Stephanie Nonoshita Topalian;

Western Armenian Western Armenian ( Classical spelling: , ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly based ...

: (born August 5, 1987), known simply as , is an American singer and actress of Armenian and Japanese descent who is signed with

SME Records , 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 oper ...

Japan, which is a part of Sony Music. She released two albums: her self-titled debut in 2008 and ''Colors of my Voice'' in 2009. She has won the Japanese Music Awards in 2007. A number of her songs have been featured in several Japanese films. She had roles in a few Japanese films, notably ''Pride'' and '' Tokyo Tribe''. In 2015, she represented Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 as a member of Armenian super group project

Genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

with the song " Face the Shadow".

Early life and education

She was born to a Japanese mother and an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

father in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Although she is residing in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, she has a strong commitment to her

background and is very attached to her grandparents. Her paternal grandmother Koharik Mikaelian Topalian was born in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and her paternal grandfather Jean Pierre Topalian was born in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, both of Armenian descent. Stephanie graduated from

Aoyama Gakuin University is a private Christian university in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Originally established in 1874 by missionaries from the Methodist Episcopal Church, it was reconfigured in its current form in 1949 as part of Aoyama Gakuin. Aoyama Gakuin Universit ...

Law School. She is bilingual and speaks

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Career

She began singing at a young age. At age 13, she moved to Japan with her family. At 14, Stephanie sent an audio demo tape of her singing to various music productions, and received a response from a

music producer

Joe Rinoie is a music producer, singer, keyboardist, saxophone player and composer. His mother is a Han Chinese in Japan while his father is Japanese, thus he is mixed half Chinese, half Japanese. He is a former member of Romantic Mode. After spending many ...

. Rinoie was impressed with her singing, and at the age of 19 Stephanie made her major debut in Japan from

(Sony). She achieved the "Best New Artist Award" at the prestigious 49th

Japan Record Awards 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 ...

in 2007 and afterwards released two albums. Her debut single "Kimiga Iru Kagiri" and the follow-up single "Because of You" became the ending themes of the anime ''Kiss Dum''. Her fifth single, “Changin", was also featured as the last ending theme of the anime '' D.Gray-man''. In early 2008, her single "Friends" became the second ending theme for the anime ''

Gundam 00 is a Japanese anime television series, the eleventh installment in Sunrise studio's long-running ''Gundam'' franchise comprising two seasons. The series is set on a futuristic Earth and is centered on the exploits of the fictional paramilit ...

''. The song appeared in the Top 10 of Japanese

Oricon charts , 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 Nove ...

. As an actress Stephanie debuted in the film ''Pride'' in 2009, based on

Yukari Ichijo is a Japanese '' shōjo'' and ''josei'' manga artist. She made her debut as a professional manga artist in 1968 with ''Yuki no Serenade''. In 1986 she received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo for '' Yūkan Club'', and in 2007, she received ...

's shōjo comic. She portrayed the protagonist Shio Asami and took part in the film's theme song, "Pride ~A Part of Me~" that featured SRM. Aside from ''Pride'', Stephanie also starred in 2009 in the short film ''It's All Good'' which was fully scripted in English. She was cast in 2014 to be in '' Tokyo Tribe'' and a short film.

Eurovision

In February 2015 she was announced as a member of the music group

(made up of singers from Armenia and the

Armenian diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

) that represented Armenia in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2015 The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broa ...

. Stephanie Topalian represents the Asian continent in the formation whereas the Ethiopian

Vahe Tilbian Vahe Tilbian ( hy, Վահե Թիլբյան, Western Armenian Վահէ Թիլպեան, am, ቫሔ ቲልቢያን; born 17 February 1980) is an Ethiopian singer of Armenian descent. A solo artist, he became lead singer for the Ethiopian group Ze ...

represents Africa, the American

Tamar Kaprelian Tamar Mardirossian ( hy, Թամար Մարտիրոսեան; born October 28, 1986), known professionally as Tamar Kaprelian, is an Armenian-American singer, songwriter, and philanthropist. Kaprelian began her career in 2008, after winning a cove ...

the

American continent The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, the French

Essaï Altounian Essaï Altounian ( hy, Եսայի Ալթունյան, in Western Armenian ) born on 5 November 1980), sometimes credited as simply Essaï, is a French-Armenian singer, songwriter, keyboardist, music producer and an actor. Biography Essaï Alt ...

the

European continent Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

, Australian Mary-Jean O'Doherty Basmadjian Oceania and

Inga Arshakyan Inga and Anush Arshakyan ( hy, Ինգա և Անուշ Արշակյաններ) or the Arshakyan Sisters ( hy, Արշակյան քույրեր) are an Armenian folk singing duo. The sisters represented Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, ...

Armenia. The group sang " Face the Shadow" at the contest in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. She then became an Armenian citizen along with the other members of Genealogy on 28 April 2015 after being given

Armenian passport Armenian passport ( hy, Հայկական անձնագիր, Haykakan andznagir) is a passport issued to Armenian citizens to enable them to travel outside Armenia, and entitles the bearer to the protection of Armenia's consular officials oversea ...

s by President

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As a lead artist

As a featured artist

Promotional singles

Guest appearances

Notes

References

External links

* archive * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephanie 1987 births Living people Singers from Tokyo 21st-century Armenian women singers American emigrants to Japan American musicians of Armenian descent American musicians of Japanese descent Armenian pop singers Citizens of Armenia through descent Aoyama Gakuin University alumni Japanese women pop singers Japanese-language singers Singers from Los Angeles Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers Anime musicians Singers with a five-octave vocal range Japanese people of Armenian descent 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century American actresses 21st-century Japanese actresses Armenian people of Japanese descent Genealogy (band) members American women musicians of Japanese descent