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Biography
about|the Japanese singerLowercase titleInfobox musical artist | name = hitomi| image =| alt =| caption =| image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_name = nihongo|Hitomi Furuya|????|Furuya Hitomi| alias = hitomi, nihongo|Hitomi Uesugi|????|Uesugi Hitomi| birth_date = Birth date and age|1976|1|26|mf=y| birth_place = Tochigi Prefecture|Tochigi , Japan | origin = Kanagawa Prefecture|Kanagawa | death_date =| death_place =| genre = Pop music|Pop , Rock music|rock , electronica | occupation = Singer-songwriter , Model (person)|model , actress | years_active = 1994–present| label = Avex Trax Avex Trax/Love Life Records Maximum 10| associated_acts =| website = URL| http://www.Hitomilovelife.netnihongo| Hitomi Furuya |????|Furuya Hitomi|born January 26, 1976 better known by her stagename hitomi , is a Japanese singer-songwriter . She began her career as Model (person)|model , but after meeting Tetsuya Komuro he began managing her career as a Pop music|pop singer. In 1998 she left the " Komuro Family " and started working with other musicians and producers, oriented to other musical genres such as pop rock , and more recently to Synthpop|electropop .
Biography
Early life
Born nihongo|Hitomi Furuya|????|Furuya Hitomi in Tochigi, Tochigi|Tochigi , Japan , Hitomi's family relocated to Kawasaki, Kanagawa|Kawasaki , Kanagawa Prefecture when she was a child. Consequently Hitomi always identified herself as a girl from Kanagawa. hitomi was an enthusiastic athlete throughout her childhood, playing baseball , Association football|soccer , and basketball , as well as an avid reader of manga . When hitomi was 16 years old, she was spotted and approached by a scout from a modelling agency. Hitomi signed a short modelling contract and began appearing in magazines while she was still in high school .
In 1993, then 17 years old, Furuya was spotted by eminent Avex music producer Tetsuya Komuro at an audition. Komuro signed Furuya to Avex, put Furuya through vocal training, and decided that she should use an all-lowercase 'hitomi' as her stage name. The following year, in November 1994, hitomi released her debut single, " Let's Play Winter ", through Avex Trax , to which she wrote the lyrics. Since then, Hitomi has been the lyricist for almost all of her songs.
Debut and success
While her first two singles, "Let's Play Winter" and " We Are "Lonely Girl" " were considerable failures, her third single "Candy Girl" was used as the theme for a Kodak CM, and secured a top 20 spot on the Japanese Oricon music chart. Subsequent singles "By Myself" and "Busy Now" established hitomi, barely out of her teens, as one to watch in Japanese entertainment. By Myself , hitomi's second album released in 1996, became her first musical work to debut at number one on the Oricon charts, and selling more than 800,000 copies it became her biggest selling album to date. http://www.neowing.co.jp/rcms/jpop/hitomibest.html hitomi greatest hits collection "Peace" Neowing special - late 2007
After three studio albums and twelve singles, Komuro and hitomi went their separate ways in 1998, and in 1999 she released her first greatest hits album, entitled H (Hitomi album)|H , that peaked at number one on the Japanese charts and sold more than a 500 thousand copies.
In 2000, she gained much public attention after her single "Love 2000" was used as the image song of runner Naoko Takahashi , who became popular in Japan after winning the gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics . This helped the song to get a lot of airplay, and the song became a commercial success, giving hitomi at the end of that year the chance to perform the song at the annual Kohaku Uta Gassen . Her Love Life (Hitomi album)|Love Life album released around that same time also caught attention within the Japanese entertainment because of its cover: hitomi appeared naked covering her breasts with her arms.
During some routine medical examination, she seemed to have some abnormalities, and after further examinations hitomi was discovered to have a small Ovarian cancer|ovarian tumor . Since it was a benign one, it was easy to remove, and hitomi went to a successful surgical remove in late November 2002. hitomi could return to her normal activities very quickly, and in December 1, 2002 she married a businessman. http://www.zakzak.co.jp/geino/n-2002_12/g2002121806.html hitomi, surgical removal of an ovarian tumor. - Zakzak, November, 2002 They got divorced in November 2007, and never had children. http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/entertainment/news/20071102-OHT1T00059.htm Hitomi, divorce due to mutual differences. Entertainment: Sports Hochi - November 2nd, 2007 During this period as a married woman, her legal name changed to nihongo|Hitomi Uesugi|????|Uesugi Hitomi.
