JAPANESE SYMPHONY: Chihiro Onitsuka

PROFILE
Chihiro Onitsuka is a successful songwriter and musician whose carefully honed talents and unique style have caused a sensation in Japan. Accompanied by her piano playing or occasional guitar, she is a rare artist in the mass produced market of Japanese pop idols. Her voice is recognisable for its large range both in scale and emotion, which some critics may unfairly describe as raw but her fans adore as soulful and heartfelt. Even though Chihiro started recording at an early age her work is of high quality, encompassing folk styles blended with rock. Relaxing, invigorating and most of all hopeful, Chihiro's music is something truly unique that comes entirely from her heart and reaches through her music to touch the hearts of the listener too.

BIOGRAPHY
As a child, Chihiro was very much encouraged by her parents to listen to and enjoy music, seeing as her mother was especially fond of US folk pop bands like The Carpenters. In school Chihiro wrote poetry which she wrote prodigiously before she was inspired to write music. Her inspiration to write songs as well as performing them grew from her admiration of US musician Jewel. During her senior high school years Chihiro continued to write and received a great boost to both her confidence and musical legitimacy by winning the Grand Prize of the prestigious Virgin Tokyo Artists Audition. Soon after in 1999, the then 17 year old moved to Tokyo to begin her music career. Spring of 2000 saw the release of her first single, Shine, which was soon followed by arguably her most famous song, Gekkou, used as the introduction theme to a popular TV show "Trick". Two more successful singles followed which showcased Chihiro's wide range of styles and even wider range of singing voice which, although unpolished and clear, was sincere and suited her music perfectly. The music industry and the public were amazed at her combination of young age and advanced musical talent which were a total contrast to the usual carbon copy female J-pop idols that dominated the charts. Chihiro was a complete artist who relied on her vocal skills, piano and heartfelt performances to entertain the crowds, which she did during the summer of 2001 in support of the release of her debut album, Insomnia. The album topped the Oricon charts in its first week of release and two songs, Innocence and Cage, received international attention from the US. Innocence was used in a television commercial whilst Cage received a full single release. Meanwhile, in Japan Chihiro released her first DVD, Cradle on my Noise and was honoured with a Japan Record Award for the lyrics to her song Memai. The beginning of 2002 was rather quiet until the release of her second full album, This Armour, which was followed soon by Chihiro being presented with a Golden Disc Award for her first album. The summer was filled with a long tour entitled Live Vibe, which was received with great enthusiasm by her ever growing fan base. However, it seems as even though with a busy tour schedule there was time to write as at the end of the year Chihiro's third album, Sugar High, was released.The following year brought a quartet of singles which were released from August through November and an album follow-up containing the single versions and new songs was highly anticipated. However, instead the record label issued a box set of singles which seemed to be designed as a marketing ploy to get fans to buy all her singles again without the expected extra material that an album would contain. This decision by the record label was a fatal mistake as Chihiro was so opposed to the idea that she broke ties with the company and moved to the Universal label. Universal still continue to release her old material as they still own the rights.Chihiro's style took a major change during this time and her first release on her new record label was a surprise for her fans. She debuted her new style by performing the song Sodatsu Zassou during a live concert. It is interesting that to mirror her new heavier rock style that she also performed a cover of a song by the US Grunge Rock band Nirvana. The single Sodatsu Zassou was released the following month in October along with the shock announcement statement from Chihiro, that she would be taking a break from music for an undisclosed period of time for medical reasons.

Official Website: http://www.onitsuka-chihiro.jp/

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August 6, 2008

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Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Chihiro Onitsuka

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