Crystal Kay

Crystal Kay promoting "Journey ~Kimi to Futari de~" & Spin The Music (2010)

Crystal Kay (クリスタル・ケイ) is a Japanese pop, urban, and R&B singer signed with the Sony Music sub-label EPIC Records. Born and raised in Yokohama, Kaganawa Prefecture to an African-American father and a Korean mother, Kay started her music career at the age of six. At 12 she got a record deal, and then teamed up with Kanno Yoko to produce her debut single "Eternal Memories", which was released in July of 1999. Like a number of Japanese artists Kay can speak both English and Japanese, the former making a regular appearance in her songs, exhibiting a distinctly western influenced R&B sound.

Profile

• Birth Name: Crystal Kay Williams
• Nicknames: Kuri (クリ), CK
• Birth Date: February 26, 1986 (1986-02-26)
• Birth Place: Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
• Blood Type: O

Biography

1999-2001: Debut & Image Change

Crystal Kay promoting "Eternal Memories" (1999)

Crystal Kay began her career at just six years old, debuting as a jingle singer for several commericals. In 1999 at just 12 years old Kay got a record deal with EPIC Records, a sub-label of Sony Music Entertainment. She then teamed up with the composer Kanno Yoko to produce her debut single, "Eternal Memories". The single peeked at #47 on the Oricon weekly charts. Before the end of 1999 Kay released two more singles, "TEENAGE UNIVERSE ~Chewing Gum Baby" and "Komichi no Hana", with the former charting the same position as her debut single and the latter charting significantly less, reaching #80.

On March 23rd, 2000 at the age of 14, Kay's debut album C.L.L. ~CRYSTAL LOVER LIGHT was released. It reflected a more R&B and acoustic side of her, as later albums would gear towards the pop and urban genres. This album reached #60 on the charts and manged to chart for four weeks, selling 19,930 copies. Kay also released her fourth single "Shadows of Desire" simultaneously with the album. "Shadows of Desire" was her first A-side single to be sung entirely in English and is Kay's only single to date not to chart.

Crystal Kay promoting 637 -always and forever- (2001)

Inactive for the rest of the year, Kay made her comeback in 2001 collaborating with Osawa Shinichi and Fujiwara Hiroshi to release the single "LOST CHILD", which was the theme song for the film Satorare. In that same year Kay underwent an image and genre change to an urban style and released her fifth single "Girl's Night" which would be her first single produced by T.KURA and MICHICO. The titular track was used as the theme song for the TV TOKYO music program JAPAN COUNTDOWN and reached #100 on the Oricon weekly charts while only charting for one week.

Kay's sixth single "Ex-Boyfriend" featured Hip-Hop artist VERBAL of the group m-flo. At the time of its release the single was a minor success for Kay peaking at number #44 on the charts and charting for five weeks. Kay's second album 637 -always and forever- was released August 22nd, 2001. The songs on the album featured her new venture into the urban and pop markets. The album reached a position three times higher than her debut album C.L.L. ~CRYSTAL LOVER LIGHT, reaching #19 on the Oricon weekly charts and charting for a total of eight weeks, selling 48,550 copies. Kay's seventh single "think of U" was a Christmas themed single and was her final release of 2001.

Crystal Kay promoting CK5 (2004)

2002-2006: Early & Growing Success

Establishing herself as an urban artist Kay released her eighth single "hard to say", which featured SORA3000 and SPHERE of INFLUENCE. For the single Kay enlisted ☆TAKU of m-flo to produce. The single debuted at #26 on the Oricon weekly charts and became Kay's first single to chart in the top thirty.

Kay's next single "Girl U Love" would chart poorly, reaching only #156 with her third album almost seventeen subsequently following its release. However, the album reached #2 in Oricon weekly charts and charted for 58 weeks. Tt would sell 51,360 in its first week and 213,023 total copies in 2003 to become the 62nd best selling album of that year.

Kay began 2003 with the her tenth single "Boyfriend -part II-" which peeked at #23 on the charts. For Kay's eleventh single she teamed up with m-flo again to release "I LIKE IT" which was credited as "Crystal Kay loves m-flo". The single was meant to go hand-in-hand with m-flo's 14th single "REEEWIND!", which was credited to "m-flo loves Crystal Kay". The single was Kay's first release in the top ten, reaching #8 on the Oricon weekly charts, where it charted for thirteen weeks.

