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YUKI (singer)

Revision as of 06:43, 28 November 2010 by Jackiejac (talk | contribs)
YUKI promoting "Futari no Story" (2010)

YUKI is a Japanese pop/rock singer, recognized for her distinctive voice and unique fashion style. She rose to fame in the 1990s as the vocalist of JUDY AND MARY. After the band split in 2001, she made her solo debut with 2002's, "the end of shite". Her side projects include the all-girl rock band Mean Machine, the super-group NiNa, and a well-received duet with friend, singer Chara.

Profile

  • Stage name: YUKI
  • Maiden name: Isoya Yuki (磯谷有希)
  • Married name: Kuramochi Yuki (倉持有希)
  • Nicknames: Yukky, Yukiss, Sarah
  • Birth date: February 17, 1972 (1972-02-17) (age 52)
  • Birth place: Hokkaido, Japan
  • Height: 156 cm
  • Weight: 46 kg
  • Blood Type: A
  • Spouse: Kuramochi Youichi (a.k.a YO-KING)
  • Label: EPIC Records

Information

Early life

YUKI promoting J・A・M (1994)

Isoya Yuki was born to Mou and Ryouko Isoya on February 17, 1972 in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. She has an older sister, Yukari, and a little brother, Taminori. She attended an all-girls high school in Hakodate and continued her studies at Wikipedia:Hakodate Otani College. After graduation, she worked briefly as a tour guide and beautician. Music was a big part of her yough, and the 80s band REBECCA was a huge influence in her early music. Yuki was also friends with the members of GLAY in the late 1980s, as they are also natives of Hakkaido.

JUDY AND MARY (1990s)

Main article: JUDY AND MARY

In 1991, Yuki met future JUDY AND MARY guitarist Onda Yoshihito while on location for the film "The Triple Cross." [1] YUKI made quite an impression on him and the two became quick friends. A few months after their meeting, she sent him a demo tape with some vocal samples. Soon afterwards, they began to form a band and recruited drummer Igarashi Kohta and guitarist Fujimoto Taiji.

YUKI promoting THE POWER SOURCE (1997)

The band made their indie debut in 1992 with the mini-album, BE AMBITIOUS, on which Yuki's name is listed as "Sarah". The album featured lyrics penned by Yuki and music composed by Onda. After a successful live tour the band was offered a record deal with Sony Music Entertainment, and signed with EPIC Records. At this point Fujimoto left the band, and Asanuma Takuya filled his place. Both Yuki and Takuya assumed new stage names at this point (YUKI and TAKUYA, respectively). Under pressure from the record labbel release material, JAM's first few releases were re-recordings of songs from their indie career.

In 1994, the band released their debut studio album, J・A・M. The album did well, reaching #23 on the weekly Oricon chart. This was the band's first release to contain new material on their major label. Much like their indie debut this album was mainly composed by Onda, however YUKI composed one track ("LOVE ME DO!"). Around this time YUKI started hosting the radio program All Night Nippon, which lasted until 1996.

After their release of their first album the band quickly grew in popularity. They started breaking into Oricon's top 25 with singles like "Hello! Orange Sunshine" and "Cheese PIZZA" and top ten albums like Orange Sunshine and MIRACLE DIVING. The release of their ninth single, "Sobakasu," caused the band's popularity to skyrocket. The single, opening theme to the anime Rurouni Kenshin, reached #1 on the weekly Oricon chart and sold over a million copies. Their following album, THE POWER SOURCE reached #1 on the weekly Oricon and sold over two million copies. During this period, YUKI started contributing a monthly illustrated journal page for the magazine WHAT's IN?, titled "YUKI no Hateshinai Tawagoto" (YUKIの果てしない戯言; YUKI's Endless Nonsense). Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, YUKI created dozens of pages for WHAT's IN? and those pages were later compiled and published in her three autobiographies, Girly Swing, Girly Boogie, and Girly Tree. YUKI still occasionally creates these pages for her official fan club newsletters and certain special occasions.

In late 1997, YUKI had to undergo throat surgery, forcing the band to take a couple months off for her to recover. During this time the other members pursued several side projects. After only a four month break, the band bounced back with two successful singles, "Sampomichi" and "Music Fighter". After the release of their fifth studio album, POP LIFE the band announced they would be taking another hiatus.

YUKI promoting WARP (2001)

The End of JAM & Side Projects (1999-2001)

During the hiatus, YUKI worked on a few different side projects. She started writing songs with Chara, some for their all girl band for Mean Machine, which would resurface later. The two also released the joint single "Ai no Hi 3tsu Orange," which performed very well on the charts. YUKI also teamed up with Kate Pierson (of The B-52's fame) and members from The Plastics to form the experimental super-group, NiNa. During the bands short life they release two singles and a self titled album.

