Namie Amuro is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active between 1992 and 2018. A leading figure of the Japanese entertainment industry since the early 1990s, Amuro is known for breaking the youthful idol stereotype of J-Pop, changing the fashion trends and lifestyle of women in Japan, her experimentation across music styles, and for her visual imagery in music videos and live performances. Due to her career longevity, resilience, professionalism, efforts behind-the-scenes in the music industry, and her way of life, she is considered a pop culture icon in Japan and Asia. She has been referred to as "Diva of Heisei Era" and the "Queen of Japanese Pop", and has been recognized as having the influence and career impact domestically equivalent to artists such as Janet Jackson and Madonna in Western music and pop culture.
First Love is the debut Japanese-language studio album by Japanese-American recording artist Hikaru Utada, released on March 10, 1999, by Toshiba-EMI.
Loveppears is the second studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released in Japan, Hong Kong and China on November 10, 1999, through Avex Trax and the China Record Corporation, and distributed worldwide on April 10, 2001, by Avex Entertainment Inc. It was entirely written by Hamasaki herself, while the production was handled by Japanese musician Max Matsuura. Musically, Loveppears is a dance album and lyrically focuses on themes of love, frustration of life, loneliness, and individualism.
The Change is the sixth studio album by Swedish singer-songwriter Marie Fredriksson, released on 10 October 2004 by Capitol Records in conjunction with Fredriksson's own independent record label Mary Jane/Amelia Music. It is her only English-language solo album, and was her first release after being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour in 2002. Following the diagnosis and treatment, Fredriksson and her husband Mikael Bolyos began work on the album as a form of therapy in their home studio in Djursholm, Stockholm, with Bolyos acting as producer.
Sweet 19 Blues is the second studio album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro. The album was released in four different slipcases, with the first three cases limited to 1,000,000 copies each—were put on sale on July 20, 1996, throughout Japan, and were distributed two days later to the rest of Asia by Avex Trax. The album was primarily handled by Japanese producer Tetsuya Komuro, with the assistance of Cozy Kubo, Akio Togashi, Takahiro Maeda, M.C.A.T. and Randy Waldman, it is her debut solo album to date since the spilt of Super Monkey's.
Best: First Things is the first compilation album released by Japanese pop singer Koda Kumi. It debuted at No. 1 on Oricon, giving her first number-one album, and became her longest charting album, staying on the charts for 124 weeks. The album included all of her a-sides released since her debut in 2000 with Take Back and became one of her highest selling albums, selling nearly two million copies as of 2007.
Cheryline Ernestine Lim, known by her stage name Che'Nelle, is an Australian singer-songwriter signed to Universal Music Japan.
"Free Free" is a song by Japanese recording artist Ami Suzuki and producer Yasutaka Nakata, taken from her sixth studio album Dolce (2008). It was released on August 22, 2007 through Avex Trax and was distributed into three physical formats and for digital consumption. Additionally, the track appeared as a double A-side to "Super Music Maker", another recording by Suzuki and Nakata. Suzuki first started working with the producer in late 2006 after her staff at Avex noticed the singers engagement with dance-oriented music whilst performing at night clubs, and wanted to pair her with a musician that dealt with electronic dance music.
"I Fell In Love With the DJ" is a song by Australian recording artist Che'Nelle from her debut studio album, Things Happen for a Reason (2007). The song was chosen as her first commercial single release. The song was originally written and recorded by Che'Nelle. The artist gained attention of US record producers and later signed an album deal. "I Fell In Love With the DJ" was remixed ahead of its release and Jamaican rapper Cham's vocals added. The song samples the 2005 song "Reggae Bump Bump", performed by American singer R. Kelly. It features "cheeky" lyrics about falling in love with a DJ at a nightclub. To promote the single Che'Nelle completed a US radio tour in forty states. The song did not perform well in the US, only peaking at number 98 on the Pop 100. It fared better in Japan and Europe, with it charting in several countries in the latter territory. Che'Nelle also refocused her efforts on promoting the single and album in Japan and its success helped her forge a long-standing career in the country.
"Hurry Up" is a song by Australian singer Che'Nelle from her debut studio album, Things Happen for a Reason (2007). The song was released as the second single from the album. A music video was released for the song. The song was written and produced by both Sean Garrett and Warren Felder and was recorded in Atlanta, Georgia. The song received an official remix for its UK release featuring the rapper Tinchy Stryder.
Supreme Show is the seventh studio album by Japanese recording artist Ami Suzuki. It was released on November 12, 2008 by Avex Trax as her 10th Anniversary album. It was also released ten months after her joint project album, Dolce. Supreme Show is Suzuki's first album to be fully produced, composed, and arranged by Japanese musician and Capsule member Yasutaka Nakata. Suzuki contributed to the album as the lead vocalist, background vocalist, and co-songwriter for the track "Love Mail". With tracks recorded in both English and Japanese language, Supreme Show is an electronic dance music album.
"Love, Day After Tomorrow" is a song recorded by Japanese singer Mai Kuraki, taken as the lead single of her debut studio album Delicious Way (2000). It was released on December 8, 1999, via Giza Studio and Tent House in two physical editions: a CD single and 12-inch vinyl. The track was written by Kuraki herself, while production was handled by Kanonji. The conception of the song started after the commercial failure of her English language single "Baby I Like", which led her American label Bip! Records to send her back to Japan, and she subsequently reverted to the Japanese market.
