Dreams Come True

Drawing from jazz and classic R&B while incorporating touches of techno, the Japanese pop/rock outfit Dreams Come True emerged as one of Japan’s dominant acts throughout the 1990s, moving the bulk of the 50 million records they would ultimately sell across their career. They also ranked among the scant few Japanese acts that sought Western success ahead of the anime-driven wave of the 2000s, as vocalist Yoshida Miwa secured a Time magazine cover feature. Although they never established major footing inside the United States, the group maintained a steady presence on the Japanese music landscape, reclaiming the top spot on the Oricon singles chart in 2008 following a ten-year absence.

Yoshida, Nakamura Masato, and Nishikawa Takahiro launched the band in 1988 initially under the name Cha-Cha & Audrey’s Project, later adopting Dreams Come True (commonly shortened by fans to Dori or Dorikamu) ahead of their first single, Anata Ni Aitakute, in 1989. Immediate success followed: their self-titled debut album, issued that same year, surpassed one million copies, while the subsequent releases Love Goes On (1989), Wonder 3 (1990), and Million Kisses (1991) each reached number one and earned platinum status. This streak peaked with The Swinging Star (1992), the first Japanese album to exceed three million units sold, and Love Goes On remained on the Oricon charts for four years.

The group extended operations into the American market in 1993, making their Hollywood debut with the track “Winter Song,” contributed to the romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle. They next supplied the theme “Eternity” for the 1994 animated feature The Swan Princess, an unusual instance of a Japanese act scoring an American cartoon rather than anime. Dreams Come True also composed music for television programs in both countries, with their U.S. placements arriving chiefly through Disney projects. In 1995 Yoshida issued the well-received solo album Beauty and Harmony alongside saxophonist Michael Brecker and the rhythm section of David Walker and Chuck Rainey, both veterans of Aretha Franklin sessions; her Time profile appeared the following year. She further appeared in commercials for Sony, Vodaphone, and Coca-Cola, while Masato scored several Sonic the Hedgehog titles and created advertising jingles, later supplying DCT tracks to the Dance Dance Revolution series in the 2000s. During this period the band also delivered the double-platinum albums Delicious (1995) and Love Unlimited (1996).

Expectations intensified in the latter half of the decade. Virgin Records secured the group with a reported $25 million advance intended to underwrite a North American breakthrough, prompting a simultaneous shift from Sony to Toshiba-EMI within Japan. Dreams Come True prepared English-language versions of earlier material for the 1998 album Sing or Die, released stateside yet unsuccessful in penetrating Billboard rankings. In Japan, however, the record attained gold status and The Monster (1999) reached platinum. The band made its Taiwan debut in 2001 before an audience of 25,000 and joined charity performances that included a collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto.

The early 2000s nevertheless proved challenging. Although Monkey Girl Odyssey (2001) reached number one, overall sales declined. Nishikawa Takahiro departed in 2002 and faced drug charges months afterward; Virgin and EMI simultaneously dropped the act. Dreams Come True responded by operating independently, issuing the single It’s All About Love on their newly formed DCT Records label that year. They soon signed with Universal, which released the English-language collection Love Overflows (2004) comprising primarily reworkings of prior Japanese hits. The group signaled restored stability with the “comeback” album Diamond 15, which peaked at number two, and a Live 8 appearance in 2005. The Love Rocks (2006) returned them to the summit of the album charts for the first time since 2001, while And I Love You (2007) settled at number two. In 2008 they scored their first chart-topping single in years with Tsuretette Tsuretette, paving the way for the March 2009 album Do You Dreams Come True?