Chara (singer)
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, better known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer, actress and
video jockey A video jockey (abbreviated VJ or sometimes veejay) is an announcer or host who introduces music videos and live performances on commercial music television channels such as MTV, VH1, Much (TV channel), MuchMusic and Channel V. Origins The term " ...
. She debuted in 1991 with the single ''Heaven''. She is known for her song " Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta)", the theme song for the 1996 Shunji Iwai film ''
Swallowtail Butterfly Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the larg ...
'' in which she starred, her 1997 hit single " Yasashii Kimochi", and her collaboration with Judy and Mary vocalist Yuki, " Ai no Hi Mittsu Orange". Chara later formed a band with Yuki, called Mean Machine.


Early life

Chara grew up in Kawaguchi, Saitama. She started learning the piano from age four, and starting composing songs in elementary school. In her first year of elementary school, she performed a song she had written, , at a school piano recital., accessed through She originally received her nickname ''Chara'' in junior high school, after a teacher called her this. She was so well known by this name that even some of her friends did not know her real name. She continues to use this name as she believes it brings out her inner child. After finishing high school, Chara went to Tokyo to a
vocational school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...
, majoring in music and specialising in piano. However, she dropped out one year into her two-year degree. From 1984 onward, she worked as a keyboardist in several different unsigned bands. During this time, she found part-time work as a roller-skating waitress.Chara 1995, p. 94. In 1988, to get a chance to sing her own compositions, she decided to become a band vocalist instead. Her first live performance was at the Shinjuku Ruido live house in 1990.


Career


1991–1995: Early releases

Chara sent a demo tape to
Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
in 1990, which caught the attention of Masahiro Ohara and landed her a deal with
Epic Records Japan Epic Records Japan is a Japanese record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Its founder was Shigeo Maruyama. Between 1978 and 1988 the label operated as a wholly owned subsidiary: Epic/Sony Inc. () was established in August 1978
She recorded her debut album in early 1991 in Tokyo and London, and debuted in September with a performance at the Shibuya Club Quattro and the release of her debut single ''Heaven''. In October, Chara became a personality on the
ANN Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in ...
music show Video Jam, and later in November released her debut album ''
Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...
''. The album was not very successful, only reaching No. 64 on
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
's album charts. Chara's career gained more momentum after her first tour, ''Chara Live "Sweet"'' in May 1992. She became a radio personality for the FM Yokohama, with her own radio show , and her second album, Soul Kiss, won the 1992
Japan Record Award is a major music awards show, held annually in Japan that recognizes outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association. Established in 1959, the Japan Record Awards are one of the oldest and most prestigious music awards in the count ...
for best rock/pop album from a new artist. The album reached No. 14 on the album charts. In 1993, she starred in many different commercials (or had her songs featured in them), including commercials for
Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and ...
,
Shiseido is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world an ...
,
Marui is a Japanese multinational retail company which operates a chain of department stores in Tokyo as well in other major Japanese cities. They are best known for their women's fashion and accessories, which are aimed at the 25–35 age range. ...
and Snow Brand ice creams. Her single , the song used in the Shiseido campaign, was her first top 100 charting single, reaching No. 66. The resulting album, '' Violet Blue'', debuted at No. 4 on the charts. Her 1994 album, '' Happy Toy'', riding on the success of her first top 50 single , also debuting at No. 4. In spring 1994, she filmed the Shunji Iwai film
Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...
, in which she played a mental patient. The film would not be released for another two years. She starred aside
Tadanobu Asano better known by his stage name is a Japanese actor, director, and musician, who has had an extensive career working in both Japanese and international cinema. He has been nominated for five Japan Academy Film Prizes, twice for Best Actor and ...
, whom she married in 1995. Chara took a short break from music, releasing '' Chara the Best Baby Baby Baby XXX'' and giving birth to her first child, a girl named .Sumire means violet.


1996–2001: Mainstream success

In February 1996, Chara began filming her second film for Iwai, titled ''
Swallowtail Butterfly Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the larg ...
''. She played , a slum prostitute with musical aspirations. Chara recorded the soundtrack for the movie, collaborating with Mr. Children music producer
Takeshi Kobayashi , is a Japanese keyboardist, lyricist, composer, arranger, and record producer. History Kobayashi started his professional career in the late 1970s. After working in the backing bands for singers such as Yosui Inoue, Misato Watanabe, and Anri, ...
to create a
Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
-esque sound. The music was released under the name ''Yen Town Band'', the name of the band Glico forms in the film. Before the movie's release, the theme song " Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta)" was released, along with Chara's first film with Iwai, Picnic, finding a proper cinema release. The film was a massive hit, propelling Chara to stardom. Both the concept album, '' Montage'', and the theme song reached No. 1 on Oricon charts. Her performance awarded her a
Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role The of the Japan Academy Prize is one of the annual Awards given by the ''Nippon Academy-sho association'' (Japan Academy Prize Association). In 2020, Shim Eun-kyung, a South Korean, became the first non-Japanese actress to win this award. Li ...
nomination. The film won the ''Most Popular Film'' award. Chara's fame soared, as shown by her next album ''
Junior Sweet is the sixth studio album by Chara (singer), Chara, which was released on September 21, 1997. It debuted at #1 on the Japanese Oricon album charts for two weeks, and charted in the top 200 for 26 weeks. The album is Chara's most popular, and eve ...
''. The main single from the album, " Yasashii Kimochi" (the
Shiseido is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world an ...
'Tessera J' CM song), was a big hit, selling over 520,000 copies (subscription only) and became her second biggest hit after ''Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta)''. The album was certified by the
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 prom ...
as selling over 1,000,000 copies. Her 1999 album, '' Strange Fruits'', saw some success, debuting at No. 3 and selling over 300,000 copies. Chara teamed up with Judy and Mary vocalist Yuki to release a special single called " Ai no Hi Mittsu Orange". This song is Chara's third biggest hit, selling over 230,000 copies. In 2000, Chara released her second best-of collection, '' Caramel Milk: The Best of Chara'', and 2001 released her 8th album, ''
Madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th centuries) and early Baroque (1580–1650) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the ...
''. ''Madrigal'' featured two tracks co-written with American guitarist
James Iha (born March 26, 1968) is an American rock musician. He is best known as a guitarist and co-founder of the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. He was a member until the band's initial breakup in 2000 and rejoined in 2018. Iha has als ...
.


2001–2005: Mean Machine

In late 2001, Chara released music as the drummer of the twin-drum all-girl rock band, Mean Machine, alongside Yuki, ''Swallowtail'' actress Ayumi Ito, 1980s musician Mayumi Chiwaki and former funk/rock band Jagatara dancer Yukarie. The band was conceived in 1998, when Chiwaki mentioned to Chara that she thought it would be good to start up a girls' rock band. One of the tenets of the band was that all members would have to do something they'd never tried before, landing Chara on drums. The band first practiced in 1999, and continued to sporadically practice throughout 2000, despite different members' schedules. In 2001, the band debuted with the song , which was written by Chara during her second pregnancy, inspired by the breathing sounds of the Lamaze technique. Soon after, the band released their debut album ''
Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...
''. In 2003, Chara released her 9th solo album, '' Yoake Mae'', and in 2004 released an album of re-recordings of songs from her early albums, '' A Scenery Like Me''. This heralded the end of Chara's Sony contract. Chara self-released her music after this point, recording songs from her own home and self-producing her work. These recordings resulted in a limited 2,000 copy album, '' Something Blue'', and a digital single (used as the theme song for the Japanese release of the movie ''
March of the Penguins ''March of the Penguins'' ( French ''La Marche de l'empereur''; ) is a 2005 French feature-length nature documentary directed and co-written by Luc Jacquet, and co-produced by Bonne Pioche and the National Geographic Society. The documentary d ...
''). During this period, Chara created several bands. One, ''Cold Sugar'' was a collaboration with Arai Akino.


