Johnny + Oni = no money
I'm sure you've all heard about Arashi's album + tour. I wasn't surprised by the single collection at all (I think I've been saying that they'd release a best of for their 10th anniversary since at least the beginning of the year) but the news still made me squeal and jump around in a fangirlish fashion. And Kokuritsu AGAIN? Our boys are just amazing ♥
Anyway, I was playing some music while writing fic and realized I haven't been keeping up with new releases outside of Arashi. So I decided to look around, and I found a naked preggers hitomi with Love Life 2, a cross-dressing Gackt (which, well, isn't new, but still l-lolz), and plenty of other things. But the thing I found that I about beat my head against the desk for missing is new stuffs from one of my favorite artists ever. So to compensate, I thought I'd introduce her to my flist.
Flist, meet Onitsuka Chihiro, my favorite female voice ever, hands down.
(Not put under a cut because Oni is too amazing for cuts. I DO NOT APOLOGIZE.)
Some info that you could've just found on wikipedia:
She debuted in 2000 with a song called Shine, which didn't chart very well. However, her next single, Gekkou, sold over half a million. Have any of you ever seen the jdrama, Trick, with Nakama Yukie and Abe Hiroshi? Well, 3 of her songs have been used as ending themes: Gekkou, Ryuuseigun, and Watashi to Waltz wo. She even appeared on screen the last episode of the 1st season, singing Gekkou.
Chihiro had a steady career, releasing a total 3 albums and 10 singles by the end of 2003. In 2001, her single Memai earned her an award for best lyrics. Her 1st album, Insomnia, sold appr. 1.4 million copies. While she didn't maintain that popularity, she still reached #2 for her 3rd album Sugar High, despite it having no prior singles and little promotion. Most of her songs are emotional ballads like infection, the song above, but she also has her share of upbeat songs.
So, what happened? A lot.
In late 2003, Chi needed to have throat surgery (I believe for a vocal fold nodule?). Her label decided to act against her wishes and released a singles box (from what I hear, she also disagreed with the copyright protection they wanted to use, but I don't know the details of that). But soon enough, either she left or the company dropped her. In 2004, she released a single, Sodatsu Zassou, an angrier, edgier rock song, with a different company. After that, she pretty much disappeared. Chihiro went on hiatus for three years, for health problems and depression from what I've heard (but she had problems then, too - her weight dropped to only 36kg at one point, and she even had an incident with a stalker).
In 2007, she returned with a new single, everyhome, and later that year released an album, Las Vegas. I became her fan while she was in the middle of her hiatus, so I was thrilled to see her return. But while I love the album, her voice is certainly much weaker on it, and it lacks her usual charm.
But only a month ago, she released X / Last Melody, her 2nd single since Las Vegas. And I've been listening to these songs on repeat ever since, because both songs have that Oni-dynamic that Las Vegas didn't. My Chi-chan is baaack~ And she'll be releasing another new single on July 22nd, so I'm really excited. Now I just need to figure out how I can afford it AND Arashi >.<
So, was my post not enough to convince you to check her out? Well, maybe this fun fact will: during her hiatus, she read manga and listened to Tori Amos and, who else?
Arashi.
That's right. Onitsuka Chihiro is an Arashi fan. How can she not be awesome? XD
She's also one of my biggest muses. Two of her songs helped inspire my massive AU, and whenever I have writer's block, it's usually her stuff I play.
I don't know how many people on my flist listen to her style of music, but I hope you all try her out! or I'm totally kicking you off my flist right nao Tell me if you liked her (or didn't like her, or if you're already a fan of hers).
Some of her songs (youtube'd because my internet is being stupid and I can't upload right now):
Her latest single, X - a rock ballad. Watch the Oni dance!
Gekkou - a live performance full of amazingness.
King of Solitude - from Sugar High, a pretty, wintery ballad. I actually have a fic planned based off of this song.
