MiChi | |
|---|---|
 MiChi | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Michiko Sellars |
| Born | 7 April 1985 Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England |
| Origin | Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | Sony Music Entertainment |
| Website | www |
Michiko Sellars (born 7 April 1985), known by her stage name MiChi, is a Japanese British pop singer who began her career as an independent artist, but later signed to Sony Music Entertainment. [1]
Michiko was born in Bromsgrove, England to a Japanese mother and an English father. [2] She moved to Kobe, Japan at the age of two in 1987, but returned to England in 1995 after the Great Hanshin earthquake. [2] Determined to be a singer, she performed in an acoustic duo before returning to Japan when she was 18. [3] The following year, she met Tomokazu Matsuzawa, producer for acts such as Mika Nakashima, Miliyah Kato, Soulhead, and Chemistry. [3] The pair worked together for three years developing her talent before MiChi entered Japan's dance club scene. In March 2007, she released the track "Surrender" on a dance compilation titled Freedom House Mode Collection. [3] It was followed a year later with her independently released English language album Michi Madness, which entered the Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart, but only peaked at number 148. [4]
Later in 2008 she officially debut under Sony Music Entertainment and produced her first single titled "Promise," peaking at number 12 on the Oricon weekly charts. [1] Her second single, titled "Change the World," was released on 18 February 2009 and was used in the drama Kiina: Fukanō Hanzaisōsa-kan. [2]
On 30 September 2009, MiChi released her debut major album Up to You , which was successful and peaked at number 4 on the Oricon weekly album chart. [4] Her song "Something Missing" was used as the theme song in the Sega video game Bayonetta , as well as for commercials promoting the game. [5]
In April 2010, she released the single "All About the Girls (Ii jan ka Party People)/Together Again". "Together Again" was used as the theme song for the movie Bushido Sixteen directed by Tomoyuki Furumaya. The music video for "All About The Girls", which features a mix of stop motion, studio and computer generated footage was produced in collaboration with Tokyo dance-troupe Handsome Boyz. In July 2010, she released "Wonder Woman," featuring the Japanese indie band The Telephones. MiChi's final 2010 release was her first Japanese language EP, Love Is. Released due to the delay of her second studio album, the album features four previously unreleased recordings, including three original songs, and a cover of The Offspring's "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)." The title track from the EP received a stop motion music video, filmed from back to front.
In response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, MiChi released online the demo of "One," a song she had been working on. The song, featuring emotional and supportive lyrics, received heavy radio rotation in the days and weeks following the disaster. This led to her label allowing MiChi to finish the song, and release it as an official single. It eventually peaked at 85 on the Oricon charts. Later in 2011, MiChi released her eighth single, "Find Your Way." It charted at number 93, selling just 674 copies, despite a high-profile promotional appearance at the MTV VMAJ awards. On 1 February 2012, MiChi released her ninth single, "Tokyo Nights" featuring Swedish-Japanese indie musician, Leo Imai. The music video, which shows MiChi in various locations throughout Tokyo, including at the Tokyo Tower, was released shortly before the single hit shelves. On 11 February, MiChi finally released details of her second major label album, titled Therapy . Alongside the album title, MiChi also revealed that the album would be released in three different versions, CD, 2CD, and CD/DVD, with the DVD featuring six of MiChi's music videos, and the second CD version having an extra seven-track "Remix collection" with remixes from the likes of Busy P and DSL from the French label, Ed Banger Records.
Chihiro Onitsuka is a Japanese singer-songwriter.
Mika Nakashima is a Japanese singer and actress. Five of her studio albums, one of her mini-albums and one of her compilation albums have reached number one in Japan's Oricon album chart. She also embarked on an acting career, most notably as Nana Osaki in the live action film adaptations of Nana. She sold 10 million records in Japan.
Kumiko Kōda, known professionally as Koda Kumi, is a Japanese singer from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs.
Orange Range are a 5-member Japanese rock band, based in Okinawa, Japan. Formed in 2001, the band began with Spice Music and later signed with Sony Music Japan's gr8! records division in 2003. The band left gr8! records in 2010 to start their own label, Super Echo.
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 2000 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.
Hitomi Takahashi is a Japanese pop rock singer from Shiogama, Miyagi. She is best known through her songs Bokutachi no Yukue and Aozora no Namida, which were theme songs to animation programs Gundam Seed Destiny and Blood+, respectively. With the former, she became the third artist in to top the Oricon charts with a debut single.
