Angela Aki facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Angela Aki
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| アンジェラ・アキ | |
Aki at Join Alive rock festival in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, 2013
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Kiyomi Angela Aki
September 15, 1977 Itano, Tokushima, Japan
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| Years active | 1999–present |
| Height | 166 cm (5 ft 5 in) |
| Children | 1 |
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Kiyomi Angela Aki (安藝 聖世美 アンジェラ, Aki Kiyomi Anjera, born September 15, 1977) is a Japanese pop singer, songwriter, and pianist. She is known professionally as Angela Aki (アンジェラ・アキ, Anjera Aki).
Contents
About Angela Aki
Her Early Life
Angela Aki was born in a small town called Itano in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Her mother is Italian American, and her father is Japanese.
Angela started playing the piano when she was just three years old. She lived in Tokushima until she was in sixth grade. Then, she spent her junior high school years in Okayama. She has shared that growing up in a rural area was tough. She found comfort in playing the piano, which helped her feel less alone. She enjoyed listening to different kinds of music, like traditional Japanese enka songs, The Carpenters, and The Bee Gees.
When Angela was fifteen, she moved to Hawaii. She went to Hawaii Preparatory Academy and later graduated from Iolani School. She can speak both English and Japanese fluently. She spent four years in Hawaii, deeply involved in music. After that, she went to George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she studied political science.
Her Family Life
Angela Aki is married to Taro Hamano, who works in the music industry. In 2012, she became a mother to a baby boy.
She is good friends with another Japanese pop star, Yuna Ito. They both attended the same Japanese language school. Angela also considers musician Janis Ian her mentor and friend.
Angela currently lives with her husband and son in Nashville, Tennessee, in the United States.
Her Music Journey
How She Started
In 1997, when Angela was 20, she went to a Sarah McLachlan concert. This experience made her decide she wanted to become a singer-songwriter. In 2000, she released her first independent album, These Words, in the United States.
After finishing university, she worked as a secretary in Washington, D.C. But she couldn't forget her dream of being a singer. So, in 2001, she quit her job. She worked as a waitress during the day and performed her songs at a nightclub at night. In 2002, she wrote two songs for a teenage pop singer named Dianne Eclar.
First Steps in Japan
Angela wrote music for several Japanese companies, including a commercial for Yakult. She then decided to move back to Japan. On September 27, 2003, she went to a concert by Shiina Ringo at Nippon Budokan Hall. Angela promised herself that she would perform at that same famous venue within three years. Even though she wasn't well-known yet, she worked hard.
She performed live in many small places and bars in Tokyo. She also worked as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant. During this time, she wrote many songs and made several demo CDs. In 2005, she released an independent mini-album called "One." It became the best-selling independent album of that year. This album caught the attention of Nobuo Uematsu, a famous video game composer. He asked her to write lyrics and sing the theme song for the video game Final Fantasy XII, which was called "Kiss Me Good-Bye."
She signed with Epic Records and officially debuted with her single "HOME" in September 2005. Her album sold over half a million copies and reached number two on the Oricon music charts. On December 26, 2006, Angela performed a concert at Nippon Budokan. She made history as the first artist to perform there solo, with just her piano, no backup singers or band.
Reaching a Wider Audience
In May 2006, Angela signed with Tofu Records to release her English songs and albums. Her first release with Tofu was "Kiss Me Good-Bye" as a digital single in the US. Later that month, she performed the Final Fantasy XII theme song at the first PLAY! A Video Game Symphony concert in Chicago. She played the piano and sang the English lyrics, which she had written herself. She also performed a cover of "Eyes On Me" from Final Fantasy VIII.
In 2007, Angela Aki's second major album, Today, reached number one on the charts.
Later Albums and Projects
In February 2009, Angela released her third full album in Japan, Answer. This was special because she produced the entire album herself.
Angela Aki was chosen to sing Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" for the movie Heaven's Door. She wrote her own Japanese lyrics for the song. She also wrote and performed the theme song "Ai no Kisetsu" for the NHK morning drama Tsubasa in 2009.
In September 2010, she released her fourth album, Life. Then, in September 2011, she released her fifth album, White.
Songbook, an album of cover songs by Angela, came out on January 11, 2012. Her seventh Japanese studio album, BLUE, was released on July 18, 2012. It included the single "Confession."
On March 5, 2014, a collection of her best songs, Tapestry of Songs: The Best of Angela Aki, was released. It came in two versions, one with her singles and another with her favorite songs.
Taking a Break and New Projects
In 2014, Angela Aki announced she would take a break from her music career. She moved to America to study music. She was preparing to become a musical director for a Broadway project with a friend.
In 2016, she wrote three original songs for the musical Out of Shadowland at Tokyo DisneySea. That same year, she composed a song for Masayuki Suzuki. In 2017, she wrote and produced music for May J..
In 2022, she wrote, composed, and produced "Canary Song" for J-pop singer Emiko Suzuki. In November 2023, Angela Aki announced that she would be returning to music in Japan. She plans to release a new song, "Here and There in This World," in February 2024. This song is the main single from a musical based on Fumiyo Kouno's In This Corner of the World, for which Angela composed all the music.
Discography
Studio albums
- These Words (2001)
- Home (2006)
- Today (2007)
- Answer (2009)
- Life (2010)
- White (2011)
- Blue (2012)
- Angela Aki Sings Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni (2024)
See also
In Spanish: Angela Aki para niños