2006–present

Chara re-debuted as a major label artist in 2006, with the release of the single " Sekai". Her single "Fantasy" was a minor hit, reaching No. 13 on Oricon charts. It was written in collaboration with
Seiji Kameda is a Japanese music producer, arranger and bass guitarist. He has worked extensively with Ringo Shiina, serving as her producer and touring bassist for many years, including his tenure with their band Tokyo Jihen. Biography He was born in ...
, producer for artists such as
Do As Infinity Do As Infinity is a Japanese pop and rock band that formed in 1999 with three members: vocalist Tomiko Van, guitarist Ryo Owatari, and guitarist and composer Dai Nagao. The band's name is sometimes abbreviated as DAI, alluding to the fact tha ...
and bassist for the band
Tokyo Jihen , also known as Tokyo Incidents, is a Japanese rock band formed by Ringo Sheena, after leaving her solo career. The band's debut single "Gunjō Biyori" was released in September 2004, and they ended activities in February 2012. The band sold 2.3 ...
. The following album, '' Union'', also fared well. It reached the top 5 in Oricon's album charts, and outsold her former two Sony released albums. On the back of Chara's returned success, Sony released the compilation album, '' Sugar Hunter: The Best Love Songs of Chara''. Chara's Universal singles have fared better on digital charts. "Trophy", a single from Chara's second Universal album ''
Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...
'', did well digitally, despite the physical release only reaching No. 37. After the end of her contract with Universal, Chara released a new mini-album, Utakata, in November 2011 under BounDEE Inc. (a subsidiary of Space Shower Networks, the owners of Space Shower TV). ''Utakata'' charted at 56th spot on the
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
charts and lasted there for three weeks. On December 14, 2011, Chara announced in a concert at
Shibuya-AX Shibuya-AX (stylized as SHIBUYA- AX) was a concert hall in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, near the Yoyogi National Gymnasium. Layout Shibuya-AX was the only purpose-built concert hall or "live house" in the Tokyo metropolitan area that could accommod ...
her transfer to Ki/oon Records (now Ki/oon Music), an imprint of
Sony Music Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is opera ...
. She joined Ki/oon's 20th anniversary concert tour, "Ki/oon 20 Years and Days", in April 2012 at Liquidroom Ebisu, Tokyo. She released her first single through Ki/oon, "Alterna Girlfriend", on June 6, 2012. Chara collaborated with
Basement Jaxx Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton (born 30 April 1970) and Simon Ratcliffe (born 28 November 1969). The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK. They first ros ...
for the song "Wherever You Go" on the album '' Junto'' in 2014.


Personal life

In 1994, Chara married actor
Tadanobu Asano better known by his stage name is a Japanese actor, director, and musician, who has had an extensive career working in both Japanese and international cinema. He has been nominated for five Japan Academy Film Prizes, twice for Best Actor and ...
. She met Asano on the set of the 1994 film ''
Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...
'', in which they were both starring actors. Chara gave birth to a daughter, , on July 4, 1995. Chara also had a son with Asano on December 19, 1998. The couple attended the
80th Academy Awards The 80th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2007. The award ceremony took place on February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During t ...
in Los Angeles in 2008, as the film ''
Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...
'', in which Asano starred, was nominated for the best foreign film category as the submission from
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
. On July 25, 2009, Chara announced her amicable divorce from Asano, after 14 years of marriage. Chara has two tattoos: a blue bird on her back, and a on her neck. Chara's children feature in her music. Sumire features on the cover of her album ''Honey'', which also has a track named after her.


Discography

*''
Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...
'' (1991) *'' Soul Kiss'' (1992) *'' Violet Blue'' (1993) *'' Happy Toy'' (1994) *'' Montage'' (1996) *''
Junior Sweet is the sixth studio album by Chara (singer), Chara, which was released on September 21, 1997. It debuted at #1 on the Japanese Oricon album charts for two weeks, and charted in the top 200 for 26 weeks. The album is Chara's most popular, and eve ...
'' (1997) *'' Strange Fruits'' (1999) *''
Madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th centuries) and early Baroque (1580–1650) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the ...
'' (2001) *'' Yoake Mae'' (2003) *'' A Scenery Like Me'' (2004) *'' Something Blue'' (2005) *'' Union'' (2007) *''
Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...
'' (2008) *'' Carol'' (2009) *'' Dark Candy'' (2011) *'' Cocoon'' (2012) *''Jewel'' (2013) *'' Secret Garden'' (2015) *''Diverse Journey'' (2016) *''Sympathy'' (2017) *''Baby Bump'' (2018)


Filmography


Films


Series


TV music shows


References


External links

*
Official Universal Music Label Site

Ongaku Bāka Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chara 1968 births Living people People from Kawaguchi, Saitama Actresses from Saitama Prefecture Japanese film actresses Japanese women pop singers Japanese women songwriters Japanese women television personalities Japanese radio personalities Japanese women rock singers Mean Machine (band) members 20th-century Japanese actresses A&M Records artists Epic Records artists Japanese video jockeys Singers from Saitama Prefecture 20th-century Japanese women singers 20th-century Japanese singer-songwriters 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singer-songwriters Ki/oon Music artists Universal Music Japan artists Trip hop musicians Downtempo musicians