Style and influence

Because of the widespread influence of her music, Hamasaki has often been compared to Madonna, whom Hamasaki cites as one of her influences, along with soul musicians Babyface and En Vogue and rock bands Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. She also admires Michelle Branch, Kid Rock, Joan Osborne, Seiko Matsuda, Rie Miyazawa, and Keiko Yamada; these diverse influences have led to the variety of her own music.
Having released over 100 songs (not including remixes), Hamasaki's musical style has changed over time; her music spans styles including dance, metal, R&B, progressive rock, pop, and classical. She uses different instruments and techniques including piano, orchestra, gospel choirs, guitars, traditional Japanese strings, music boxes, and effects such as yells, claps, and scratching. She frequently employs others to compose; as she has explained, "I'm not a professional; I lack even basic knowledge about writing music." However, when writing "M", none of the melodies composed by her staff appealed to her, and she decided to compose. Thinking that this let her get closer to what she had in mind.
Hamasaki is often involved in the artistic direction of her live performances; as a result, they are often lavish productions that use a variety of props, extravagant costumes, and choreographed dances. She has used large video screens, fireworks, simulated rain drops, trick stage floors, and suspended devices. As with her live performances, she is involved in the artistic direction of her promotional videos and tries to convey the videos the meanings or feelings of their respective songs. The themes of the videos are varied; she has made "sad and fragile" or "emotional" videos ("Momentum", "Endless Sorrow"), " "refreshing summer" videos ("Blue Bird", "Fairyland"), and "humorous" videos ("Evolution", "Angel's Song", "Beautiful Fighters"). Some of the videos are lavish as well: those of "Fairyland", "My Name's Women", and "Jewel" are among the top twenty or so most expensive music videos, making Hamasaki the only non-anglophone to hold such a distinction.