Hikaru Utada, who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American singer-songwriter and producer. Born in the United States to Japanese parents, record producer Teruzane Utada and enka singer Keiko Fuji, Utada began to write music and lyrics at an early age and often traveled to Tokyo as a result of her father's job. Eventually, a recording contract with Toshiba-EMI was signed. Under the stage name Cubic U, she released an English-language debut album Precious in early 1998, but it was a commercial failure. In the following year, heavily influenced by R&B and dance-pop, a Japanese-language debut First Love was released and became an immediate success. Backed by the success of singles "Automatic", "Time Will Tell", and "Movin' On Without You", the album sold two million copies in its first week in Japan, topped the Oricon charts for six non-consecutive weeks and went on to sell six million more throughout the rest of 1999. First Love eventually became the country's best-selling album of all time.
Come On Over is the third studio album recorded by Canadian country music singer Shania Twain. It was released on November 4, 1997, and became the best-selling country album, the best selling album by a Canadian and is recognized by Guinness World Records as the biggest-selling studio album by a solo female artist, and the best-selling album in the USA by a solo female artist.It is the ninth all-time best-selling album in the United States, and worldwide. It is also the sixteenth best-selling album in the United Kingdom.
Every Little Thing is a pop/soft rock duo from Japan who debuted in August 1996 with the release of their first single called "Feel My Heart". Their name is usually written in English, and only rarely in katakana. They gained massive popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As of 2013, Every Little Thing has sold over 23 million copies of singles and albums throughout Japan. Their second studio album, Time to Destination, is the best-selling album of the band with over 3.5 million copies sold, and became the 10th best-selling album of all time in Japan.
Wynonna Ellen Judd is a multi award-winning American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country singers. In all, she has had 19 No. 1 singles including those of the Judds making her one of the best-selling country artists of all time. Her solo albums and singles are all credited to the single name Wynonna. She first rose to fame in the 1980s alongside her mother Naomi in the country music duo the Judds. They released seven albums on Curb Records in addition to 26 singles, of which fourteen were No. 1 hits.
"My Heart Will Go On" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion. The song serves as the main soundtrack to James Cameron's blockbuster film Titanic, based on an account of the transatlantic ocean liner of the same name which sank in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean. The song's music was composed by James Horner, its lyrics were written by Will Jennings, while the production was handled by Walter Afanasieff, Horner and Simon Franglen.
Toshinobu "Toshi" Kubota is a Japanese singer, songwriter, musician, music producer, and radio personality. He has produced six million-seller records and thirty-three Top 40 singles during his career. Kubota is currently part of Sony Music Japan. In addition, he has composed and written songs for many singers including Hiromi Iwasaki, Misia, Toshinori Yonekura, Kyōko Koizumi, and many other recording artists.
La Bouche is a German electronic dance music duo best known for the hits "Be My Lover", "Sweet Dreams", "You Won't Forget Me" and "Tonight is the Night". La Bouche was founded in 1994 by record producer Frank Farian in Frankfurt am Main. He worked together with techno DJ Ulli Brenner and producer Amir Saraf to produce the music, while American singer Melanie Thornton and American rapper-singer Lane McCray fronted the act.
"Candle in the Wind 1997", also known as "Goodbye England's Rose" and "Candle in the Wind '97", is a song by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, a re-written and re-recorded version of their 1973 song "Candle in the Wind". It was released on 13 September 1997 as a tribute single to Diana, Princess of Wales, with the global proceeds from the song going towards Diana's charities. In many countries, it was pressed as a double A-side with "Something About the Way You Look Tonight". It was produced by Sir George Martin.
#1's is the first greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released by Columbia Records on November 17, 1998. The album contained Carey's then nineteen number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as four new songs. In Japan, the album also included her popular single, "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which was Carey's biggest selling single there.
