Mai Kuraki is a Japanese pop and R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. After releasing her US debut single "Baby I Like" in 1999, Kuraki signed with Giza Studio and released her Japanese debut single "Love, Day After Tomorrow" in 1999. In 2000, she released her debut album, Delicious Way, which debuted at number-one and sold over 2.2 million copies in its first week. The album has spawned four top-three singles, "Love, Day After Tomorrow", "Stay by My Side", "Secret of My Heart", and "Never Gonna Give You Up". Eventually, the album sold over 3.5 million copies nationwide and became the best-selling album in Japan in 2000, and has been the ninth best-selling album in Japan of all-time.
Miho Komatsu is a former Japanese singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Kobe, Japan, Komatsu began her career as a songwriter, writing "Kono Machi de Kimi to Kurashitai" for Field of View. In May 1997, she released her debut single "Nazo", which served as the theme song to the Japanese anime series Case Closed. The song peaked at number nine on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart in Japan and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). Her debut album of the same title (1997) peaked at number five on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart in Japan. After releasing her first compilation album Miho Komatsu Best ~once more~ (2006), which peaked at number 21 in Japan, she retired from music industry with no announcement.
Aki Harada better known by her stage name, Sowelu, is a Japanese pop/R&B singer signed onto Avex Group's label Rhythm Zone.
Kumiko Kōda, known professionally as Koda Kumi, is a Japanese singer from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs.
Crystal Kay Williams is a Japanese-American singer, songwriter, actress and radio host.
Duty is the third studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on September 27, 2000, by Avex Trax. Duty is Hamasaki's first studio album inside the 2000s decade, and her third consecutive studio album to be fully produced by Japanese musician and businessman Max Matsuura. The album's composing and arrangement was handled by several music collaborators, such as Ken Harada, Kazuhito Kikuchi, Dai Nagao, HΛL, among many others. Hamasaki contributed to the album as the primary and background vocalist, and songwriter to every song. Three different formats were released to promote the album: a standalone CD, a limited edition Playbutton, and a digital download. The cover sleeve has Hamasaki wearing a leopard-print cat suit.
Ai Otsuka is a Japanese singer-songwriter from Suminoe-ku, Osaka, Japan. She is a popular artist on the Avex Trax label and is best known for her 2003 hit "Sakuranbo", which stayed in the Top 200 Oricon Weekly Singles Chart for 103 weeks.
KAT-TUN is a Japanese boy band formed under Smile-Up in 2001. The group's name was originally an acronym based on the first letter of each member's family name: Kazuya Kamenashi, Jin Akanishi, Junnosuke Taguchi, Koki Tanaka, Tatsuya Ueda, and Yuichi Nakamaru. Their debut on March 22, 2006, was marked by a tripartite release of a CD single, album and music DVD on their exclusive record label J-One Records. Since then, all of their single, album and music DVD releases have debuted at number one on the Oricon music and DVD charts.
TVXQ is a South Korean duo formed by SM Entertainment in 2003. They were originally a five-member boy band consisting of Hero Jaejoong, U-Know Yunho, Micky Yoochun, and Xiah Junsu, and Max Changmin. They were immediately launched to mainstream recognition following the release of their first physical single "Hug" (2004), which peaked at number four on the MIAK monthly music chart. Their first studio albums Tri-Angle (2004) and Rising Sun (2005) were both top sellers, pushing the band's popularity beyond Korea. Under Avex, TVXQ entered the Japanese market with their first Japanese album Heart, Mind and Soul (2006), but it was met with limited success.
Akina Nakamori is a Japanese singer and actress. She is one of the most popular and best-selling artists in Japan. Akina achieved national recognition after winning the 1981 season of the talent show Star Tanjō!. Her debut single "Slow Motion" was released to moderate success, peaking at number thirty on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. Nakamori's popularity increased with the release of her follow-up single, "Shōjo A", which peaked at number five on the Oricon charts and sold over 390,000 copies. Her second album Variation became her first number-one on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart, staying in that position for three weeks.
"Flower" is Koda Kumi's 17th domestic single. Flower was written as the theme song for the novel Koibana (恋バナ / Love Story) and also used in the television advertisement for the novel. The lyrics were written by the author of Koibana, Yoshi. This was also the first domestic single released by Kumi that was not accompanied by a promotional music video. It reached No. 4 on the weekly Oricon Chart.
Kobukuro (コブクロ), a Japanese band, formed in 1998 and made its major label debut in 2001. The name is a portmanteau of the two family names, Kentarō Kobuchi and Shunsuke Kuroda.
Miho Komatsu 7 : prime number is the seventh studio album of Japanese singer-songwriter Miho Komatsu. It was released on 26 January 2005 under Giza Studio.
Aiko Kitahara (北原愛子) is a former Japanese pop singer and songwriter under the Giza Studio label.
the★tambourines were a Japanese pop band signed to the Giza Studio label, active between 2001 and 2009.