"Automatic" is a song recorded by Japanese–American singer Hikaru Utada, taken as the lead single from her debut album First Love (1999). It was released on December 9, 1998, through Toshiba-EMI in three physical formats: mini CD single, standard-size CD single and 12" vinyl. Additionally, the single included the A-side "Time Will Tell", which originally served as the B-side for these versions. The song was written and co-produced by Utada, while Akira Miyake and the singer's father Teruzane Utada served as producers. Despite working recording in English under the name Cubic U, "Automatic" is Utada's first Japanese recording, and was released after she enrolled into high school in Japan.
Feel Good is the second studio album by Australian recording artist Che'Nelle. It was first released on 10 February 2010 by EMI Music Japan. It is a follow-up to her internationally released debut album "Things Happen for a Reason" (2007). The singer's manager Sir Charles Dixon served as the album's executive producer. "Feel Good" contains songs which were written by Che'Nelle herself and features production from Jason Gill, Toshinobu Kubota and The Insomniax. The album features collaborations with Jamaican artist Shaggy, the American signer Colby O'Donis and Japanese act Lecca. Two songs originally featured on her debut made it onto the album. It received a physical CD release solely in Japan and charted at number forty-one on the Japan Oricon album chart.
The discography of Malaysian-born Australian singer Che'Nelle consists of seven studio albums, two cover albums, four extended plays (EP), two compilation albums, one mixtape, and numerous solo and collaboration singles. Signing with Virgin America Music in 2005 after being discovered by Charles Dixon, Che'Nelle released her debut studio album, Things Happen for a Reason (2007). Although the album was a commercial failure in the United States, it saw success in Japan, charting in the top ten of the Oricon Albums Chart. She later was nominated for and won the Japan Gold Disc Award for Top New Artist. Following this, Che'Nelle re-located to Japan and signed with EMI Music Japan. Her second studio album, Feel Good (2010), saw moderate success, peaking at number 41 on the Oricon charts.
Luv Songs (ラブ・ソングス) is the third studio album by Australian recording artist Che'Nelle. It was first released on 20 July 2011 by EMI Music Japan. Luv Songs is the singer's first cover album. Most of the songs were translated from Japanese into English by Che'Nelle and her team. She worked with past collaborators Derek Brin, Emile Ghantous and Erik Nelson who produced and recorded songs for the album. Che'Nelle worked with EIGO, who produced additional tracks. "Luv Songs" peaked at number 3 on the Oricon albums chart and spent 107 weeks in total on the chart. A digital deluxe edition was released on 30 November 2011 containing additional versions of "Baby I Love U". To promote "Luv Songs", three official singles were released "Sakura", "So Sick" and "Baby I Love U". The latter becoming one of her most successful singles to date selling more than 500,000 digital downloads alone by October 2013, according to RIAJ. The album was certified gold and later platinum by RIAJ in Japan. In 2013, it was re-released as "Luv Songs -Special Edition" with four additional versions of "Baby I Love U", including remixes by DJ Kaori and DJ Komori.
Moriagaro is the tenth studio album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released on July 17, 2013 by EMI Records Japan and Universal Music Group. The album marked her first and only release under EMI Records Japan following Universal's purchase of EMI's music operations prior to its rebranding as EMI Records in 2014. Musically, Moriagaro expands on the dance-pop sound found on Ai's previous studio album, Independent, with R&B and hip hop sensibilities. Alongside long-time collaborator Uta, Ai worked with various American producers. On November 20, 2013, the album was reissued as Motto Moriagaro.
"Trust Your Love" is a song recorded by Japanese singer-songwriter Koda Kumi and was used as the second single from her debut album Affection (2002). It was released on May 9, 2001 via Rhythm Zone in two physical editions: a CD single and 12" vinyl. Additionally, Sounday and Orpheus Records distributed the song in North America with the same formats, but was remixed as a dance number by Hex Hector. The song was written by Kumi herself, whilst composing and production was handled by Kikuchi Kazuhito and Max Matsuura respectively. Musically, it is an R&B song that incorporates synthesizers and keyboards, and describes two lovers believing in each other.
W Face is a two-part studio album release by Japanese recording artist Koda Kumi. The albums were packaged separately under the sub-titles Inside and Outside, and distributed on March 8, 2017 by Rhythm Zone and through digital retails stores by Avex Music Creative Inc. Production on both collections started in early-2016 when she finished her concert tour for Walk of My Life (2015), and launched the campaign with the promotional recording "Shhh!". Furthermore, the singer returns as the album's primary and only songwriter while collaborating with a variety of foreign and international composers and producers.
"Baby I Love You" or "Baby I Love U" (ベイビー・アイラブユー) is a song by Japanese singer TEE. It was released via Universal Sigma on 27 October 2010 and is included on TEE's debut album "Kido I Raku". The song was written by TEE, Hiro and Ryosuke Imai and was produced by Akira. Australian artist Che'Nelle translated and rewrote the song in English for inclusion on her third studio album "Luv Songs". EMI Music Japan released the song on 22 June 2011, as the third single taken from her album. Released by TEE, "Baby I Love You" peaked at number two on the Japan Hot 100 and has been certified triple platinum by RIAJ, selling over 750,000 copies. Che'Nelle's "Baby I Love U" peaked at twenty four on the Japan Hot 100 and remained on the chart for twenty four weeks. The version sold more than 500,000 ringtones, 500,000 PC downloads and 250,000 mobile downloads. RIAJ issued one platinum and two double platinum certifications to "Baby I Love You", indicating it had sold in excess of over 1.25 million copies by October 2013.
