Aiko (singer)
Encyclopedia
Aiko is a J-Pop
singer-songwriter
and vocalist. She studied popular music vocals at the Osaka College of Music
, and after graduating in 1996, she became a DJ
on FM Osaka. In July 1998 she gained nationwide fame from the debut song, "Ashita" which was used in television commercials and TV dramas.
Her second album, "Sakura no Ki no Shita" sold over one million copies, and her sixth single, "Boyfriend", became her best-selling CD single, and she achieved an appearance in NHK's 2000 Kohaku Uta Gassen
. Incidentally, since the song's lyrics contain the word "tetrapot", similar to "tetrapod
", a registered trademark, Aiko encountered controversy and brief legal problems since NHK
is a public broadcasting station. However, the episode was resolved without any restriction being placed on the lyrics.
area before she achieved widespread fame in July 1998.
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and vocalist. She studied popular music vocals at the Osaka College of Music
Osaka College of Music
is a private university in Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1915, and it was chartered as a university in 1958.-External links:*...
, and after graduating in 1996, she became a DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
on FM Osaka. In July 1998 she gained nationwide fame from the debut song, "Ashita" which was used in television commercials and TV dramas.
Her second album, "Sakura no Ki no Shita" sold over one million copies, and her sixth single, "Boyfriend", became her best-selling CD single, and she achieved an appearance in NHK's 2000 Kohaku Uta Gassen
Kohaku Uta Gassen
, more commonly known as simply Kōhaku, is an annual music show on New Year's Eve produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK and broadcast on both television and radio, nationally and internationally by NHK's networks and some overseas broadcasters which bought the program...
. Incidentally, since the song's lyrics contain the word "tetrapot", similar to "tetrapod
Tetrapod (structure)
In coastal engineering, a Tetrapod is a four-legged concrete structure used as armour unit on breakwaters. The Tetrapod's shape is designed to dissipate the force of incoming waves by allowing water to flow around rather than against it, and to reduce displacement by allowing a random distribution...
", a registered trademark, Aiko encountered controversy and brief legal problems since NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
is a public broadcasting station. However, the episode was resolved without any restriction being placed on the lyrics.
Singles
| Sheet | Released | Title | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1998 July 17 | あした | 89th |
| 2nd | 1999 March 3 | ナキ・ムシ | 26th |
| 3rd | 1999 August 4 | 花火 | 10th |
| 4th | 1999 December 17 | カブトムシ | 8th |
| 5th | 2000 February 17 | 桜の時 | 12th |
| 6th | 2000 September 12 | ボーイフレンド | 2nd |
| 7th | 2001 February 21 | 初恋 | 3rd |
| 8th | 2001 May 30 | ロージー | 2nd |
| 9th | 2001 December 21 | おやすみなさい | 2nd |
| 10th | 2002 April 24 | あなたと握手 | 6th |
| 11th | 2002 August 14 | 今度までには | 3rd |
| 12th | 2003 April 23 | 蝶々結び | 4th |
| 13th | 2003 August 6 | アンドロメダ | 3rd |
| 14th | 2003 December 6 | えりあし | 5th |
| 15th | 2004 April 28 | かばん | 3rd |
| 16th | 2004 September 1 | 花風 | 2nd |
| 17th | 2005 February 16 | 三国駅 | 3nd |
| 18th | 2005 August 3 | キラキラ | 2nd |
| 19th | 2005 December 30 | スター | 4th |
| 20th | 2006 July 12 | 雲は白リンゴは赤 | 3rd |
| 21st | 2007 May 30 | シアワセ | 2nd |
| 22nd | 2007 August 22 | 星のない世界／横顔 | 2nd |
| 23rd | 2008 March 12 | 二人 | 3rd |
| 24th | 2008 July 23 | KissHug | 2nd |
| 25th | 2009 February 18 | milk／嘆きのキス | 1st |
| 26th | 2010 February 3 | 戻れない明 | 1st |
| 27th | 2010 April 21 | 向かいあわせ | 2nd |
| 28th | 2011 May 11 | 恋のスーパーボール／ホーム | |
Albums
| Sheet | Released | Title | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1999 April 21 | 小さな丸い好 | 24th |
| 2nd | 2000 March 1 | 桜の木の下 | 1st |
| 3rd | 2001 June 20 | 夏服 | 1st |
| 4th | 2002 September 4 | 秋 そばにいるよ | 2nd |
| 5th | 2003 December 27 | 暁のラブレター | 1st |
| 6th | 2005 March 2 | 夢の中のまっすぐな道 | 1st |
| 7th | 2006 August 23 | 彼女 | 1st |
| 8th | 2008 April 2 | 秘密 | 2nd |
| 9th | 2010 March 31 | BABY | 1st |
| 10th | 2011 February 23 | まとめI | 2nd |
| 11th | 2011 February 23 | まとめII | 3rd |
Greatest hits album
| Release Date | Title | Remarks |
| 1996 August August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days.This month was originally named Sextilis in Latin, because it was the sixth month in the original ten-month Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, when March was the first... |
ドーテイオムニバスCD Vol.1 | VA Album (3 tracks participation) |
| 1997 1February 20 | astral box | CD single |
| 1998 April 21 | ハチミツ | CDシングル |
| 1998 May 30 | GIRLIE | Mini Album |
Joined Album
- 『Queen's Fellows』(Matsutoya YumiYumi Matsutoya', nicknamed , is an influential Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. She is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice, and live performances, and is an important figure in Japanese popular music....
tribute album) (December 11, 2002)- In one song, 「セシルの週末」(Weekend Cecil) participate.
