Thelma Aoyama

In 2007 Thelma Aoyama entered the J-pop landscape, converting her eye-catching looks, vocal schooling, and affinity for American R&B—honed during a two-year stay in Los Angeles—into a breakthrough by teaming with Japanese R&B singer SoulJa on the single “Koko Ni Iru Yo,” which dominated the Oricon charts. Three-quarters Japanese and one-quarter Trinidadian, Aoyama deploys her signature flowing delivery as a striking foil to the rap-tinged approach common among male Japanese R&B performers. Building on the momentum of “Koko Ni Iru Yo,” she joined SoulJa again for “Soba Ni Iru Ne,” a track that placed her voice in the foreground and revived a late-’90s/early-2000s aesthetic; the single entered the Oricon ranking at number three before ascending to the top position. Her debut full-length release, Diary, arrived at number three on the Oricon chart in March 2008.