Kumi Koda
Kumi Kōda ( Japanese 倖 田 來 未 Kōda Kumi ( Hiragana こ う だ く み ), actually 神 田 來 未 子 Kōda Kumiko ; born November 13, 1982 in Kyoto , Japan ) is a J-Pop and R&B singer. She made her debut as a professional artist in Japan with her single "Take Back" on December 6, 2000 .
While she was not yet very successful at the beginning of her career, she made her breakthrough with the single "Real Emotion / 1000 no Kotoba", which was released on May 3, 2003 on the Japanese market, and developed into one of the following years most successful J-Pop singers.
Her younger sister Misono has also been in the music business since 2002, but not nearly as successfully as Kumi.
biography
2000 to 2002: musical beginnings
Kōda got her musical inspiration from her mother, who played koto , and her grandfather, who played shakuhachi . She wanted to follow in the footsteps of her mother, who she had often seen auditioning in karaoke bars . She had her first audition when she was seven years old. During her sophomore year of high school , she won the 2000 Avex Dream 2000 competition. She prevailed against 120,000 participants and signed a record deal with Rhythm Zone , a sub-label of Avex .
On December 6th, 2000 she made her debut with the single "Take Back", which however could not celebrate any success. Her subsequent singles “Trust Your Love”, “Color of Soul” and “So into You” were also unsuccessful in Japan, which in some cases left her with severe depression. Under the stage name Kōda she released the singles "Take Back" and "Trust Your Love" also in the United States . "Trust Your Love" even reached the top of the "Hot Dance Music / Maxi Singles Sales Charts".
Because of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 , she recorded the charity single "The Meaning of Peace" with BoA . The single was recorded as part of Avex's Song + Nation project to raise money for charity. In March 2002 she released her debut album "Affection", which reached number 12 in the Japanese charts. With her 5th single "Love Across the Ocean" she reached number 19 in the Japanese charts.
2003 to 2005: Breakthrough with Real Emotion / 1000 no Kotoba
In 2003 she achieved her breakthrough with the single "Real Emotion / 1000 no Kotoba". The songs were used as theme songs for the video game Final Fantasy X-2 . In the video game itself, Kōda speaks "Ren" (in the German version "Lenne"), and also contributed the Japanese voice and the dance sequence at the beginning of the game. With the single she reached number three on the Oricon charts. She herself describes this release as a change in her life, as she noticed how people changed in the songs because of their feelings. She changed her attitude towards music and began to discuss and talk more about her music with producers and others. From now on she wanted to incorporate more R&B and hip-hop into her songs. She planned her first live tour and also sang the theme song for the animated film "Cutie Honey".
With her single "Kiseki" (jap. 奇跡) and her fourth album "Secret" she celebrated success and reached number three in the Japanese charts with the album.
2006 to 2007: high point of career
With her CDs she achieved top placements in Japan as well as in other countries. In 2006 she was able to sell her single "4 Hot Wave" about 390,000 times. Subsequent singles such as "Yume no Uta / Futari de ..." (Japanese 夢 の う た / ふ た り で ...) and "Won't Be Long" (which she produced together with Exile ) were over 300,000 and 200,000 respectively times are discontinued. In 2005 and 2006 she also published a compilation, each of which sold over 1,800,000 copies. Her album "Black Cherry" is so far her most successful with over 1,000,000 sales, apart from the compilations.
The single "But / Aisho" (Japanese BUT / 愛 証) was released on March 14, 2007, followed shortly thereafter by the next single "Freaky". By participating in the Live Earth concert in Tokyo, where she performed alongside Rihanna , Linkin Park , Ai Ōtsuka and Abingdon Boys School , among others , she was committed to climate protection.
2008 to 2011: Falling sales and popularity
In January 2008 she released the single "Anytime" and her album "Kingdom". She caused a sensation in the public during the show "All Night Nippon" on February 17, 2008 with the following statement: "After a woman has turned 35, her amniotic fluid spoils ". Nevertheless, due to many complaints, almost all of her advertising contracts were terminated, and Avex suspended her for a month. In an exclusive TV interview with "Fuji-TV" she apologized for this statement. However, their recently released album "Kingdom" continued to sell well.