I could easily recommend more, but I don't want to make this too long. Sorry if you consider this spam lol not really v(^^)
In other news: younger sister has been CONVERTED. And she's in love with Uta no Oniisan.
I knew she couldn't resist for long! *evil cackle*
Anyway, I was playing some music while writing fic and realized I haven't been keeping up with new releases outside of Arashi. So I decided to look around, and I found a naked preggers hitomi with Love Life 2, a cross-dressing Gackt (which, well, isn't new, but still l-lolz), and plenty of other things. But the thing I found that I about beat my head against the desk for missing is new stuffs from one of my favorite artists ever. So to compensate, I thought I'd introduce her to my flist.
Click to viewFlist, meet Onitsuka Chihiro, my favorite female voice ever, hands down.
(Not put under a cut because Oni is too amazing for cuts. I DO NOT APOLOGIZE.)
Some info that you could've just found on wikipedia:
She debuted in 2000 with a song called Shine, which didn't chart very well. However, her next single, Gekkou, sold over half a million. Have any of you ever seen the jdrama, Trick, with Nakama Yukie and Abe Hiroshi? Well, 3 of her songs have been used as ending themes: Gekkou, Ryuuseigun, and Watashi to Waltz wo. She even appeared on screen the last episode of the 1st season, singing Gekkou.
Chihiro had a steady career, releasing a total 3 albums and 10 singles by the end of 2003. In 2001, her single Memai earned her an award for best lyrics. Her 1st album, Insomnia, sold appr. 1.4 million copies. While she didn't maintain that popularity, she still reached #2 for her 3rd album Sugar High, despite it having no prior singles and little promotion. Most of her songs are emotional ballads like infection, the song above, but she also has her share of upbeat songs.
So, what happened? A lot.
In late 2003, Chi needed to have throat surgery (I believe for a vocal fold nodule?). Her label decided to act against her wishes and released a singles box (from what I hear, she also disagreed with the copyright protection they wanted to use, but I don't know the details of that). But soon enough, either she left or the company dropped her. In 2004, she released a single, Sodatsu Zassou, an angrier, edgier rock song, with a different company. After that, she pretty much disappeared. Chihiro went on hiatus for three years, for health problems and depression from what I've heard (but she had problems then, too - her weight dropped to only 36kg at one point, and she even had an incident with a stalker).
In 2007, she returned with a new single, everyhome, and later that year released an album, Las Vegas. I became her fan while she was in the middle of her hiatus, so I was thrilled to see her return. But while I love the album, her voice is certainly much weaker on it, and it lacks her usual charm.
But only a month ago, she released X / Last Melody, her 2nd single since Las Vegas. And I've been listening to these songs on repeat ever since, because both songs have that Oni-dynamic that Las Vegas didn't. My Chi-chan is baaack~ And she'll be releasing another new single on July 22nd, so I'm really excited. Now I just need to figure out how I can afford it AND Arashi >.<
So, was my post not enough to convince you to check her out? Well, maybe this fun fact will: during her hiatus, she read manga and listened to Tori Amos and, who else?
Arashi.
That's right. Onitsuka Chihiro is an Arashi fan. How can she not be awesome? XD
She's also one of my biggest muses. Two of her songs helped inspire my massive AU, and whenever I have writer's block, it's usually her stuff I play.
I don't know how many people on my flist listen to her style of music, but I hope you all try her out! or I'm totally kicking you off my flist right nao Tell me if you liked her (or didn't like her, or if you're already a fan of hers).
Some of her songs (youtube'd because my internet is being stupid and I can't upload right now):
Her latest single, X - a rock ballad. Watch the Oni dance!
Gekkou - a live performance full of amazingness.
King of Solitude - from Sugar High, a pretty, wintery ballad. I actually have a fic planned based off of this song.
I could easily recommend more, but I don't want to make this too long. Sorry if you consider this spam lol not really v(^^)
In other news: younger sister has been CONVERTED. And she's in love with Uta no Oniisan.
I knew she couldn't resist for long! *evil cackle*