, better known by her stage name Pile, is a Japanese singer, actress and

voice actress Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

from

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. Her first roles were minor parts in TV series and films during 2006. She debuted as a singer after she was selected in a 2006 Japan-wide audition and she made her voice acting debut in the ''

Love Live! School Idol Project is a Japanese multimedia project co-developed by ASCII Media Works' ''Dengeki G's Magazine'', music label Lantis, and animation studio Sunrise. It is the first multimedia project in the ''Love Live!'' franchise. The project revolves aro ...

'' series in 2010.

Musical career

In 2006, Hori was chosen from a total of 700 applicants in the Japan-wide Asian Dolls Audition. She later wrote that she wanted to be seen as "warm and enveloping, an artist who can be loved by everyone", so she chose her stage name ''Pile'' after the pile towels are made from. In October 2007, she debuted as a singer with the indie single "Your is All..."; this song was the opening theme for the third season of the drama TV series ''Ikari Oyaji Ai no Sekki Youtaikyoku''. In 2008, two of her songs were included in

Dancemania ''Dancemania'' is a series of remix compilation albums by i-DANCE. The series deals primarily with dance music, especially Eurodance. Despite many of its tracks being made by various musicians from all over the world and mainly from the European ...

albums, including "Flower", which was included in ''Hime Trance Best''. Following several ''Love Live!'' releases reaching the top of the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in ...

charts, Pile and her co-stars have had more success with their own music releases. (Pile's second solo character album, ''Love Live! Solo Live! from μ's Scarlet Princess'', reached #31 on the Oricon Albums Chart.) She and ''Love Live!'' co-star

Aina Kusuda is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Chiba Prefecture. Kusuda is currently affiliated with Just Pro. Kusuda is best known as Nozomi Toujou in ''Love Live! School Idol Project'' series, and has worked with the other ''Love Live!'' girls in ...

(the voice of Nozomi Tōjō) formed a duo, Please&Secret, in 2013. They have released two singles and an album, as well as a photo book entitled ''Girl Meets Girl''. In June 2014, she and another ''Love Live!'' voice actress

Riho Iida is a Japanese ex-child model-turned-actress, voice actress and singer. Her nickname is Rippi. Biography History Iida came into the spotlight when she was 11 years old, appearing on the '' Tensai Terebi Kun MAX'' (天才てれびくんMAX) serie ...

(the voice of Rin Hoshizora) formed the duo 4to6 (the name referring to the time between the end of classes and returning home in Japanese schools), and their first single was released in August 2014. In 2014, Pile released her first single for the

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 ...

label, "Densetsu no FLARE", which was used as an ending theme for the anime series '' Tenkai Knights''. Her first album for a major label, ''Jewel Vox'', was released on the

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Recor ...

label in March 2015. Her second single for a major label, "Kimi ga Kureta KISEKI", served as the ending theme to the anime series '' Duel Masters VSR''. Pile made an appearance at the

Cosplay Mania Cosplay Mania is an annual cosplay-centered convention organized by Cosplay.PH, and is usually held in the fourth quarter of the year in the Philippines. The convention features various events related to cosplay, anime, Jpop cuture features roo ...

anime convention in Manila, Philippines in October 2015. Her single "Dream Trigger" served as the opening theme to the second season of the anime series ''

World Trigger , also known in short form as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Daisuke Ashihara. It was initially serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from February 2013 to November 2018, and transferred to ''Jump Square'' in December ...

''. She embarked on an Asian tour in 2017, with stops in Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur. She released a compilation album titled ''The Best of Pile'' on 16 August 2018.

Acting career

In 2005, Hori appeared as a minor character in the TV series '' 1 Litre no Namida'', and in 2006 she appeared in ''Karera no Umi VII'', and the films ''Ōkoku'', ''Shiroi Asa no Koi'', and ''Tokyo Real''. In 2010, Pile made her

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

debut for the ''Love Live!'' project, a joint project between Kadokawa Corporation's ASCII Media Works publishing label and the

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology A ...

animation studio, as Maki Nishikino. Maki is one of the main characters of the series, a member of the idol group μ's. Pile has featured in her role in a two-season anime television series, anime music videos, CDs,

rhythm game Rhythm game or rhythm action is a genre of music-themed action video game that challenges a player's sense of rhythm. Games in the genre typically focus on dance or the simulated performance of musical instruments, and require players to press ...

s, and an animated film, among others. She is also part of a sub-unit within the ''Love Live!'' project, BiBi, alongside

Yoshino Nanjō is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is affiliated with Voice Kit. Among her most popular roles is Eli Ayase from '' Love Live! School Idol Project'' series. She became the lead singer of the Japanese pop and trance duo fripSide in 2009 u ...

(Eli Ayase) and

Sora Tokui is a Japanese voice actress, singer, and manga artist who made her debut as a voice actress in 2009 as Himemiya in '' Weiß Survive R''. She is a member of the singer group Milky Holmes, formed by the four main voice actresses in the media fran ...

(Nico Yazawa). The voice actresses who played members of μ's put on four live concerts between 2013 and 2014, including at

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...

, and toured Japan in 2015. She also voiced Frunetti Renzuka in the 2013 video game ''

The Guided Fate Paradox is a roguelike role-playing video game developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software for the PlayStation 3. It was released in Japan on January 24, 2013, the PAL region on October 25, 2013 and North America on November 5, 2013. A sequel, '' The ...

