Asako Toki

is a Japanese singer-songwriter and lyricist. Born to jazz saxophonist Hidefumi Toki, she was the lead vocalist for the rock band Cymbals between 1997 and 2003. Following Cymbals' breakup, Toki began her solo career with the release of ''Standards'' in 2004 and made her major label debut under Avex's Rhythm Zone with ''Talkin'' in 2007. To date, she has released nine original albums and eight cover albums, many of which are performed in both Japanese and English.

Named the “Queen of City Pop” by publications including Natalie, Toki has been praised for her contemporary interpretation of the genre and her contributions to its revival in the 2010s.

Career

On February 25, 2004, Toki released her first solo album ''Standards'' which was co-produced by her father. It contained covers of songs such as Rodger & Hammerstein's " My Favourite Things" and Earth, Wind and Fire's "September". Her first original album ''Debut'', was released on September 7, 2004 and failed to chart. Additional cover albums ''Standards on the Sofa'' and ''Standards Gift'' were released on November 10, 2004 and November 9, 2005, respectively.

Following the release of her cover album ''Weekend Shuffle'' on December 12, 2006 and its remix album the following week, Toki moved to Avex's Rhythm Zone label. Her first album on the label; ''Talkin'', was released November 21, 2007 to better commercial performance. On January 14, 2009, Toki released her third original album ''Touch''. The album was her first to enter the top 50 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart, peaking at no. 33. In October, Toki began hosting Toki Chic Radio on JFN.

Throughout the early 2010s, Toki continued to release a mix of original and cover albums including ''Ranhansha Girl'' on May 25, 2010, ''Cassetteful Days'' on October 10, 2012, ''Heartbreakin on June 12, 2013, and ''Bittersweet'' on July 29, 2015.

On January 25, 2017, Toki released ''Pink'', which was followed by ''Safari'' and ''Passion Blue'' on May 30, 2018 and October 2, 2019 respectively. The albums were produced by Tomi Yo, who had previously worked with Toki on ''Heartbreakin and ''Bittersweet''. In promotional materials for ''Passion Blue'', the albums were referred to by Toki as the "City Pop Trilogy" A remix album of songs from ''Pink'' and ''Safari'' with collaborators including Tofubeats and Wonk was released on June 26, 2019.

On July 3, 2020 Toki announced the digital single "Home" as the opening theme for Fruits Basket's second season. The single was released on July 7. It was also announced that Toki wrote the song "Pineapple" for boy band V6, released September 20.

''Home Town'', Toki's ninth cover album, was released on February 17, 2021 and included "Home" as a bonus track. The album was preceded by three singles; "Ai", "Jubilee" and "Kaede".

Personal life

Toki announced her marriage to a recording engineer through social media on January 12, 2016. The two met during the production of her 2015 album ''Bittersweet''.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Cover albums

Live albums

Remix albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays

Singles

Guest appearances

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Toki, Asako
1976 births
Japanese women jazz singers
Japanese women pop singers
Living people
Singers from Tokyo
21st-century Japanese singers
21st-century Japanese women singers