is a Japanese R&B singer, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label. In 2008, Arashiro left Avex Trax and transferred to

Universal Music Japan , often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the Universal Music Group founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a foreign company in the country regarding music distribution. The company is resp ...

where she started to perform as simply Beni (stylized as BENI). She was initially best known for her 2004 single "

Here Alone "Here Alone" is Beni Arashiro is a Japanese R&B singer, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label. In 2008, Arashiro left Avex Trax and transferred to Universal Music Japan where she started to perform as simply Beni (stylized as BENI ...

," though later singles after her move to Universal (such as " Mō Ichi do..." with

Dohzi-T is a Japanese rapper, singer and songwriter who has been active since 1989. Biography Dohzi-T belonged to hip hop band "Zingi", formed in 1990. He debuted as a solo singer with the single "Shōnen A" (lit. "Boy A") on October 10, 2001. He associ ...

, " Mō Nido to..." and " Kiss Kiss Kiss") have surpassed this initial hit.

Life and career

Start of her career

Born in

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, she moved to San Diego, California and then

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

. Her mother is Japanese and her father is American of

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine European cuisine co ...

descent. She was influenced by

Namie Amuro Namie Amuro ( ; ja, 安室奈美恵, Amuro Namie, label=none; born September 20, 1977) is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active between 1992 and 2018. A leading figure of ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Colu ...

and her father's favorite singer

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

. She graduated from

Nile C. Kinnick High School Nile C. Kinnick High School is a U.S. military-operated school now located in US Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan. It was originally located in Yokohama, giving it the nickname Yo-Hi, but it was renamed for Navy aviator Nile Clarke Kinnick, Jr ...

in Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan. She majored in Sociology at

Sophia University Sophia University (Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private research university in Japan. Sophia is one of the three ''Sōkeijōchi'' (早慶上智) private universities, a group of the to ...

. From a young age she wanted to become a singer and because of her musical parents she took up piano. Because her parents were living overseas she was traveling between Japan and America a lot which exposed her to both Japanese as well as overseas music. When she was in Japan she participated in the Kokuminteki Bishōjo Contest the largest talent contest. She made it all the way to the finals. This was quite special since she had no formal training. When her demotape was seen by Avex Trax they were so impressed by her clear voice, natural beauty, and English pronunciation that they decided to sign her to the label and prepare her for a debut. She became a member of

Bishōjo Club 31 In Japanese popular culture, a , also romanized as ''bishojo'' or ''bishoujo'', is a cute girl character. ''Bishōjo'' characters appear ubiquitously in media including manga, anime, and computer games (especially in the ''bishojo'' game genre) ...

. Beni was the first from the group to pursue a solo career while being active as a member of the group. Her first solo single named "

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howev ...

" was released on June 9, 2004. The song "Harmony" was a theme song for the Japanese drama ''Reikan Bus Guide Jikenbo''.

2004–2005: Rising popularity and first album

Her second single named " Infinite..." showcased a different side of Beni. The song had a more R&B tune and Beni showed dance skills in the music video. The song "Infinite..." was also an intro song for the music TV program ''

Count Down TV (also known as CDTV) is a Japanese late-night music television program, broadcast on TBS since 1993. The program is shown weekly, and features a Japanese music video hit chart countdown, live performances from musicians and music information. ...

'' in October 2004. Her third single, released November 25, was "

" from which the leading song was the ending song for the popular Japanese drama ''

Kurokawa no Techo Kurokawa may refer to: Places * Kurokawa, Niigata * Kurokawa District, Miyagi * Kurokawa Domain Other uses * Kurokawa (surname) * , a manga publisher in France * Siege of Kurokawa * Kurokawa Station (disambiguation) * 10365 Kurokawa 1 ( ...

''. Although the single wasn't a hit, the song itself was a hit. A few months after "Here Alone", an album named ''

Beni is a Japanese R&B singer, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label. In 2008, Arashiro left Avex Trax and transferred to Universal Music Japan where she started to perform as simply Beni (stylized as BENI). She was initially best known fo ...

'' and single named "

Miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

" were released on February 9, 2005. Although the single charted low, the album was well received because of the variations in music styles and vocal range. After her album release, she won at the 19th Japan Gold Disc Awards the title "New Artist of the Year".

2005–2006: Decline in sales and ''Girl 2 Lady''

Because of her popularity, she got a contract with KOSE to promote KOSE's new VISE line of makeup. In the first official CM her new single song was promoted named "

Hikari no Kazu dake Glamorous ''Girl 2 Lady'' is the second album released by Beni Arashiro from label Avex Trax. The song FLASH was a digital released and was a CM theme song for the product KOSE VISEE. The album reached the #87 spot on the Oricon charts. Track listing ...

