Misia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Misia
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Misia in 2018
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Misaki Itō |
| Born | July 7, 1978 Tsushima, Nagasaki, Japan |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1997–present |
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Misia (ミーシャ, Mīsha, born July 7, 1978), whose real name is Misaki Itō (伊藤 美咲, Itō Misaki), is a famous Japanese singer and songwriter. She was born in Tsushima, Nagasaki, Japan. When she was 14, Misia moved to Fukuoka to start her music career. She went to high school there and briefly attended university. But she soon left to focus completely on music. In 1997, she signed with BMG Japan after an audition.
Misia became very popular after her first album, Mother Father Brother Sister, came out in 1998. It became one of the best-selling debut albums in Japan. She won two Japan Gold Disc Awards and one Japan Record Award for it. In 2000, Misia released her second album, Love Is the Message. This album also won her more awards.
Her third album, Marvelous (2001), featured her first number-one song, "Everything". This song became one of the best-selling songs ever in Japan. It is the third best-selling song by a Japanese solo female artist.
In 2001, Misia and her team, Rhythmedia, joined Avex Group. They created their own music label called Rhythmedia Tribe. Her first album with this new label, Kiss in the Sky, was her fourth album in a row to reach number one on the charts. This made Misia one of the few female artists with so many number-one albums from the start of her career. After releasing more successful albums like Mars & Roses and Ascension, Misia returned to BMG Japan. Later, when Sony Music Entertainment Japan bought BMG Japan, Misia moved to Sony's Ariola Japan label.
Misia has released thirteen studio albums. She is one of the top-selling Japanese music artists, with over 20 million records sold. She is also one of Japan's top touring artists. In 2004, she became the first female artist to perform in all five of Japan's largest stadiums. Besides music, Misia is also known for her charity work. She helps with humanitarian causes and efforts to protect nature.
Contents
Misia's Early Life and Music Journey
Growing Up and Finding Music
Misia was born on July 7, 1978. Both of her parents were doctors. Her father loved jazz music, and her mother enjoyed Western music. Both of them had studied singing before.
Misia grew up in Tsushima, Nagasaki. She felt that Tsushima did not have enough music information for her. She wanted to take serious singing lessons in Fukuoka. So, she moved to Fukuoka with her older sister. There, she attended high school. During junior high and high school, she sang and played the trumpet in the brass band club.
While in high school, she also started going to a music academy. In her eleventh grade, she met two Black American vocal coaches there. She began training with them in gospel and R&B styles. In April 1997, she was accepted into Seinan Gakuin University.
Starting Her Music Career
In May 1997, Misia passed an audition for BMG Japan. They were looking for a soulful female R&B singer. Misia sang "Goodbye Darlin'" by Dreams Come True. She was chosen from about 3,000 people who auditioned. She decided to focus on her music career instead of university. She took a break from school.
She thought R&B singers often had dreadlocks, so she styled her hair that way in November. She started using the stage name "MISIA" when she began her music career.
Becoming a Star: 1998–2002
Misia's first song, "Tsutsumikomu Yō ni...", came out on February 21, 1998. It reached number 11 on the music charts. Her second song, "Hi no Ataru Basho", reached number 9. It was used in the movie Hood.
Her first album, Mother Father Brother Sister, was released on June 24, 1998. It started at number 3 on the charts and reached number 1 after four weeks. In March 1999, she won Best New Artist and Best Pop Album at the Japan Gold Disc Awards.
Misia's second album, Love Is the Message, was released on January 1, 2000. It sold over 2 million copies. In October of the same year, she released her most famous song, "Everything". This song sold almost 1.9 million copies.
In 2001, one of Misia's dreams came true. She released "I Miss You (Toki o Koete)", a song with Dreams Come True. This was her favorite band. Misia wrote the lyrics, and Masato Nakamura, the leader of Dreams Come True, created the music with her. The song was released on January 1, 2001.
New Labels and Big Concerts: 2002–Present
Joining Avex Trax
In 2002, Misia moved to a new record label called Rhythmedia Tribe. This label was part of Avex Group. Her song "Kokoro Hitotsu", released on August 27, 2003, became the theme song for the popular movie Dragon Head.
Another song, "Namae no Nai Sora o Miagete", released on July 7, 2004, was used as the theme song for the drama Tenka. The song "Tobikata o Wasureta Chiisana Tori" was the theme song for the PlayStation 2 game Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. Also, "Sea of Dreams" was the theme song for the 5th Anniversary of Tokyo DisneySea.
In 2004, Misia made history. She became the first female solo artist to tour all five major dome stadiums in Japan. These included Tokyo Dome and Osaka Dome. She performed seven shows for 357,000 fans.
Returning to BMG Japan
On May 1, 2007, it was announced that Misia had left Avex Trax. She returned to her first record label, BMG Japan. Her song "Any Love" was released on July 4, 2007. The music was created by Satoshi Shimano, who also worked on her first hit song.
