Hiroko Shimabukuro
| Hiroko Shimabukuro 島袋 寛子 |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
7 April 1984 Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan |
| Genres | Pop, R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, dancer |
| Years active | 1996–2000 (Speed) 1999–present (solo) |
| Labels | Sonic Groove |
| Associated acts | Speed, Coco d'Or |
| Website | hiroko |
Hiroko Shimabukuro (島袋 寛子 Shimabukuro Hiroko?, born 7 April 1984 in Okinawa), best known mononymously as Hiro, is a Japanese singer. She debuted as a member of the popular girl group Speed in 1996. In 1998, Hiro released her first solo song, "Mitsumete Itai", as a B-side to Speed's single "All My True Love". She made her official solo debut in 1999 with the single "As Time Goes By", which sold 800,000 copies in Japan.
Her first album, Brilliant charted in Japan at number 4 for five weeks, selling 400,000 copies. Her second album, Naked and True, reached number 1, and she released a best singles album that charted in the top 10.
In August 2004, Hiro released an all-English jazz album under the name of Coco d'Or. Her single "Hikari no naka de" was featured on the soundtrack to the movie Devilman. A year later, she released another song, "Clover", tied to anime Black Jack, selling 20,000 copies. Her two CDs released in 2006 sold considerably less, "Hero" selling 7,000 copies and "Itsuka Futari de" 9,000.
She performed in the United States at Seattle's Sakura-Con in April 2004.
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Wikipedia