Mai Kuraki facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mai Kuraki
倉木 麻衣
Mai Kuraki Live Project 2019 Asia (Beijing)
Born	青野 真衣 (1982-10-28) October 28, 1982 (age 42) Funabashi, Chiba, Japan
Other names	Mai K
Alma mater	Ritsumeikan University
Occupation	Singer-songwriter record producer
Musical career
Genres	J-pop pop R&B
Instruments	Singing piano ukulele
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Giza Studio Northern Music East West Records Bip! Records

Mai Kuraki (倉木 麻衣, Kuraki Mai) (born October 28, 1982) is a super talented Japanese pop and R&B singer, songwriter, and music producer. She started her music journey in the US in 1999 with her song "Baby I Like". Soon after, she signed with Giza Studio and released her first Japanese song, "Love, Day After Tomorrow", also in 1999.

In 2000, Mai Kuraki released her first album, Delicious Way. It was a huge hit, selling over 2.2 million copies in its first week! This album had four popular songs: "Love, Day After Tomorrow", "Stay by My Side", "Secret of My Heart", and "Never Gonna Give You Up". Delicious Way went on to sell over 3.5 million copies, becoming the best-selling album in Japan in 2000 and one of the top-selling albums of all time there.

Her second album, Perfect Crime (2001), also topped the charts in Japan, selling over 1.3 million copies. Mai Kuraki tried the American market again with an English album, Secret of My Heart (2002), but it didn't become famous in the US. However, her third Japanese album, Fairy Tale (2002), was another number-one hit in Japan and included the popular song "Winter Bells". Her fourth album, If I Believe, also hit number one.

Mai Kuraki's first collection of greatest hits, Wish You the Best (2004), sold almost a million copies. Later albums like Fuse of Love (2005), Diamond Wave (2006), and One Life (2008) were still popular but sold a bit less.

In 2009, Mai Kuraki became super popular again! Her eighth album, Touch Me!, became her first number-one album in five years. Her second greatest hits album, All My Best (2009), also topped the charts. Her next albums, Future Kiss (2010) and Over the Rainbow (2012), both reached the top three.

In 2017, her song "Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)" became a massive hit, selling over 76,000 physical copies and becoming the best-selling song by a solo female artist in Japan that year. This song also sold over 250,000 digital copies! She then released a special album, Mai Kuraki x Meitantei Conan Collaboration Best 21: Shinjitsu wa Itsumo Uta ni Aru! (2017), which was a big success. Her recent albums, Kimi Omou: Shunkashūtō (2018) and Let's Goal!: Barairo no Jinsei (2019), also did very well. In 2019, she celebrated her 20th anniversary with a special collection of her songs, Mai Kuraki Single Collection: Chance for You. Her latest album, Unconditional Love, came out in 2021. In 2024, she released her first mini-album, Forever for You, which was also very successful.

Mai Kuraki is especially famous for singing the theme songs for the Japanese TV anime series, Case Closed (also known as Detective Conan). By October 2020, she had recorded 23 songs for the series, earning her a Guinness World Record for singing the most theme songs for the same TV show! She also holds a record for being the only female artist to have all her singles reach the Top 10 since her debut in 1999. She is one of the top 50 best-selling Japanese music artists of all time. So far, Mai Kuraki has had seven number-one albums and two number-one singles.

All About Mai Kuraki

Early Life and Starting Her Career

Mai Kuraki was born on October 28, 1982. Her father, Isomi Yamasaki, was a film director and actor. Her grandfather, Saneharu Yamasaki, was a poet, and her aunt, Reiko Takizawa, was also an actor.

When Mai Kuraki heard Whitney Houston's music and saw Michael Jackson's dance moves, she dreamed of becoming a singer. While still in high school, her father helped her connect with the music label Giza Studio. She sent them a demo tape and got a record deal!

Before her Japanese debut, she actually debuted in America. She released a song called "Baby I Like" under the name Mai K. Even though this song didn't make it onto the Billboard charts, it impressed executives from East West Records. After this, Giza Studio sent her back to Japan to focus on her Japanese music.

Big Success with Delicious Way and Perfect Crime

Back in Japan, Mai Kuraki started working on J-pop songs. Her first Japanese single, "Love, Day After Tomorrow", came out on December 8, 1999. It reached number 2 on the charts and sold 1.4 million copies!

In June 2000, her first album, Delicious Way, was released. It was a huge success, selling 2.21 million copies in its first week. This was the biggest first-week sale for a debut album in Japan ever! Delicious Way sold over 3 million copies and won "Rock Album of the Year" at the Japan Gold Disc Awards. It's still one of the best-selling albums in Japan.