On September 29, 2007, Misia held her first concert outside Japan, in Taiwan. Her next song, "Royal Chocolate Flush", came out in December 2007. Her first album since returning to BMG, Eighth World, was released in January 2008.
Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners, a famous baseball player, chose Misia's songs "Ishin Denshin" and "Royal Chocolate Flush" as his at-bat music in 2008.
In May 2008, Misia joined other famous artists like Bono for a special event called 'One For All' in Yokohama, Japan. Misia released three new works from April to June 2008: Yes Forever in April, "Yakusoku no Tsubasa" in May, and Decimo X Anniversario de Misia: The Tour of Misia 2008 Eighth World + The Best DJ Remixes in June.
To celebrate her 10th anniversary, Misia released her first digital song, "Catch the Rainbow", on August 30, 2008. She finished her "The Tour of Misia Discothèque Asia" in early March. This tour took her to Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. She noticed how different crowds reacted. She said, "In Japan, people melt into one group in their excitement, but in Singapore young couples started to kiss."
In 2008, Misia's concerts attracted over 200,000 fans. This was the second-highest number for a solo female artist in Japan, after Ayumi Hamasaki.
The June 2009 song "Ginga/Itsumademo" was inspired by Misia's last visit to her grandfather before he passed away. She said, "I thanked him for taking me out for a walk when I was a child, for teaching me how to fold origami and make shadow pictures, and for telling me stories. I couldn't stop saying thank you." This song and her later song "Hoshi no Yō ni..." were included on her 9th album, Just Ballade. "Hoshi no Yō ni..." was the theme song for the film Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy.
Misia's 2010 tour, "Hoshizora no Live VI", included outdoor performances in forests. This was to raise awareness about protecting nature and to support her charity work.
For the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Misia recorded the song "Maware Maware". She performed it at Nelson Mandela Square in Johannesburg before the Japan vs Cameroon game. She was also inspired by the International Year of Biodiversity. She wrote "Life in Harmony", which was chosen as the song for the Convention on Biological Diversity conference.
In 2011, Misia released "Ashita e" to raise money for victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. She also released "Kioku", her first official song in almost a year and a half. These songs, along with "Maware Maware" and "Life in Harmony", were on her 10th album, Soul Quest. She then released a cover album, Misia no Mori: Forest Covers. It included a cover of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile", which was the theme song for the film Friends: Mononokejima no Naki.
In 2012, Misia was invited to perform at the 100th anniversary of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.. She sang "Everything", "Ashita e", and a mix of "Maware Maware" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". Misia hoped her performance would strengthen the bond between the U.S. and Japan. She also performed at the 63rd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen live from Namibia's Namib Desert.
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In 2013, Misia released a special 15th-anniversary album, Super Best Records: 15th Celebration. It had 45 re-mastered songs, including "Koi wa Owaranai Zutto" and "Deepness". It also featured a new song called "Holiday". Misia and Sony also released a Blu-ray box set called THE TOUR OF MISIA BOX Blu-ray 15th Celebration. It contained 11 discs of her past concert videos.
In 2020, Misia appeared on the Chinese reality singing show Singer. She made it to the finals, which aired on April 24. On July 23, 2021, she sang the Japanese national anthem at the opening of the 2020 Olympics. On December 30, 2021, Misia won the Best Vocal Performance award at the 63rd Japan Record Awards.
Misia's Charity Work
Misia started getting involved in charity work in 2002. She visited countries like Kenya, Mali, and Malawi. She helped set up a charity called Child Africa. Child Africa organizes exhibitions, benefit concerts, and collects donations. It also provides help from education experts. Some of Misia's tour merchandise is made by people she met during her visits to Kenya.
On March 1, 2010, Misia was named an Honorary Ambassador for the 10th Meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10). Her main job was to raise awareness about these issues. She created a website called Satoyama Basket to encourage learning about biodiversity.
During her 2010 "Hoshizora no Live VI" tour, Misia created a "Biodiversity Band" (a silicon bracelet). The money from these bracelets went to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The tour also had a special booth about biodiversity, with help from the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.
During the 2010 World Cup, Misia visited the "Football for Hope Center". There, she talked with local children who were learning football. They also received advice on HIV & AIDS.
In May 2010, Misia started her own foundation called "mudef" (Music Design Foundation). She is a board member of this foundation. The main goal of mudef is to raise awareness about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These goals were set to be met by 2015. Misia focuses on two main goals: protecting nature and making sure all children can go to primary school.
Misia's Music Albums
- Mother Father Brother Sister (1998)
- Love Is the Message (2000)
- Marvelous (2001)
- Kiss in the Sky (2002)
- Mars & Roses (2004)
- Singer for Singer (2004)
- Ascension (2007)
- Eighth World (2008)
- Just Ballade (2009)
- Soul Quest (2011)
- Misia no Mori: Forest Covers (2011)
- New Morning (2014)
- Love Bebop (2016)
- Life Is Going On and On (2018)
- Hello Love (2021)
Film and Voice Work
See also
- List of best-selling music artists in Japan