On March 31, 2008 , Kōda's live DVD "Live Tour 2007: Black Cherry Special Final in Tokyo Dome" was released. Their 40th single followed in June with "Moon". This also contained the song "That Ain't Cool", which she produced together with Fergie . Their live DVD “Live Tour 2008: Kingdom” was released on September 24th, making two live DVDs available for the first time in a year. Their 41st single "Taboo" has been available on the Japanese market since October 8th . On Christmas Eve 2008 her 42nd single "Stay with Me" was released.
In January 2009 her seventh studio album "Trick" was released. The success of the album was limited, although it could reach number one in the charts, but only sold about 380,000 copies. On March 25th a new compilation "Out Works & Collaboration Best" as well as a remix album "Koda Kumi Driving Hit's" was released. She sings her 43rd single "It's All Love!" With her sister Misono , which was released at the end of March. In July 2009 her 44th single "3 Splash" was released.
At the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010, Kōda Kumi, along with artists like L'arc-en-Ciel and Kobukuro, took part in a special Pepsi Nex advertising series in which she performed the classic "Got to Be Real".
On June 3rd and 4th, 2010, Koda Kumi gave her first outdoor arena concert at Yokohama Stadium, and she was the first female artist to perform on this stage for two evenings in a row. In July 2010 her summer single “Gossip Candy” was released with the tracks “Inside & Outside Fishbowl”, “Lollipop”, “For You” and “Got to Be Real”. Her 48th single “Suki de, Suki de, Suki de. / Anata Dake ga ”, two ballads and a new version of“ Walk ”.
In 2011 she released her 49th single, "Pop Diva". Another DVD of her concert tour was also released, on which she plays again in the Tokyo Dome. In March she released her ninth studio album, which is called "Dejavu". To date, the album has sold over 200,000 copies, but reached platinum status. In the summer she released her fiftieth single "4 Times", which had four music videos on it. However, the single did not have the desired success and in September it released the next single. "Ai o Tomenaide" was the name of the single and was also the theme song for the Japanese drama series "Second Virgin". On November 30th, 2011 she released the next single, which is called "Love Me Back". In December 2011 she announced that she would marry the Japanese artist "Kenji 03", from the music group Back-On , and that she was pregnant by him.
2012 to 2013: Japonesque and short maternity leave
For 2012, their tenth studio album, Japonesque , was announced on January 25th . As with Kingdom, it contains a variety of music videos. There are a total of 17 music videos for all 17 songs, the concept seems to be the same from Kingdom , but there is also an intro and an outro for Japonesque . The Rolling Stone Magazine Japan rated the song with three out of five stars. On May 1st, she announced that she would be taking time off because of the pregnancy and that she would come back in November after the birth. As a stage comeback she starts a short tour in Japan, which is called Koda Kumi Premium Night: Love & Songs . The tour starts on November 7th and runs until November 17th. It is the first time in his career that Kumi Kōda has taken a break from the music industry. On July 17, Kumi gave birth to her son, she reported on her official website and Facebook account. The download single Whatchu Waitin 'On , which was supposed to promote the released remix album Beach Mix , was released on July 25th. On August 1st, 2012, Kumi released her new remix album Beach Mix , originally the title should be called Koda Kumi Best Hit Summer . The album features a new song, Watchu Waitin 'On? which comes with a new music video. For the first time in Kumi's career, she did not go to the annual A-Nation due to the maternity leave, 711.SEJ announced this on Facebook. The A-Nation has existed since 2002 and it would have been Kumi's tenth participation in a row. It was officially announced that their 53rd single Go to the Top will be released on October 24th . The song of the same name was also used as the opening title melody for the anime Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse . The single reached number 1 on the Oricon charts in Japan, making it their ninth number 1 single and also their first number 1 single in three years. She then published her ballad Koishikute ( 恋 し く て ) on December 26th . This single was their worst-selling single since Hot Stuff , in 2005 , with just over 23,000 units sold .
