Angela Aki
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Angela Aki | ||
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Background information | ||
Birth name | 安芸 聖世美 (Aki Kiyomi) | |
Also known as | Angie, Lina | |
Born | September 15, 1977 | |
Origin | Itano, Tokushima Prefecture, Shikoku, Japan | |
Genre(s) | J-pop | |
Years active | 2000–present | |
Label(s) | Sony Music Japan, Tofu Records | |
Website | angela-aki.com (Japanese) Tofu Records: Angela Aki (English) |
Angela Aki (アンジェラ・アキ Anjera Aki), born on 15 September 1977 in Itano, Tokushima Prefecture, Shikoku, Japan, to a Japanese father and an Italian-American mother, is a Japanese singer-songwriter. Her former Japanese real name is 安芸 聖世美 (Aki Kiyomi)
Angela Aki is completely bilingual in English and Japanese as she was raised in Japan, but moved to Hawaii at the age of fifteen where she graduated from Iolani School. From there she moved on to George Washington University where she graduated with majors in politics and music.
She originally released an indie album in the United States in 2000, called These Words, which received much critical acclaim. In 2002 she composed two tracks for "Let It Fall" by Dianne Eclar, a teenage pop singer from the Philippines. In 2005 in Japan, she released an indie mini-album under Virgo Music entitled ONE, which alerted Nobuo Uematsu to her music. Angela Aki is now signed under Sony Japan. In 2005 she was announced as the singer of the Final Fantasy XII theme song, "Kiss Me Good-Bye".
On March 9, 2007, she revealed in her official blog that she is married to a music director who has been supporting her before her debut. She also revealed that while she was in Washington D.C., she had married once before but the marriage ended in a divorce.
She is good friends with JPOP star Yuna Ito. Both singers attended the same Japanese language school.
Angela Aki is the daughter of Kiyoshi Aki, the owner/co-founder of AEON Institute of Language Education. This is one of the "Big Four" Eikaiwa (English conversation) schools in Japan.
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[edit] Reaching an English audience
In May 2006, Angela signed with Tofu Records in order to release English singles and albums. Her first release with Tofu was releasing "Kiss Me Good-Bye" as a digital single in the USA, with a slightly altered track list. Later that month she performed the Final Fantasy XII theme song, "Kiss Me Good-Bye" at the premiere PLAY! A Video Game Symphony concert in Chicago on May 27, 2006. With orchestral backup, she played piano and sang the English lyrics, which she had written herself. She also performed her own version of "Eyes On Me", the theme song of Final Fantasy VIII with only the piano and her voice.
[edit] Marriage
On Aki's blog dated March 9, 2007, she announced her marriage to Japanese music producer, Hide Sanjougi. She also mentioned that it will be the second marriage for her.[1]
[edit] Discography
- Further information: Angela Aki discography
Year | Title | Type | Chart positions |
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2000 | These Words | US Indie | N/A |
2005 | ONE | JP Indie | 1 |
2006 | Home | Studio | 2 |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official Site (Japanese)
- Angela Aki at MusicBrainz
- Angela Aki Profile at Oricon (Japanese)
- Official English site (Tofu Records)
- Angela Aki interview at JaME
- J-Music Italia: Jpop & Jrock (Italian)
- Angela Aki Fansite (English)
- ThePPN:Angela Aki
Angela Aki |
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Albums |
These Words | ONE | HOME |
Singles |
HOME | Kokoro no Senshi |Kiss Me Good-Bye | This Love Sakura iro | Kodoku no Kakera |
Final Fantasy XII Theme Song |
Kiss Me Good-Bye |
Various |
Full discography | Albums | Singles |
Categories: Angela Aki songs | Angela Aki albums | 1977 births | Sony Music Japan artists | American Japanese people | Living people | People from Tokushima Prefecture | Eurasian singers | Japanese female singers | Japanese pianists | Final Fantasy musicians | George Washington University alumni | People from Hawaii