, better known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer, actress and video jockey. She debuted in 1991 with the single Heaven. She is known for her song "Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta)", the theme song for the 1996 Shunji Iwai film Swallowtail Butterfly in which she starred, her 1997 hit single "Yasashii Kimochi", and her collaboration with Judy and Mary vocalist Yuki, "Ai no Hi Mittsu Orange". Chara later formed a band with Yuki, called Mean Machine.
Early life
Chara grew up in Kawaguchi, Saitama. She started learning the piano from age four, and starting composing songs in elementary school. In her first year of elementary school, she performed a song she had written, , at a school piano recital.
She originally received her nickname Chara in junior high school, after a teacher called her this. She was so well known by this name that even some of her friends did not know her real name. After finishing high school, Chara went to Tokyo to a vocational school, majoring in music and specialising in piano. However, she dropped out one year into her two-year degree.
From 1984 onward, she worked as a keyboardist in several different unsigned bands. In 1988, to get a chance to sing her own compositions, she decided to become a band vocalist instead. Her first live performance was at the Shinjuku Ruido live house in 1990. She recorded her debut album in early 1991 in Tokyo and London,
Chara's career gained more momentum after her first tour, Chara Live "Sweet" in May 1992. She became a radio personality for the FM Yokohama, with her own radio show , and her second album, Soul Kiss, won the 1992 Japan Record Award for best rock/pop album from a new artist. The album reached No. 14 on the album charts.
In 1993, she starred in many different commercials (or had her songs featured in them), including commercials for Suntory, Shiseido, Marui and Snow Brand ice creams. The resulting album, Violet Blue, debuted at No. 4 on the charts. Her 1994 album, Happy Toy, riding on the success of her first top 50 single , also debuting at No. 4.
In spring 1994, she filmed the Shunji Iwai film Picnic, in which she played a mental patient. The film would not be released for another two years. She starred aside Tadanobu Asano, whom she married in 1995. Chara took a short break from music, releasing Chara the Best Baby Baby Baby XXX and giving birth to her first child, a girl named .Sumire means violet. The music was released under the name Yen Town Band, the name of the band Glico forms in the film.
Before the movie's release, the theme song "Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta)" was released, along with Chara's first film with Iwai, Picnic, finding a proper cinema release. The film was a massive hit, Her performance awarded her a Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role nomination. and became her second biggest hit after Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta).
Her 1999 album, Strange Fruits, saw some success, debuting at No. 3 and selling over 300,000 copies.
2001–2005: Mean Machine
In late 2001, Chara released music as the drummer of the twin-drum all-girl rock band, Mean Machine, alongside Yuki, Swallowtail actress Ayumi Ito, 1980s musician Mayumi Chiwaki and former funk/rock band Jagatara dancer Yukarie. The band first practiced in 1999, and continued to sporadically practice throughout 2000, despite different members' schedules. Soon after, the band released their debut album Cream.
In 2003, Chara released her 9th solo album, Yoake Mae, and in 2004 released an album of re-recordings of songs from her early albums, A Scenery Like Me. This heralded the end of Chara's Sony contract. Chara self-released her music after this point, recording songs from her own home and self-producing her work. These recordings resulted in a limited 2,000 copy album, Something Blue, and a digital single (used as the theme song for the Japanese release of the movie March of the Penguins).
During this period, Chara created several bands. One, Cold Sugar was a collaboration with Arai Akino. It was written in collaboration with Seiji Kameda, producer for artists such as Do As Infinity and bassist for the band Tokyo Jihen. The following album, Union, also fared well. It reached the top 5 in Oricon's album charts, and outsold her former two Sony released albums. On the back of Chara's returned success, Sony released the compilation album, Sugar Hunter: The Best Love Songs of Chara.
Chara's Universal singles have fared better on digital charts. "Trophy", a single from Chara's second Universal album Honey, did well digitally, despite the physical release only reaching No. 37.
After the end of her contract with Universal, Chara released a new mini-album, Utakata, in November 2011 under BounDEE Inc. (a subsidiary of Space Shower Networks, the owners of Space Shower TV). Utakata charted at 56th spot on the Oricon charts and lasted there for three weeks.
On December 14, 2011, Chara announced in a concert at Shibuya-AX her transfer to Ki/oon Records (now Ki/oon Music), an imprint of Sony Music Japan. She joined Ki/oon's 20th anniversary concert tour, "Ki/oon 20 Years and Days", in April 2012 at Liquidroom Ebisu, Tokyo. She released her first single through Ki/oon, "Alterna Girlfriend", on June 6, 2012.
Chara collaborated with Basement Jaxx for the song "Wherever You Go" on the album Junto in 2014.
Personal life
In 1994, Chara married actor Tadanobu Asano. She met Asano on the set of the 1994 film Picnic, in which they were both starring actors. Chara gave birth to a daughter, , on July 4, 1995. Chara has two tattoos: a blue bird on her back, and a on her neck. Chara's children feature in her music. Sumire features on the cover of her album Honey, which also has a track named after her.
Discography
- Sweet (1991)
- Soul Kiss (1992)
- Violet Blue (1993)
- Happy Toy (1994)
- Montage (1996)
- Junior Sweet (1997)
- Strange Fruits (1999)
- Madrigal (2001)
- Yoake Mae (2003)
- A Scenery Like Me (2004)
- Something Blue (2005)
- Union (2007)
- Honey (2008)
- Carol (2009)
- Dark Candy (2011)
- Cocoon (2012)
- Jewel (2013)
- Secret Garden (2015)
- Diverse Journey (2016)
- Sympathy (2017)
- Baby Bump (2018)
Filmography
Films
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
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! Year
! Title
! Role
! Other notes
|-
|1996 ||Picnic|| || Filmed in 1994<br/>Won – Yokohama Film Festival Best New Talent
|-
|1996 ||Swallowtail Butterfly|| ||Won – Yokohama Film Festival Best New Talent<br/>Nominated — Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
|}
Series
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Other notes
|-
|2022 ||Because We Forget Everything|| ||
|-
|}
TV music shows
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Other notes
|-
|1991 ||Video Jam|| Co-presenter || 1991–?
|-
|2008 |||| Co-presenter || 2008–present
|}
References
External links
- Official Universal Music Label Site
- Ongaku Bāka Official Website