In February 2013 she published her second cover album Color the Cover , which includes a cover version of Pink Spider by Hide . For the first time she released the album and some singles in the new Music Card format . On March 20, she finally released Driving Hit's 5 , on the same day she released six live albums that can be rented from selected retailers and as a fan club member, and she also released her Premium Night: Love & Songs on the same day - Concert on Blu-ray and DVD. For July 31, 2013 the single Summer Trip was announced. The single is a double A-side single and therefore has two music videos. Finally, for her 31st birthday, November 13, 2013, the 56th single Dreaming Now! announced which is the theme song for the Volleyball World Grand Champion Cups 2013 .
2014–2016: Bon Voyage , Market Outside Japan and Walk of My Life
For the New Year 2014 their 11th studio album entitled Bon Voyage was officially announced, the studio album was then released in February of that year. The album is the seventh highest ranking # 1 in a row based on their studio albums. Then on March 12th she went on tour to promote the album. The tour was called Koda Kumi Live Tour 2014: Bon Voyage and lasted until July 31st, as an international concert, a concert was held in Taipei , Taiwan for August 16th . In August of that year, their single Hotel was released, which drew attention to their fan club, as there was a version of the single to buy, in which you found a music video for Money in My Bag (the second A-Side track) and this was only offered for sale through the fan club. In addition, the paid international fan club was opened in the same month. The first music video for the Oculus Rift was presented at Tokyo Designers Week , this music video is called Dance in the Rain , sung by Kumi. The music video uses the 360-degree Oculus Rift technology, was first presented in London from September 18th to September 21st and was considered a good demo for the Oculus Rift. A TV-ready version of the music video was also subsequently released. In November, the song was marketed as their first download single and released for download in 110 countries. For the fan club members there was also a physical CD single for sale.
On March 18, 2015, she released her 12th studio album Walk of My Life as part of her 15-year existence on the stage. The accompanying tour under the name Koda Kumi 15th Anniversary Live Tour with 12 stops was supported by Mercedes-Benz and the last two concerts took place in the Saitama Super Arena . In the summer of that year she also released a compilation called Summer of Love and finally the Walk of My Life Tour was released as a live album in November of that year , exclusively for fan club members .
2016 was a quieter year in the theme of Kumi's musical releases; So she released the compilation Winter of Love on January 20th, which debuted at # 1 on the daily Oricon charts, but solidified to # 2 at the end of the week. This was followed on April 9 by a special CD single entitled Shhh! was only offered for sale via the online portal mu-mo and at their concerts of the Live Tour 2016: Best Single Collection . What was special was that the single came in four different versions, but only differing in the cover pictures.
Since 2017: W Face , And , DNA and Re (Cord)
For the first time in Kumi's career, two studio albums were released simultaneously on March 8, 2017. The project was called W Face , so the studio albums were called W Face: Inside and W Face: Outside . Outside reached the top spot and Inside followed at # 2, building on a record in which, at the time of publication 47 years ago, two studio albums by a solo artist reached the top two positions in the charts for the first time and since then Kumi with her W. Face project nobody had made it. In recent years, female artists have been able to debut two albums in the highest possible places at the same time, but these were not two studio albums, but mostly compilations. Her ninth remix album entitled "Driving Hit's 7" followed on April 5th. In August she released another CD single "Lit", which could only be bought through the online provider Mu-Mo and her concerts. With "Hush" (October) and "Never Enough" (December) followed other singles that could only be bought through Mu-Mo and their concerts.
In February 2018 she finally released the next studio album entitled "And". This studio album is dedicated to their fans and comes with just ten tracks, which was unusual for Kumi as an album release. It landed at # 6 on the Oricon weekly album chart. The following month the remix album "Driving Hit's 8" was released. The next studio album was then released on August 22nd of that year. It's called "DNA" and the title is a reference to the studio album "And". This studio album landed at # 3 on the Oricon charts.