'' as part of a partnership with ''Love Live!'', credited as Maki Nishikino (CV: Pile). She is the voice of Cinderella in the 2014

pachislot A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

video game ''Cinderella Blade 2''. Her ''Love Live!'' role has attracted attention to Pile, and created a large base of fans for her. The idol news site ''GirlsNews'' called her "currently the most talked-about singer/seiyuu" after the second season of the anime series.

Personal life

Hori was born and grew up in

, where she went to Shinagawa Women's Academy in Shinagawa Ward for middle school and high school. She attended a college in Tokyo. Her father is Japanese and her mother is

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

. She is fluent in

and proficient in English. She studied

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, hip-hop, and

jazz dance Jazz dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the mid 20th century. Jazz dance may allude to vernacular jazz about to Broadway or dramatic jazz. The two types expand on African American vernacular styles of danc ...

while in high school, as well as

baton twirling Baton twirling involves using the body to spin a metal rod in a coordinated routine. It is similar to rhythmic gymnastics or color guard. Description Twirling combines dance, agility, coordination and flexibility while manipulating a single bat ...

and theater.

Discography

Singles

*"Your is All..." (24 October 2007) *"Etarnal" (digital-only release, 2007) *"Flower" (digital-only release, 2008) *"Love&Joy" (digital-only release, 2009) *"Densetsu no Flare" (3 December 2014), #18 on Oricon Singles Chart *"Kimi ga Kureta Kiseki" (22 April 2015), #15 on Oricon Singles Chart *"Dream Trigger" (4 November 2015), #7 on Oricon Singles Chart *"Melody" (18 May 2016), #8 on Oricon Singles Chart *"Subarashiki Sekai" (28 December 2016), #8 on Oricon Singles Chart *"Kizuna Hero" (16 August 2017), #23 on Oricon Singles Chart *"BJ" (2 May 2018)

Albums

*''Pile Lovely Box'' ( dōjin release, 29 December 2013) *''Pile Lovely Box 2'' (dōjin release, 15 August 2014) *''Jewel Vox'' (4 March 2015), #19 on Oricon Albums Chart *''PILE'' (16 March 2016), #12 on Oricon Albums Chart *''Tailwind(s)'' (26 April 2017), #14 on Oricon Albums Chart

Collaborations

;Please&Secret (with

) Singles: *"O.P.E.N Fantasy" (18 September 2013), #42 on Oricon Singles Chart *"Kimi no Kokoro ni..." (16 April 2014), #23 on Oricon Singles Chart *"Ashita e Saku Hana" (14 December 2014), #22 on Oricon Singles Chart Album: *''Anniversary'' (25 March 2015) ;4to6 (with

) Singles: *"Watashi no Tokei wa Gyakukaiten!" (20 August 2014), #29 on Oricon Singles Chart

Filmography

Anime television series

*''

Love Live! is a Japanese multimedia project created by Hajime Yatate and Sakurako Kimino and co-produced by Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa through ASCII Media Works; Bandai Namco Music Live through music label Lantis (company), Lantis; and animation studio ...

'' (2013), Maki Nishikino *''Love Live! Second Season'' (2014), Maki Nishikino *''

'' (2014), Kokoa Takeda *''Kochinpa!'' (2015), Aira *''

King's Game The Animation is an anime television series adaptation of the '' Ōsama Game'' cell phone novel and the sequel, ''Ōsama Game: Extreme''. It is animated by Seven. Plot An entire high school class of 32 people receive a message on their cellphones fr ...

'' (2017), Ria Iwamura

OVAs

*''Snow halation'' (2010), Maki Nishikino *''Natsuiro egao de 1,2,Jump!'' (2011), Maki Nishikino *''Mo gyutto "love" de sekkinchu'' (2012), Maki Nishikino *''Wonderful Rush'' (2012), Maki Nishikino *''Music S.T.A.R.T!!'' (2013), Maki Nishikino

Anime films

*''

Love Live! The School Idol Movie is a 2015 Japanese animated youth school musical film. The film is part of the ''Love Live! School Idol Project'' multimedia series by Sunrise, Lantis and ''Dengeki G's Magazine'', taking place after the second season of the 2013-2014 anime te ...

'' (2015), Maki Nishikino

Live-action TV series

*'' 1 Litre no Namida'' (2005), student *''Karera no Umi VII'' (2006)

Live-action films

*''Ōkoku'' (2006) *''Shiroi Asa no Koi'' (2006) *''Tokyo Real'' (2006), clerk

Video games

*''

Love Live! School Idol Festival (often abbreviated as ''LLSIF'' or ''Sukufesu'') is a Japanese rhythm game series. The original game, developed by KLab and published by Bushiroad's Bushimo, was first released in Japan on April 15, 2013 for iOS and June 8, 2013 for Android (ope ...

'' (2013), Maki Nishikino *''

'' (2013) Frunetti Renzuka (Credited as "Maki Nishikino" (Pile)) *'' Love Live! School Idol Paradise'', (2013), Maki Nishikino *''Cinderella Blade 2'' (2014), Cinderella *''

Rage of Bahamut is a digital collectible card battle game developed by Cygames and published by DeNA. It was a social card game released on Mobage's mobile game network, in Japan in 2011 and worldwide in 2012. The game exceeded three million players outsid ...

'' (2015), Lidi

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pile 1988 births Living people Anime singers English-language singers from Japan Japanese actresses of Korean descent Japanese video game actresses Japanese voice actresses Lantis (company) artists Korean-language singers of Japan Μ's members Nippon Columbia artists Singers from Tokyo Victor Entertainment artists Voice actresses from Tokyo Zainichi Korean people 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese actresses