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All Zard singles and albums were exhibited in Zard's agency after Sakai's death.
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??? was a Japanese pop group. Originally a group of five members, with lead vocalist Izumi Sakai as group leader. However, members started leaving the band from 1991 to 1993, leaving Sakai as the only original member of the group
. Sakai died on May 27, 2007. Until her death, she was part of the record label B-Gram Records, Inc.
Career Zard made their debut in February 10 1991 with a single Good-bye My Loneliness. By their third album Hold Me, it appeared that the only member left in Zard was Izumi Sakai, and from that point on, she was the only member in that group. While she was the only member left, the band's name did not change. A member who left said that he regretted that she died so young as he hoped to perform with her some day when he matured in his artistic skills.
Sakai was also a very prolific lyricist. She wrote 150 songs during her 17-year career (except for two songs, ????? and ????? from their first album, Good-bye My Loneliness, which was written by Dariya Kawashima, and released several books of poetry as well. Although 1992 and 2004 Japan Record Award winner Mr. Children also wrote about 150 songs, Sakai did not advertise aggressively as Mr. Children has. An editorial in Asahi Shimbun writes that the secret to Zard's success was that while the trend in Japan was decrease in number of music programs on television, Zard used late night commercials that aired her voice to advertise her works.
She also wrote songs for other artists, most notably, for J-pop groups Field of View, Wands and Deen, and the late mainland Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng. She also wrote the lyrics for and participated in the collaboration for the single "Hateshinai Yume o" featuring J-pop groups Zard, Zyyg, Rev & Wands. The single also featured famed Japanese baseball hero Shigeo Nagashima. Some of her singles were used in anime, such as Slam Dunk, Dragon Ball GT and Detective Conan. The lyrics of ''Dan Dan Kokoro Hikarete 'ku by Field of View, the opening theme song of Dragon Ball GT, is by Izumi Sakai. Afterward, Zard covered this song in Today is Another Day album.
Zard's most successful singles, Makenaide has been used as a theme song for Nippon Television program 24-hour TV, an annual Japanese television programming in which a celebrity host is on screen continually for a whole day. Sakai said that she was honored and looked forward to watching 24-hour TV. She also said that since Makenaide was widely appreciated by the public, she often felt as if that song was not hers to keep.
Zard was also known for being mysterious. This is partially because her record label did not release too much personal information on their artists, and also because she did not make that many personal appearances. She rarely appeared on any live TV music programs (e.g. TV Asahi's Music Station), which the
Zard was the most successful solo female singer in the 1990s (though originally Zard is a group). And Zard is #8 for overall total in Japan. She has had 11 singles reach the #1 spot on the Oricon Singles Charts, and 9 albums reach the #1 spot on the Oricon Album Charts.
Zard has released a total of 42 singles and 17 albums.
Sakai's death Izumi Sakai passed away on May 27, 2007 at age 40 in Keio University Hospital. She was put in the hospital in June 2006 after discovering she had cervical cancer and had the tumor removed. In April 2007 however, the cancer had spread to her lungs, resulting her re-admittance in the hospital. According to the hospital, she took daily walks every morning. During her walk on May 26, she accidentally fell from the stairs and was discovered at around 5:00 a.m. JST. She was sent to the emergency room, but unfortunately, it was too late. an agency spokesman said:
cquote "We hope that Izumi Sakai, along with her hit songs, will re
She had planned to release a new album in the fall, as well as her first live tour in three years to show her fans that she was fighting strongly against her illnesses.
Rumors surfaced that the singer committed suicide, which her management strongly denies.
A memorial service for fans was held on June 27 in a funeral hall in Aoyama, Tokyo. On the previous day, a memorial service for the people concerned was held and Maki Ohguro and Tetsuro Oda etc attended at this. At the same time, Tak Matsumoto and Koshi Inaba of B'z, Mai Kuraki and Shigeo Nagashima announced memorial comments for her.
Two compilation albums are planned for release on August 15, one that includes a selection of Sakai's personal favorite songs, the other that includes favorites from her staff. A fan-selected compilation album is also planned for the fall. Two tribute concerts are planned to be held—one on September 7 at Osaka Festival Hall, and the other on September 14 at Tokyo Nippon Budokan. The two places were chosen because they were the first and last stops respectively of the What a beautiful moment Tour in 2004—the only tour that band has gone on. The tour will be called "What a Beautiful Memory". The concert will primarily feature a VTR recording of Sakai singing.
Discography Singles Albums
CompilationsDVDLive albums
Copyright Citations
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