Hitomi Takahashi (singer)
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| Hitomi Takahashi | ||
|---|---|---|
 Promotional photo from Hitomi's latest single "Candy Line"
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| Background information | ||
| Born | April 8, 1989 | |
| Origin | Shiogama, Japan | |
| Genre(s) | J-Rock/J-Pop | |
| Years active | 2005–Present | |
| Label(s) | gr8 records! | |
| Website | http://www.takahashihitomi.com/ | |
Hitomi Takahashi (高橋 瞳 Takahashi Hitomi?, born April 8, 1989) is a J-Rock/J-pop singer from Miyagi Prefecture in Japan. After being selected as finalist in the Sony Music SD audition, which contained about 20,000 applicants, Hitomi entered the music scene in 2005 with her single "Bokutachi no Yukue". The single was an instant hit for her, and entered the weekly Oricon charts at #1, making her the third solo debut singer to achieve this.
Contents |
[edit] Profile
- Height：147cm
- Favorite Artists：Shiina Ringo, Avril Lavigne, Ellegarden, LOST IN TIME, Jack's Mannequin, Shaka Labbits, and We Are Scientists
[edit] Biography
[edit] Pre-Debut
Hitomi Takahashi was born on April 8, 1989 in the Miyagi prefecture of Japan. Because of her abnormally large eyes, her parents named her "Hitomi", meaning "pupil/eye" in Japanese. By the influence of her father, she grew up listening to his favorite music, which was classic rock such as Eric Clapton and the Beatles.
In 2002, she entered junior-high/middle school. Upon entrance, Hitomi joined the school softball team and joined Kendo, where she obtained the level of sho-dan. It was during these years that she expressed an interest in becoming an artist's backup dancer, and began dancing with her friends.
During a karaoke singing event in 2003, Hitomi's friends encouraged her to sing live. Though she expressed a disliking for singing karaoke in front of a large crowd, she eventually sang because of her friend's encouragement, and from that time on the desire to become a singer awoke in her. During her second year in junior-high school, in the middle of the summer of 2003, Hitomi applied for the Sony Music Auditions. Because of a change in interest, Hitomi moved from singing dance music to singing rock music.
In 2004, Hitomi was selected as the finalist for the Sony Music SD audition (Vo-che3); 20,000 others had auditioned. She had been worried that because of her height (147 cm), she would be overlooked, but her powerful voice attracted the attention of people while she sang live. The end of 2004 found her being chosen to sing the theme song for "Gundam SEED DESTINY". Recording of her song "Bokutachi no Yukue" began at the end of the year.
[edit] sympathy era
In 2005, she was in the middle of high school entrance exams as the title for her 1st single "Bokutachi no Yukue" was announced. The single was released on April 2005, and debuted at #1 on the Oricon charts. This was a huge success, making Hitomi the second female singer to have a debut single in the #1 spot, and the third solo artist to have a debut single reach #1.[1] The single ended up selling well over 100,000 copies.
Hitomi soon entered Shiogama Girls High School[2], and started her first radio personality on Date fm (FM Sendai) called "Takahashi Hitomi ~Sound D・N・A~".
The second single from Hitomi, "evergreen", was released on August 12, 2005. The song was used as the theme song for the Japanese TV drama "New Kids War". The single sales were much lower than her previous single, with the single debuting at #22 on the Japanese Oricon Charts, and selling a little less than 30,000 copies.
Hitomi's third single, "Aozora no NAMIDA", was soon released on November 30, 2005, and it was used as the 1st opening theme song for the anime BLOOD+. (It had originally been planned for an October 12, 2005 released, but was pushed back to the later date.) Its first week on the charts found it at #8 on the Oricon charts with 44,629 copies sold, and it eventually sold over 80,000 copies. This was a huge leap from her past single "evergreen".
On February 22, Hitomi's Official Fan Club was revealed, the title being a play on the first letter of her name and her height, "H147." Hitomi also won an award at the 20th Japanese Gold Disc Awards for New Artist of the Year, and sang live at the event.[3]
The first studio album from the singer, "sympathy", was released on March 1, 2006. The album came in two formats, CD only and CD+DVD (limited edition), and contained 12 tracks in total, with 7 of them being previously unreleased songs. The album debuted at #10 for its first week on the Oricon Charts, and sold over 30,000 copies.
[edit] 2006 and Beyond
For the release of her first album "sympathy", Hitomi held her first live concert on April 1, 2006. Commenting on how much she enjoyed the concert, Hitomi soon decided to hold more concerts for her "sympathy" album. The concerts were named the Hitomi Takahashi Live "Sympathy" ~BOXX Series~, and became a way for her to promote new songs. In total, the Hitomi Takahashi Live "Sympathy" ~BOXX Series~ had six lives.
Hitomi released her 4th single "Communication" on July 12, 2006. The song was the ending theme song for "MUSIC FIGHTER" during the month of July 2006. Once finally released, this single failed to make it in the Top 20 Daily Charts. It also failed to make it in the Weekly Top 30, and was revealed to debut at #60 on the charts, selling a little more than 2,000 copies in its first week.
It was during the eighth month of 2006 that news of a new single surfaced. This single, titled "Ko·mo·re·bi", was officially announced to be Hitomi's 5th single at the end of August, and was used as the theme song for the movie "Tegami", which features actors Takayuki Yamada, Tetsuji Tamayama, and Erika Sawajiri.[4] Similar to her past single, "Ko·mo·re·bi" failed to chart in the Top 30 Weekly Charts, and debuted at #50 for its first week on the charts, only selling about 300 more copies than "Communication". In spite of this, Hitomi was chosen to be one of many artists to take part in the new tribute album for the new Death Note movie.[5]
Hitomi's 6th single "Candy Line," which was announced on Christmas Day, was used as the 4th ending theme for the anime series, Gintama. The single became her biggest hit since "evergreen", and reached #14 during its first week on the Oricon charts.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Singles
| # | Cover | Information | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st / Debut Single |
 |
Bokutachi no Yukue 僕たちの行方 |
135,898 copies sold |
| 2nd |
 |
evergreen | 29,116 copies sold |
| 3rd |
 |
Aozora no NAMIDA 青空のナミダ
|
83,523 copies sold |
| 4th |
 |
Communication コミュニケイション |
2,142 copies sold |
| 5th |
 |
Ko·mo·re·bi コ・モ・レ・ビ
|
2,457 copies sold |
| 6th |
 |
Candy Line キャンディ・ライン |
15,002 copies sold |
[edit] Albums
| # | Cover | Information | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st / Debut Album |
 |
sympathy | 39,347 copies sold |
[edit] Featured/Collaborative Releases
- Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny Complete Best (November 2, 2005)
- ("Bokutachi no Yukue")
- Hit Style (January 25, 2006)
- ("Bokutachi no Yukue")
- Matchy Tribute (January 25, 2006)
- ("Midnight Shuffle")
[edit] Concerts
- Hitomi Takahashi Live "Sympathy" ~BOXX Series~
[edit] Trivia
- Doesn't like spring onions[6] or sweets[7]
- Favorite manga: Gin Tama
- Favorite things: Dancing, collecting hats, film festivals[8]
[edit] References
- ^ 高橋瞳、記念すべき初の“平成生まれ”首位！. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ メモ. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ New·Artist·of·The·Year. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ Tegami Movie Official Website. Retrieved on 2006-08-18.
- ^ Death Note Song Tribute. Retrieved on 2006-11-10.
- ^ きーめた. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ 寒～～～. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ プロフィール. Retrieved on 2007-02-10.
[edit] External links
- Hitomi Takahashi Official Site
- Sony Site
- H147 - Hitomi Takahashi's Official Fan Club
- STARDUST
- Hitomi's Official Blog
- Hitomi Takahashi's Oricon Page
| Hitomi Takahashi |
|---|
| Albums |
| sympathy |
| Singles |
| Bokutachi no Yukue | evergreen | Aozora no NAMIDA | Communication | Ko·mo·re·bi | Candy Line |