Kay released two more singles in 2003: "Candy", a single written and produced by YOSHIKA, and "Can't be Stopped". They were followed by her fourth studio album 4 REAL. The album reached #5 on the Oricon weekly charts and charted for 25 weeks. It sold 246,306 copies in 2004 and become the 59th best selling album of that year. Towards the end of 2003 Kay released her first fully English album NATURAL -World Premiere Album-. The album featured English versions of previously released singles and several cover songs from artists like Amel Larrieux and Cindy Lauper. In Japan, the album reached #33 on the Oricon charts and charted for eight weeks. Although imported versions were made available of the album, it was never officially released internationally.

Crystal Kay promoting "Kirakuni / Together" (2006)

In 2004 Kay released her fourteenth single "Motherland". The titular track was used as the third ending theme song for the anime series FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST (episodes 26 to 41). Following the single, Kay released her first best album CK5. The title of the album was homage to the five years since her debut.

Kay's fifteenth single "Bye My Darling!" reached #40 on the charts and would her final release of 2004. Though before the end of 2004, Kay graduated from Kinnick High School and enrolled in Sophia University, ironically the same college fellow singer Arahisro Beni was attending at the time. The two reportedly became good friends, though they have known each other since their time together at the American School in Yokohama as teens.

In 2005 Kay released her sixteenth single "Kiss". The single is her second best selling single. After "Kiss" Kay released her fifth studio album Crystal Style, which later reached #2 on the Oricon weekly charts and charted for 31 weeks. It ended up selling 296,756 copies in 2005 and became the #44 best selling album of that year. The single "Koi ni Ochitara" would be Kay's next release. It too reached #2 on the Oricon weekly charts but charted for 37 weeks. It is currently the best selling single of her career, selling 73,717 copies in it's first week and 295,456 copies to date. The titular track was used as the theme song for the Japanese drama Koi ni Ochitara. In October of 2005 Kay collaborated with the pop duo CHEMISTRY to produce her eighteenth single "Two As One". It was another single to reach the #2 position on the Oricon weekly charts. It charted for 14 weeks and the titular track was used for a theme song for the Toyota WISH commercials.

In 2006 Kay released her nineteenth single "Kirakuni / Together", her second A-side to be sung in English. It debuted at #27 on the Oricon weekly charts and charted for five weeks. "Together" was used as the theme song for the Japanese airing of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Kay's final release of 2006 was her sixth album Call Me Miss..., which reached #2 on the Oricon weekly charts and charted for five weeks. As the album sold 250,698 copies in 2006 it became the #50 best selling album of that year.

Discography

Studio Albums

• [2000.03.23] C.L.L. ~CRYSTAL LOVER LIGHT
• [2001.08.22] 637 -always and forever-
• [2002.10.23] almost seventeen
• [2003.11.27] 4 REAL
• [2005.03.02] Crystal Style
• [2006.02.22] Call Me Miss...
• [2007.06.20] ALL YOURS
• [2008.08.06] Color Change!
• [2010.12.08] Spin The Music

Other Albums

• [2003.12.17] NATURAL -World Premiere Album- (English Album)
• [2004.06.30] CK5 (Best Album)
• [2007.11.28] Shining (Mini-Album)
• [2009.02.02] BEST of CRYSTAL KAY (Best Album)
• [2009.12.16] THE BEST REMIXES of CK (Best of Remixes Album)
• [2010.06.16] FLASH (Mini-Album)