Tours
- "Love Like Pop" (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009)
- College musical festivals (1999, 2003; 7 places in all)
- "Baby Peenats Meeting" (2001, 2004; fan club members only)
- "Baby Peenats" is a name of the Aiko's official fan club managed by "ever for music". Aiko loves SnoopySnoopySnoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...
(and dogs in general). Her recent live tour books feature pictures of Aiko with a variety of dogs every time.
- "Baby Peenats" is a name of the Aiko's official fan club managed by "ever for music". Aiko loves Snoopy
- "Love Like Rock" (2002, 2003, 2006, 2007(fan club members only), 2009; no-seat concerts)
- "Love Like Aloha" (Summer 2003, at Katase beech http://pds1.exblog.jp/pds/1/200503/09/58/c0059258_13264520.jpg, EnoshimaEnoshimais a small island, about 4 km in circumference, at the mouth of the Katase River, which flows into Sagami Bay in Japan. Part of the city of Fujisawa, it is linked to the Katase section of the same city on the mainland by a 600 meter-long bridge...
; Summer 2006 and 2008, at Southern Beach, Chigasaki)
Shorts
- Japanese mangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
artist Yukari IchijoYukari Ichijois a Japanese shōjo and josei manga artist. She debuted in 1968 with Yuki no Serenade. In 1986 she received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo for Yūkan Club, and in 2007, she received an Excellence Prize in manga at the Japan Media Arts Festival for Pride...
based the character "Eiko", in PridePridePride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two common meanings. With a negative connotation, pride refers to an inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments, often used synonymously with hubris...
(2003-) on Aiko, and Aiko has several times expressed admiration for Ichijo.
- Aiko also sang the insert song "KissHug" for the movie Hana Yori Dango FinalHana Yori Dango FinalHana Yori Dango Final is a 2008 Japanese film, directed by Yasuharu Ishii, and starring Mao Inoue and Jun Matsumoto. The film is the last chapter of the Hana Yori Dango trilogy in Japan, based on Japanese shōjo manga series, , written by Yoko Kamio....
which premiered on June 28, 2008 and "Mukai Awase" for the 2010 comedy film My Darling is a ForeignerMy Darling Is a Foreigneris a 2010 Japanese comedy film. It based on the manga series entitled Is He Turning Japanese? by Saori Oguri.-Plot:The movie was about the trials and tribulations of an interracial couple living in Japan, Saori Oguri and Tony László.-Cast:...
.
Radio
Aiko has presented several regular radio programs, including local radio programmes in the KansaiKansai
The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Depending on who makes the distinction, Fukui, Tokushima and even Tottori Prefecture are also included...
area before she achieved widespread fame in July 1998.
- Count Down Kansai Top40 (FM OSAKAFm osakais a radio station in Osaka, Japan. It is an affiliated station of Japan FM Network .- History of FM OSAKA :On April 1, 1970, FM OSAKA started broadcasting as the first private FM station in Nakanoshima, Osaka nationwide as the only FM radio station affiliated with Japan FM Network in the Kansai...
, April 1996 – December 2001) - Poppun Kingdom (MBSMainichi Broadcasting Systemis a broadcasting station in Osaka, Japan, affiliated with Japan Radio Network , National Radio Network , Japan News Network and TBS Network, serving in the Kansai region. MBS is also one of the major stockholders of Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Inc...
, April 1997 – ?) - Young Town Music Max (MBS, October 1997 – September 1999)
- Baby Peanuts (FM OSAKAFm osakais a radio station in Osaka, Japan. It is an affiliated station of Japan FM Network .- History of FM OSAKA :On April 1, 1970, FM OSAKA started broadcasting as the first private FM station in Nakanoshima, Osaka nationwide as the only FM radio station affiliated with Japan FM Network in the Kansai...
, October 1998 – ?) - Aiko's @llnightnippon.com (NBSNippon Broadcasting System, or JOLF, is a Japanese radio station in Tokyo. Together with Nippon Cultural Broadcasting it is a flagship station of the National Radio Network...
, November 1999 – March 2003), containing the popular musical feature Sing! AikoSing! aikois a radio segment in Aiko's radio program Aiko's @llnightnippon.com, which aired from 1999 until 2003. When musical guests were invited to the program, Aiko would play the piano and cover the guests'—or others'—songs; sometimes, she sang her own songs with her guests...
.
Books
- "Aiko Bon" (2005) was the first official book about Aiko. The book contains her autobiography (in an interview style), photos, feature articles from monthly magazine GbMusicnet and liner notesLiner notesLiner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
by herself.
Awards
| Year | Type | Title | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Music Quest Japan Final | 2000 | Teen's Music Festival Final | Teen's Grand Prize – Aitsu wo Furimukaseru Hoho |
| Saku ya Kono Hana Award, Music (Osaka city) | * This award is given to a person or an organisation who contributes to a promotion of Osaka culture. | |||
| 2002 | Metropolitan Action on Smoking or Health | Stop-smoking Grand Prize | ||
| The Japan Gold Disc Award Japan Gold Disc Award The Japan Gold Disc Awards for Music sales in the Recording Industry Association of Japan, is major music awards held annually in Japan also released as a CD.- List of the Artists of the Year :************... |
Rock Album of the Year – Natsufuku | |||
| 2004 | The Japan Gold Disc Award | Rock & Pop Album of the Year – Akatsuki no Love Letter | ||
External links
- Aiko HP – Aiko's personal official homepage
- Discogs Database Information
- (OriconOricon, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
top 20,000 subscribers' 2005) : '05好きなアーティストランキング – Oricon Style ミュージック & 06'好きなアーティストランキング『音楽ファン2万人に聞いた好きなアーティストとは？！』-Oricon Style ミュージック.