generasia:Featured article for 2010 week 44

Sakamoto Maaya

Sakamoto Maaya (坂本真綾) is a well-known seiyuu and Japanese pop singer-songwriter under flying DOG, a sub-label of Victor Entertainment.

Sakamoto got her break at the age of 15 when she lent her voice to Kanzaki Hitomi in the anime Tenkuu no Escaflowne. Her debut single, "Yakusoku wa Iranai" which was produced by popular composer Kanno Yoko, marked a beginning of her longtime collaboration with Kanno.

In 2003, Sakamoto and Kanno announced their breakup. Two years later, she released her first non-Kanno produced single and began to collaborate with other composers to have more creative control in her singing career. In 2008, they re-united with the single "Triangler", Macross Frontier's first opening theme. With the popularity of the series and a warm welcome from their fans, "Triangler" was shot to #3 on the Oricon weekly charts.

In 2010, she released her third best album, everywhere, featuring the title song composed by her. On her 30th birthday, Sakamoto held her first concert at Nippon Budokan to celebrate her 15th anniversary. In October 2010, it was announced that her seventh album, You can't catch me is set to be released on January 12, 2010 and will feature her collaboration with various well-known musicians.