Yui, stylized as YUI or yui, is a Japanese singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actress. In her solo career, she sold more than 5 million physical copies in Japan. She is popular in Japan and in surrounding countries, ranking number one in 2011 Count Down TV "Dearest Female Artist" and Music Station "Artist You Most Want to Marry" polls, as well as Radio Television Hong Kong's "Most Popular Japanese Artist".
Nana Kitade is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to being the lead singer of the rock band The Teenage Kissers, she has success as a solo artist, model, actress, and fashion designer. Kitade is particularly known for her songs appearing in various anime, TV shows, doramas and movie opening and endings. Kitade was featured on the cover of the Gothic & Lolita Bible, as well as featured in Neo and Kera magazines. She has toured Asia, Europe, and North America.
Feel My Mind is the third studio album by the Japanese R&B-turned-pop singer Koda Kumi, released in February 2004. The album charted in the Top 10 on Oricon at No. 7 and stayed on the charts for thirty-five weeks, selling over 147,000 copies. Its corresponding DVD was feel... and was her last album to be released as a CD only without a CD+DVD option.
Jyongri is a Japanese pop singer of Korean ancestry currently signed with EMI Music Japan.
Nico Touches the Walls was a Japanese rock band formed in 2004. The band members were: Mitsumura Tatsuya, Sakakura Shingo, Furumura Daisuke & Tsushima Shotaro. In the same year, they won the Lotte Prize at the Yamaha Teen Music Festival. Rising quickly, they signed to "Senha & Co." before signing to Sony Music Japan's Ki/oon Records in 2007. Their debut single, in a major label, "Yoru no Hate", was released in February 2008.
Catherine St. Onge, better known by her stage name Himeka (ヒメカ), is a French Canadian descent anime song singer no longer active in Japan. While fluent in English and her native French, she is moderately proficient in Japanese. Her stage name, Himeka, comes from a character she created in a story she wrote when she was 13 years old.
Up to You is the debut studio album released by Japanese pop singer Michi under Sony Music Entertainment. It was released on 30 September 2009 and peaked at number 4 on the Oricon weekly album chart. It includes the song "Something Missing", which is used in the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 game Bayonetta.
Therapy is the second major label studio album released by British-Japanese musician MiChi, to be released on 21 March 2012 by Sony Music Entertainment. The record features just six previously unheard songs, after the remaining seven were released to the public as tracks on the various singles and EPs released in the lead up to the album's release. The album continues MiChi's tradition of including another addition to the "MadNesS Vol." series, with this being the third entrant, after the two previous released on Michi Madness and Up to You.
"Ai o Tomenaide" (愛を止めないで / Don't Stop the Love) is the 51st single by pop/R&B singer/songwriter Koda Kumi. It was released on September 21, 2011 in three separate editions: CD only, CD only [Second Virgin Edition] and CD+DVD. The single peaked at #6 on the Oricon Singles Charts. The "Second Virgin Edition" remained on the charts for fourteen weeks, while the standard edition remained on the charts for eight weeks.
Welcome to Secret Time is the second studio album and first Japanese album release of South Korean girl group Secret. The album was released on August 22, 2012, by Sony Music Entertainment Japan.
Pain Killer is the fourth studio album by Japanese pop duo moumoon. It was released on January 30, 2013 in 4 different editions.
Colours is the fifteenth studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on July 2, 2014, in Japan by Avex Trax, worldwide by Avex Entertainment Inc., and on July 18 in Taiwan by Avex Taiwan. The songs on the album were entirely written by Hamasaki, while production was led by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura; it also included a variety of Western producers such as Armin van Buuren, members from RedOne Productions De Paris and Rush, Darkchild, and Fedde Le Grand, among others. This became Hamasaki's first studio album to have not been fully produced by Matsuura, and her first album to incorporate a large amount of English language. Musically, Colours is an electronic dance music album.
"Michi" is the ninth single by Japanese singer/songwriter Chisato Moritaka. Written by Moritaka and Shinji Yasuda, the single was released alongside "Seishun" by Warner Pioneer on January 25, 1990. "Michi" was used in a Glico Pocky commercial featuring Moritaka, while "Seishun" was used in the NTV drama series Ikenai Joshikō Monogatari.
