Aiko

Aiko emerged as a leading figure in J-pop during the early and middle years of the 2000s thanks to her upbeat songs about romance, which drew legions of adolescent listeners throughout East Asia and earned her consecutive victories in the Oricon favorite singer poll for both 2005 and 2006. Born in 1975, she completed studies at Osaka College of Music before taking a position as a DJ at a regional FM outlet, where she developed her own compositions during off-hours. Her recording career began in 1997 with the release of the EP Astral Box. The 1998 single “Ashita” marked her first appearance on the Oricon chart at number 89, yet its successor, “Hanabi” (1999), benefited from television exposure and reached the upper reaches of the Top Ten. Although her debut full-length Chiisana Marui Kojitsu peaked only at number 30, the follow-up Sakura No Ki No Shita (2000) climbed to number one, moved more than one million copies, and remained on the ranking for 46 weeks. The 2000 single “Boyfriend” attained number two and surpassed 500,000 units sold. That same year she made her initial appearance on the long-running New Year’s television program Kohaku Uta Gassen, an event she would join on four further occasions; the first performance sparked a legal discussion concerning the copyrighted term “tetrapod” embedded in the lyrics.

Health setbacks struck in 2001 when tracheitis sidelined her temporarily, yet she continued studio work at a moment when momentum remained strong: a pair of that year’s singles entered the Top Five, while the album Natsufuku held the top spot for 18 weeks and approached one million copies. The subsequent releases Aki, Soba Ni Iru Yo (2002) and Akatsuki No Love Letter (2003) combined to sell another million units. After stepping away in 2004 she reentered the studio the following year with Yume No Naka No Massugu Na Michi and the interview-formatted memoir Aiko Bon. Her seventh album, Kanojo (2006), returned her to number one, and its accompanying tour featured an outdoor performance at Chigasaki beach before an audience of 25,000. A 2007 itinerary incorporated a members-only concert marking the tenth anniversary of her professional debut. Her eighth studio effort, Himitsu, registered a softer commercial showing with 290,000 copies shipped.