Nakashima Mika
| Mika Nakashima 中島 美嘉 |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
February 19, 1983 Hioki, Kagoshima, Japan |
| Genres |
Japanese pop Jazz Alternative rock Pop rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actress |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2001–2010, 2012-present |
| Labels | Sony Music Entertainment Japan |
| Website | www |
Mika Nakashima (中島 美嘉 Nakashima Mika, born 19 February 1983) is a Japanese singer and actress. Five of her studio albums, one of her mini-albums, and one of her compilation albums have reached number one in Japan's Oricon album chart. She also embarked on an acting career, most notably as Nana Osaki in the live-action film adaptations of Nana.
Born and raised in Kyushu, Mika was the youngest of three children. She grew up in the small town of Hioki, Kagoshima, where she has said there was "nothing there, only enka." She began listening to enka singer Eiko Segawa and studied classical Japanese dance, but as she loved dressing-up and make-up, she hoped to work in fashion magazines since she was too short to become a model.
Nakashima decided not to attend high school after completing junior high and began working. At the age of 15 she moved to the city of Fukuoka where she room-shared with two others.
At the age of 17, she attended an audition not knowing what it was for. She was chosen from 3,000 girls to be the actress of the fall 2001 Fuji TV drama Kizudarake no Love Song (傷だらけのラブソング Tainted Love Song), in which she played the heroine Mirai Shimazaki, and also sang the theme song, "Stars."
In November 2001, "Stars" became her debut on Sony Music Associated Records, which would go on to become her best-selling single.
Her second single "Crescent Moon", an 80s themed song, was limited to 100,000 copies. It sold out the first day of its release. In March 2002 she released her third single, "One Survive," and her first video collection, "Film Lotus". This was followed in May by her 4th single, "Helpless Rain", and in August, by her 5th single "Will", which went on to rack up sales of over 140,000. Both were top ten hits and sold around 100,000 copies, proving Nakashima's rising star appeal.
Nakashima's first album, True, released in August 2002, was a number 1 hit on the Oricon charts. The album boasted a mature mixture of jazz and contemporary pop. In 3 weeks, True sold a million copies, and has sold nearly 1,174,000 copies to date. Then, as a commemoration of one year since her debut, Nakashima released a Premium EP: Resistance, which hit the charts' number 1 spot for two weeks in a row. On December 18, a documentary video, Kiseki: The Document of a Star, was released. In 2002, the singer received the "New Artist of the Year" award at the Japan Gold Disc Awards and "Best New Artist of the Year" at the All Japan Request Awards 2002. She also won the "New Artist of the Year" award from the 44th Japan Record Awards.
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