Rimi Natsukawa
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is a Japanese singer. She is best known for her 2001 single "
Nada Sōsō is a song written by Japanese band Begin and singer Ryoko Moriyama. It was first released by Moriyama in 1998, but achieved popularity through the cover version by Rimi Natsukawa in 2001. Ryoko Moriyama version The song first appears in Ryo ...
."


Childhood

Natsukawa was born in Ishigaki, the largest city in the
Yaeyama Islands The Yaeyama Islands (八重山列島 ''Yaeyama-rettō'', also 八重山諸島 ''Yaeyama-shotō'', Yaeyama: ''Yaima'', Yonaguni: ''Daama'', Okinawan: ''Yeema'', Northern Ryukyuan: ''Yapema'') are an archipelago in the southwest of Okinawa ...
chain. From a young age she enjoyed singing, and wanted to be a singer after hearing her father sing Yaeyama folk songs, such as and . From age 7, she practiced two hours a day with her father to become an
enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ''ryūkōka'' music, p ...
singer. At 9, she won a local singing contest (the ). Natsukawa continued to win competitions, and in 1984 won the
MBS MBS may refer for: People * Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia * Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepalese politician Places * MBS International Airport (IATA code: MBS), Freeland, Michigan, US * Mari ...
TV show 's grand prize. In 1986, she won the 's grand prize, and was the youngest person to win this prize at the time.


Pony Canyon debut

Natsukawa, by chance, was scouted shortly after winning the competition at 13 years old. She moved to
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, and started preparing for her debut. She debuted later in 1989 as an
enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ''ryūkōka'' music, p ...
singer with the name "Misato Hoshi," under
Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affiliate ...
. She released three singles in three years, and did not find much success. Natsukawa felt defeated after this, and after living for four years in Tokyo, she moved back to Okinawa. She lived with her older sister in
Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area i ...
, and helped out in her restaurant, singing for patrons daily. As patrons would travel quite a distance to hear her sing, she gradually regained her desire to be a singer. In 1998, she appeared on an Okinawan radio show called as an assistant.


Re-debut

Natsukawa's musical director from her Pony Canyon days decided to set up a music production company for her, and in 1999 asked if she could return to the capital. She was soon signed under
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 Ent ...
, and re-debuted with the single . She was finding similar success to her debut, as neither of her first singles charted. While watching the news broadcast of the 26th G8 summit held in Okinawa, Natsukawa watched a performance of Okinawan folk band Begin perform a song called "
Nada Sōsō is a song written by Japanese band Begin and singer Ryoko Moriyama. It was first released by Moriyama in 1998, but achieved popularity through the cover version by Rimi Natsukawa in 2001. Ryoko Moriyama version The song first appears in Ryo ...
." She found she could not get it out of her head, and requested that she could cover the song backstage at a Begin concert. The song was released as her third single in March 2001. Very slowly and steadily, the song started gaining popularity. It was a hit on Okinawan radio, and in May 2002 (over a year since its release) it first charted in the
Oricon , 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 ...
top 100 singles charts. Natsukawa released an EP of Okinawan cover songs, '' Minamikaze'', in May, adding to the momentum. By June, the single had broken the top 50, and by July the top 20. (subscription only) Her debut album '' Tida: Tida Kaji nu Umui'' was released in September. Natsukawa was asked to perform the song at the 2002
Kōhaku Uta Gassen , more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...
(New Year's song competition), which made the song break the top 10. None of these three releases charted very highly, but they all charted extremely gradually. By the time ''Tida: Tida Kaji nu Umui'' and ''Minamikaze'' stopped charting (roughly two years later), they had sold 280,000/371,000 copies respectively. "Nada Sōsō" stopped charting a total of six years after its release, and sold over 680,000 copies. Natsukawa released a string of Okinawan song-based released from this time until 2004. One of these, (a Misako Koja cover), was nominated for the
Japan Record Award is a major music awards show, held annually in Japan that recognizes outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association. Until 2005, the show aired on New Year's Eve, but has since aired every December 30 on TBS Japan at 6:30 P.M JST a ...
. It was Natsukawa's biggest hit since Nada Sōsō, reaching the top 20.


Original song move

In 2004, Natsukawa's music changed to centre more around original songs, with her third album '' Kaze no Michi'' (her second, '' Sora no Keshiki'', featured many original songs, but still centred on Okinawan folk songs). She started a trend in her music for collaborating with high-profile musicians (
Kazufumi Miyazawa is the founder of the Japanese bands The Boom and Ganga Zumba. The former was noted in the 1990s for a fusion of rock, pop, and local Okinawan folk music. Miyazawa is responsible for virtually all lyrics and music for The Boom, who are best kn ...
, The Gospellers). Her 2005 follow-up, '' Ayakaji no Ne'', was similar, with Kentarō Kobuchi of
Kobukuro , a Japanese band, formed in 1998 and made its major label debut in 2001. The name is a portmanteau of the two family names, Kentarō Kobuchi and Shunsuke Kuroda. Members * * The band's visual appearance is unusual; there are only two people, ...
writing her single . Natsukawa's releases began dropping in sales, with "Sayōnara Arigatō" being her most recent top 50 single, with its 2006 re-release. In 2006, she released a compilation album, ''
Rimi Natsukawa Selection ''Rimi Natsukawa Selection'' is the fourth compilation album released by Rimi Natsukawa on . It was only released outside Japan, in Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Hong Kong. It reached #1 on the Taiwanese album charts, charting for m ...
'', that was only for release in non-Japanese Asian countries. The album was a massive success in Taiwan, reaching #1 on the Taiwanese album charts. In 2007, Natsukawa ended her contract with her production office. She continued to release music under Victor, however, such as her 5th album '' Umui Kaji''.


Song Search

At Natsukawa's concerts and at her website, she began asking for submissions from fans for songs they would like to hear her cover. The result of this was the project, where Natsukawa worked on covering mainly Japanese popular songs. This resulted in the album '' Uta Sagashi: Request Cover Album'', her most successful release of her material since 2003. Since this, Natsukawa has continued to release original material and compilations. Her second Uta Sagashi album was released in February 2010, and is her first bilingual Japanese/
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
album.


Personal life

Natsukawa married percussionist on January 1, 2009. Their first child, a boy, was born on August 20, 2010.


Discography


Studio albums

# 2002: '' Tida: Tida Kaji nu Umui'' # 2003: '' Sora no Keshiki'' # 2004: '' Kaze no Michi'' # 2005: '' Ayakaji no Ne'' # 2007: '' Umui Kaji'' # 2009: ''
Kokoro no Uta is Rimi Natsukawa's sixth original album, released on . The album was a 2-CD set, with the first CD featuring studio recordings, and the second performances from her tour. The limited edition also featured a DVD. Background ''Umui Kaji'' was r ...
''


Cover albums

# 2002: '' Minamikaze'' ( EP) # 2003: '' Famureuta'' (EP) # 2007: '' Uta Sagashi: Request Cover Album'' # 2010: '' Uta Sagashi: Asia no Kaze''


Compilation albums

# 2004: '' Okinawa no Kaze'' # 2005: '' Rimi Natsukawa Single Collection Vol. 1'' # 2006: '' Rimits: Best Duet Songs'' # 2006: ''
Rimi Natsukawa Selection ''Rimi Natsukawa Selection'' is the fourth compilation album released by Rimi Natsukawa on . It was only released outside Japan, in Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Hong Kong. It reached #1 on the Taiwanese album charts, charting for m ...
'' # 2008: '' Ai no Uta: Self-Selection Best'' # 2009: '' Okinawa Uta: Chikyū no Kaze o Kanjite'' # 2010: '' Misato Hoshi Best Collection''


Top 50 singles

# 2001: "
Nada Sōsō is a song written by Japanese band Begin and singer Ryoko Moriyama. It was first released by Moriyama in 1998, but achieved popularity through the cover version by Rimi Natsukawa in 2001. Ryoko Moriyama version The song first appears in Ryo ...
" # 2003: " Michishirube" # 2003: " Tori yo" # 2003: " Warabigami (Yamatoguchi)" # 2004: " Kana yo Kana yo" # 2004: " Kokoro Tsutae" # 2005: " Sayōnara Arigatō" # 2006: " Sayōnara Arigatō (Ama no Kaze)/Mirai"


References


External links

*
Official Victor Site (Japanese)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Natsukawa, Rimi 1973 births Enka singers Living people Japanese women pop singers Japanese folk singers Musicians from Okinawa Prefecture 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers