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was a Japanese composer, lyricist, and singer from Nishi-ku, Sakai, Osaka, Japan. She participated in the opening and ending theme songs of the TV
anime is hand-drawn and 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 Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening o ...
"Gu-Gu Gummo" under the name of "Susie Matsubara." Her 1979 debut song " Mayonaka no Door" became a hit, reaching number 28 on the Oricon chart, selling 104,000 copies according to Oricon survey, and selling 300,000 copies announced by Canyon Records. In addition, since around 2020, the song has become widely heard not only in Japan but also overseas.


Early life

Matsubara was born November 28, 1959 in
Kishiwada, Osaka is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 190,853 in 88598 households and a population density of 2600 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is well known for its Danjiri Mats ...
in Japan. She spent her childhood in Hiraoka Town, Nishi-ku, Sakai, Osaka. She grew up in a family of four, including a father, a mother and a younger sister. Her father was a board member of a hospital and her mother was a jazz singer who had sung with the Japanese jazz band and comedy group Crazy Cats. Matsubara started learning the piano at the age of three and later became familiar with jazz. As a child, she went to Sakai city's Hiraoka Elementary School and then in 1972, entered Poole Gakuin Junior High School. Around this time Matsubara became interested in rock music and joined the rock band "Kurei". In 1975 she started in Poole Gakuin High School and became active as a keyboard player of the band "Yoshinoya Band". They would play songs at a
live house A live house (ライブハウス) is a Japanese live music club – a music venue featuring live music. The term is a Japanese coinage ( wasei eigo) and is mainly used in East Asia. It most frequently refers to smaller venues, which may double as ...
called ''Takutaku'' located in
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the cit ...
. Matsubara was described as an excellent student and was expected by many around her to attend college, but at that time she had already made plans to pursue her dream of becoming a singer. In 1977, when she was still in high school, Matsubara went to Tokyo alone at the age of 17 to make her debut as a singer. The Japanese pianist found her playing music and singing in various places in Kantō such as in the
live music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. ...
''Birdland'' located in
Roppongi is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, famous for the affluent Roppongi Hills development area and popular night club scene. A few foreign embassies are located near Roppongi, and the night life is popular with locals and foreigners alike. It is ...
, Tokyo.


Career

Matsubara started her career in 1979 and is known from hit songs such as her debut and immediate breakthrough " Mayonaka no Door (Stay with Me)" which has been covered by numerous artists, including
Akina Nakamori is a Japanese singer and actress. She is one of the most popular and best-selling artists in Japan. Akina achieved national recognition after winning the 1981 season of the talent show '' Star Tanjō!''. Her debut single " Slow Motion" was r ...
. The song was ranked 28th on the
Oricon Chart , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
, and according to that chart sold 104,000 copies and 300,000 copies announced by
Canyon records Canyon Records of Phoenix, Arizona is a record label that has produced and distributed Native American music for 56 years. History Canyon was founded in 1951 by Ray and Mary Boley, who had opened the first recording studio in Phoenix, Arizona ...
. Some of her other known songs were "" and "''The Winner''" among others. After the release of the song "''Neat na gogo san-ji''" Matsubara became a well-known singer during that time. She was offered by many to perform in college festivals, concerts and so on. The song even gained a feature in a commercial of the famous Japanese multinational personal care company
Shiseido is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world and ...
, only less than two years after her debut. Miki Matsubara received a number of artist awards. Amidst her career, she formed her own band called Dr. Woo. Matsubara also had some international work with
Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...
jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyb ...
group Dr. Strut in Los Angeles (becoming a backing band in the album recordings for "Cupid" and "Myself"), Tokyo and Osaka (Hall concerts), later releasing a
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major f ...
cover album entitled "''BLUE EYES''". In that album she covered some famous jazz songs like "''Love for sale",'' she also covered the soft rock song ''"You've Got A Friend"'' originally written and sung by
Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...
. Her vocal range was that of a
mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...
. During her music career she released 8 singles, and 12 albums. Despite her work being mainly domestic, outside of Japan she was also known for her work as an
anime is hand-drawn and 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 Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening o ...
singer and songwriter, singing the opening and ending songs to anime such as Dirty Pair: Project Eden, although recently with the popularization of
city pop is a loosely defined form of Japanese pop music that emerged in the late 1970s and peaked in the 1980s. It was originally termed as an offshoot of Japan's Western-influenced " new music", but came to include a wide range of styles – including ...
her other work has gained overseas fans as well. While singing theme songs for the anime Gu Gu Ganmo, she performed under the name Suzie Matsubara (スージー・松原). Matsubara's song ''"THE WINNER"'' was used as the opening for the Gundam OVA-series Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory. From the 1990s forwards she especially worked on anime soundtracks and music for commercials. Matsubara composed songs for a couple of anime, some of her most known musical compositions were for the anime series
Gundam is a Japanese military fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ''Mobile ...
. Matsubara composed songs for several singers, like
Hitomi Mieno is a Japanese singer and screenwriter. She has released 17 singles and 11 albums since her debut in 1994. Several of her songs have been used as openings and endings of anime and radio dramas. She has also written the screenplays of various anim ...
, but her most notable works were likely with the singer and actress
Mariko Kouda is a Japanese actress, voice actress, J-pop singer and radio personality. She graduated from Kasukabe Kyōei High School and went on to major in Communications at Tamagawa University in Machida City, Tokyo, graduating in 1990. Kouda has had at l ...
, whom Matsubara composed multiple songs to. Kouda's song "''Ame no chi special (雨のちスペシャル)''", which Matsubara composed, was featured in the five-minute music television and radio series
Minna no Uta , literally ''Everyone's Songs'' (English title: ''Songs for Everyone''), is a five-minute NHK TV and radio program which is broadcast several times daily. The program started on April 3, 1961. It is one of NHK's long-running programs. The p ...
as a music video in 1997. It attracted a lot of attention and ranked 28th place in the
Oricon chart , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
. The song was repeatedly rebroadcast until 2004.


Personal life

Little is known about Miki Matsubara's personal life. She married Masaki Honjo (1953-2007), a
backing band A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such a ...
drummer for her band. Honjo later became a dentist and died in 2007 at the age of 54. During Matsubara's years as a student, her eyesight deteriorated due to fatigue from a part-time job. Her eyesight was, however, fixed with surgery.


Illness and death

At the end of 2000, Matsubara sent an email to those around her, including her company and the members of Dr. Woo, stating that she could not continue her music career and that she would not be reachable after the message went out. She stopped all music activities and disappeared from the spotlight altogether. In 2001, it was revealed that Matsubara's actions were prompted by a late-stage cancer diagnosis she had received at the time, after which she subsequently began treatment. Matsubara spent her final years battling her illness. After being told by her doctor that she only had three months left to live, Matsubara died on October 7, 2004, at age 44 due to complications from uterine cervix cancer. Her death was announced to the public two months later.


Legacy

An increased interest in
city pop is a loosely defined form of Japanese pop music that emerged in the late 1970s and peaked in the 1980s. It was originally termed as an offshoot of Japan's Western-influenced " new music", but came to include a wide range of styles – including ...
during the 21st century, particularly the 2010s, contributed to Matsubara gaining global recognition and "Stay with Me" (真夜中のドア, "Mayonaka no door") becoming a resurgent hit in the West and throughout Asia in 2020. ''
Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine '' Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway is a Japanese private railway compa ...
'' credits Indonesian YouTuber Rainych for the song's initial surge in popularity, after she shared a cover version with her almost 1.3 million subscribers on the platform in October that year. This rediscovery of the song in Indonesia—indicated by an upsurge of streams on digital music platforms
Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple Mu ...
and
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary software, proprietary Swedish Streaming media, audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with ...
—then spread to other countries worldwide and it continued to gain traction, especially in North America where it became a "'visible hit' on numerous streaming rankings" and "shot to No. 1 on Spotify's viral charts". The song became a well-known sound on the multimedia streaming app
TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...
, most notably during December 2020—prior to this, it was already somewhat popular in the platform's
anime is hand-drawn and 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 Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening o ...
community—where it sparked a trend among users of Japanese descent, who shared videos of themselves playing the song for their mothers and filming their reactions when they recognized the track. One such video garnered over 23 million views and 6 million likes. As of February 2021, the sound has been used in over 200,000 videos on the platform. As a result of this resurgence in popularity, Matsubara's debut album, ''Pocket Park'', was repressed on vinyl in late 2020.


Discography


Studio albums


Compilations


Singles


Some notable compositions


See also

* Gu Gu Ganmo *
Victor Entertainment , also known as in Japan, is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Ente ...
** Dirty Pair: Project Eden ** Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory *
Ojamajo Doremi , alternatively titled ''Magical DoReMi'' in English, is a Japanese magical girl anime television series created by Toei Animation. It focuses on a group of elementary school girls, led by Doremi Harukaze, who become witch apprent ...
** Ojamajo Doremi discography *
Mariko Kouda is a Japanese actress, voice actress, J-pop singer and radio personality. She graduated from Kasukabe Kyōei High School and went on to major in Communications at Tamagawa University in Machida City, Tokyo, graduating in 1990. Kouda has had at l ...
* Mayumi Gojo *
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 ...


References


External links

* *
''Miki Matsubara''
at VGMdb
''Miki Matsubara''
at
Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsubara, Miki 1959 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Japanese composers 20th-century Japanese women singers 20th-century Japanese singers Deaths from cancer in Japan Deaths from uterine cancer Japanese women composers Musicians from Osaka People from Sakai, Osaka 20th-century women composers Anime composers