". The single also included a cover of

Christina Milian Christine Marie Flores (born September 26, 1981), better known as Christina Milian (), is an American actress and singer. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but raised in Maryland, she signed a contract with Murder Inc. Records at the age of 1 ...

's "

Call Me, Beep Me! "Call Me, Beep Me!", or "The Kim Possible Song", is the theme song for the Disney Channel series '' Kim Possible''. The song was written by Cory Lerios and George Gabriel. In the song, Kim Possible (the main character of the series) tells ...

" which is the theme song for Disney's popular animated series, ''

Kim Possible ''Kim Possible'' is an American animated action comedy-adventure television series created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle for Disney Channel. The title character is a teenage girl tasked with fighting crime on a regular basis while copi ...

''. The music video was not only promoted in the US, but also in 68 counties worldwide. However the single charted at the No. 40 place on the Oricon chart. She also became the face of Glico confectionery. Nearly 6 months later, her 6th single "Cherish" was released. The leading song "Cherish" served as theme song for NTV's Ongaku Senshi MUSIC FIGHTER and POWER PLAY. The B-side song named "Goal" was used as the third ending theme song for ''

Eyeshield 21 is a Japanese manga series written by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Yusuke Murata. The series tells the story of Sena Kobayakawa, an introverted boy who joins an American football club as a secretary, but after being coerced by quarte ...

''. Two months later, on February 22, 2006 (a year after debut album ''

''), her second album named ''

Girl 2 Lady ''Girl 2 Lady'' is the second album released by Beni Arashiro is a Japanese R&B singer, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label. In 2008, Arashiro left Avex Trax and transferred to Universal Music Japan where she started to perform as ...

'' was released. The album was promoted by the 2nd KOSE VISEE CM song "FLASH" which was a digital release. The album however reached the No. 87 spot on the Oricon. Shortly after the release, she started playing in an

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musica ...

play named ''The Beautiful Game'' in Japan. In the musical, she was the female heroine.

2006–2008: ''Gem'', first live tour and compilation album

Because of her participation in the musical, it took a long time for Beni to release new material. When the musical stopped touring in 2006, she began modeling as the face of

Cecil McBee Cecil McBee (born May 19, 1935) is an American jazz bassist. He has recorded as a leader only a handful of times since the 1970s, but has contributed as a sideman to a number of jazz albums. Biography Early life and career McBee was born in ...

, one of the largest and most popular Japanese clothing lines that appeals to teenage and college girls. She was also the host of the

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

fashion program, ''Tokyo Kawaii TV'', where Beni discusses the latest fashion trends in Japan. When she became the face of

Orion Beer is the fifth-largest beer brewery in Japan, headquartered in Urasoe, Okinawa Prefecture. The company commands approximately 1% of the Japanese beer market, and controls 60% of the beer market on Okinawa. History Founded in 1957 in Nago, Ok ...

a new single was announced to be released on September 20. Her seventh single was named ''

How Are U? ''GEM'' is the third album from Beni Arashiro on the Avex Trax label. This album has two versions: a CD-only version and a CD+DVD version. The DVD contains all of the promoting videos and a CECIL McBEE trailer. This was the last studio album Be ...

''. This single was her first single not to chart on the Oricon chart and is considered a total flop. Her eighth single named ''

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Romani ...

'' was an ending theme song for the Japanese drama ''Warui Yatsura''. This single charted at the No. 77 spot making it a small comeback from Beni. On April 25, 2007, Beni released her third studio album named ''

Gem A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

''. The album charted at the No. 114 place on the Oricon chart. Shortly after the album's release, she went on her first one-man live tour. After the tour, it was announced that Beni would make a movie debut in a movie called ''Bra Bra Ban Ban'' to be released nationwide in theater in March. She would also sing the theme song for the movie that would be released as a single. However, the official website removed the single and replaced it by a Greatest Hit album named '' Chapter One: Complete Collection''. The DVD included a digest of her first live tour.

2008–2011: Going from Beni Arashiro to Beni

In June 2008, Japanese rapper

featured her in the song " Mō Ichi do...," which sold over two million ringtone downloads. In October 2008, it was announced that she left her label Avex Trax and moved to

and she would write her own songs. At the same time, she changed her stage name to ''Beni'' and suspended her acting career. Her first single in Universal, " Mō Nido to...," was her

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer so ...

to "Mō Ichi do...". The digital download for the song started on November 12 and debuted at No. 1 on the Recochoku ringtone daily rankings. The official PV began to be aired on November 28 on YouTube. It ranked at No. 1 on the YouTube favourite music video ranking in Japan at the first week. The physical CD, released on December 10, 2008, was charted at No. 20 on Oricon. Her next single, " Kiss Kiss Kiss", was released on April 8, 2009. Despite the fact that it ranked at the No. 40 spot on the Oricon ranking, the song hit the No. 1 spot for weekly full-track download sales on the

RIAJ Digital Track Chart The was a record chart that ranks the best selling digital singles in Japan, with data provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan from April 2009. The chart measures cellphone downloads (着うたフル ''Chaku-Uta Full'') (not downlo ...

. Her single "

Koi Kogarete "Koi Kogarete" is the third single from Beni under the label Universal Japan , often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the Universal Music Group founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a f ...

" was released on June 10. The single features the theme song for the clothing brand

Forever 21 Forever 21 is a multinational fast fashion retailer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. Originally founded as the store Fashion 21 in Highland Park, Los Angeles in 1984,Forever 21History & Facts, n.d. Retrieved 27 April 2014 ...

. Although the song debuted at the No. 9 place on the RIAJ Digital Track Chart, the single charted at the No. 70 place on the weekly chart of the Oricon charts. On August 12, 2009, "

Zutto Futari de "Zutto Futari de" is the fourth single by Beni on the Universal Japan label. The leading song is a theme song for ''Recochoku'' as well as the program ''UtaSta'' while "With U" is an Orion Beer commercial song and the theme song for ''Go! Shiod ...

" was released. The single included an Orion beer commercial song named "With U". The song debuted at No. 6 on the RIAJ Digital Track Chart, but the single charted at the No. 67 place on the Oricon weekly charts. BENI's new album named '' Bitter & Sweet'' was released on September 2, 2009. The album ranked No. 5 on the weekly Oricon chart selling about 30,000 copies in the first week, making it one of Beni's highest ranked and best sold album. ''Bitter & Sweet'' was certified Gold by

RIAJ The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include ...

for shipment of 100,000 copies. She went on a club tour named ''Bitter & Sweet Release Tour''. The tour was so successful that new tour dates were added. On October 9, Beni's official website announced a limited re-cut single named "KIRA☆KIRA☆" to be released on November 11. On December 16, Beni's official website announced a new single named "

Sign A sign is an Physical object, object, quality (philosophy), quality, event, or Non-physical entity, entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to ...

." With it came the collaboration with the popular brand MURUA. One week after the release of "Sign" a new single was announced. The single was named " Bye Bye" and would be the outro theme for the TV series ''

Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ ''Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ'' was a Japanese music variety show on Fuji Television hosted by the comedy duo Downtown, which consists of Hitoshi Matsumoto and Masatoshi Hamada. It is a very popular show with comical hosts who like to pick on t ...

''. Along came the album release of her Bitter & Sweet Tour named '' Bitter & Sweet Release Tour Final'' which also contains a DVD of the tour. Both were released on March 10, 2010. On April 15, Beni's official website announced a double a-side single named "

Yurayura/Gimme Gimme is Beni's eight single under the label Nayutawave Records. The song "Yurayura" is about the "wavering feelings you have after a break and how you want to move on", the song is supposed to be the new signature song. "Gimme Gimme" is the new Kao B ...

." The song "Gimme Gimme" would serve as the new Kao Biore Body Deli commercial song. The single reached the No. 20 spot on the Oricon weekly chart which is, next to her single "Mō Nido to...", the highest Oricon single ranking Beni got since she moved the Universal label. After the successful chart of "Yurayura/Gimme Gimme" on the Oricon chart, Beni's official website announced her second studio album named '' Lovebox'' which was released on June 2, 2010. ''Lovebox'' debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon weekly charts, becoming her first album to get the No. 1 spot on the weekly charts. On July 7, 2010, it was announced that BENI would release a new single named "

Heaven's Door Heaven's Door may refer to: * Pearly gates, the door to heaven * Heaven's Door (2009 film), ''Heaven's Door'' (2009 film), a Japanese drama film * Heaven's Door (2013 film), ''Heaven's Door'' (2013 film), an American spiritual drama film * Heaven's ...

