is a Japanese pop/

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

singer-songwriter and guitarist. She often goes by the nickname Yaiko. Her musical style is often called "heart rock" by her fans. Yaida is an established musical artist in Japan and has also had minor club hits in the United Kingdom.

Career

2000

Born in

Toyonaka, Osaka is a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on October 15, 1936. Geography Climate Toyonaka has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The averag ...

, Yaida first became well known when her first single ("

Howling Howling is a vocal form of animal communication seen in most canines, particularly wolves, coyotes, foxes, and dogs, as well as cats and some species of monkeys. Howls are generally lengthy sustained sounds, loud and audible over long distances, ...

" which included the track "How?") was released in 2000 on

Aozora Records __NOTOC__ is a Japanese record company owned bClear Sky Corporation Established May 3, 2000 to handle the independent release of Hitomi Yaida's debut maxi CD ''Howling'' to the Kansai area of Japan, it was the subject of a bidding war amongst the ...

, an independent label pre-dominantly distributing to the

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

area of

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

only, and reportedly sold in excess of 10,000 copies. Widespread airplay on Osaka's local radio stations and word-of-mouth resulted in both Yaida and Aozora Records becoming the focus of a bidding war between the larger record companies for both recording and distribution contracts, the final Japanese distributing rights being sold to

Toshiba-EMI , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

with Aozora retaining artist control and independent label status. " B'coz I Love You" was the first single released under contract, entering the Japanese charts at number 16 in July. Through the association with Toshiba-EMI, live appearances in the UK (both London and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

) followed in September. This initial British exposure culminated in the release of the UK Single "I Like 2" under her nickname Yaiko on F2Records, which created the impetus for a UK fan-base to grow. Her second Toshiba-EMI single, "My Sweet Darlin'", released in October entered the charts at number 9 quickly followed by her first album ('' daiya-monde'') which went straight to Number 1 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 i ...

album charts. During this time she was still attending

Kansai University , abbreviated as or , is a private non-sectarian and coeducational university with its main campus in Suita, Osaka, Japan and two sub-campuses in Sakai and Takatsuki, Osaka. Founded as Kansai Law School in 1886, It has been recognized as one o ...

, reading French language and literature. Yaida took a short

sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work. The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of '' shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According ...

from her musical career to prepare her

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...

for submission in the latter part of the year.

2001

The second UK Single, " Darling Darling", was released on January 1, 2000, at a special live appearance in London. Building on the success of "I Like 2", this release again featured remixes of her Japanese tracks with English lyrics to appeal to the UK club market. Between the period January 15 – February 20 she was hospitalised because of exhaustion. During which, " I'm Here Saying Nothing" was released in Japan (entering at number 4) and " Darling Darling" reached number 1 in the UK club chart. She graduated from

with a degree in French language and literature on March 19, starting her first official Japanese tour on the 21st (the seven date 'I'm Here...' tour) followed immediately by live appearances in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, Manchester, Aberdeen,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

and London. On return from the UK, The First Reflection DVD was released (April 25) along with her first book release ''saikinnoyaiko'' (April 27). This was then followed by 9 additional dates for the 'I'm Here...' tour of Japan. Her 4th single, the double A side " Look Back Again/Over the Distance" was released on June 27 entering the charts at number 3. August saw the 'Hitomi Yaida Summer Festival Sound of Clover' tour (4 dates) and an appearance at the

London Astoria The London Astoria was a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England. Originally a warehouse during the 1920s, the building became a cinema and ballroom. It was converted for use as a theatre in the 1970s. After further developme ...

. The 5th single, " Buzzstyle", was released in September followed by live acoustic dates in October. '' Candlize'', the 2nd album, was released in Japan on October 31. It entered the charts at number 1 and achieved enough sales to be certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

. The 'Hitomi Yaida Candleyes' tour, to promote this release, saw her playing 11 dates during November and December – during which her first live performance DVD/VHS was released (Hitomi Yaida 2001 Summer Live Sound of Clover). Yaida finished 2001 in the Osaka Dome with her first Countdown performance – 'Countdown Live 2001–2002'. The Countdown events, held on December 31, are live concerts that culminate in the traditional counting down of the seconds to midnight and the beginning of the new year.

2002

U.K. Completion, a compilation of the UK releases, was issued independently by Aozora on January 23 and entered the album charts at number 1. 14 more dates for the 'Hitomi Yaida Candleyes' were scheduled for the period of January to March, finishing with two dates at the

Festival Hall. The 6th single, " Ring My Bell", was released on March 27, followed in July with the tour DVD's Candle in the Eyes, Candle in the Lives (video tour diary) and the DVD Box set Casket of Candleyes (all released July 3). The 7th single, " Andante", followed on July 10 with the '' Music Pool 2002'' concert recording taking place on July 27 in Osaka. September saw her embark on the 8 date 'Acoustic Live 2002' tour promoting the upcoming release of her 3rd album, '' I/flancy'', which was released on October 9 and entered the charts at number 1, with the single release " Mikansei no Melody" following on December 4. She finished 2002 with the live concerts 'Tokyo/flancy Night: Ring Your Hell 12–25' on December 25 in the

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of th ...

and also 'Osaka/flancy Midnight: Countdown Live 2002–2003' at the Osaka Dome on December 31 (her second consecutive Countdown event).

