中島美嘉
中島美嘉
Person from Japan
Genres: j-pop, japanese, female vocalists, jazz, JPop
伊藤由奈
About 中島美嘉
Mika Nakashima (中島美嘉, Nakashima Mika) is a Japanese pop / pop rock / jazz singer and actress from Hioki, Kagoshima, Japan. Born on February 19, 1983, she is known for her expressive vocals and her ability to blend pop, rock, blues, and jazz influences into a distinctive cinematic style. Nakashima began pursuing a musical career at a young age, choosing to focus on singing rather than continuing formal education. In 2001, she was selected from approximately 3,000 auditionees to star in the Fuji TV drama Kizudarake no Love Song (傷だらけのラブソング, "Scarred Love Song"), marking her acting debut. That same year, she made her music debut under Sony Music Associated Records with the single STARS, which served as the drama's theme song. The single became one of her biggest hits, selling over 470,000 copies. Her debut album, TRUE (2002), topped the Oricon charts and sold more than one million copies. The follow-up, LOVE (2003), surpassed those numbers with sales exceeding 1.5 million. Subsequent releases such as MUSIC (2005), YES (2007), and VOICE (2008) further established her as one of Japan's leading female vocalists. In 2005, Nakashima starred as NANA starring MIKA NAKASHIMA in the live-action adaptation of the manga NANA, portraying singer Nana Ōsaki. The theme song GLAMOROUS SKY, written by HYDE of L'Arc~en~Ciel, became her first No. 1 single. She continued this role for the 2006 sequel NANA 2, releasing 一色 ("Hito Iro") and the concept album THE END. In 2010, Nakashima was forced to take a brief hiatus due to patulous eustachian tube syndrome, a condition affecting her hearing that she had struggled with for nearly a decade. After two years of recovery, she returned with STAR (2010) and later released REAL (2013). Her later works include TOUGH (2017), JOKER (2020), and I (2022), her first entirely self-produced album where she wrote and composed all songs herself. Nakashima has remained active in the 2020s, releasing singles such as "We are all stars" (2023) and "ORION With ensemble" (2023). In 2024, she released MISSION, which served as the ending theme for the anime Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange, and UNFAIR, the opening theme for Delico's Nursery. Over her career, Nakashima has sold more than ten million records in Japan and remains active in both music and film. Her style is defined by rich emotional delivery and versatility, seamlessly shifting between pop, ballad, rock, and jazz-oriented sounds. She continues to perform and record under Sony Music, maintaining her reputation as one of the most distinctive and enduring voices in contemporary Japanese pop.
Taken from Last.fm
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