Sowelu
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Sowelu | |
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| Birth name | Aki Harada |
| Born | November 6, 1982 Tokyo,Japan |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | rhythmzone |
Aki Harada(Nguyên điền á hi,Harada Aki,born November 6, 1982)better known by herstage name,Sowelu,is a Japanesepop/R&Bsinger signed ontoAvex Group's labelRhythm Zone.
History
[edit]Her career started in 2002 with the release of her first singleBeautiful Dreamer,a soft love ballad which did very well in the charts, and was later featured on theRelaxin’ with Japanese Loverscompilation album. Her first single was modestly successful, and it wasn't until the release of her albumGeofuin the summer of 2003 that she gained recognition.Geofudid exceptionally well in the charts, scoring a number 4 position with more than 300,000 copies sold. Her first single afterGeofu,"Rainbow" was used as the theme song for the Japanese dramaNetsuretsuteki Chukahanten,and the other A-side song on that single, "breath ~Omoi no Youryō~" was used for the national promotion campaign ofJFN Radio.She performs underSony Music Japan'sDefSTAR Recordslabel.
Her next big single "Glisten" was used in a make-up commercial forMenardsproducts 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 popularTBSanimated seriesFullmetal Alchemist,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 theSoul Tree: a Musical Tribute to Toshinobu Kubotaalbum and "Pearlcolor ni Yurete" was on the Momoe Yamaguchi tribute albumThank You For....Likewise, her third single "Fortune" was selected for the American J-Pop compilation albumNeo Soul,and "Across My Heart" written by Kenny Lerum and Barry J. Eastmond, from theGeofualbum, 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 dramaThere goes Nurse-man,and her cover of "The Rose" was featured on aNescafecommercial. Then finally, after one and a half years of waiting, Sowelu released her second albumSweet Bridgeon January 7, 2005.
In 2005, Sowelu contributed toM-Flo's albumBeat Space Nineon the track "So Exclusive", and again on their albumDope Space Ninein the same song, remixed by Korean fusion band,Clazziquai.
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 petchihuahua.
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[citation needed].One of the album's songs entitled "Thủ るべきもの", (Mamoru Beki Mono/The One You Should Protect) is used as the ending of the 9th Pokémon moviePokémon Ranger and the Prince of the Sea: Manaphy.
On December 12, 2007 Sowelu released her latest single "Quang", (Hikari). The single had moderate success and reached #28 on theOriconWeekly Charts[citation needed]More recently Sowelu will participate in the 2008Nikead campaign, "MY MUSIC,MY FORCE"; along withPerfume,Home Made Kazoku,Tohoshinki,Shota MoriyamaandShoko Nakagawa.
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 toAvex Trax,one of Japan's most powerful record labels (under its sister labelRhythm Zone).
On May 30, 2012, Sowelu released her 5th studio album, "29 tonight".
Personal life
[edit]She was born inTokyoto a halfIrishand halfJapanesemother and Japanese father Yoshitaka Shimada(嶋 điền cát long,Shimada Yoshitaka).[1]
Sowelu is a martial arts fan and has stated that she is only attracted to fighting men (as for show-business men), such asmixed martial artistsandprofessional wrestlers,especially those who look likeMark HuntorKazuyuki Fujita.[2]
Discography
[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
Extended plays[edit]
Compilation albums[edit]
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Top 20 singles[edit]
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References
[edit]- ^Excite feature article(in Japanese)
- ^CD DATA, July 14, 2007, (B000SO7038,Kadokawa Shoten), p.41 "Artists Now: Sowelu"
External links
[edit]- Sony Music, Japan(In English)
- https://web.archive.org/web/20090917005333/http://rhythmzone.net/sowelu/(In Japanese)
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