I'm going to repeat this, for all people who think to include Ayu as one of their five in future.

Ayu can not be one of the five.

1.Namie Amuro-Her whole Queen of Hip-Pop album, I was so curious as to what she sounded like so I gave her a try b/c I was hearing so many good things about her, and people were giving that album at least 4/5 stars so I dl it and now I'm a huge Namie fan.

2.BoA-Valenti which I say is one of her best songs got me to like her a lot, and her song Valent (korean) got me into liking korean music like Wheesung, Kang Ta, Se7en and that's it so far.

3.Koda Kumi-Selfish, my step-brother said he saw this music video and was so curious that when he finished he saw the sexiest woman in the world dancing extremely naughty this also including Shake It, but Selfish was the one that came on first, and that's why I'm a Koda fan now.

4.Daichi Miura-Again Like Namie I was hearing good things about him, and I'm still waiting for his pv's but my three favorites from his album are I-N-G, Southern Cross, and Word!(love it!).

5.DAI-Raven, wow that song was just so beautiful it made plenty of room for more DAI, and again I kept on hearing so many good things I request songs, and someone posted that Raven was one of their best so I dl'd it and what do you know, now they're one of my favorite bands.

people who posted ayu please edit your posts , or if requested by the maker of the thread I may split them in to the trash.

hitomi - SAMURAI DRIVE. [ long time ago it was recommended to me by a friend. a great way to get into hitomi's music :) ]

Koda Kumi - Real Emotion [ FFX-2 :P ]

move - Gamble Rumble [ I came across it kinda randomnly on WinMX long time ago ]

EXILE - Your Eyes only [ Ayuready performance with Ayu ]

M-flo - How you like me now? [ from j-fan.com . back in the day when the they where still doing their j-pop reviews regularly I was addicted to that site :D ]

Ayumi Hamasaki - About You

Namie Amuro - Want me Want me

Koda Kumi - Hot Stuff feat. KM MARKIT

BOA - Atlantis Princess

Mika Nakashima - Sakura iro mau koro (or something like that)

Namie Amuro - Want me Want me
[On German TV one year ago, made me an J-POP fan and is still my alltime Namie favoruite]

Koda Kumi - Real Emotion
[I think you all know...it was on FFX-2, but didn´t know it was her first]

Ai Otsuka - Kingyo Hanabi
[My favoruite J-POP Ballad...and one of Ai´s best]

GACKT - Mizerablé
[One of most best GACKT songs^^]

Ayumi Hamasaki - STEP you
[I´m glad now that this was my first because I don´t like the stuff before much^^]

BoA - Rock with you
[Love this song]

Koda Kumi - Crazy 4 U
Mika Nakashima - Love Addict
Hitomi Shimatani - Angelus
Nobuchika Eri - Voice
Gackt - Mizerable

Ai Otsuka - Amaenbo

I looked at the Oricon charts and I saw a pretty new artist I didn't hear about (yet!) with 2 singles in the top 10 (Amaenbo and Sakuranbo). I decided to download "Amaenbo" and I liked it a lot. It's not one of my current Ai-chan favourites though.

Kumi Koda - Cutie Honey

I went on a website with tons of CMs. I downloaded the "j-pop cm pack" which had CMs of Ayu, Namie, and of course, Kumi's LOVE & HONEY single CM. I thought she looked awesome in the CM, and the song was so great. I still love it even today, it's one of my KK favourites.

Every Little Thing - Time goes by

I heard this song on Music Station quite a few times and I thought it sounded pretty. I downloaded it, loved it and fell in love with ELT. Nothing more to add.

Morning Musume - Roman ~MY DEAR BOY~

Gosh, I loved this song so much when it came out! It sounded so fresh and brand new. (and it was!) I found it on a j-pop mp3 rotation website. I thought it was SO catchy. Today I don't think it's as awesome as I used to think but I like it :)

aiko - Hanakaze

Back in 2004, a friend of mine introduced me to aiko. (He's akatsuki here at AHS :P) He sent me aiko's brand new single "Hanakaze" (at the time) and I found her voice totally gorgeous. I became a fan instantly =)

How funny, I discovered all of these artists in 2004. *sigh* Time goes by so quickly :P

mine are:

Nakashima Mika- "Yuki no Hana"
BoA- "QUINCY"
Koda Kumi- "you"
Otsuka Ai- "Kingyo Hanabi"
Utada Hikaru- "First Love"
-----------------------------------
(my 1st ayu song was "CAROLS")

Amuro Namie - Something 'bout the Kiss
Miura Daichi - Keep it goin' On
Tamaki Nami - Realize
Kat-tun - Change
Kumi Koda - Real Emotion

Haha, we have a similar list ^.^

Hmm, let's see. I gotta pick 5 artists first :P

Gackt - Vanilla

I wanted to try out some male Japanese singers, and had heard lots about gackt so i checked online. First song I found was Vanilla, and I HATED it completely. I deleted it and waited another 6 months before listening to him again :laugh. I still don't think it's that good a song even now.

BoA - Number One

Lol same as Sven's comment

X-Japan - Sadistic Desire

Like with Vanilla, i HATED X-Japan's Sadistic Desire, i thought Toshi couldn't sing and just disliked the whole package. Fastforward a few months and I'd become a huge fan of the band and i actually love that song now :laugh

Bonnie Pink - It's Gonna Rain

I heard this on the end of Rurouni Kenshin (i think it was the second or third ending song). I loved Bonnies Voice and still do today, she's one of my favourite singers ^^

Noriko Sakai - Pure

Nori-P, the FIRST EVER Jpop singer i listened to, which would in effect make this the first Jpop song i ever listened to. Such an excellent song from such an excellent singer. Still found floating around on cd's scattered throughout my house ^^

1- Ayumi Hamasaki: SEASONS
2- hitomi: Japanese girl
3- Namie Amuro: GIRL TALK
4- Shiina Ringo: Honnou
5- Hitomi Yaida: Over The Distance

I kept a list like this on my old computer before it got wiped out.

Utada Hikaru - Can you keep a secret?
Gackt - Lu:na
Nakashima Mika - Helpless Rain
Amuro Namie - NEVER END
HYDE/L'arc-en-ciel - Shallow Sleep

Also for the record, my first Ayu song was M back in 2001, due to the fact that I got into Hikki first and they said Ayu was her rival and that she was a diva.

Utada Hikaru - Automatic (this was the VERY FIRST J-pop song I had heard)
Amuro Namie - Wishing on the Same Star
Nakashima Mika - Love Addict
HALCALI - Electric Sensei (I didn't even know who they were when I heard this song)
hiro - Eternal Place

Utada Hikaru: Simple and Clean
The remix version was really good and catchy. I was impressed with her English, and this was a very popular song.

Namie Amuro: Wowa
The PV was really cute and addictive.

Hitomi Shimatani: Perseus
Watched the PV, which was really cool. I enjoyed the Oriental touch to it. Beautiful lyrics, too.

Koda Kumi: Real Emotion
Never bothered to listen to it after a long time. I loved Kumi's strong voice and i liked the genre.

BoA: Do the Motion
Saw a clip of the PV at BoA's official website and i liked how well she danced. The spanish-like music was enjoyable.

&

Ayumi Hamasaki: Independent
I fell in love w/ the chorus and the intro w/ everyone clapping.

BoA - Amazing Kiss
Namie Amuro - a walk in the park
Koda Kumi - 1000 words
Hitomi Shimatani - ANGELUS
Ai Otsuka - Sakuranbo

I know we aren't suppose to but just for the heck of it
Ayu - Depend on you

Kumi Koda - Selfish..saw the vid fell in love 2 months later i saw her preform it live ^___^

Namie Amuro - Put em up. My fav song by her..a friend gave it to me

Ai Otsuka - Kingyo Hanabi...still makes me cry.

Miyavi - Ashita genki ni naare - SO CUTE..instantly fell in love with miyavi

Gackt - Black Stone was the first one i liked..hear Oasis first
I have to add se7en i love him..Hikari did it..been a fan ever since

*dont kill me..but i first heard Dearest from Ayumi..I HATED IT..still do...but the first song i liked was step you..now im a fan*

Tackey & Tsubasa - Sotsugyou ~Sayonara wa Ashita no Tame ni~
Morning Musume - Do it! Now
Utada Hikaru - First Love
Shibasaki Kou - Ikutsuka no Sora
Toriyama Misaki - Kawaita Mune

Koda Kumi- feel

I heard this song, and at first I didn't really like it. I thought it sounded like evry other R&B song I've ever heard. But now, I love it!

BoA- VALENTI

I heard this song, and I was blown away! After I heard this song, I had to hear more from her!!

Do As Infinity- Tsubasa no Keikaku

When I heard this song, I loved it!! But it sounded really pop-ish to me, so I assumed that Do As Infinity was a pop band! How silly of me!!

Namie Amuro- White Light

I instantly fell in love with this song the first time I heard it!! I thought it was the best Christmas song I've ever heard

Ai Otsuka- PLANETARIUM

I thought this song was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! I thought Ai's voice was perfect for this kind of song, and it sounded so sad, and I just thought it was beautiful