Mai Kuraki

Mai Kuraki became one of the biggest J-pop stars of the 2000s, right up there with Ayumi Hamasaki and Hikaru Utada. Like Hamasaki, she writes her own lyrics, and as commercial achievements go, she holds the record for most consecutive Top Ten singles in Japan (she's had over 30 of them). Her early material showed a strong R&B influence -- she decided to be a musician at an early age after becoming acquainted with the music of Whitney Houston and the dance moves of Michael Jackson -- but later she drifted toward mainstream pop. Her good looks never hurt her career, either. Kuraki's story of success was as easy as pie -- when still in high school, she submitted a demo to Giza Studio and got signed. The label was so impressed with her that it tried to market her in the U.S. first: her professional debut single, "Baby I Like" (1999) was recorded in Cybersound Studio in Boston under the name Mai K. It flopped, but label execs realized how her potential could be applied, and moved her back to Japan, where she debuted with the single "Love, Day After Tomorrow" (1999), which turned out to be a chart-topping million-seller. Two other singles, "Stay by My Side" and "Secret of My Heart" (both 2000), sold over 900,000 copies each, charting at number one and number two respectively ("Secret of My Heart" lost to Masaharu Fukuyama's biggest hit "Sakurasaka"), and her debut album, Delicious Way, shifted 3.4 million units and became the top-selling Japanese album of 2000.

Kuraki never topped these results, but neither did she fizzle out after the debut. Her singles off the second album, Perfect Crime (2001), sold 200,000-460,000 copies each, and the LP itself rose to number one and sold 1.3 million copies. Her 2002 album, Fairy Tale, also scored the top place on the Oricon chart, and the single "Winter Bells" (2002) served as the theme to the popular anime series Detective Conan. In 2002, Kuraki also released the English album Secret of My Heart on Giza USA, although it didn't sell any better that her previous American single. On the other hand, the 2003 Japanese full-length If I Believe upheld her number one tradition, and in the same year, Kuraki also did a duet with the Singapore star Sun Yan Zi and provided a song for Hit Parade, a rock project of Tak Matsumoto of the legendary band B'z. In 2004, there was a break in new studio releases, but the compilation Wish You the Best sold 956,000 copies, and besides, in 2005 Kuraki completed her higher education, graduating from a private university in Kyoto. The albums Fuse of Love (2005) and Diamond Wave (2006) followed, and although they sold fewer copies than her previous records, Kuraki staged an overseas expansion in 2007, appearing at huge music events in mainland China, South Korea, and Taiwan, where she also held her first proper overseas solo concert. In between these travels, Kuraki also switched labels, from Giza to Northern Music, which handled her 2008 album One Life which charted outside of the Top Ten, climbing only to number 14. Its follow-up, Touch Me!, came out in 2009 on Northern Music as well and rose to number one despite moderate sales.

Hikaru Utada

She's "That Japanese girl" that you're going to be hearing a lot from, soon.

"Utada" is her family name, and music is the family business. Born in Manhattan to a traditional-Japanese-style-singer Mom and musician/producer Dad, she was flying frequently between New York and Tokyo before she had learned to walk. Now, 21 years old and bilingual, Utada prizes her unstable, nomadic upbringing which has instilled in her an open yet analytic mind, and the confidence to quickly adapt to any new environment.

To Utada, both metropolises are home. Then perhaps the recording studio could be called her third. There she went after school to do homework, take naps under huge speakers, and watch her parents recording music.

As naturally as a shoemaker's son takes up his father's tools, she composed and recorded her first song at age 11. At 13, she recorded her first solo album in English---she had written and composed most of the songs. A year later, a music producer at Toshiba EMI casually asked her if she was capable of writing Japanese songs. Her answer would become the first recording for her debut album, which has sold over 9 million copies since its release in 1999.

Let me guess; that number either impressed you, or it totally turned you off with the thought that she's another one of those big foreign acts that try to break the US market and can't even cause a stir. Now, let me bet, that when you hear Utada's music, you will listen hard because it is nothing like what you expected, maybe sense a smile creeping up your cheeks, and after drawing your personal opinion, look forward with wonder to how the rest of America is going to take it.

"I'm always troubled when people ask me to classify my music," says Utada. "I try to make GOOD, original music; something entertaining, different, memorable, well-crafted, and worth paying money for. Sometimes I'm as pop as The Police; sometimes as fierce as The Mars Volta, and I always, always enjoy being humorous and seductive."

In Japan, Utada quickly acquired a notoriety for sparse media exposure due to academic priorities (like... high school!). She is currently on leave from Columbia University, opting the intensity of her career over campus life. "I realized that I already knew exactly what I wanted to do. And so for the first time, I consciously chose music as a full time profession. Maybe I'll go back to University when I'm a grandmother." For now she prefers doing most of her work alone with her laptop and keyboard, sequencing and arranging, composing, and writing lyrics.

"When my music starts playing on airwaves and clubs, I want everybody to notice and say, 'Hey, this is that Japanese girl, right?!' " ...But how will we recognize her at first, with just her music? Take it from Utada who says, "I'll make sure that you know it's me."

B'z

B’z is the most popular rock group in all of Japan. They have produced a consecutive string of number one hits since their fifth single was released in 1990. B’z consists of Tak Matsumoto
(Guitar) and Koshi Inaba
(Vocals). Their supporting band has even included renowned bassist Billy Sheehan. The current supporting line-up consists of Shane Gaalaas (Drums), Akira Onozuka (Keys) and Akihito Tokunaga (Bass) and Shinichiro Ohta (Guitars) of doa. Both members of B’z have also pursued solo careers in addition to performing with the band. B’z made their record debut with だからその手を離して (Dakara Sono Te wo Hanashite) on September 21, 1988. Their first big hit was from the Bad Communication mini album, which was released the next year. They quickly became one of the most popular rock bands in Japan. In their 20 year career span, B’z has had great success with 41 consecutive singles which topped at #1 on the release day on the Oricon charts (including Shoudou). This is a national record. B’z is also the best-selling Japanese musical act in history, with 75,000,000 - 94,000,000 records sold worldwide. Their latest album is entitled “Magic” and has been released on November 18th, 2009. On September 22, 2002, B’z played their first live show in the United States, called B’z LIVE-GYM 2002 ‘Rock n’ California Roll’. They have also played with overseas musicians such as Aerosmith
, Pat Torpey
(Mr. Big), Brian Tichy (Ball, Billy Idol), Fingers (BALL), Steve Vai
and more.