Hoshimura Mai
Hoshimura Mai (星村麻衣) is a Japanese pop/rock singer formerly on Sony Music Entertainment label. She writes her own lyrics and composes her own music. Her style can be described as "piano-pop/rock". Mai is also known for assuming a crouching stance while playing the piano.
Profile
- Name: Hoshimura Mai (星村麻衣)
- Birthdate: April 18th, 1981
- Birthplace: Matsue-shi, Shimane Prefecture
- Instrument: Piano
Information
Hoshimura Mai was born in Shimane Prefecture and is currently a university senior majoring in piano. She began playing when she was just 4 years old and considers the piano her friend. Her parents are both school teachers and were important to her development as a musician. Hoshimura's mother wanted her to become a classical musician while her father influenced her with his fondness for pop music (he played guitar in a pop-style band).
During high school, Hoshimura set her sights on becoming a singer-songwriter. She also developed a preference for pop-rock over classical music. One day, Hoshimura learned of a Sony Records vocalist audition on the Internet and submitted a demonstration tape. Although she passed the initial screening, she did not make the final cut since she was unable to attend an in-person audition because of her exams. Hoshimura did not give up however, and so she tried once again and passed. She released her debut indies single "Natsuiro no Canvas" in 2002 and went major with her next single, "Stay With You".
In 2005, "Melodea" is released and it marked the beginning of a notable change in Mai's music. With this single, though her vocals were still strong, Mai's compositions were much softer and subdued when compared to the upfront power and punch of her trademark 'piano-rock' sound. The following singles ("EVERY", "Sunao ni Narenai", "Merry Go Round") led up to her second studio album, "Joyful". The album did worse than her debut album, "SOUP", ranking at #60 on the Oricon charts.
Her name became more known with "GET HAPPY" because it was the theme song for the dorama "Marusa!!". But it was only in 2007 with Sakura Biyori that she rose to fame. "Sakura Biyori" was the tenth ending theme of the anime "Bleach", ranking #20 on Oricon Charts. Her follow-up single, "Shunkan, Strobe.", failed to make the same impact.
On June 4th, 2008 Mai made another hit, this time with "regret". The track was the seventh ending song of the anime "D. Gray-man", ranking #30 on Oricon Charts and selling 6,313 units totally. In the same year, Hoshimura Mai released her most successful single to date, "Hikari", the theme song for the TBS dorama "Tomorrow -Hi wa Mata Noboru-". The single reached #14 on Oricon Charts, charted for 8 weeks and sold 21,313 units totally. After all success, Mai released her third album entitled "MY LIFE" and it's also her most successful album to date, ranking #20 on Oricon Charts.
In 2009, Hoshimura Mai along with the brilliant green and Sowelu, announced their departure from management agency Ken-on and record label Sony Music Entertainment. Before she left, Mai still released a best / piano self-cover album entitled "PIANO & BEST". The collection consists of two discs: one features tunes sung to her own piano accompaniment, while the other includes all of her singles to date. The DVD contains a live concert footage of her Shibuya 2008.10.30 live. After the album's release, Hoshimura reportedly plans to hold several free concerts throughout Japan.
Discography
Albums
- [2003.07.09] SOUP
- [2006.01.25] Joyful
- [2008.09.17] MY LIFE
- [2009.03.11] PIANO & BEST (Best Album)
Singles
- [2002.07.07] Natsuiro no Canvas (夏色のキャンバス) (Indies)
- [2002.10.23] Stay With You
- [2003.02.19] Cherish
- [2003.05.14] GET HAPPY
- [2003.12.03] Believer (ビリーヴァー)
- [2004.07.09] Himawari (ひまわり)
- [2005.03.16] Melodea
- [2005.05.25] EVERY
- [2005.09.28] Sunao ni Narenai (素直になれない)
- [2006.01.11] Merry Go Round
- [2007.03.07] Sakura Biyori (桜日和)
- [2007.05.30] Shunkan, Strobe. (瞬間、ストロボ。)
- [2007.11.14] Kakegae no Nai Hito (かけがえのない人)
- [2008.06.04] regret
- [2008.08.20] Hikari