The band returned in early 2000 and released their 18th single, "Brand New Wave Upper Ground". In September 2000, YUKI announced her marriage to YO-KING, frontman of the band Magokoro Brothers. They met when YUKI guested on the track, "KIMOCHI E" for the band. On January 9th 2001, the band annouced via a full-page ad in the newspaper that they would be disbanding after their final album and following tour. The band released their last original single, "Lucky Pool" on January 24th, 2001, followed by their final original album and tour, WARP.

Not long after the group disbanded, YUKI joined the band Mean Machine with actress Ito Ayumi, DJ and radio personality Chiwaki Mayumi , YUKARI, and Chara. YUKI & Chara both played drums. The premise of the band was to "play an instrument you never have before." By the end of 2001, they had released two singles and their only album, CREAM and disbanded.

YUKI in ROCK ON JAPAN (2002)

Solo debut (2002-2004)

YUKI made her first post-JUDY AND MARY apperance in the pages of ROCK ON JAPAN, where she talked about her up coming solo single. Her debut solo single, "the end of shite" was written, composed, arranged, and produced by former Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her front women, Higurashi Aiha. The collaboration came about because "YUKI was a fan [of Higurashi]" and she contacted Higurashi looking for a "producer, songwriter, and musician [2]." At the time Higurashi had five songs written as she was getting ready to launch her own solo career, she played the songs for YUKI and she loved the songs, and used three of them for this single.

A month later in March of 2002, YUKI followed up with the "Prism" single. Three weeks after it's release YUKI released her first full-length solo album, PRISMIC. The album's sound, for the most part, was rock. It contained compositions from well known Japanese rock artists such as Higurashi Aiha, Spitz, and Tokyo Ska Band. YUKI herself also composed several songs on the album, making them her first (released) compositions since 1993. The album managed to reach #3 on the weekly Oricon chart and sold over 300,000 copies.

YUKI then went out on tour to promote the album. The tour was called, PRISMIC TOUR 2002 and even though there were shows recorded and aired on television, it was never released for purchase. It was also around this time that YUKI announced she was pregnant with her first child. She ended 2002 with the release of her fourth single, "Stand Up! Sister". This release showcase a change in style for YUKI, moving from a harder alternative rock to a softer acoustic rock sound.

YUKI promoting "Hummingbird" (2003)

In early 2003, YUKI continued the acoustic trend with the release of two new singles: "Sentimental Journey" and "Hummingbird". These two singles, along with 2002's "Stand Up! Sister," didn't fare as well on the charts as her previous singles, however they did draw attention for their music videos, directed by artist Noda Nagi. In March 2003, she released her second studio album, commune, a gentle, acoustic-rock album with a slow, 1970s-feel and which showed obvious influence of her pregnancy and motherhood (she was pregnant during the recording). The album reached #11 on the weekly Oricon chart and is her lowest-selling to date.

On April 18th 2003, YUKI gave birth to her first son. A few months after his birth YUKI headed out on her second tour, Sweet Home Rock'n Roll Tour on September 22nd 2003. She then finished 2003 with the release of her seventh and eighth singles, "Home Sweet Home" and "Hello, Goodbye". These two singles marked a shift in style to pop that would lead YUKI to new success in coming years. It was also around this time that pop-rap duo HALCALI released their second album, Ongaku no Susume (with album cover art done by Noda Nagi), which contained the song "Densetsu no Futari" composed by YUKI (lyrics) and her husband YO-KING (music).

YUKI promoting "JOY" (2005)

JOY/WAVE Era (2005-2007)

YUKI started 2005 out with the single, "JOY". Even though the single only peaked at #10 on the weekly Oricon chart, the song was quite popular and garnered a lot of attention and charted for eleven weeks. The song solidified a change in YUKI's music, which was moving from a more rock-oritented sound to an experimental pop/electro sound. The music video for "JOY" was very popular, winning the "Best Video of the Year" award at the annual Space Shower TV Music Video awards.

February 2005, YUKI released her third studio album, joy. This album showcased YUKI's new style, with the majority of the songs being up-beat electro-pop songs, and only a few showing her rock roots. joy reached #1 on the weekly Oricon, a first for YUKI's solo career. A month later she embarked on her TOUR "joy" concert tour.

YUKI finished out 2005 with a string of successful singles. "Nagai Yume" was used as the CM song for the Sony Ericson Mobile au W31S cell phone, "Dramatic" was used as the opening theme song to the popular josei anime adaption of Honey and Clover, and "Yorokobi no Tane" was used as the theme song to the film Touch. The singles reached #4, #2, and #5 on the weekly Oricon chart, respectively and they all sold over 65,000 copies.