". With the single came the promotion for BENI's own wedding dress line named ''Rouge de BENI'' which she all designed by herself. The single was released on August 11, 2010. On October 8, BENI started her ''Lovebox 2010'' tour accompanied with ''Rouge de BENI''. On October 15, BENI's official website announced a limited single named 2FACE to be released on November 24. According to Beni's blog, this song should showcase a ''New Beni''. On November 5, Beni's official website announced a third studio album named " Jewel" to be released on December 8, 2010. On February 9, 2011, Beni's official website announced the release of her second live album

Lovebox Live Tour Lovebox Live Tour is the second live CD by singer Beni is a Japanese R&B singer, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label. In 2008, Arashiro left Avex Trax and transferred to Universal Music Japan where she started to perform as simply B ...

that contains a DVD with live footage.

2011–present

After the release of ''Lovebox Live Tour'', Beni planned to go on tour to promote ''Jewel'' from the end of March till the end of April. However the tour got postponed due to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan and so started at the end of June. On 9 May, Beni's official website announced a new single named " Suki Dakara" which was released on June 8, 2011. Though the single wasn't physically selling strong, it did pretty well on the online downloads. On August 16, Beni's official website announced a new double A-side single named "

Koe wo Kikasete / Crazy Girl is Beni's twelfth single under the label Nayutawave Records. ''"Koe wo Kikasete"'' is an unrequited love song that describes the feeling of a woman who is asking the one she loves: "who are you thinking about?". The other A-side is named ''"Cra ...

" to be released on September 14. Again it charted well on the online downloads. Very quickly a new single was announced named "Darlin'" and was set to release on October 12. The song would serve as the new Kansai Collection theme song. And very quickly after that it was announced her 4th album named " Fortune" would be released on November 2. On December 7, Beni's website announced the release of her 3rd Live album named "

Jewel Concert Tour Jewel Concert Tour is the third live CD by singer Beni. The album was released on 25 January 2012 along with her single "Eien was a after '' Kanna'' and before '' Eiso.'' This period spanned the years from April 987 through August 988. The r ...

" and a new single named "

Eien was a after '' Kanna'' and before '' Eiso.'' This period spanned the years from April 987 through August 988. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * January 2, 987 : The new era name was created to mark an event or a number of events. The ...

". Both were released on January 25, 2012. On February 6, 2012, Beni's official website announced that Beni would release her first English cover album named '' Covers''. The album contains English covers from Japanese songs from popular Japanese male artists. The album became a huge success: ranking #2 on the Oricon weekly charts and selling even more copies then " Lovebox" (which ranked No. 1 on Oricon weekly charts) and her debut album " Bitter & Sweet". On April 18, 2012, Beni's official website announced another live album named "

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

" to be released on 23 May. The website announced on August 21, that a Deluxe version of ''Covers'' was going to be released on September 12, 2012. The new version would include a DVD with music video's and live video footage. On September 27, 2012, Beni's official website announced the release on a second cover album named " Covers 2". After this new album, Beni announced her first artist book named ''Cover Girl''. Covers 2 debuted on the Oricon weekly chart at #5 selling over 50,000 copies, making it Beni's best debut sales ever. In March 2013, Beni's official website announced a new single named "Satsuki Ame" to be released on April 24, 2013. This marks the first time that BENI written and composed the title track. On June 26, 2013, Beni release a new single named "Our Sky". Shortly after that, a new album named ''Red'' was announced. The album was released on July 31, 2013. The following year, she released a Best of collection. In November 2015 Beni released the album ''Undress''. In 2019, she made an appearance as a guest artist at the Japanese touring ice show

Fantasy on Ice is an annual touring ice show in Japan produced by CIC Co., Ltd. The show emerged from the "Philippe Candeloro Japan Tour 2001", named after retired French figure skater Philippe Candeloro, and was held under the name "Fantasy on Ice" the followi ...

, where she performed to her non-album single "Mienai Start" in the finale amongst others.

Discography

*''

'' (2005) *''

'' (2006) *''

'' (2007) *'' Bitter & Sweet'' (2009) *'' Lovebox'' (2010) *'' Jewel'' (2010) *'' Fortune'' (2011) *'' Covers'' (2012) *'' Covers 2'' (2012) *''Red'' (2013) *''Covers 3'' (2013) *''Undress'' (2015) *''四季うた summer'' (2016) *''Covers The City'' (2017) *''CINEMATIC'' (2018) *''Y/our Song'' (2020) *''Made In Love'' (2020)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beni 1986 births Living people Sophia University alumni Japanese child singers Japanese Christians Japanese women pop singers Japanese-language singers Japanese people of American descent Japanese pop musicians Japanese rhythm and blues singers Ryukyuan people Musicians from Okinawa Prefecture Universal Music Japan artists Fantasy on Ice guest artists 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers