アンジェラ・アキ (Angela Aki) 可愛いね！
I've always been fascinated with Japanese culture, this includes their way of living, their food, their religion and music. Since young, I've been a fan of JPop music. From my 1st introduction when I was in form 1 to An Zen Chi Tai (an old JPop 80s group with Koji Tamaki as lead singer) to the latest divas and groups in Jpop, Misia, Angela Aki, Exile, Crystal Kay. Angela Aki is like a breath of fresh air. She has great range of vocal chords and she also composes and write her own music. In addition to that, she's half Japanese, Half Italian American! Mama Mia! 可愛いね!!! (Kawaii - So Darn Cute!)
Here is her blog, You'd have to be able to read Japanese to read her blog. Her songs are original, they're not pop or rock, it's a nice mixture of Contemporary Pop and a bit of Jazz. Got hooked on her music when I first heard her singing the theme for Final Fantasy XII 'Kiss Me Goodbye' .
Click this link to see the MV of the Japanese version of 'Kiss Me Goodbye'
This is an excerpt of her Biography....
Angela Aki (アンジェラ・アキ Anjera Aki), born on 15 September 1977 in Itano, Tokushima Prefecture, Shikoku, Japan, to a Japanese father and an Italian-American mother, is a Japanese singer-songwriter. Her former Japanese real name is 安芸 聖世美 (Aki Kiyomi). She is most known for her signature black glasses, and the T-shirts and jeans that she wears for her concerts.
Angela Aki is completely bilingual in English and Japanese as she was raised in Japan, but moved to Hawaii at the age of fifteen where she graduated from Iolani School. From there she moved on to George Washington University where she graduated with majors in politics and music.
She originally released an indie album in the United States in 2000, called These Words, which received much critical acclaim. In 2002 she composed two tracks for "Let It Fall" by Dianne Eclar, a teenage pop singer from the Philippines. In 2005 in Japan, she released an indie mini-album under Virgo Music entitled ONE, which is what alerted Nobuo Uematsu to her music. Angela Aki is now signed under Sony Japan. In 2005 she was announced as the singer of the Final Fantasy XII theme song, "Kiss Me Good-Bye".
On March 9, 2007, she revealed in her official blog that she is married to a music director who has been supporting her before her debut. She also revealed that while she was in Washington D.C., she had married once before but the marriage ended in a divorce.
Reaching an English audience
In May 2006, Angela signed with Tofu Records in order to release English singles and albums. Her first release with Tofu was releasing "Kiss Me Good-Bye" as a digital single in the USA, with a slightly altered track list. Later that month she performed the Final Fantasy XII theme song, "Kiss Me Good-Bye" at the premiere PLAY! A Video Game Symphony concert in Chicago on May 27, 2006. With orchestral backup, she played piano and sang the English lyrics, which she had written herself. She also performed her own version of "Eyes On Me", the theme song of Final Fantasy VIII with only the piano and her voice.
Marriage
On Aki's blog dated March 9, 2007, she announced her marriage to Japanese music producer, Hide Sanjougi. She also mentioned that it will be the second marriage for her. She is good friends with JPOP star Yuna Ito. Both singers attended the same Japanese language school.
Angela Aki is the daughter of Kiyoshi Aki, the owner/co-founder of AEON Institute of Language Education. This is one of the "Big Four" Eikaiwa (English conversation) schools in Japan.
Comments