Sadly, on March 17th, 2005 - a few days prior to the start of Tour "joy" - YUKI's first son died from unknown causes. The concerts were at first canceled, but were then un-canceled. Aside from a brief letter to fans thanking them for their condolences and expressing their grief, YUKI & YO-KING have not publicly discussed the tragedy. After her son's death, YUKI stopped appearing on television to promote her music, and her music videos for "Dramatic" and "Nagai Yume" were the first in which she did not appear.

YUKI promoting "Melancholinista" (2006)

At the end of 2005, YUKI released the single "Yorokobi no Tane", the lyrics of which seemed to express YUKI's optimistic outlook on the future in wake of the death of her child. In 2006, YUKI released her 13th single, "Melancholinista" and soon after that, she announced that she was pregnant with her second child. In light of her pregnancy her activities slowed, although in August she released another single "Fugainaiya". For the song's music video, YUKI was dressed as a big red chair which hid her pregnant stomach; this was third time she appeared pregnant in a music video (the first two being "Sentimental Journey" and "Hummingbird"). On August 29th 2006, YUKI gave birth to her second son and a few days later her fourth studio album, WAVE was released. The album was highly successful, reaching #1 on the weekly Oricon and becoming #38 best-silling album of the year.

It'd be almost a year before there was another physical release from YUKI. However, in May of 2007 she released her first download exclusive single, "Biscuit". The song was released through Sony cell phones. In August of 2007 she released her 15th single, "Hoshikuzu Sunset". For the song YUKI collaborated with well known pop-rock composer mugen. In October, YUKI released five-star, a singles collection of her first five years as a solo artist. Much like her previous two studio albums, the album was successful reached #1 on the weekly Oricon and it became the 33rd best-selling album of 2007. YUKI finished out the year by releasing another single in December, "Wonderline".

YUKI promoting "Biscuit" (2007)

Ureshikutte Dakiau yo Era (2008-2010)

Although she didn't release much material, 2008 was a busy year for YUKI as she spent much of the year on tour. She spent the first part of the year finishing up the YUKI LIVE "5-Star" tour, after which she preformed at Suido Hashi YUKI 2008, YUKI Concert New Rhythm Tour 2008, YUKI Live Blitz Pop Generation, and Hot Stuff 30th Anniversary "Black and Blue". She also released one single, "Kisha ni Notte", which reached #5 on the Oricon and it became her first single to chart on the newly established Billboard Japan, reaching #9 on their Hot 100.

In February 2009 it was announced via YUKI's official homepage that she was due to give birth to her third child in June. It was reported by Eltha that she gave birth to her third son on May 31st, 2009 [3]. In March she released her 18th single, "Rendezvous". The song was used as the theme song to the film Instant Numa and was another collaboration with mugen. Later in November, YUKI released her 19th single, "COSMIC BOX". Both of these singles reached #6 on the weekly Oricon chart.

YUKI promoting "Kisha ni Notte" (2008)
YUKI promoting "COSMIC BOX" (2009)

YUKI started off 2010 with the release of her 20th single, "Ureshikutte Dakiau yo". On February 12th she preformed the song on the 1000th special episode of Music Station, marking her first television performance in five years. The following month YUKI released her fifth studio album, Ureshikutte Dakiau yo. The album reached #1 on the weekly Oricon, and became her fourth #1 album. In July she started a tour for the album entitled, YUKI Concert Tour 2010 "Ureshikutte Dakiau yo". The summer of 2010 was spent touring, including a performance at Rock In Japan, where she was the final act.

Recent Activity

Much of the summer of 2010 was spent touring for Ureshikutte Dakiau yo. On September 15th 2010, YUKI released her 21st single, "Futari no Story". The single debuted at #4 on the weekly Oricon chart, making it her highest ranking single since 2007's "Wonderline". YUKI was also featured on a track "Bedtime Story" by DJ and composer Jazztronik, which was used as the theme song to the film Shikeidai no Elevator. In December 2010, YUKI will release her first solo live album, YUKI "The Present" 2010.6.14,15 Bunkamura Orchard Hall, which features new orchestral arrangements of her songs.

Discography

Studio albums

Other albums

Singles

Other Singles

Videos

Compilation / Other

Works

Tours / Concerts

  • [2002.05.01] PRISMIC TOUR 2002 (Tour Start Date)
  • [2002.08.10] Rock in Japan Festival 2002 (Grass Stage)
  • [2002.08.11] J-WAVE LIVE 2000+2
  • [2003.12.08] From Diva's County
  • [2004.01.25] Soul of Donto 2004
  • [2004.05.08] Sony Music Festival 2004
  • [2004.07.03] Diva's County (with guests Mochi and Ring)
  • [2004.07.25] MEET THE WORLD BEAT 2004
  • [2004.08.21] HIGHER GROUND 2004
  • [2004.08.29] J-WAVE LIVE 2000+4
  • [2004.09.20] SWEET LOVE SHOWER 2004
  • [2004.09.22] Sweet Home Rock'n Roll Tour (Tour Start Date)
  • [2004.12.02] Joy to the Music, Joy to the World
  • [2005.01.30] Soul of Donto 2005
  • [2005.03.25] YUKI TOUR "joy" (Tour Start Date)
  • [2005.07.31] HIGHER GROUND 2005
  • [2005.08.05] Rock in Japan Festival 2005 (Grass Stage)
  • [2005.08.21] J-WAVE LIVE 2000+5
  • [2005.09.03] Otodama ~Fountain Soul Sound~ (OTODAMA～音泉魂～)
  • [2005.09.04] TREASURE 052 with ZIP-FM ～walking on air～
  • [2005.09.15] SMA Bali 3 Carnival (SMAバリ3カーニバル)
  • [2006.01.27] Soul of Donto 2006 -7th Anniversary-
  • [2007.11.02] YUKI LIVE "5-Star"(Tour Start Date)
  • [2008.03.22] Suido Hashi YUKI 2008 (水道橋ユキ2008)
  • [2008.04.17] YUKI concert New Rhythm Tour 2008 (Tour Start Date)
  • [2008.06.04] YUKI live Blitz Pop Generation
  • [2008.06.22] Hot Stuff 30th Anniversary "Black and Blue"
  • [2010.05.06] SUNSTAR ora2 presents J-WAVE LIVE SPRING! hajimari no hajimari~ Featuring YUKI (サンスター　オーラツー presents J-WAVE LIVE SPRING! はじまりのはじまり～featuring YUKI)
  • [2010.06.14] YUKI "The Present"
  • [2010.06.15] YUKI "The Present"
  • [2007.07.03] YUKI concert tour 2010 "ureshikutte dakiau yo" (YUKI concert tour 2010“うれしくって抱きあうよ”) (Tour Start Date)
  • [2010.08.08] Rock in Japan Festival 2010

Books & Publications

  • [1997.02.??] YUKI Girly Rock
  • [1997.02.01] YUKI Girly Swing
  • [2000.06.01] YUKI Girly Folk
  • [2000.06.01] YUKI Girly Boogie
  • [2004.03.01] Girly Rock Mini
  • [2004.03.01] Girly Swing Mini
  • [2004.03.01] Girly Folk Mini
  • [2004.03.01] Girly Boogie Mini
  • [2004.03.20] YUKI Girly Wave
  • [2004.03.20] YUKI Girly Tree
  • [2005.11.29] Guitar Accompaniment YUKI Songbook
  • [2006.11.29] Piano Accompaniment YUKI Best Selection ~ Fugainaiya
  • [2006.12.25] Band Score YUKI BEST
  • [2007.02.28] Guitar Accompaniment YUKI Best Selection ~ Fugainaiya
  • [2007.10.09] Piano Solo YUKI the end of shite ~ Hoshikuzu Sunset
  • [2008.05.28] Band Score YUKI Best ~ Kisha ni Notte

Composed works

HALCALI
Jazztronik feat. YUKI
JUDY AND MARY
Nanba Shiho
V.A.
  • [2008.04.18] Cappucino Due (カプチーノ・ドゥエ) (production)

References

  1. ↑ 『JAM BOOK』参考。
  2. ↑ Higurashi Aiha Interview with Jrawk.com (2009)
  3. ↑ Eltha: YUKI give birth (2009)

External Links

v • d • e
YUKI
Songs · Images · JUDY AND MARY · NiNa · Mean Machine
Studio Albums YUKI - Sayonara Bystander promo.jpg
Best Albums
Other Albums
Box
Singles
01 · 02 · 03 · 04 · 05 · 06 · 07 · 08 · 09 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21 · 22 · 23 · 24 · 25 · 26 · 27 · 28 · 29 · 30 · 31 · 32 · 32 · 34
Split Singles
Digital Singles
Video Releases
01 · 02 · 03 · 04 · 05 · 06 · 07 · 08 · 09 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14
Official Website

v • d • e
JUDY AND MARY
Topics judyandmarywarp.jpg
Singles
01 · 02 · 03 · 04 · 05 · 06 · 07 · 08 · 09 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21 · 22
Albums
Best Albums
Other Albums
VHS / DVDs
01 · 02 · 03 · 04 · 05 · 06 · 07 · 08 · 09 · 10 · 11
Official Website
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