Singles

• [1999.07.01] Eternal Memories
• [1999.09.08] TEENAGE UNIVERSE ~Chewing Gum Baby
• [1999.11.03] Komichi no Hana (こみちの花; Flowers on the Path)
• [2000.03.23] Shadows of Desire
• [2001.05.09] Girl's Night
• [2001.07.04] Ex-Boyfriend feat. VERBAL (m-flo)
• [2001.11.28] think of U
• [2002.08.07] hard to say
• [2002.10.23] Girl U Love
• [2003.01.22] Boyfriend -part II-
• [2003.06.18] I LIKE IT (Crystal Kay loves m-flo)
• [2003.10.22] Candy
• [2003.11.27] Can't be Stopped
• [2004.05.12] Motherland
• [2004.11.17] Bye My Darling!
• [2005.01.26] Kiss
• [2005.05.18] Koi ni Ochitara (恋におちたら; When I Fall in Love)
• [2005.10.05] Two As One (Crystal Kay x CHEMISTRY)
• [2006.02.08] Kirakuni / Together
• [2007.01.17] Kitto Eien ni (きっと永遠に; Surely Forever)
• [2007.02.28] Konna ni Chikaku de... (こんなに近くで...; This Close...)
• [2007.05.16] Anata no Soba de (あなたのそばで; By Your Side)
• [2008.06.11] Namida no Saki ni (涙のさきに; Beyond the Tears)
• [2008.07.16] ONE
• [2009.08.13] After Love -First Boyfriend- feat. KANAME (CHEMISTRY) / Girlfriend feat. BoA
• [2010.11.24] Journey ~Kimi to Futari de~ (君と二人で; Together With You)

DVDs

• [2004.06.30] CK99-04 MUSIC CLIPS
• [2009.12.02] CK 04-09 MUSIC CLIPS2 -DECADE-
• [2010.06.16] Crystal Kay Live in NHK Hall: 10th Anniversary Tour CK10

Other Releases

Vinyls

• [2003.07.25] I LIKE IT / REEEWIND!

Digital Singles

• [2008.12.15] Deaeta Kiseki (出会えた奇跡; The Miracle of Meeting You)
• [2010.02.24] FLASH
• [2010.05.19] Victoria
• [2010.09.15] Time of Love

