuuuuuuuugh :thud so beyond jealous of you.
the dvds/blu-rays can only get me so close to that experience. im going to go read your review...