This is an artist with a sad past.

Yo Hitoto (一青窈 Hitoto Yō, born September 20, 1976) is a Japanese pop singer. Her mother is Japanese and her father is Taiwanese. She can speak three languages: Japanese, English, and standard Mandarin Chinese. Tae Hitoto is her older sister. Her name Hitoto is not her real surname, it’s her mother’s maiden name. She changed her name when she came to Japan. Her father died when she was really young and her mother died when she was 16.

She completed kindergarten in Taipei before moving to Japan, and she has lived there ever since. She graduated from the department of Environmental Information of Keio University and participated in the Keio University a cappella group, K.O.E., during her days as a student. She used to have live concerts on the street with fellow K.O.E. members before she met Youichi Kitayama, a member of the famous Japanese a cappella group the Gospellers. Mr. Kitayama encouraged Yo Hitoto to compose her own music. Before this encounter, she had been a backup singer for many other artists..

To date, Yo Hitoto has released eleven single CDs and four albums.

Yo Hitoto’s debut single “Morai naki” propelled her to stardom, and her songs enjoy wide popularity. Her clear voice and singing style, which is compared to the style of folk songs of Okinawa, attract many fans.

In Taiwan she is known for singing a Taiwanese folk song, which was included in her second album, as part of a Suntory beer commercial.

Yo Hitoto performs a song at the finale of the game, Dynasty Warriors 3.

In 2003 she debuted in her first film Café Lumière, as the lead character Yoko.

Her latest best of album sold over 700,000 copies(Platinum status in Japan), becoming her best selling album yet.

Song: Tentoumushi

Song: Dogwood

Song: Tears stream down and fall

Chitose Hajime (元ちとせ, Hajime Chitose?, born January 5, 1979) is a singer from Japan. She is from Amami Ōshima and sings in a style particular to that region, with distinctive falsetto effects. Because of this, it is said that her voice has a relaxing effect that has been observed in electroencephalograms taken from the brains of people listening to her singing.

Chitose Hajime was recognized as a gifted folk singer at a young age. She won many folk song competitions, released two traditional folk albums on an indie label, and was approached by numerous record labels. She decided to study to become a beautician instead of pursuing music. However, Hajime had severe allergic reactions to many of the chemicals used by beauticians. She withdrew from school, and seriously considered a music career.

In 2001, she released a self titled mini-album on the indie label Office Augusta. The album was covers of older songs, but was so well received that Hajime was pushed to release another mini-album. In August 2001, Chitose released her second mini-album with Augusta Records entitled Kotonoha (コトノハ, Kotonoha?). This release featured 5 original tracks.

In 2002 she released her first major label single on Epic Records – “Wadatsumi no Ki” (ワダツミの木, “Wadatsumi no Ki”?). It was the third highest selling single of the year behind only Hikaru Utada’s “traveling”, and Ayumi Hamasaki’s “H”. Three months later, she released a brand new single, “Kimi wo Omō” (君ヲ想フ, “Kimi wo Omō”?). While also very popular, it was not nearly the success that her first single was, although it did help to cement her as a permanent artist.

Her first major album, Hainumikaze (ハイヌミカゼ, Hainumikaze?), followed later in the year. It sold 800,000 copies, charted for 57 weeks, and was the 16th highest selling album of the year.

She released 3 more singles before her second major album, Nomad Soul (ノマド・ソウル, nomado souru?), was released in 2003. Shortly after a concert tour, and the release of a live album and DVD in 2004, Hajime announced that she would be taking time away from the music scene to get married, and have a child. Her first child miscarried, but she successfully gave birth to a girl on January 20, 2005.

She returned to the music industry in November 2005 with the single “Kataritsugu Koto” (語り継ぐこと, “Kataritsugu Koto”?), the ending theme for the anime BLOOD+. The single was a hit, reaching #12 on the Oricon charts. She followed this success with her next come-back single, “Haru no Katami” (春のかたみ, “Haru no Katami”?), the ending theme for the anime AYAKASHI – Japanese Classic Horror. This single sold 6050 copies in its first week, and remained on the charts for 7 weeks total. A third single was released before her next album. The single, “Ao no Requiem” (青のレクイエム, “Ao no Requiem”?), was the theme song for the Studio GAGA film Hatsukoi. It featured 1 extra track, and charted for 3 weeks. The following week, Hajime released her third original major album, Hanadairo (ハナダイロ, Hanadairo?). The album was available in both a regular edition, and a limited edition. The limited edition featured a 13th track, “Shinda Onna no Ko” (死んだ女の子, “Shinda Onna no Ko”?) with Ryuichi Sakamoto), as well as a DVD containing the music videos for “Kataritsugu Koto”, and “Haru no Katami”.