The album also featured other hit songs like "Stay by My Side", "Secret of My Heart", and "Never Gonna Give You Up". "Secret of My Heart" won "Song of the Year" and became a theme song for the TV anime series, Case Closed. Mai Kuraki would become famous for singing many songs for this show.

In July 2001, Mai Kuraki released her second album, Perfect Crime. It sold over 800,000 copies in its first week and reached number one. This album sold over 1.3 million copies and also won "Rock Album of the Year". It included popular songs like "Reach for the Sky" and "Stand Up". In August 2000, Mai Kuraki went on her first tour, called Sokenbicha Natural Breeze 2001 Happy Live.

New Albums and Tours in the Early 2000s

In January 2002, Mai Kuraki released her first English album, Secret of My Heart, in the United States. It had English versions of her hit songs, but it didn't do well in the US. In the same month, she started her first big tour in Japan, visiting 14 cities and performing for about 150,000 fans.

Her third Japanese album, Fairy Tale, came out in October 2002. It reached number one in Japan and sold over 730,000 copies. This album had four popular songs, including "Winter Bells", which hit number one. Fairy Tale won the "Rock & Pop Album of the Year" award. Mai Kuraki also wrote her first book, Myself Music, in December 2002.

In July 2003, Mai Kuraki released her fourth album, If I Believe. It debuted at number one and sold over 445,000 copies. This album included songs like "Time After Time: Hana Mau Machi de" and "Kiss". In December 2003, she performed at the famous Kōhaku Uta Gassen TV show for the first time.

Her first collection of greatest hits, Wish You the Best, was released on New Year's Day 2004. It became her fifth number-one album in a row and sold over a million copies! In April 2004, she went on a tour called Mai Kuraki 2004 Live Tour Wish You the Best: Grow, Step by Step.

Changes in Music Style and More Tours

Her fifth album, Fuse of Love, came out in August 2005. It reached number three in Japan. This album had songs like "Ashita e Kakeru Hashi" and "Dancing". The music video for "Dancing" was directed by Nigel Dick, who also worked with famous artists like Britney Spears. Mai Kuraki went on tour to support this album.

In August 2006, she released her sixth album, Diamond Wave. It also reached number three in Japan. This album featured songs like "Growing of My Heart" and "Diamond Wave". She then went on the Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2006 Diamond Wave.

In 2007, Mai Kuraki changed record labels to Northern Music, which is part of the same music group. She performed in China and Taiwan, and also at the Asia Song Festival in South Korea. In January 2008, she released her seventh album, One Life.

Return to Number One and 10th Anniversary

In January 2009, Mai Kuraki's eighth album, Touch Me!, was released. It was a big success, becoming her first number-one album in five years! She even performed the title song on the TV show Music Station for the first time. The album sold over 90,000 copies.

In July 2009, Mai Kuraki went on an Asia tour to celebrate her 10th anniversary. Her second greatest hits album, All My Best, was also a huge hit, reaching number one. This made her one of only two artists to have two number-one albums in 2009! The album sold over 250,000 copies. Songs like "Puzzle" and "Beautiful" were very popular. "Puzzle" was used as an ending theme for the Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser movie.

New Collaborations and Charity Work

In March 2010, Mai Kuraki released a double single, "Eien Yori Nagaku"/"Drive Me Crazy". "Drive Me Crazy" was the Japanese theme song for the TV series Heroes Season 3. In November 2010, her ninth album, Future Kiss, came out and reached number three.

In March 2011, Mai Kuraki sang the national anthem at a charity soccer match to support victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. She released a charity song called "Anata ga Irukara" in April 2011, and all the money from it was donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society. She also visited affected areas to help and perform concerts.

In August 2011, Sanrio (the company that created Hello Kitty) announced a collaboration with Mai Kuraki to create a character named Maimai, based on her! In January 2012, her tenth album, Over the Rainbow, was released and reached number two. She also won "The Most Popular Asian Influential Japanese Singer" award in Macau in April 2012.

Celebrating 15 Years and More Success

In February 2013, Mai Kuraki released "Try Again", another theme song for Case Closed. In March 2014, she visited Siem Reap, Cambodia, to help improve education there as part of a project. She started her own project to raise money for a school in Cambodia, which was completed in 2016.

In November 2014, Mai Kuraki released her third greatest hits album, Mai Kuraki Best 151A: Love & Hope, to celebrate her 15th anniversary. It reached number two in Japan and included many hit songs.

