is a female Japanese pop / folk rock singer.

Early life

Cocco went to many ballet auditions, hoping to become a professional ballerina. She went to singing auditions to earn the traveling expenses for a ballet audition in Tokyo. She did not pass it, but after impressing the judges, she was later signed by

Victor Entertainment , also known as in Japan, is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Ente ...

Career

Cocco made her debut on an indie label under the name "Cocko" with a self-titled EP ''Cocko'' on November 21, 1996. A track from the EP, ''Sing a Song ~No Music, No Life~'', was used in an advertising campaign for Tower Records Japan. On March 21, 1997, Cocco changed the official spelling of her name to "Cocco" and released her major label debut single ''Countdown''. A full-length album followed shortly after. It was not until 1998 when she scored a big hit in Japan with ''Tsuyoku Hakanaimonotachi'', which sold more than 250,000. Cocco went on to record three more albums – ''Kumuiuta'' in 1998, ''Rapunzel'' in 2000, and ''Sangurōzu'' in 2001. Before the release of ''Sangurōzu'', Cocco announced she was retiring from the music business. Later that year, her label released a career retrospective, ''Best + Ura Best + Mihappyōkyokushū'', which contained her singles, some b-sides and five unreleased tracks. Her retirement did not last long. In 2002, she published her first art book, ''Minami no Shima no Hoshi no Suna''. In August 2003, she organized a

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...

to raise awareness about cleaning up beaches in Okinawa. A DVD documentary entitled ''Heaven's Hell'' followed in December. 2004 saw her appearance on the

Yutaka Ozaki was a popular Japanese musician. He is ranked at No. 23 in a list of Japan's top 100 musicians by HMV. Biography He was born in Tokyo Setagaya Ward SDF Central Hospital to Kinue and Kenichi Ozaki. He has one older brother, Yasushi. Early in li ...

cover album "BLUE" and the publication of her second book, ''Minami no Shima no Koi no Uta'', which was accompanied by a limited edition single, "Garnet/Celeste Blue". In 2005, Cocco collaborated with photographer/singer Nanaco on a CD/book combination titled ''The Bird''. In late 2004, Cocco teamed up with Shigeru Kishida of the Japanese rock group

Quruli is a Japanese music group formed in 1996. As of March 2021, the lineup consists of Shigeru Kishida and Masashi Sato. Their music is produced and distributed by Victor Entertainment. Career After meeting at "Rock Commune," Ritsumeikan Universit ...

to re-record "Sing a Song" for Tower Records' 25th Anniversary in Japan. The sessions inspired the formation of Singer Songer, a band featuring Cocco, Kishida,

bassist Masashi Sato, Cornelius support keyboardist

Hirohisa Horie is a Japanese musician and multi-instrumentalist. He plays primarily keyboards and guitar. Horie is one half of the Shibuya-kei duo Neil & Iraiza, and is known for his work with artists such as Kahimi Karie and Cornelius (as a member of the C ...

and former FEED drummer Dai Taro. Singer Songer made its live debut as special guests at

's year-end concert in December 2004, and in May 2005, the band released a single, "Shoka Rinrin". An album, ''Barairo Pop'' was released in June 2005. It contains a selection of country-flavored tracks that are much happier than Cocco's previous works. In April 2006, she wrote a series of essays for

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

. Since then, Cocco has continued to write for various newspapers and magazines. On July 7, 2007, Cocco performed at the Japanese leg of

Live Earth Live Earth was an event developed to increase environmental awareness through entertainment. Background Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, ''Live Earth'' was built upon the be ...

at the

Makuhari Messe is a Japanese convention center outside Tokyo, located in the Mihama-ku ward of Chiba City, in the northwest corner of Chiba Prefecture. Designed by Fumihiko Maki, it is accessible by Tokyo's commuter rail system. ''Makuhari'' is the name of ...

, Chiba. After releasing the album ''Kira Kira'', she started living in the UK and went to college to learn photography. In 2010, Cocco published her first long novel "Polomerria". She appeared at the World Happiness 2010 rock festival in Tokyo on August 8. She released ''Emerald'', her first self-produced album, on August 11. Cocco provided 14-year-old Director Ryugo Nakamura's first feature film ''Yagi no Boken'' with the theme song ''Yagi no Sanpo''. She got a letter from the youngest film director in Japanese film history, and she decided to help the boy. In 2011, the no-budget indie film ''Inspired movies'' produced by Cocco and her fellow video artists was released. In 2012, Cocco made her acting debut, starring in ''KOTOKO'', directed by

Shinya Tsukamoto is a Japanese filmmaker, film producer, screenwriter, editor, director, cinematographer, art director, production designer and actor. With a considerable cult following both domestically and abroad, Tsukamoto is best known for his body horro ...

. She was also responsible for the art direction and music. She covered "

Good Bye Goodbye, Good bye, or Good-bye is a parting phrase and may refer to: Film * ''Goodbye'' (1918 film), a British drama directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Goodbye'' (1995 film) (''Tot Ziens!''), a Dutch film directed by Heddy Honigmann * ''Goodbye'' ...

" for the June 6, 2018 hide tribute album ''Tribute Impulse''.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Indie label

Major label

Others

Cocco-chan to Shigeru-kun

is a prototype of Singer Songer, and the member doesn't change.

Singer Songer

Singer Songer is a musical group consists of five musicians, featuring Cocco as a lead singer.

Videography

Music video compilations

Concert tour videos

Documentaries

Filmography

Movies

Bibliography

References

External links

Cocco official site

Nippop Profile , Cocco

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cocco 1977 births Living people People from Naha Victor Entertainment artists Musicians from Okinawa Prefecture Folk-pop singers 20th-century Japanese women singers 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers