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Eri Nobuchika

Eri Nobuchika
信近エリ
Born (1985-08-03) August 3, 1985 (age 32)
Origin Fukuoka, Japan
Genres
Occupation(s)
Years active 2004–present
Labels Sony Music Associated Records
Website Official Website

Eri Nobuchika (信近エリ, Nobuchika Eri, born Nobuchika Eriko 信近えり子 on August 3, 1985) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, under the Fearless Records label on Sony Music Associated Records. She currently resides in Tokyo.

Eri's professional career started at Sony Music SD "Gonna be a star" audition, a regularly held event for aspiring new pop artists. She sent in her demotape but forgot to include her address. The president of the audition wanted to contact her, and after asking for her through a few calls to Fukuokan post offices, he finally got hold of Eri.

At the audition, she raised interest in producer Shinichi Osawa. She received 7 more label offers, but ultimately signed with Sony Music, and teamed up with Shinichi Osawa. As an artist on his label, Fearless Records, Osawa would go on to primarily produce Eri's music as he did with fellow label artist bird.

After finishing high school at the age of 19, Eri started work on her debut single, "Lights", which was released on December 8, 2004. The single features the title song, as well as an acoustic version and a karaoke version. The B-track, "I hear the music in my soul", shows off Shinichi Osawa's underground club music background with Eri providing a few vocals. "Lights" starred as the theme song of the Japanese film "深紅" (Shinku, or "The Deep Red") and the ending theme song for the anime FLAG. The song was also featured on Q Entertainment’s PlayStation Portable game Lumines, along with "I hear the music in my soul". Many overseas fans discovered Eri through the game and it also helped launch her career in Japan.

Months later, on April 6, 2005, Eri's second single, "Voice" was released. The song carries a Latin atmosphere with the use of Spanish guitars and carries more of Osawa's club sound. Along with the title song are a studio live version, a karaoke version, and a remix of "I hear the music in my soul". On Oricon's Top 100 chart, the single reached a peak of #94 and stayed on the charts for 3 weeks.

On June 29, 2005, "Sketch for Summer" was released, a very different genre compared to the previous singles. It was a mellow ballad with some hints of jazz. The single comes with a studio live version, a karaoke version, and a remix of "Voice". In the PV, she is featured in colour for the first time, as all of her videos are black & white. The single scored even lower on Oricon at #175 for just one week.


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