In April 2017, she released the super popular song "Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)", which was the ending theme for the animated movie Detective Conan: Crimson Love Letter. This song became her best-selling single since 2004! On July 25, 2017, she received a Guinness World Record for singing the most theme songs for the Case Closed anime series.

Recent Albums and 20th Anniversary

In October 2018, Mai Kuraki released her concept album, Kimi Omou: Shunkashūtō. It reached number three in Japan. This album featured songs like "Light Up My Life", which was used as a theme song for the video game Valkyria Chronicles IV.

In March 2019, she released "Kimi to Koi no Mama de Owarenai Itsumo Yume no Mama ja Irarenai"/"Barairo no Jinsei". Both songs were theme songs for special episodes of Case Closed, and Mai Kuraki even did some voice acting in them! This song became her 42nd consecutive single to reach the top ten, extending her amazing record.

To celebrate her 20th anniversary, Mai Kuraki went on an Asia tour in July 2019. In August 2019, she released her thirteenth album, Let's Goal!: Barairo no Jinsei, which reached number three. In December 2019, she released her fifth collection of singles, Mai Kuraki Single Collection: Chance for You.

In March 2021, Mai Kuraki released "Zero kara Hajimete", a song celebrating the 1000th episode of the Case Closed anime. In August 2021, she announced her fourteenth album, Unconditional Love. In 2024, she released her first mini-album, Forever for You, and started a new tour to celebrate her 25th anniversary!

Mai Kuraki's Music Style

What Inspired Her Music

Mai Kuraki says artists like Michael Jackson (left) and Mariah Carey (right) greatly influenced her music.

Mai Kuraki has said that Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Lauryn Hill were big inspirations for her. She started dreaming of becoming a singer after hearing Whitney Houston's live performances and seeing Michael Jackson's music videos. She even practiced singing "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson! She has covered several of his songs, like "I'll Be There" and "Smile".

Other artists like Shizuka (from E-girls) and Mikako Komatsu have said Mai Kuraki influenced them.

How Her Music Sounds

Mai Kuraki has worked with famous writers like Rodney Jerkins (left) and Fernando Garibay (right).

Mai Kuraki often works with other musicians from her record label. Her songs usually mix J-pop, R&B, dance, and sometimes rock music. Her albums often have a mix of slow, emotional songs (ballads) and upbeat, fast songs.

When she first started, Mai Kuraki helped bring R&B music back into popularity in Japan in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Her first album, Delicious Way (2000), was mostly R&B and J-pop. Her second album, Perfect Crime (2001), added more rock sounds. Her third album, Fairy Tale (2002), explored many different styles while still keeping R&B vibes.

Later albums like Fuse of Love (2005) and Diamond Wave (2006) had more of a teen pop and J-pop sound. She returned to R&B with her seventh album, One Life (2008). For Touch Me! (2009), she mixed R&B, J-pop, and hip hop to show her artistic growth. She even worked with famous American R&B producer Rodney Jerkins on her album Future Kiss (2010).

After her traditional Japanese-influenced song "Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)" (2017) became a hit, Mai Kuraki started adding more traditional Japanese sounds to her music. Her album Kimi Omou: Shunkashūtō (2018) mixed J-pop, R&B, traditional Japanese music, and rock. For her album Let's Goal!: Barairo no Jinsei (2019), she worked with Western musicians like Fernando Garibay.

Public Image

When Mai Kuraki first started in 1999, she didn't appear much on TV shows or in concerts. People even called her "the Veiled Diva" because she was so private. This was a common strategy for artists from her record label.

Her first live performance was in August 2000. She made her first appearance on a live TV show in December 2003, performing "Stay by My Side" at the Kōhaku Uta Gassen. She started appearing on more TV shows after performing "Touch Me!" on Music Station in February 2009.

Her Impact and Achievements

As of 2020, Mai Kuraki has sold over 20 million albums and singles worldwide! She is the 38th best-selling Japanese music artist of all time. She has won many awards, including seven Japan Gold Disc Awards.

Mai Kuraki is the only female artist in Japan who has had all 42 of her singles reach the top ten on the Oricon weekly singles chart since her debut in 1999. This is an amazing record!

Her first album, Delicious Way, sold over 2.21 million copies in its first week, which is still the biggest first-week sale for a debut album by a Japanese artist. It's also the ninth best-selling album overall in Japan. Mai Kuraki's music is well-known across East Asia, and she won "The Most Popular Asian Influential Japanese Singer" at the Chinese Music Awards in 2012.

