Chara.

Hello Everyone! みなさんこんにちわ！I haven't been able to keep up with my blog recently because I've been so incredibly busy planning my wedding. I have a little bit of time tonight so I wanted to tell you about another one of my favourite singers. Her name is Miwa Satou (佐藤美和) but she goes by her nickname Chara-- which came from the Japanese slang word charachara ("scatterbrained"). She was born in Saitama on 13 January 1968 and got a very early start with music-- composing songs and playing instruments while just a primary school student, quickly becoming quite skilled in a wide variety of different musical arts. Even though she is most well-known for her unique and endearing singing voice, she considers herself a musician above all else.

In 1991 she released her debut single "Heaven," quickly followed by her first full-length release, "Sweet." Less than a year later, she released her second full length album "Soul Kiss," keeping a prolific pace with "Violet Blue" and "Happy Toy" coming out during the 20 months that followed.

After taking some time off to become a mother, Chara re-emerged in 1996 as one of the main characters in Iwai Shunji's film, "Swallowtail Butterfly." The next year (1997) she released her album "Junior Sweet" which sold over a million copies that year in Japan alone!

During the years following, until 2008, Chara expanded her musical career into different directions, working with many other famous performers including Great 3 (appearing on releases "Caligula" and "Strange Fruits"), Yuki from Judy and Mary (releasing the single Chara + Yuki), James Iha from the Smashing Pumpkins and then launching an all-girl j-rock group called Mean Machine, featuring herself, Ito Ayumi, Chiwaki Mayumi, Yukarie and Yuki. While working on all of this, she continued her own solo career releasing several more singles and full-length CDs. Two months ago, Chara released her most recent full-length CD, Honey.

Chara's voice is best described as ranging from soft, child-like whispers to powerful, emotional expressions. Her unique style allows her to satisfy J-pop fans as well as ongaku otakus in search of something new and different. I would highly recommend her music-- she's delightful!

Please enjoy this live performance video of her hit song, "Yasashi Kimochi" (やさしい気持ち).



Links:
Chara's website
last.fm
nippop.com