Kumi Koda : 倖田 來未, コウダ クミ : こうだ くみ

A tried-and-true J-pop promotional tactic is to get some overseas exposure for an artist and then tell the often credulous Japanese media that he or she has really made a splash in the U.S., Britain, Botswana or wherever. That's what Avex did with Kumi Koda back in 2000. The label decided to license an English-language remix of a track Koda had recorded called "Take Back" to U.S. dance label Orpheus in November of that year. "Take Back" peaked at No. 18 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart. The Japanese media lapped it up, and true to form, gave the Japanese public the impression that Koda had reached that position on the overall Hot 100 singles chart, which wasn't the case. In any event, "Take Back" was released as Koda's debut single in Japan in December 2000, and since then Koda has steadily developed into a major J-pop act, releasing her first album, Affection, in March 2002. Her music is slick, R&B-influenced J-pop, and her voice is earthier than, say, Ayumi Hamasaki, although Koda favors the same kind of mannered - you might say exaggerated - vocal style typical of many J-pop singers. The shapely Koda is very image-conscious, and changes her look with each album like a "kawaii" chameleon. Born in Kyoto in 1982, Koda grew up in a musical environment. Her grandfather was a shakuhachi master, and her mother was a koto teacher who took her daughter to karaoke boxes from an early age. Having decided that her ambition was to be a professional singer, Koda entered Avex's Dream Audition nationwide talent search in her second year of high school, and came second out of 120,000 entrants. Like many other Japanese artists, Koda has recently become popular among American fans of Japanese anime and video games. Her song "Real Emotion" was the theme song for one installment of the Final Fantasy video game series, which led to Koda being invited to perform at the Ushicon anime convention in Austin, Texas, in January 2004. Koda's 2004 album, Secret, peaked at No. 3 on Oricon's album chart. Released in both CD and DVD formats, it's Koda's fourth album, and is a slick, engaging slice of R&B-flavored J-pop.