"Driving Hit's 9" was released in February 2019. The three download singles "Eh Yo", "Summer Time" and "Do Me" were released in July of that year. Finally, Avex released a new song "Livin 'la Vida Loca" with a music video on YouTube, which is the cover of the same name by Ricky Martin . The Japanese cover version by Hiromi Go, which was called "Goldfinger '99", was finally covered by Kumi and released with a music video. The Japanese version was published digitally in August of that year with the title "Goldfinger 2019". Another download single "Put Your Hands Up !!!" ( プ チ ョ ヘ ン ザ ッ !!! ) followed in September . From September 14th to October 25th of that year, she is on tour in Japan called "Koda Kumi Live Tour 2019 Re (live)". Here she revives her concepts from her tours "Live Tour 2007: Black Cherry" and "Koda Kumi Live Tour 2013: Japonesque". Their 17th studio album will be released on November 13th of that year and is entitled "Re (cord)". Sales outside of Japan were banned for this studio album because the collaborative track "Rich & Famous" with Sean Paul is only licensed for Japan. On music streaming platforms, only this title has been blocked outside of Japan and a physical sound carrier without the title is planned for sale outside of Japan.
Others
- Kumi Kōda sold CDs valued at ¥ 12,702,200,000 (approx. 125,687,268 euros) in 2006 and ¥ 7,300,000,000 (approx. 72,232,925 euros) in 2007. In 2007 she was the most successful artist in Japan.
- She received the 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards for Hottest Asian Artist .
- She is considered the founder of the Ero Kawaii style.
Discography
|
Studio albums
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Compilations
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Remix albums
Cover albums
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Filmography
| year | title | role | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Final Fantasy X-2 ( video game ) | Lenne | Character in the game |
| 2004 | Cutie Honey ( film ) | diva | Actual filming |
| 2006 | Cherry Girl (film) | Kumi | Leading role - Japanese version of Charlie's Angels |
| 2007 | Saiyûki (film) | Fake Sanzo Hoshi | Film based on Journey to the West |
| 2011 | Ikemen Desu Ne ( TV ) | Oneself | Cameo - Episode 1 |
| 2013 | Pink Spider (Uula Version) (Film) | Candy | Short of their music video on Pink Spider is based |
Web links
- Official website (English / Japanese)
- Official international fan club (English)
- Kumi Koda Channel on YouTube (Japanese)
- Kumi Kōda in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://nippop.com/features/Telling_Secrets___A_Konversation_with_Kumi_Koda/
- ↑ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=360&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+Dance+Music/Maxi-Singles+Sales&ci=3044372&cdi=7816208&cid=02/02/2002 ( Memento from 7 December 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.oricon.co.jp/search/result.php?kbn=ja&types=rnk&year=2002&month=4&week=2&submit5.x=18&submit5.y=4
- ↑ http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-2495
- ↑ http://www.jame-world.com/de/database-artist.php?id=139
- ↑ http://rhythmzone.net/koda/profile/
- ↑ http://www.oricon.co.jp/
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from February 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.jame-world.com/de/news-49462.html
- ↑ Photo of the Day - 2010/05/19 - Part166: Koda Kumi . Musicjapanplus . May 19, 2010. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ↑ Koda Kumi Finishing Her Tour with Deep Emotion! . Musicjapanplus . July 7, 2010. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ↑ http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=RZBD-46886
- ↑ Kumi-Land Review "Japonesque" rated by Rolling Stones Japan. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
- ↑ Oricon “妊 婦” 倖 田 來 未, 30 歳 の 誕生 日 に 初 武 道 館 宣言 お な か の 子 子 ど も は 「順 調」 (Japanese). Accessed May 1, 2012.
- ↑ Facebook 【倖 田 來 未 か ら の ご 報告】 (Japanese, English and Korean). Retrieved July 18, 2012.
- ↑ Generasia Whatchu Waitin 'On . Retrieved July 26, 2012.