Compilations / Collaborations

• [2001.02.15] Fujiwara Hiroshi + Osawa Shinichi feat. Crystal Kay - LOST CHILD
• [2001.06.20] GINZA Evening (#13 Eternal Memories)
• [2001.12.19] Parappa The Rapper TV ANIMATION SOUNDTRACK volume.2 (パラッパラッパー) (#1 Attitude)
• [2002.01.09] SMOOTH (#4 Girl's Night)
• [2002.02.27] Sotoshigoto ~m-flo turns it out!~ (ソトシゴト) (CD2 #1 Ex-Boyfriend (Crystal Kay feat. VERBAL (m-flo)))
• [2002.05.29] HARLEM ver.1.0 (#4 Feel The Same? (DJ WATARAI feat. BIG-O & Crystal Kay))
• [2003.01.29] image vocal (#1 Eternal Memories)
• [2003.03.05] Tachytelic Night welcomes you to the FAR EAST (#7 hard to say)
• [2003.03.21] Mellow Works of Hiroshi Fujiwara (#14 LOST CHILD (Original Version))
• [2003.06.18] Crystal Kay loves m-flo - I LIKE IT
• [2003.07.24] Smooth SUMMER (#4 CURIOUS)
• [2003.08.20] voyage relaxing best (#6 OVER THE RAINBOW)
• [2004.02.25] SUZUKI MANIA Suzuki Masayuki Tribute Album (鈴木雅之トリビュートアルバム) (#2 LIBERTY)
• [2004.03.17] m-flo - m-flo inside Astro Alliance (#2 REEEPLAY! DJ HASEBE remix, #13 hard to say)
• [2004.04.06] neo soul (#5 Candy)
• [2004.05.26] m-flo - ASTROMANTIC (#7 gET oN!, #15 REEEWIND!)
• [2004.08.04] TEENAGE POP (#1 Candy)
• [2004.09.14] m-flo - ASTROMANTIC CHARM SCHOOL (#2 REEEWIND! -Tomita Lab. Remix-, #8 gET oN! -ugly duckling remix-)
• [2005.02.23] FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST COMPLETE BEST (#6 Motherland)
• [2005.05.18] TV ANIMATION FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK 3 (#13 Motherland)
• [2005.09.28] Diva (#4 Candy)
• [2005.10.05] Crystal Kay × CHEMISTRY - Two As One
• [2006.01.25] HIT STYLE (CD1 #4 Kiss)
• [2006.08.09] CHEMISTRY - CHEMISTRY THE VIDEOS: 2003-2006 ~We Sing, Therefore We Are~ (#8 Two As One (CHEMISTRY × Crystal Kay))
• [2008.02.20] Shuukatsu!! (シュウカツ!!) (#5 Koi ni Ochitara)
• [2008.03.26] Girls Be Ambitious!! (CD1 #2 Tears)
• [2008.03.26] 39 Anime×Music Collaboration '02-'07 (CD1 #13 Motherland)
• [2008.09.24] Shiawase ni Nareru Uta (しあわせになれるうた) (CD1 #8 Namida ga Afurete mo)
• [2008.11.16] DJ KOMORI - WHAT'S R&B (#12 We Gonna Boogie)
• [2009.02.18] BoA - Eien / UNIVERSE / Believe in LOVE (#2 UNIVERSE feat. Crystal Kay & VERBAL (m-flo))
• [2009.03.04] PIKACHU THE MOVIE SONG BEST 1998-2008 (#34 ONE)
• [2008.03.18] m-flo - m-flo inside -WORKS BEST III- (#4 I Know)
• [2009.03.18] BoA - BEST&USA (#1 UNIVERSE feat. Crystal Kay & VERBAL (m-flo))
• [2009.03.25] Maboroshi - Maboroshi no Shi (#6 Music Is Mine feat. Crystal Kay)
• [2009.05.13] CORNELIUS - CM3 (#11 ONE)
• [2009.11.04] .LOVE more (#5 Kiss)
• [2009.11.25] DJ KAORI - DJ KAORI'S JMIX III (#21 think of U)
• [2009.12.09] Minna de Dori Suru? DO YOU DREAMS COME TRUE? (みんなでドリする) (#10 Suki, #11 Asa ga Mata Kuru)
• [2010.03.10] TOKYO SKY PARADISE ORCHESTRA - WORLD SKY SYMPHONY (#6 Zutto)
• [2010.03.24] LOVE BEATS produced by Jeff Miyahara Vol.1 (#9 Suki)
• [2010.03.31] Age Uta ~Koi wo Akiramenai Joshi no Uta~ (アゲウタ~恋をあきらめない女子のウタ~) (#14 Kiss)
• [2010.04.07] m-flo - m-flo 10 Years Special Live "we are one" (#7 Love Don't Cry (m-flo loves Crystal Kay))
• [2010.04.21] commmons: schola vol.5 Yukihiro Takahashi & Haruomi Hosono Selections: Drums & Bass (#15 Thank You For Talking To Me Africa)
• [2010.04.28] HOLIDAY tunes ~Odekake Mode~ (おでかけモード) (CD2 #15 Can't be Stopped)
• [2020.07.07] DJ KAYA - JAPANATION (#10 Koi ni Ochitara (Genki Rockets Remix))
• [2010.09.22] 10-nen Saki mo Kimi ni Koishite Original Soundtrack (10年先も君に恋して オリジナル・サウンドトラック)

Appearances

Films

• [2008.07.30] Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior - as Chansey
• [2009.08.01] Yamagata Scream - as Cayce Chihiro Sebastian

Drama

• [2010] Hidarime Tantei EYE - as Kokushou Akira

Commercials

• [2002 - 2003] SONY "MD WALKMAN"
• [2003] Tokyo Mode Gakuen
• [2004 - 2005] NTT docomo "Music PORTER"
• [2007] ITO EN "TULLY'S BARISTA'S SPECIAL"
• [2007] PARCO "Chikyuu ga Ichiban Kagayaku Hi. PARCO X'MAS"

Radio

• Boys & Girls Night
• Kiite Milk!! (きいてミルク!!)
• [2006 - 2007] Hama LOVE (濱)
• [2007.06] ARTIST PRODUCE SUPER EDITION
• [2007 - 2008] THE UNIVERSE
• [2008 - 2009] STANDBY OH! MY RADIO
• [2008 - 2009] OH! MY RADIO

External Links

• Official Website
• Official Blog
• Japanese Wikipedia: Crystal Kay