better known by her

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

, Sowelu, is a Japanese

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

/ R&B singer signed onto

Avex Group is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other ...

's label

Rhythm Zone (RZN) is a record label in the Avex Group that releases urban contemporary Japanese music. History The label was founded in 1999 by Max Matsuura with a focus on urban music, signing M-Flo as its first artist, then followed by Exile. In 20 ...

History

Her career started in 2002 with the release of her first single ''Beautiful Dreamer'', a soft love ballad which did very well in the charts, and was later featured on the ''Relaxin’ with Japanese Lovers'' compilation album. Her first single was modestly successful, and it wasn't until the release of her album ''Geofu'' in the summer of 2003 that she gained recognition. ''Geofu'' did exceptionally well in the charts, scoring a number 4 position with more than 300,000 copies sold. Her first single after ''Geofu'', "Rainbow" was used as the theme song for the Japanese drama ''Netsuretsuteki Chukahanten'', and the other A-side song on that single, "breath ~Omoi no Youryō~" was used for the national promotion campaign of JFN Radio. She performs under

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 oper ...

's DefSTAR Records label. Her next big single "Glisten" was used in a make-up commercial for

Menards Menards is an American home improvement retail company headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Menards is owned by founder John Menard Jr. through his privately held company, Menard, Inc. It has 335 stores in 15 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, ...

products and did fairly well in the Japanese market. With this success, she gained even more popularity, and was asked to sing the end theme for the popular TBS animated series ''

Fullmetal Alchemist is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. It was serialized in Square Enix's ''shōnen'' manga anthology magazine ''Monthly Shōnen Gangan'' between July 2001 and June 2010; the publisher later collected the ...

'', entitled "I Will", giving her an easy in with American fans. Because of "'I Will"', the two other songs included with her "I Will" single, "Candy Rain" and "Pearl Color ni Yurete", became popular among American fans. In 2005, her song "Candy Rain" was featured on the ''Soul Tree: a Musical Tribute to Toshinobu Kubota'' album and "Pearlcolor ni Yurete" was on the Momoe Yamaguchi tribute album ''Thank You For...''. Likewise, her third single "Fortune" was selected for the American J-Pop compilation album ''Neo Soul'', and "Across My Heart" written by Kenny Lerum and Barry J. Eastmond, from the ''Geofu'' album, was added to the "Smooth Listening Compilation" album. In November 2004, Sowelu released her 8th single, "Last Forever", which became the TV insert song for the new drama ''There goes Nurse-man'', and her cover of "The Rose" was featured on a Nescafe commercial. Then finally, after one and a half years of waiting, Sowelu released her second album ''Sweet Bridge'' on January 7, 2005. In 2005, Sowelu contributed to

M-Flo is a Japanese hip hop group consisting of record producer DJ Taku Takahashi, Verbal and Lisa. Lisa left the group in 2002 to pursue a solo career and the remaining members then started the M-Flo Loves... project working different vocalists ...

's album ''

Beat Space Nine ''Beat Space Nine'' is the fourth studio album released by the Japanese group M-Flo. The record is presented in the metaformat of a spaceliner's in-flight entertainment system, specifically that of "Global Astroliner", constituting a recurring th ...

'' on the track "So Exclusive", and again on their album ''Dope Space Nine'' in the same song, remixed by Korean fusion band,

Clazziquai Clazziquai Project (Hangul: ), also known as Clazziquai, is a South Korean electropop band that combines several genres including electronic music, acid jazz and house. The band's first short unofficial albums were released online in 2001, spread ...

. In the music video for the song "to YOU" several photographs of her family and her childhood are intercut with scenes of her singing in a wide room with large glass windows. According to her website, the video location is a church about one hour away from Tokyo by car. At the end of the PV, the family members in the photos make an appearance together with Sowelu, including her grandmother, her mother and even Sowelu's pet

chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

. Her 4th album "24 -twenty four-" was released on July 12, 2006. It debuted at #3, her highest ranking yet. The album remained at the #3 spot for two weeks on the Weekly Oricon Album Charts. One of the album's songs entitled "守るべきもの", (''Mamoru Beki Mono''/The One You Should Protect) is used as the ending of the 9th Pokémon movie Pokémon Ranger and the Prince of the Sea: Manaphy. On December 12, 2007 Sowelu released her latest single "光", (''Hikari''). The single had moderate success and reached #28 on 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 N ...

Weekly Charts More recently Sowelu will participate in the 2008

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

ad campaign, "MY MUSIC,MY FORCE"; along with

Perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. ...

Home Made Kazoku was a Japanese hip-hop trio from Nagoya, formed in 1996, and whose hiatus started in 2016. They are signed to Ki/oon Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music. Biography Home Made Kazoku is a trio, consisting of members Micro, Kuro, and DJ U-Ichi. ...

Tohoshinki TVXQ (stylized as TVXQ!), an initialism for Tong Vfang Xien Qi (), is a South Korean male pop duo consisting of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin. They are known as in Japanese releases, and are sometimes referred to as DBSK, an abbreviation of ...

Shota Moriyama Shota may refer to: * Shota (dance), a traditional dance from Kosovo * Shota (Georgian given name), a Georgian given name * Shōta, a Japanese given name * Shota (wrestler), Japanese professional wrestler * Shotacon , abbreviated from , is, in ...

and

Shoko Nakagawa is a Japanese media personality, actress, voice actress, illustrator, and singer. Also known by her nickname , she is best known as the presenter of '' Pokémon Sunday'', and as the performer of the opening theme from the anime '' Gurren Lagann ...

. In Spring 2009, Sowelu's contract with Sony Music Japan's DefSTAR label wasn't renewed, resulting in the label dropping her from the web site's roster. Less than a week after the news of Sowelu being dropped from her label, it was announced that Sowelu had signed to Avex Trax, one of Japan's most powerful record labels (under its sister label

). On May 30, 2012, Sowelu released her 5th studio album, "29 tonight".

Personal life

She was born in

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, ...

to a half

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and half

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

mother and Japanese father . Sowelu is a martial arts fan and has stated that she is only attracted to fighting men (as for show-business men), such as mixed martial artists and

professional wrestlers Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, especially those who look like

Mark Hunt Mark Richard Hunt (born 23 March 1974) is a New Zealand former mixed martial artist and kickboxer of Samoan descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia. Hunt competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) until 2018 and was the w ...

Kazuyuki Fujita is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a one-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has most recently fought in Road FC, but is also known for ...

.CD DATA, July 14, 2007, (B000SO7038,

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines s ...

), p.41 "Artists Now : Sowelu"

Discography

Studio albums

*2003: '' Geofu'' *2005: ''

Sweet Bridge Sweetness is a Taste#Basic tastes, basic taste most commonly Perception, perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasure, pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds ...

'' *2008: '' 24 (Twenty Four)'' *2008: ''Naked'' *2010: '' Love & I (Ren'ai Henreki)'' *2012: '' 29 tonight''

Extended plays

*2011: '' Let Me...''

Compilation albums

*2005: ''Heads or Tails?'' *2009: '' Sowelu the Best 2002–2009''

Top 20 singles

*2002: "

Beautiful Dreamer "Beautiful Dreamer" is a parlor song by American songwriter Stephen Foster. It was published posthumously in March 1864, by Wm. A. Pond & Co. of New York. The first edition states on its title page that it is "the last song ever written by Ste ...

" *2003: " Glisten" *2004: "

I Will "I Will" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, from their 1968 double album ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). It was written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and features him on lead vocal, guitar, an ...

" *2005: "

Get Over "Get Over" is the 11th single by Japanese band Dream. First press copies of the single came with a Hikaru no Go sticker. The single reached number 12 on the weekly Oricon charts and charted for eight weeks. This track was used as the first opening ...

" *2006: " To You" *2006: " Dear Friend" *2007: " Shiawase no Chikara" *2007: " 24 Karats (Type S)" with Exile, Doberman Inc

References

External links

Sony Music, Japan
(In English)
https://web.archive.org/web/20090917005333/http://rhythmzone.net/sowelu/
(In Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sowelu Avex Group artists Defstar Records artists 1982 births Living people People from Tachikawa Singers from Tokyo Japanese people of Irish descent Japanese women pop singers 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers