Misia (Japanese singer)

Infobox musical artist |
Name = MISIA


Img_capt =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = nihongo|伊藤美咲|Misaki Itō
Born = birth date and age|1978|7|7
Died =
Origin = flagicon|Japan Fukuoka, Fukuoka Kyūshū, Japan
Instrument = Singing, Piano, Guitar, Trumpet
Genre = Japanese Pop, R&B
Occupation = Singer, Songwriter
Years_active = 1998 — Present
Label = BMG Japan
1998 — 2002
Rhythmedia Tribe
2002 — 2007
BMG Japan
2007 — Present
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.misia.jp/ MISIA OFFICIAL WEB SITE]

nihongo|MISIA|ミーシャ|Mīsha, born on July 7, 1978, in Fukuoka, Japan, is a female Japanese R&B singer. Her real name is nihongo|Misaki Itō|伊藤美咲|, not to be mistaken with the actress Misaki Ito (伊東美咲). Her current record label is BMG Japan and she belongs to "Rhythmedia" management company.

She debuted on February 21,1998, with the song "Tsutsumikomu Youni..."

Biography

MISIA (not to be confused with European singer Mísia and with Style Misia) was born Misaki Ito on July 7,1978, in Fukuoka, Kyūshū, to parents who were both doctors. She is the youngest of three children, with an older brother and sister. She discovered her five-octave singing voice while at her older sister’s private music lessons. From then on she dreamed of becoming a singer and later won a contest in Fukuoka. She moved in with her sister before middle school to work toward her goal. During middle and high school, she sang and played the trumpet in a brass band club. She began training with two African-American trainers in gospel and R&B, but failed all her auditions in high school. She was accepted into Seinan Gakuin University in commercial science but decided to pursue a music career instead.

She finally passed a BMG Japan audition in May 1997 and styled her hair in dreadlocks that November. Her name, MISIA, is a combination of MISaki and AsIA.(other saying goes "Messiah" and/or "Asia") She debuted on February 21,1998, with "Tsutsumikomu Youni..." which peaked at #11 on the Oricon single charts and became a long seller. Her second single, "Hi no Ataru Basho" reached #9 and was used in the soundtrack of the movie "'hood". Her first album "Mother Father Brother Sister" was released on June 24,1998, entered the charts at #3 and reached #1 after 4 weeks. In March 1999, she won Best New Artist of the Year and Best Pop Album of the Year at the Nihon Gold Disc Awards.

In 2000, one of MISIA's dreams came true with the release of "I miss you ~Toki wo Koete~" with Dreams Come True, her favorite band. Masato Nakamura, the leader of DCT and her created the song while MISIA wrote the lyrics. The single was released on January 1,2001. Her album "LOVE IS THE MESSAGE" includes a live version of the famous song, "Lovin' You". Her single "Kokoro Hitotsu" released on August 27, 2003 and was used as the theme song to the hit movie "Dragon Head".

The single "Namae no Nai Sora wo Miagete", released on July 7,2004, was used as the theme song for the drama "Tenka". "Tobikata wo Wasureta Chiisana Tori" is used as the theme song of the PlayStation 2 role-playing game "Star Ocean: Till the End of Time" and also appears within the game as an orchestral arrangement. Also, "SEA OF DREAMS" was used as the Tokyo DisneySea 5th Anniversary theme song.

She is one of the few artists in Japan to have never performed on any TV music shows and fewer to be as popular despite this. Her live performance is acclaimed by many. She became the first female solo act that toured five major domed stadiums of Japan in 2004.

It was announced on May 1, 2007 that MISIA will be leaving avex trax to go back to her former record label, BMG Japan. The first original release on BMG Japan since 2002 was released on July 4, 2007. It is said to be a love song composed by Satoshi Shimano, who also produced her debut hit.

On September 29, 2007 MISIA held her first overseas concert in Taiwan.

Her next single, "Royal Chocolate Flush", will be released in December 2007, and the first album since returning to BMG, "EIGHTH WORLD", will be released in January 2008.

Starting in April MISIA will put out three new releases from April to June. Yes Forever will be released in April, Yakusoku no Tsubasa in May, and the EIGHth WORlD tour DVD+THE BEST DJ REMIXES CD in June.

In continuation of her 10th anniversary celebration, MISIA released her very first digital single, "Catch the Rainbow" (produced by SAKOSHIN) on August 30, 2008. She is currently touring Asia on her "THE TOUR OF MISIA DISCOTHEQUE ASIA" tour which has brought her to Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Personal

* Height: 153 cm
* Weight: 40 kg
* Blood Type: O
* Shoe size: 23 cm
* Trademark: Dreadlocks
* Favorite artists: Dreams Come True
* Hobbies: Cooking
* Measurements (in cm.): 83-56-80

Discography

tudio albums

* 1998: "Mother Father Brother Sister"
* 2000: "Love Is the Message"
* 2001: "Marvelous"
* 2002: "Kiss in the Sky"
* 2004: "Mars & Roses"
* 2004: "Singer for Singer"
* 2007: "Ascension"
* 2008: "Eight World"

Compilation albums

* 2002: "Misia Greatest Hits"
* 2003: "Misia Single Collection~5th Anniversary~"
* 2004: "Misia Love & Ballads the Best Ballade Collection"

Other albums

* 1998: "The Glory Day"
* 2000: "Misia Remix 2000 Little Tokyo"
* 2001: "Misia Remix 2002 World Peace"
* 2003: "Misia Remix 2003 Kiss in the Sky -Non Stop Mix-"
* 2003: "Hoshizora no Live ~The Best of Acoustic Ballade~"

External links

* [http://www.misia.jp/ MISIA OFFICIAL WEB SITE] Official site (in Japanese)
* [http://www.rhythmedia.com Rhythmedia] Official site (in Japanese)
* [http://www.rhythmedia.com/rmt Rhythmedia Tribe] Label Site (in Japanese)