2004–2009
After a one year and a half hiatus, in May 2004 hitomi released a new studio album, Traveler (Hitomi album)|Traveler . The concert tour she subsequently embarked upon was a huge success, and she played to packed arenas at almost every stop. As the 10th anniversary of hitomi's debut came in 2005, she opened her own record label, Love Life Records, which functioned as a subdivision of Avex. The first single to be released from the label was "Japanese Girl", her 28th single, which also marked a change in hitomi's style and looks, much more modern dance-oriented and sexy, than any of her previous works.
In 2007, she got her first lead role in the movie Akumu Tantei , and also participated in her first musical: Waiting For The Sun: Tenkimachi . On December 5, 2007 hitomi's singles compilation album Peace was released to celebrate her 13th anniversary. On July 11, 2008, hitomi revealed on her blog that she had got married again, this time to actor Masayoshi Haneda , and that she was 4 months pregnant. She released a new digital single called "Fight for Your Run?" in August 2008. http://Hitomilovelife.net/news/080808.html Digital single "Fight for Your Run ?" order now - hitomi's Official site - 2008/08/27 On December 23, 2008 she gave birth to a baby girl. http://japan.techinsight.jp/2008/12/14837.html "?????????????"???????hitomi?????- Technisight - 2008/12/27 http://ameblo.jp/ninpu-Hitomi/entry-10183393688.html
After a year on hiatus, hitomi released a new single, " World& #33; Wide& #33; Love! ", on May 20, 2009, and a month later she released her ninth studio album, Love Life 2 . This album was a spiritual successor to her 2000 album Love Life , with hitomi once again nude on the cover of it, but this time pregnant with her child. http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/4195219/ hitomi????????????????????????? - Livedoor - 2009/06/10
2011: Departure from Avex major label and indie start
hitomi's last single in the Avex label, "Umarete Kurete Arigato/Smile World", was released on February 16, 2011. This month she also inaugurated her own baby clothing brand called PomiPomi. http://www.hitomilovelife.net/news/110209.html Directed by hitomi herself Baby wear brand "PomiPomi" birthday& #33; - hitomi Official Website - 2011/02/09 On March 28, 2011 it was announced on hitomi's official website that two new songs, "Special" and "Guru Maze Yeah!" would be used in the NHK educative cartoon http://www.hanakappa.jp/ Hana Kappa , as opening and ending themes respectively, although these songs were never officially released. http://www.hitomilovelife.net/news/110328.html NHK educative anime, opening theme, ending theme decision - hitomi's Official site - 2011/03/28
On April 5, 2011, it was announced that hitomi had left the Avex major label and had signed to Maximum 10, an independent record label|independent label, although still affiliated to the Avex company, and owned by post-hardcore band Fact (band)|Fact . On April 27, hitomi's tenth studio album and first indie album, Spirit (Hitomi album)|Spirit , was released, and featured mainly productions of western artists such as Rivers Cuomo from Weezer , Chuck Comeau and Pierre Bouvier from Simple Plan , and Gabe Saporta from Cobra Starship . In June, hitomi started her Live Tour 2011: Spirit , her first live tour in five years. http://www.hitomilovelife.net/news/110413.html Hitomi, transfer to an independent label& #33; album "SPIRIT" to be released on April 27th& #33; - hitomi's Official website - 2011/04/13
Despite of not being part of the major Avex label, hitomi still participated as some of the main artist in the tenth anniversary version of Avex Group#A-Nation|A-Nation . She was part of the line-up of the concerts held in Aichi, Osaka, and Tokio. Her performance was later included in the DVD of A-Nation released in late 2011. In August 2011, Japanese model and occasional singer Mini (singer)|Mini made a remake of hitomi's hit single "Candy Girl", which was released as a digital single in September. On November 30, 2011, hitomi released a new mini album entitled Special , in which her songs featured in the NHK educational program Hana Kappa were included. This became her last release published by the Avex major label. hitomi also collaborated with fellow label mates from Maximum 10, Sfpr , in the song "Feeder" which was included in their debut album released in January 1, 2012. http://hitomilovelife.net/news/111228.html hitomi?“sfpr”?????????????????????!!
Discography
main|hitomi discography
Studio albums
1995: Go to the Top
1996: By Myself (Hitomi album)|By Myself
1997: Déjà-vu (Hitomi album)|Déjà-vu
1999: Thermo Plastic
2000: Love Life (Hitomi album)|Love Life
2002: Huma-rhythm
2004: Traveler (Hitomi album)|Traveler
2006: Love Concent
2009: Love Life 2
2011: Spirit (Hitomi album)|Spirit
References
reflist
External links
http://www.Hitomilovelife.net/ Official website
Hitomi Persondata | NAME = Hitomi | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = January 26, 1976 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Tochigi, Japan | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Hitomi Category:Avex Trax artists Category:Japanese pop singers Category:Japanese female singers Category:Japanese actors Category:People from Tochigi Prefecture Category:1976 births Category:Living people