Merry Christmas is the fourth studio album by American singer Mariah Carey, and her first Christmas album. Released by Columbia Records on October 28, 1994, at the peak of the initial stretch of Carey's career, between Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995), the album features cover versions of popular Christmas songs in addition to original material. Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote all of the original tracks, as well as producing Carey's interpretations of the covered material. Three singles were released from the album, of which "All I Want for Christmas Is You" went on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time and the best-selling Christmas ringtone in the United States.
"When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in the film One Minute to Zero. Jeri Southern sang on the first recording released in April 1952 with the song's composer, Victor Young, handling the arranging and conducting duties. The song has become a standard, with many artists recording it; the first hit version was sung by Doris Day released in July 1952.
Rise is the second studio album by Japanese band Speed. The album was released on 29 April 1998 and contains the singles "Wake Me Up!", "My Graduation" and their all-time biggest hit, "White Love". The album successfully topped the Oricon sales charts eventually selling 2.09 million copies making it the best selling original studio album by female group in Japan. They later embarked on a summer tour titled "Rise Dome Tour" to promote their album becoming the first female Jpop group ever to complete the dome tour in Japan.
Speed were a Japanese female vocal/dance group comprising Hiroko Shimabukuro, Eriko Imai, Takako Uehara and Hitoe Arakaki. All four members are former students of the Okinawa Actors School which also trained popular artists Namie Amuro and MAX.
These Are Special Times is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and her first English-language Christmas album. It was first released in Europe on 30 October 1998, by Columbia Records. In the United States, it was released on 3 November 1998 through Epic Records. The album features cover versions of popular Christmas songs and original material, including "I'm Your Angel", a duet with R. Kelly. Dion worked with David Foster and Ric Wake, who produced most of the album. Other producers include Bryan Adams, R. Kelly and Humberto Gatica. These Are Special Times was released after two of Dion's most successful albums, Falling into You (1996) and Let's Talk About Love (1997).
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model and activist. Born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved national recognition when she won the third series of The X Factor in 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music. Her winner's single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", peaked at number one for four weeks on the UK Singles Chart and broke a world record by reaching 50,000 digital downloads within 30 minutes. In February 2007, Lewis signed a five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records.
Canadian singer Celine Dion has released 27 studio albums, seven live albums, 19 compilation albums, and 25 box sets. According to Nielsen Soundscan, she has sold 53.2 million albums in the United States, making her the second best-selling female artists in the country since Nielsen began tracking sales in 1991. In 2003, Dion was honored by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for selling 50 million albums in Europe. Guinness World Records recognises her as the Top Selling Album Act in Europe with 33 million certified album sales since 1996. Billboard ranked her as the second best-selling female album artist of the 2000s Decade in the United States with 17.3 million sold via Soundscan. In 2008, Dion was recognized as the Best-selling International Artist in South Africa. Billboard ranked Dion as the 6th Greatest Billboard 200 female solo artist of all time & the 8th Greatest female solo artist of all time. Dion is also the best-selling Canadian artist of all time and the best-selling artist in the Nielsen SoundScan era in Canada.
Kana Nishino is a Japanese singer and songwriter signed with SME Records' Newcome Inc. She debuted on February 20, 2008, with the single "I". CNN said that she was the favorite singer of teenage girls in Shibuya, Tokyo, signalling Sony's jump on the bandwagon effect started by Avex. She has sold 6 million copies in Japan.
My Christmas is the thirteenth studio album and first Christmas album released by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.
Coquillage: The Best Collection II is Kokia's second greatest hits album, released on December 2, 2009.
Mr. Simple is the fifth studio album by the South Korean boy band Super Junior. It was released on August 3, 2011, by SM Entertainment, distributed by KMP Holdings and digitally release on August 2. On September 19, 2011, a repackaged edition was released, re-titled A-Cha. It features four new tracks including title track "A-Cha" and "Superman" which was previously released in version B only. This is the group's second album that features ten of the original 13 members and the first being their previous album, Bonamana (2010).