2003

The 'I/can fly Tour2003' from February to June saw her playing 36 events, again ending at the Osaka festival hall. During touring – the live CD/DVD '' Music Pool 2002'', her 2nd PV collection Sparkles of light and her 8th single " Koduku na Cowboy" were all released. The 9th single " Hitori Jenga" was released on September 10, just prior to a five night 'acoustic Live~2003~' tour. 2003 ended with various live concerts and radio sessions to promote the release of her 4th album '' Air/Cook/Sky'' on October 29.

2004

February saw the beginning of the 'Yaiko/Rocks 50Rounds' tour, a 50 night tour of Japan that would not finish until June, part of which was filmed by

Fuji Television 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 ...

for pay-per-view audiences. The double A-side single "

Chapter01/Marble-iro no Hi Chapter01/ is the eleventh Japanese single release from Hitomi Yaida. It is also the first single released from the album Here Today – Gone Tomorrow ''Here Today – Gone Tomorrow'' is the fifth album by Hitomi Yaida is a Japanese pop/f ...

" was released in March and a final (51st) date was added in

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

under the heading of 'Yaiko/Rocks BonusRound' on June 26. The '' Single Collection/Yaiko's Selection'' Box Set was released on June 28 (her birthday) as a limited edition, with the '' Single Collection'' also being released separately. 'Summer Festival Girls Talk 2004' took place in August with 3 dates including

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

and

, with the 11th single "

Monochrome Letter "" is the twelfth Japanese single release from Hitomi Yaida is a Japanese pop/folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. She often goes by the nickname Yaiko. Her musical style is often called "heart rock" by her fans. Yaida is an establishe ...

" being released on October 27. '' Yaiko's Selection'' (a collection of her personal favourite tracks previously only available as part of the limited edition '' Single Collection/Yaiko's Selection'' Box Set) was released on December 1 due to fan demands. This was followed with 2 live dates in the Osaka and Tokyo domes under the title 'Dome Live2004 Music in the Air'. 2004 was completed with her 3rd Countdown event 'Countdown Live 2004–2005' in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

2005

The live DVD Hitomi Yaida Music in the Air: Dome Live 2004 was released on February 16. Following which, Yaida entered recording studios in London and

Grouse Lodge Grouse Lodge is a recording studio near Rosemount, County Westmeath, Ireland. Designed by Andy Munro it has two studios and living quarters in nine stone outhouses, integrating the existing 275-year-old stone structure. Artists It has record ...

in Ireland for her 5th album. She became the third Japanese artist to record an

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

episode on April 24, recorded in the Tokyo FM Hall, after which she embarked on the 15 date 'acoustic live 2005' tour. The 12th single, "

Mawaru Sora "" is the thirteenth Japanese single release from Hitomi Yaida. It is also the third single released from the album Here Today – Gone Tomorrow. This track featured on the closing credits to the localised version of the motion picture Robots" \n ...

", was released on July 6 and also appeared in the localised release of the motion picture ''

Robots "\n\n\n\n\nThe robots exclusion standard, also known as the robots exclusion protocol or simply robots.txt, is a standard used by websites to indicate to visiting web crawlers and other web robots which portions of the site they are allowed to visi ...

''. A summer of festival appearances helped to promote the release of her 5th album ''

Here Today – Gone Tomorrow ''Here Today – Gone Tomorrow'' is the fifth album by Hitomi Yaida is a Japanese pop/folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. She often goes by the nickname Yaiko. Her musical style is often called "heart rock" by her fans. Yaida is an e ...

'' which was released on August 15. December 7 saw the simultaneous release of the Hitomi Yaida MTV Unplugged DVD and the '' Sound Drop MTV Unplugged+Acoustic Live 2005'' CD/DVD. 2005 was completed with a four-night 'Here-Today Live 2005' tour which included two performances at the

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts con ...

2006

2006 was marked by the preparation of the release of Yaida's sixth studio album. Three singles, (" Go My Way", "Startline" and "Hatsukoi") were released in March, June, and November respectively prior to the album's release on November 22. The album was titled '' It's a New Day'' and was further promoted by the availability of the album track "御堂筋Planet" as an internet download on the same day. To support this release, the 23-date 'Tour 2007 "It's a New Live"' tour was announced at the end of October. This tour extended from March 9, 2007, through the end of April.

2007

She went on a two-month tour "Hitomi Yaida Tour 2007 It's A New Live" from March to April. On July 28, she announced that she married the man who was one year older than she was on her official web site.

2008

On March 5, she released new album "colorhythm" after an interval of 1 year 4 months. She went on a two-month tour "My tear Bidō presents Hitomi Yaida Colorock Live 2008" from March to April.

