Diana Caroline Garnett (Japanese: ダイアナ・キャロライン・ガーネット,
Hepburn: ''Daiana Kyarorain Gānetto''), better known by her stage name Diana Garnet is an American
J-pop
J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1 ...
singer from
Washington D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
, signed to
Mastersix Foundation
, often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is ...
under
Sony Music Entertainment Japan
, often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is opera ...
.
Biography
Born in Washington, D.C., Diana was influenced by her father, a fan of
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
and
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
, and grew up interested in Japanese culture.
In particular, she was greatly impressed, and influenced by Japanese music used in anime, which motivated her to pursue a singing career in Japan.
Her interest in the country was further sparked by two-year-long exchanges in Japan in both High School and university. Upon graduating from university, she relocated to Tokyo, Japan to work as an
Assistant Language Teacher An Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) is a foreign national serving as an assistant teacher (paraprofessional educator) in a Japanese classroom, particularly for English.
The term was created by the Japanese Ministry of Education at the time of the ...
while doing freelance narration and vocals for radio and advertisements.
She began uploading covers of anime,
J-pop
J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1 ...
and
vocaloid
is a singing voice synthesizer software product. Its signal processing part was developed through a joint research project led by Kenmochi Hideki at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain, in 2000 and was not originally intended to b ...
songs onto YouTube and
Niconico, gaining popularity and attention under her aliases ''Tonkhai'' and ''トンカイ''.
2013–2014: Nodojiman The World, Japanese Debut and ''Cover☆Girl''
This eventually led to an appearance on
NTV NTV may refer to:
Television
* NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh
* NTV (India), Telugu regional channel
* NTV (Kenya)
* NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia
* NTV (Newport Television) ...
's singing competition '
Nodojiman The World
''Nodojiman The World'' (のどじまんTHEワールド!)'','' often referred to simply as ''Nodojiman The World: Song for Japan, Sekai ga Utau Nippon no Meikyoku Senshuken'', is a Japanese music television program hosted by duo Masahiro Nakai fro ...
', where she won the Spring 2013 edition.
Following her victory, she signed with Sony Music Artists, and made her major debut on October 22, 2013, with her first single ''
Mata Kimi ni Koishiteru'', containing three cover songs: the title track, originally by Billy BanBan, along two others, "My Revolution", originally by
Misato Watanabe
is a Japanese pop singer.
Discography Albums
* ''Eyes'' (2 October 1985)
* ''Lovin' you'' (2 July 1986)
* ''Breath'' (15 July 1987)
* ''Ribbon'' (28 May 1988)
* ''Flower bed'' (1 July 1989)
* ''Tokyo'' (7 July 1990)
* '' Lucky'' (6 July 1991)
...
, and "
Endless Story
"Endless Story" is the first single by Yuna Ito, released under the name Reira starring Yuna Ito. "Endless Story" was used in the movie ''Nana'' in which Yuna played the character Reira Serizawa. "Endless Story" peaked at #2 on both the daily ...
", originally by
Yuna Ito
is an American-born former singer and actress who was active in Japan.
She was born in Los Angeles and was raised in Hawaii. Ito made her musical debut in Japan with the single, "Endless Story", which was used as one of the theme songs for the ...
, under Mastersix Foundation and Sony Music Records.
She held three release events at the
Lazona Kawasaki Plaza
is a shopping mall in Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki, Japan. The mall adjoins the west side Kawasaki Station. It is the largest commercial facility in the Mitsui Fudosan affiliate and has the highest sales volume.
Structure
The design is by Ricardo Bofil ...
, the
Aeon Mall Kisogawa and
Abeno Cues Town
is the name of in Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan.
Overview
Abeno Cues Town consists of and . Via Abeno Walk is the area for the local tenants, and Q's Mall is the area the specific architect, Tokyu Land Corporation, manages. The area opened on April ...
to commemorate the single, and promoted her release by appearing on music shows as
Nippon TV
JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
's ''
Music Dragon ~Ongaku Ryū~'' and
tvk's ''
Mirai Teiban Kyoku ~Future Standard~'', as well as radio shows like
MBS Radio's ''
MBS Utagumi Smile×Songs'' and
FM NACK5's
''The Nutty Radio Show: Onitama'', conversing solely in the Japanese language.
A cover album named ''
Cover☆Girl'', compiling the tracks ''Mata Kimi ni Koishiteru'' and ''My Revolution'' from her first single among other covers of songs like
Judy and Mary
Judy and Mary (often stylized as JUDY AND MARY) was a Japanese rock band formed in 1991 in Japan by bassist Yoshihito Onda and vocalist Yuki Isoya, Yuki, with drummer Kohta Igarashi and guitarist Taiji Fujimoto completing the lineup in 1992. Guit ...
's ''Sobakasu'',
Zone
Zone or The Zone may refer to:
Places Climate and altitude zones
* Death zone (originally the lethal zone), altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span
* Frigid zone, ...
's ''Secret base ~Kimi ga kureta mono~'' and
Yoko Takahashi
is a Japanese singer, who is best known for her work throughout the 1990s, most particularly for her singles which were performed for and featured in anime, most notably the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise.
Career
Takahashi began her ...
's ''
Zankoku Tenshi na These'' was released on November 27.
The songstress held a series of release events nationwide from November 27 to January 13, 2014. She promoted her album by appearing on music shows like
TBS' '
Count Down TV
(also known as CDTV) is a Japanese late-night music television program, broadcast on TBS since 1993. The program is shown weekly, and features a Japanese music video hit chart countdown, live performances from musicians and music information. ...
' and
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...
's ''
Premia MelodiX!'', variety shows like Nippon TV's '
PON!' and ''Monomane Grand Prix: The Tournament 2013'' and on many radio shows like
FM Okayama's '
Fresh Morning OKAYAMA' or
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
's ''
Wakasa Keiichi no Spo-On''.
2014–2015: Featured artist, ''Spinning World'' and ''Nankai! Mystery''
2014 saw Diana being featured as an artist in
Dohzi-T
is a Japanese rapper, singer and songwriter who has been active since 1989.
Biography
Dohzi-T belonged to hip hop band "Zingi", formed in 1990. He debuted as a solo singer with the single "Shōnen A" (lit. "Boy A") on October 10, 2001. He associ ...
's track ''Turn Me On ft. Diana Garnet'', released on March 19 on his sixth studio album ''T's Music''.
The title track of her overall second and first original single, "
Spinning World
Spinning World (foaled 1993 in Kentucky, United States) is a French thoroughbred racehorse who was one of the top European milers during the 1990s.
After winning the 1996 Irish 2,000 Guineas at The Curragh in Ireland, the first French horse eve ...
", released on February 11, 2015, was used as the ending theme song for the anime ''
Naruto: Shippuden,'' and grew to one of the most beloved songs to her fans, garnering it an additional, well-received lossless version for music downloads.
She promoted her first theme song feature with release events in the
Tower Records
Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Records ...
' chain store in
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
and
Onoda SunPark in
Sanyo-Onoda. She also appeared on TV shows like
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...
's '
''Animemashite''' and variety shows like
TV Asahi
JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...
's ''Kanjani8 no The Mozart: Ongaku-ou No.1 Ketteisen''.
On February 25, Japanese rock band
Flow released their compilation album ''Flow Anime Best Kiwami'', featuring her on their cover track ''Blue Bird ft. Diana Garnet'', originally by Japanese pop-rock band
Ikimono-gakari
The romanization of the group's name does not have the hyphen according to Sony's websites for their albums. is a Japanese pop rock musical duo, duo from Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan consisting of Yoshiki Mizuno and Kiyoe Yoshioka. The group starte ...
. She, as well as
Granrodeo
Granrodeo (stylized as GRANRODEO) is a Japanese rock band, specializing in creating anime soundtracks.
Career
In 2005 voice actor Kishō Taniyama ("Kishow") and musician Masaaki Iizuka ("E-Zuka"), known for his collaborations in creating anim ...
, guest performed with the band on their ''Flow World Tour 2015 極 -kiwami-'' world tour finale in the
Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall
The is an outdoor theater in Tokyo, Japan's Hibiya Park. There are actually two concert halls; the smaller was erected during the Meiji era, and the larger was first built in the Taishō era. The larger venue is colloquially abbreviated to .
No ...
in
Chiyoda, Tokyo.
Her overall third and second original single, ''
Nankai! Mystery'', was released on November 25. Its title track was chosen to be the theme song to the anime ''
Tantei Team KZ'', an adaptation of the original light novel series.
The singer promoted her single by appearing on several variety shows like
Fuji TV
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network Sys ...
's ''
Monomane Ouza Ketteisen''.
2017–2018: Voice actor, ''Igo Focus'', Radio host and ''Thank you for the Music''
In 2017, Diana branched out in her engagements, appearing in many events in Japan, like the KIDSTONE Summer Presentation Program, and stateside, like
Ohayocon
Ohayocon is a three-day anime convention typically held during January in Columbus, Ohio, at the Hyatt Regency Columbus and the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Ohayocon's name is derived from the similarity between "Ohio", the convention's loc ...
and
Animazement
Animazement is an annual three-day anime convention held during May at the Raleigh Convention Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is traditionally held over Memorial Day weekend. The convention is designed to be family-friendly. Animazement is r ...
, as well as on TV and in print, also taking on
voice acting
Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
and narration and becoming a TV host.
In February, she first provided her voice for English-speaking role of Joule/Lumen, the heroine of ''
Azure Striker Gunvolt
''Azure Striker Gunvolt'', known as in Japan, is a 2D side-scrolling action-platform game developed and published by Inti Creates. It was first released for Nintendo 3DS via eShop in August 2014. Ports of the game were released for Windows in 2015 ...
'', in the English dub of the
original video anime
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
adaptation of the game, released worldwide on the
Nintendo eShop
The Nintendo eShop is a digital distribution service powered by the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and by a dedicated online infrastructure for the Nintendo Switch. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the eShop was en ...
.
She later appeared in ''
Azure Striker Gunvolt 3
''Azure Striker Gunvolt'', known as in Japan, is a 2D side-scrolling action-platform game developed and published by Inti Creates. It was first released for Nintendo 3DS via eShop in August 2014. Ports of the game were released for Windows in 2015 ...
'', reprising her role as Lumen and voicing newcomer Mytyl.
In 2017, she provided the voice for the English Dub Live Action Anime film Shimajiro and the Rainbow Oasis. And later on in 2018, provided the voice in the English Dub Anime Shimajiro the Movie: Adventures on Magic Island
From April until March 2018, she was the host for the 2017 season of the long-running series ''
Igo Focus'', an establishment in the Japanese world of
Go, exploring strategies used in the game and introducing other professional players, such as co-hosts Ryugo Koyama, who co-hosted from April to September, and Kazushige Ando, who co-hosted from October to March 2018.
During the same time she also narrated the
NHK World
NHK World-Japan (formerly and also known simply as NHK World) is the international arm of the Japanese state-controlled public broadcaster NHK. Its services are aimed at the overseas market, similar to those offered by other national public-ser ...
series Anime Supernova, highlighting different directors in the Japanese animation industry.
She also landed her first Japanese-speaking role for the dramatization of Yushi Okajima's book '
', bringing the human form of
Database Management System
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases span ...
to life.
Later in the year, she provided her voice for English-speaking roles for several games, like
Super Bomberman R
is an action- maze game developed by Konami and HexaDrive. The game was first released worldwide as a launch title for the Nintendo Switch in March 2017, and later for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in June 2018. Part of the '' ...
.
2019–: Game OSTs, California tour and ''Hello Again''
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Digital singles
Features
As Diana Garnett
As Diana Garnet
As Tonkhai
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garnet, Diana
Living people
American expatriates in Japan
J-pop singers
Japanese-language singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American women singers
Singers from Washington, D.C.
Year of birth missing (living people)