Other Projects

Products and Endorsements

Mai Kuraki has worked with many companies. In March 2000, she teamed up with Konami to release a puzzle video game for the PlayStation called Techno BB. She even designed the main character, Mai B Bear!

She also worked with Coca-Cola Japan to promote their drink, Sokenbicha. In 2001, she appeared in TV ads for Shiseido's product, Sea Breeze, and three of her songs were used in the ads.

In 2009, she signed a deal with the cosmetic company Kosé and appeared in many TV advertisements for their makeup collection. Her songs were often used in these ads. She has also endorsed other brands like U-Can, Clevery Home, Icefield, and JR-West. The City of Kyoto even made her an ambassador and featured her in their TV ads after her song "Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)" became a hit.

Helping Others (Philanthropy)

Mai Kuraki is very involved in charity work. In April 2006, she performed at the Cosmo Earth Conscious Act Earth Day Concert to raise awareness for Earth Day. She even talked with Wangari Maathai, a famous environmental activist from Kenya. Mai Kuraki then started working on global environmental protection.

She was one of the first and biggest artists to help after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Just 18 days after the earthquake, she sang the national anthem at a charity soccer match to raise money for the victims. All the money from her charity song "Anata ga Irukara" was donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society. She also visited affected cities to help and perform concerts.

In June 2013, Mai Kuraki joined the Green Wall Project, which aims to plant trees to protect against tsunamis. She also helped after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, volunteering and performing for people in affected areas.

In March 2014, Mai Kuraki visited Siem Reap, Cambodia, to support education there. She started her own project, "Minna de Cambodia ni Terakoya wo Tateyou! Project," to build a school in a village in Cambodia. She raised money by selling charity items and holding auctions. The school was completed in February 2016! Her song "Stand by You" (2014) was inspired by her experiences in Cambodia.

Personal Life

Mai Kuraki is the oldest daughter of Japanese movie director and actor, Isomi Yamasaki. Her father passed away in 2020.

Mai has a dog named "Benito spero" (or just "Benito"), who is a mix of Papillon and Toy Poodle. She got Benito in 2022. Before that, she had a Border Collie named "Casper," who passed away in 2016 at 14 years old.

Discography

• Delicious Way (2000)
• Perfect Crime (2001)
• Fairy Tale (2002)
• If I Believe (2003)
• Fuse of Love (2005)
• Diamond Wave (2006)
• One Life (2008)
• Touch Me! (2009)
• Future Kiss (2010)
• Over the Rainbow (2012)
• Smile (2017)
• Kimi Omou: Shunkashūtō (2018)
• Let's Goal!: Barairo no Jinsei (2019)
• Unconditional Love (2021)
• Forever for You (2024)

Filmography

Books

• Myself Music, (Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten, 2002)
• Mai Kuraki: Treasure Book, (Tokyo: CSI, 2020)

Tours

• Sokenbicha Natural Breeze 2001 Happy Live (2001)
• Mai Kuraki Loving You... Tour 2002 (2002)
• You & Mai First Meeting 2002 (2002)
• Giza Studio Hotrod Beach Party (2002) (As Mai-K and Friends)
• Mai Kuraki Fairy Tale Tour 02-03 (2002–2003)
• Giza Studio Valentine Concert (2003) (co-headlined with Rina Aiuchi and Garnet Crow)
• Mai Kuraki 2004 Live Tour Wish You The Best: Grow, Step by Step (2004)
• Mai-K a Tumarrow 2005 (2005)
• Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2005 Like a Fuse of Love (2005)
• Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2006 Diamond Wave (2006)
• Mai-K.net "De Ma Chi" Live de Show (2006)
• Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2007 Be With U (2007)
• Mai-K.net Exclusive Live: You & Mai Summer 2008 (2008)
• Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2008 "Touch Me!" (2008)
• 10th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2009 "Best" (2009)
• Mai Kuraki Live Tour "Future Kiss" (2010–2011)
• Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2012: Over the Rainbow (2012)
• Mai Kuraki Live Project 2013 "Re:" (2013)
• 15th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2014 "151A": Fun Fun Fun (2014)
• 15th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2014 "151A": Muteki na Heart (2014)
• Mai Kuraki Live Project 2017 "Sawage Live" (2017)
• Mai Kuraki Live Project 2018 "Red It Be": Kimi Omou Shunkashūtō (2018)
• 20th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2019 in Asia (2019)
• 20th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2019 "Let's Goal!: Barairo no Jinsei" (2019)
• 25th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2024 "Be alright!" (2024)
• 25th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2024 "Be alright!" in Asia (2024-2025)

Awards and Achievements