is a Japanese singer, songwriter, producer, actress, and model from

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 ci ...

. She is the lead singer of the alternative rock band

The Brilliant Green (stylized as the brilliant green) is a Japanese rock band from Kyoto formed in 1995. They were signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Their major debut single under Sony, " Bye Bye Mr. Mug", was released in 1997. Their contract with Sony ...

. She also has a solo career under the

alter-ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different ...

pseudonyms Tommy february6 and Tommy heavenly6.

Biography

Her debut solo album '' Tommy february6'' peaked at No. 1 on the Japan

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 ...

chart. The album was certified Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pr ...

, as well as her second studio album '' Tommy Airline''. She has released eight solo albums. Her songs appeared in various anime including ''

Paradise Kiss ''Paradise Kiss'', also abbreviated to ''ParaKiss'', is a josei manga series written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa. It appeared as a serial in the Japanese fashion magazine ''Zipper''. Shodensha collected the chapters into five volumes. The ...

'', ''

Mobile Suit 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 paramilita ...

'', '' Soul Eater'', ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'', ''

Gin Tama is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to September 2018, later in ''Jump Giga'' from December 2 ...

'', and ''

Bakuman is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, the same creative team responsible for '' Death Note''. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from August 2 ...

''. Two of her songs were used in the 2004 film adaption of ''

Kamikaze Girls ''Kamikaze Girls'', originally released in Japan as , is a 2002 Japanese light novel written by Novala Takemoto. The story centers on the friendship between two students named Momoko Ryugasaki and Ichigo "Ichiko" Shirayuri. These two are fro ...

''. From 2001 to 2009, she released music through Defstar Records, a division of

Sony Music 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, Sony Group Corporation and is ...

. In 2010 she was signed to

Warner Music Japan Warner Music Group's labels include the following. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Records Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * Nipsey Hussle, All Money In * Mike Caren, Artist Par ...

. She has appeared on the cover of ''Marquee'' magazine nine times, and has also been featured on the cover of ''JGM'' and ''NewsMaker''. She modeled for Italian fashion house

Fiorucci Fiorucci () is an Italian fashion label founded by Elio Fiorucci in 1967. The first Fiorucci shop exposed Milan to the styles of Swinging London and to American classics such as the T-shirt and jeans. By the late 1970s, the direction of stylis ...

, and hosted the MTV Japan show ''Breakdown''. She mentored and produced music for the pop-duo Amoyamo. In 2005, an official

Blythe The name Blythe ( or ) derives from Old English ''bliþe'' ("joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant"; modern ''blithe''), and further back from Proto-Germanic ''*blithiz'' ("gentle, kind"). People * Blythe (given name), including a list of people named ...

doll of Kawase was released. She has been cited as an influence to other pop artists, such as

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Kiriko Takemura (Japanese: 竹村桐子, born January 29, 1993), known professionally as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (Hiragana: きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ), is a Japanese tarento, singer, and model. Her public image is associated with Japan's ''kawai ...

and

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...

Life and career

1995–2001: The Brilliant Green

In 1995, after bassist

Shunsaku Okuda Shunsaku Okuda (born July 11, 1971) is the leader of the Japanese rock/pop band the brilliant green where he plays bass guitar and rhythm guitar and has composed the vast majority of the band's music.

and guitarist Ryo Matsui heard her sing in an amateur talent contest, Kawase was asked to join

as the lead vocalist. The first two releases from The Brilliant Green were the non-album singles " Bye Bye Mr. Mug" and " Goodbye and Good Luck", which received moderate success. Their break came in 1998 when their third single, " There Will Be Love There" was chosen as the theme song for the popular Japanese drama ''Love Again'', and as a result went straight to the top of the charts. After scoring another number one hit with "

Tsumetai Hana is The Brilliant Green's fourth single, released on August 26, 1998. It reached number 1 on the Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on mus ...

", they released their self-titled debut album which sold over one million copies in just two days. On the back of this success their first national tour, titled "There Will Be Live There," sold out across Japan in only three minutes. In 2013, Kawase started releasing music from all her personas in commemoration of the Brilliant Green's 15th anniversary.

2001–2009: Tommy february6 / Tommy heavenly6 - Solo career under DefStar Records

In 2001, Kawase joined DefStar Records and launched her solo career under the character of Tommy february6 (named from a combination of her nickname and birth date) with " Everyday at the Bus Stop". Vastly different from the

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

sound of The Brilliant Green, Tommy february6's persona and sound are inspired by and derived from British and American 1980's

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

, including a cover of Strawberry Switchblade's "Since Yesterday". Kawase's original intention with ''Tommy february6'' was to create a character who was far from innocent, though cute in both sound and appearance; Tommy february6 was designed to be someone who was true to her feelings despite the cutesy nature of her outward character and did as she wanted (and as such, Tommy february6 is seen repeatedly in music videos drinking alcohol from flasks, bars, etc.) Kawase's second single under the name was Kiss One More Time, and third single under the name was " Bloomin'!" (a song that was also used in a commercial for cosmetic company, Shiseido). Finally, on her birthday, Kawase released her eponymous debut album: '' Tommy february6''. In October 2002, Tommy february6 released a photo and journal book titled ''Tommy february6 + Hawaii''. It is presented in a mock travel guide format, including features such as restaurant reviews, sightseeing hotspots and cultural information. In keeping with the character's outwardly cute personality, crude outline sketches of animals and fairies litter the pages (as seen on the cover) alongside thought bubbles gracing many of the pictures, which have the distinct appearance of doodles. One after the release of Tommy february6, Kawase released her fourth single under the name, titled " Je t'aime je t'aime". At this point, the original concept started to disappoint her and Kawase began to feel that the character could no longer maintain its purity. On the day she released her fifth single " Love Is Forever", she also released her debut single as Tommy heavenly6 " Wait Till I Can Dream". Kawase would later explain that Tommy heavenly6 was born from a dream that Tommy february6 had, in which she embraces all the elements of her personality she had previously been repressing. In 2003, she created the pop group, Tommy Angels. The group only had one single, "You'll Be My Boy", which was released on December 17, 2003, and had a top chart position of No. 78 on the Oricon Top 200 Weekly Peak chart. Kawase wrote the lyrics for the song (with the music by Malibu Convertible), and also produced the track. The group disbanded after this single. Shortly after this came the second studio album under the Tommy february6 name, titled: " Tommy Airline". After "Tommy Airline" came the release of Tommy heavenly6's second single " Hey My Friend", and the release of Tommy february6's single " Lovely: Yume Miru Lovely Boy", used as the ending song for the 7th Pokémon film. In August 2005 (nearly two years after her first single), Tommy heavenly6 finally released her third single, "

Ready? "Ready?" is Tomoko Kawase's third single as Tommy heavenly6. It was released on Jul 20, 2005, and peaked at #15 on the Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics ...

", which was shortly followed by her own long-awaited eponymous debut album. After the release of Tommy february6's " Lonely in Gorgeous", Kawase decided to focus on the Tommy heavenly6 persona. In 2006 and 2007 Tommy heavenly6 released five new singles which led to her second album '' Heavy Starry Heavenly''. She finished this productive phase with the Heavy Starry Tour: four live performances as Tommy heavenly6 during March 2007. She incorporated most of her songs into this live format, which lasted for an hour and a half, complete with her now regular backing band, and even her bandmates from The Brilliant Green made guest appearances for some songs. Kawase still kept the Tommy february6 persona through cameos on Tommy heavenly6's music videos, like " Lollipop Candy Bad Girl" and " I Love Xmas". In 2008 Tommy february6 was featured on a compilation album '' We Love Cyndi'', covering " All Through the Night" by

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

. On February 25, 2009, Kawase released two best-of albums under both the Tommy aliases, Strawberry Cream Soda Pop Daydream (as February6) and Gothic Melting Ice Cream's Darkness Nightmare (as heavenly6). Both albums collected the Tommy singles and certain album tracks, as well as having a new track each. In April 2009, Tommy heavenly6 released a new concept album, titled I Kill My Heart, which was composed mostly by Chiffon Brownie. Two of the promotional songs for her third album were accompanied by music videos that had two versions each: one as Tommy heavenly6 and one as Tommy february6. After the release of I Kill My Heart, both Tommy heavenly6 and Tommy february6's contracts with DefStar Records expired, and were not renewed.

2010-2020: Warner Music Japan era

In 2010 Tommy february6, Tommy heavenly6, and

were all picked up by

. Finally in December 2010, Kawase announced via her Twitter page the possibility for a third studio album under the Tommy february6 persona. Tommy february6's official website with

is still stated as "coming soon". In August 2011, Tommy stated via Twitter she was working on demos for both Tommy heavenly6 and Tommy february6. In September 2011, a statement was posted on Tommy heavenly6's official site saying Tommy february6 would return February 6, 2012.Tommy heavenly6 Profile
Warner Music Japan Tommy february6 was featured in Tommy heavenly6's music video for I'm Your Devil (Halloween Remix). On November 11, 2011 Tommy announced during an interview with J-Wave Circus Circus she is in the process of recording a double album featuring both Tommy february6 and Tommy heavenly6, set for release in 2012.

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...

released a press release on December 1, 2011, stating the album's release date as February 29, 2012.Tommy february6 タイトル未定＜通常盤＞
Tower Records The album's title was later revealed to be " february & heavenly". The album debuted at No. 7 on the

albums chart. In September 2012, Tommy announced she would be releasing a

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

EP titled " Halloween Addiction". Which would feature both of her previous "Halloween singles" as well as a new one. In December 2012, Tommy announced she would be releasing a special Valentine's Day single through Tommy february6 titled, " Be My Valentine". In April 2013, Tommy announced a new English single, "Runaway", and a new album, '' Tommy Candy Shop'', for release in June 2013.新曲「Runaway」がテレビ東京系「実録世界のミステリー」エンディングテーマに決定！
Warner Music Japan Kawase released her second solo EP, Tommy's Halloween Fairy Tale October 14, 2015. In 2017, Kawase returned with the promotional single Kitty Ninja from Tommy february6, along with a remixed version of "Living Dead Diner Girls" from Tommy heavenly6, available exclusively to members of her fan site. On October 17, 2018 Kawase released two new singles, "Ice Cream Devils" as Tommy heavenly6 and "Cupcake Angels" as Tommy february6.

Personal life

Tomoko Kawase was born on February 6, 1975, in

, Japan. On November 22, 2003 Kawase announced her marriage to The Brilliant Green's fellow member and bassist,

. Due to her marriage, her legal name changed to Tomoko Okuda. However, she is still credited as ''Kawase Tomoko''.

Discography

With The Brilliant Green

* ''

'' (1998) * ''

Terra 2001 ''Terra 2001'' is the second album of The Brilliant Green (stylized as the brilliant green) is a Japanese rock band from Kyoto formed in 1995. They were signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Their major debut single under Sony, " Bye ...

'' (1999) * ''

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' ...

'' (2001) * '' The Winter Album'' (2002) * '' Blackout'' (2010)

As Tommy february6

* '' Tommy february6'' (2002) * '' Tommy Airline'' (2004) * '' february & heavenly'' (2012) * '' Tommy Candy Shop Sugar Me'' (2013)

As Tommy heavenly6

* '' Tommy heavenly6'' (2005) * '' Heavy Starry Heavenly'' (2007) * '' I Kill My Heart'' (2009) * '' february & heavenly'' (2012) * '' Tommy Ice Cream Heaven Forever'' (2013)

Concert tours

With The Brilliant Green

* ''There Will Be Live There Tour'' (1998) * ''Terra 2001 Tour'' (1999)

Solo tours

* '' Heavy Starry Tour'' (2007)

Filmography

Bibliography

As Tommy february6

*''Tommy february6 + Hawaii'' (2002)

Other activities

In October 2002, Tommy february6 released a photo and journal book titled ''Tommy february6 + Hawaii''. It is presented in a mock travel guide format, including features such as restaurant reviews, sightseeing hotspots and cultural information. In keeping with the character's outwardly cute personality, crude outline sketches of animals and fairies litter the pages (as seen on the cover) alongside thought bubbles gracing many of the pictures, which have the distinct appearance of doodles. Kawase has also made an appearance as the voice of Pikki in the anime series '' Piroppo'', briefly modelled for Italian fashion house

and for a period of time hosted Break Down, an

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

show. She also worked as a producer on the

Takashi Fujii , born March 10, 1972 in Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese comedian and singer who belongs to the Japanese entertainment conglomerate Yoshimoto Kogyo and is the popular host of '' Matthew's Best Hit TV'' (as the character , and various ot ...

single, entitled "

Oh My Juliet Oh, OH, or Oh! is an interjection, often proclaiming surprise. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Oh!'' (Girls' Generation album), 2010 * ''Oh!'' (ScoLoHoFo album), 2003 * ''OH (ohio)'', by Lambchop, 2008 * ''Oh!'', an E ...

". In October 2005, an exclusive Tommy February6

doll was released. In 2012, she produced Japanese model duo, Amoyamo's pre-debut EP, "Amoyamo", as well as their debut single, "Let's Go Out!".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kawase, Tomoko 1975 births Living people Actresses from Kyoto Japanese women pop singers Japanese female models Japanese dance musicians Japanese bloggers Warner Records artists Defstar Records artists Musicians from Kyoto Prefecture Anime musicians Japanese women bloggers Models from Kyoto Prefecture Musicians from Kyoto 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers Japanese women rock singers