Song: Megumi No Ame

Song: Miyori no Mori

Song: kono Machi

No video clip for this song but it is the soundtrack of Last Friends series.

Rina Aiuchi (愛内 里菜, Aiuchi Rina, born July 31, 1980 in Sakai, Osaka, Japan) is a female Japanese popular music singer. She writes her own lyrics to her songs and now self-produces. She is currently affiliated with the Giza Studio recording label.

As a child, Rina enjoyed singing for others, and put on shows for her mother. At the age of 5, she began musical training on the piano, becoming the class pianist for her kindergarten class and elementary school.

Rina made her debut on March 23, 2000, with the release of the single, “Close To Your Heart”. She released three more singles that year, and her title “Koi wa Thrill, Shock, Suspense (恋はスリル、ショック、サスペンス, Koi wa Thrill, Shock, Suspense?)” was used as an opening theme for the anime series Detective Conan, and made a great hit for the first time in her career. In 2001, Rina’s first album, “Be Happy”, that includes “Koi wa Thrill, Shock, Suspense”, was released. Since then, she came to appear on TV, and became very popular in Japan. In 2002, Rina’s second album “POWER OF WORDS” was released, and it is the most popular album in her work. “POWER OF WORDS” reached the top of the Oricon charts and sold over 540,000 copies. Her 3rd Album “A.I.R.” did the same, reaching the #1 spot in the Oricon charts again.

Her singles have since been used in other anime series, as well as video games. “MIRACLE” was used for the 5th ending theme of MAR and “Bara ga Saku, Bara ga Chiru” was used for the opening theme of Souten no Ken. Her song, “CODE CRUSH”, was chosen to be the opening theme to Capcom’s Rockman X7, helping her single “Over Shine” and her 3rd album gain popularity in 2003. Also, with the hit of her 13th single (and one of her most famous tune) “FULL JUMP”, she was invited to perform on the stage of “NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen”, the biggest concert event in Japan. Her popularity has been stable ever since, earning her 4th Album “PLAYGIRL” and 5th Album “DELIGHT” constant success. In May 21, 2008 was release her 6th Album “TRIP”, two years after “DELIGHT”. Once again, the album reached the Top 10 in the Oricom chart.

Rina is known for her wide voice range when singing, but her speaking voice is high pitched.

Song:Mint

Song: Orange Night

Song: Dream x Dream

Dreams Come True (ドリームズ・カム・トゥルー, Dorīmuzu Kamu Tourū?) is an influential music duo from Japan, formed in 1988.They are renowned for their melodies and poetic songwriting, and have sold more than 50 million records worldwide.

Dreams Come True was started by Masato Nakamura, and is fronted by Miwa Yoshida, who is the band’s main singer-songwriter. They were originally a three-piece band with Takahiro Nishikawa on keyboards, until he departed in 2002. The band is commonly known as DCT (Dreams Come True) and sometimes referred to as “Dorikamu” (ドリカム, “Dorikamu”?) by their fans. Dreams Come True released their self-titled debut album in 1989, which sold more than one million copies.

In 1993 they recorded “Winter Song” for the opening theme of the Tristar Pictures movie “Sleepless in Seattle” and the following year recorded the song “Eternity” for the animated film “The Swan Princess” by New Line Cinema. In Japan, they recorded many theme songs for TBS television shows, and it wasn’t long before they caught the attention of the Walt Disney company, and were hired to create various musical-tunes for their television shows, and attractions at the Tokyo Disney Resort. In 2001, they composed the theme song for the Japanese release on the Disney film Atlantis, and Miwa was hired to be the voice actor for the character Audrey Rocio Ramirez in the Japanese version.

Hey! You! Jump!

Eternity

Official website

B’z (ビーズ, Bīzu?) is a Japanese hard rock duo comprised of Tak Matsumoto (松本 孝弘, Matsumoto Takahiro?, composition, guitar) and Koshi Inaba (稲葉 浩志 Inaba Kōshi, lyrics, vocals).

Since their inception, they have sold more than 75 million records in Japan alone. Under the recommendation of Steve Vai, B’z were the first artists from Asia to have their handprints and signatures put up in the Hollywood’s RockWalk.

Song: Giri2x Chop
Song: Super Love Song

Maki Goto (後藤 真希, Gotō Maki?, born September 23, 1985 in Edogawa, Tokyo, Japan) is a J-pop singer and a former soloist of Hello! Project and member of Morning Musume. She has performed in numerous Hello! Project subgroups such as Petitmoni, Akagumi 4, 7-nin Matsuri, Sexy 8, Gomattou and Nochiura Natsumi.

In 1999, Maki Goto was selected as the only member for the 3rd generation of Morning Musume. Their first single after Goto joined, “Love Machine” sold over a million copies, over nine times the amount of copies they had sold for their previous single. During her time in Morning Musume she was one of the founding members of Pucchi Moni and she started a solo singing career in 2001 with the single “Ai no Bakayarō” (愛のバカやろう, “Ai no Bakayarō”?). Until her graduation from Morning Musume she was one of the leading vocalists in most of the songs released. Post-graduation she has mostly concentrated on her solo career and occasionally on limited time Hello! Project units such as Gomattou, Nochiura Natsumi, and DEF.DIVA. As time has passed, she has increasingly concentrated on acting in addition to singing. She has also performed at the Asia song festival 2005 in Pusan, Korea to represent Japan.

In early 2007, Goto was chosen to be a member of Morning Musume Tanjō 10 Nen Kinentai (モーニング娘。誕生10年記念隊, Morning Musume Tanjō 10 Nen Kinentai?)—a unit created to celebrate Morning Musume’s 10th anniversary as a group. Morning Musume Tanjō 10 Nen Kinentai also consists of Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Risa Niigaki and Koharu Kusumi. Their single, Bokura ga Ikiru My Asia (僕らが生きるMy Asia, Bokura ga Ikiru My Asia?), was released on January 24, 2007.

Her seventeenth single, Secret (シークレット, Secret?), was released on April 11, 2007. On September 19, 2007, Goto’s fourth original album How to Use Sexy was released.

On October 20, 2007, Goto’s younger brother and former member of EE Jump idol group Yūki Goto (祐樹, Yūki Goto?) was arrested on the grounds he and two accomplices, aged 18 and 19, had broken into a construction site in Edogawa Ward in Tokyo back on July 15, 2007 and made off with 80 reels of electric cable worth approximately 1 million yen. According to Flash magazine, Goto and one of her brother’s accomplices had been romantically involved for some time, after the two met at Yūki’s wedding in 2005. Due to the circumstances surrounding the robbery scandal, they haven’t been in contact with each other.

On October 28, 2007, during the last concert of her G-EmotionII ~How to Use Sexy~ tour, Goto suddenly announced to fans that she would be graduating from Hello! Project, though she was also leaving UpFront Agency completely. Her graduation was said to be that she was overworked and overly stressed, causing her health problems. She also had different ideas of the direction of her career than what her agency had planned.[5] Because of her graduation, she would not be able to participate in the Hello! Project 2008 Winter concert tour, previously said to be because of “scheduling conflicts”.

Goto’s official blog reopened on March 25, 2008. Over the course of several entries, she revealed that she was in Los Angeles, California, taking singing and dancing lessons.

Song: Uwasa No Sexy Guy

Song: Secret

Emyli (エミリ, Emyli? b. April 23, 1988) is a Japanese pop singer. Her debut album Flower of Life was released from BMG Japan label in 2003. Since the release of her first album, she has performed with popular acts such as m-flo and Shinhwa. She is currently attending Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan, along with Crystal Kay, and Beni Arashiro.

Trivia:
* Emyli’s vocal style and strength has often been compared to United States Artist, Christina Aguilera.
* Performed with M-flo at the Beat Space Nine Budokan tour in 2006 and at the Cosmicolor Tour at Yokohama Arena in 2007.

Check out Emyli’s official site: Emyli

Marié Christina Digby (pronounced /mæɹi’eɪ ‘dɪgbi/ Ma-ree-AY Dig-Bee) (born April 16, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist. She is best known for her acoustic cover version of Rihanna’s No. 1 hit “Umbrella”, which attracted attention on YouTube in 2007. The song was subsequently played on the radio station STAR 98.7, was featured on the third season opening episode of the MTV show The Hills, and peaked at #10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Digby performed the song on the late night talk show Last Call with Carson Daly on August 2, 2007.

Digby’s first official single, “Say It Again”, was released to radio stations on January 18, 2008. Her debut album, Unfold, was released on April 8, 2008.

Marié is half Japanese and half Irish-American and is incredibly talented with a nice pretty face to go with. Strumming on her guitar belting out familiar pop tunes in her own version made her the popular starlet that she is today. SHe is certain not just another pretty face, an unconventional artist to watch out for. :)

Song: Umbrella

Original song: Say it Again

Original song: Fool

Digby’s MySpace Page

This is not the usual J-Pop stuff you might be use to listening to but a tradition while viewing sakura blossoms no less.