- ↑ tokyohive Koda Kumi to Release New Remix Album Beach Mix in August. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
- ↑ Facebook 【セ ブ ン - イ レ ブ ン × a-nation 企 画 ス タ ー ト！】 (Japanese) Retrieved July 18, 2012.
- ↑ jpopasia. "a-nation" 2012 Performers Revealed . Retrieved July 18, 2012.
- ↑ kodakumi.net Koda Kumi Premium Night ~ Love & Songs ~ (Japanese) ( Memento of the original from September 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
- ↑ Kumi-Flash NEWS New Single: Go to the Top 【2012/10/24】 ( Memento from December 10, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Retrieved on August 9, 2012.
- ↑ Oricon Style 【オ リ コ ン】 倖 田 來 未 “マ マ で 初” 3 年 ぶ り シ ン グ ル 1 位 In Oricon (Japanese), accessed May 10, 2013
- ↑ Generasia Koishikute (Koda Kumi) In generasia.com (English), accessed May 10, 2013
- ↑ Music Card MUSIC CARD In musiccard.jp (Japanese), accessed May 10, 2013
- ↑ kodakumi.net 3/20 （水） よ り 、 リ ミ ッ ク ス ア ル バ ム ＆ 武 道 館 ラ イ ブ の 同 日 配 信 決定！ ( Memento of the original from May 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In Rhythm Zone (Japanese), accessed May 10, 2013
- ↑ J-Pop KAMPAI! (New Release) Koda Kumi - Summer Trip In jpopkampai.blogspot.de (English), accessed on June 25, 2013
- ↑ Generasia Dreaming Now! In generasia , accessed October 11, 2013
- ↑ Generasia Bon Voyage (Koda Kumi) In generasia.com (English), accessed November 5, 2014
- ↑ KumiLoveS [kumiloves.free.fr/?page=Videographie/Concerts Concerts] In kumiloves.free.fr (French), accessed on November 5, 2014
- ↑ Generasia Hotel In generasia.com (English), accessed November 5, 2014
- ↑ Arama JAPAN Koda Kumi launches overseas fan club! In aramajapan.com , accessed November 5, 2014
- ↑ Rhythm Zone 倖 田 來 未 "Dance In The Rain" In rhythmzone.net (Japanese), accessed November 4, 2014
- ↑ Sam Byford A crazy J-pop music video is the best Oculus Rift demo yet In THE VERGE , accessed November 4, 2014
- ↑ Koda Gumi Much-talked-about Brand-New Song Dance In The Rain - Confirmed to be released as digital single! In global-fc.net , accessed on November 5, 2014
- ↑ Generasia Dance in the Rain In generasia.com (English), accessed on November 5, 2014
- ↑ KODA KUMI GLOBAL FANCLUB Koda Kumi 15th Anniversary Live Tour 2015 supported by Mercedes-Benz Very limited pre-sale lottery reservation In KODA GUMI , accessed on March 21, 2015
- ↑ Generasia Winter of Love (Koda Kumi) In Generasia , accessed April 13, 2017
- ↑ Generasia Shhh! In Generasia , accessed April 13, 2017
- ↑ Oricon 【オ リ コ ン】 倖 田 來 未 、 オ リ ジ ナ ル ア ル バ ム 1 ・ 2 位 独占 女性 ソ ロ 2 人 目 の 快 挙 In Oricon (Japanese), accessed April 13, 2017
- ↑ TOKYOGRAPH Koda is best-selling artist of 2007. Accessed June 23, 2012.
- ↑ OHPRECIOUSTIME Koda Kumi slays the MNET ASIAN MUSIC AWARDS / wins Hottest Asian Artist Award In aramatheydidnt.livejournal.com (English), accessed October 7, 2012.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kōda, Kumi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 倖 田 來 未 (Japanese); 神 田 來 未 子 (Japanese, real name); Kōda Kumiko (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | japanese singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 13, 1982 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kyoto , Japan |