2009

On February 18, she released her

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

album "The Best of Hitomi Yaida" and collection of music videos "Hitomi Yaida Music Video Collection" to celebrate her tenth anniversary of her debut. She announced that she became pregnant on June 1, and gave birth to a baby girl on October 28.

2010

On July 28, she announced a change of talent agency: from Clear Sky Corporation to Yamaha. On December 1, she signed with a new record label Universal Sigma.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Daiya-monde'' (October 25, 2000), anagram of "Yaida" combined with the French word for "world", and a reference to the word "diamond" * '' Candlize'' (October 31, 2001), "Candle eyes" * '' I/flancy'' (October 9, 2002), anagram of "I can fly" * '' Air/Cook/Sky'' (October 29, 2003), anagram of "Yaiko's rock" * ''

'' (August 15, 2005) * '' It's a New Day'' (November 22, 2006) * '' Colorhythm'' (March 5, 2008) * ''Vivid Moments'' (May 19, 2011) * ''panodrama'' (September 22, 2012)

Singles

* "

" (May 3, 2000) * " B'coz I Love You" (July 14, 2000) * "I Like 2" (September 22, 2000) * "My Sweet Darlin'" (October 4, 2000) * " Darling Darling" (January 1, 2001) * " I'm Here Saying Nothing" (January 24, 2001) * " Look Back Again/Over the Distance" (June 27, 2001) * " Buzzstyle" (September 27, 2001) * " Ring My Bell" (March 27, 2002) * "" (July 10, 2002) * "" (December 4, 2002) * "" (April 23, 2003) * "" (September 10, 2003) * "" (March 17, 2004) * "" (October 27, 2004) * "" (July 6, 2005) * " Go My Way" (March 15, 2006) * "Startline" (June 21, 2006) * "" (November 1, 2006) * "" (October 10, 2007) * "Simple is Best" (February 9, 2011) * "" (April 20, 2011) * "" (July 11, 2012)

Compilations

* ''U.K. Completion'' (January 23, 2002) * '' Music Pool 2002'' CD & DVD (February 19, 2003) * '' Single Collection/Yaiko's Selection'' Box Set (July 28, 2004) * '' Single collection'' (July 28, 2004) * '' Yaiko's Selection'' (December 1, 2004) * '' Sound Drop MTV Unplugged+Acoustic Live 2005'' CD & DVD (December 7, 2005) * ''Hitomi Yaida Colorock Live 2008''

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

(June 25, 2008) * ''The Best of Hitomi Yaida'' (February 18, 2009)

DVD and video

* The First Reflection VHS/DVD (April 25, 2001) * Hitomi Yaida 2001 Summer Live Sound of Clover VHS/DVD (November 28, 2001) * Candle in the Lives VHS/DVD (July 3, 2002) * Candle in the Eyes VHS/DVD (July 3, 2002) * Casket of Candleyes DVD (July 3, 2002) * Sparkles of light DVD/VHS (March 29, 2003) * Live Completion ‘03: I Can Fly, Can You? DVD (January 28, 2004) * Hitomi Yaida Music in the Air: Dome Live 2004 DVD (February 16, 2005) * Hitomi Yaida MTV Unplugged DVD (December 7, 2005) * Hitomi Yaida Colorock Live 2008 DVD (June 25, 2008) * Hitomi Yaida Music Video Collection DVD (February 18, 2009)

Other

* ''The Japan Gold Disc Award 2004'' Various Artists ("kodoku na Cowboy") (April 14, 2004) * ''Grand Prix – Super Collection 2004'' Various Artists ("le Vent brulant") (September 23, 2004) * ''FM802 Heavy Rotations J-hits Complete '99–'01'' Various Artists ("How?") (December 12, 2004) * ''Venus Japan'' Various Artists "(Chapter01)" (March 30, 2005) * ''Robots Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' Various Artists ("Mawaru Sora") (July 27, 2005) * ''Death Note Tribute'' Various Artists ("37.0℃") (June 23, 2006)

Commercial use of music in the media

Yaida sang a cover version of "

You Are My Sunshine "You Are My Sunshine" is a song published by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell on January 30, 1940. According to Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the song has been recorded by over 350 artists and translated into 30 languages. In 1977, the Louisi ...

" on a commercial for the Kirin Brewery Company.

Personal life

On July 28, 2007, Yaida married a man one year older than herself. The only information released regarding her new husband is that he works for a music company and they were introduced by a friend.Hitomi Yaida on the web
Retrieved on October 19, 2008.

References

External links

Official site
on UMG
Official site
on Aozora

on EMI

Oricon Artist rankings and sales for Hitomi Yaida

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaida, Hitomi Japanese women pop singers Japanese women singer-songwriters 1978 births Living people People from Toyonaka, Osaka Universal Music Japan artists Musicians from Osaka Prefecture Kansai University alumni 20th-century Japanese women singers 20th-century Japanese singers Folk-pop singers 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers