(born October 28, 1982) is a Japanese pop and R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. After releasing her US debut single " Baby I Like" in 1999, Kuraki signed with

Giza Studio is a Japanese record label. The Giza Studio started as an indie label in the late 1990s under the name Garage Indies Zapping Association, but soon Being Inc. bought it as their sister label company. Giza Studio is located in Osaka, Japan and ...

and released her Japanese debut single " Love, Day After Tomorrow" in 1999. In 2000, she released her debut album, '' Delicious Way'', which debuted at number-one and sold over 2.2 million copies in its first week. The album has spawned four top-three singles, "Love, Day After Tomorrow", " Stay by My Side", " Secret of My Heart", and "

Never Gonna Give You Up "Never Gonna Give You Up" is the debut single recorded by English singer and songwriter Rick Astley, released on 27 July 1987. It is one of Astley's most famous songs. It was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, and was released as ...

". Eventually, the album sold over 3.5 million copies nationwide and became the best-selling album in Japan in 2000, and has been the ninth best-selling album in Japan of all-time. Her second album, ''

Perfect Crime Perfect crimes are crimes that are undetected, unattributed to an identifiable perpetrator, or otherwise unsolved or unsolvable as a kind of technical achievement on the part of the perpetrator. The term is used colloquially in law and fiction (e ...

'' (2001) debuted atop in Japan and has sold over 1.3 million copies nationwide. After the success in Japan, Kuraki targeted the American market again, with the English-language studio album '' Secret of My Heart'' (2002), however it failed to enter any charts in the United States. Her third Japanese album, ''

Fairy Tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

'' was released in 2002 and topped 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 ...

albums chart. The album has spawned one number-one song, " Winter Bells". Her fourth album, ''

If I Believe ''If I Believe'' is the fourth studio album by Japanese recording artist Mai Kuraki. It was released on July 9, 2003, only nine months after '' Fairy Tale''. Commercial performance ''If I Believe'' debuted at number-one with 251,218 copies sold m ...

'' become her fourth consecutive number-one album in Japan. Her first compilation album, ''

Wish You the Best Wish You the Best may refer to: * ''Wish You the Best'' (album), a 2004 compilation album by Mai Kuraki * "Wish You the Best" (song), a 2023 song by Lewis Capaldi {{disambiguation ...

'' (2004) sold nearly a million copies and became the seventh best-selling album of 2004 in Japan. Kuraki's succeeding albums, ''

Fuse of Love ''Fuse of Love'' is the fifth studio album by Japanese recording artist Mai Kuraki. It was released on August 24, 2005, over two years after '' If I Believe''. Background This album is the first to be produced by Kuraki herself. Nearly five yea ...

'' (2005), ''

Diamond Wave ''Diamond Wave'' is the sixth studio album by Japanese recording artist Mai Kuraki. It was released on August 2, 2006. Background The album was released in two formats: CD+DVD limited edition and CD only standard edition. On August 11, a limit ...

'' (2006), and '' One Life'' (2008) were released to less commercial success. In 2009, Kuraki saw a revival in her popularity with the increased television appearances and the promotion. Her eighth studio album, ''

Touch Me! ''Touch Me!'' is Japanese singer-songwriter Mai Kuraki's eighth studio album, which was released on January 21, 2009, in Japan by her record label Northern Music. The album was released in two formats; the regular single CD version and a limited ...

'', debuted atop in Japan, becoming her first number-one album in five years. Her second compilation album, '' All My Best'' (2009) topped the chart in Japan, making her one of the two artists who sent two albums at the top spot on the chart in the year. Her next studio albums, ''

Future Kiss ''Future Kiss'' is the ninth studio album by Japanese singer and songwriter Mai Kuraki. It was released on 17 November 2010, by Northern Music. The album was originally scheduled to released on 20 October 2010; however, it was pushed back to 17 ...

'' (2010) and '' Over the Rainbow'' (2012) both reached top three in Japan. Her third compilation album, '' Mai Kuraki Best 151A: Love & Hope'' (2014) managed to peak at number two in Japan and became the ninety-fifth best-selling album in Japan of the year. Her eleventh studio album, ''

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

'' (2017) sold less than her previous albums, partly due to the lack of the promotion. Released in 2017, the single " Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)" peaked at number two in Japan and became the best-selling single for a solo female artist in 2017. The single marked Kuraki's second revival in charts, succeeded by the compilation album, '' Mai Kuraki x Meitantei Conan Collaboration Best 21: Shinjitsu wa Itsumo Uta ni Aru!'' (2017), which peaked at number four in Japan and charted on the year-end album chart in 2017 and 2018. Her twelfth and thirteenth albums, '' Kimi Omou: Shunkashūtō'' (2018) and '' Let's Goal!: Barairo no Jinsei'' (2019) were both moderate success, reaching top three in Japan. Her fifth compilation album, '' Mai Kuraki Single Collection: Chance for You'' was released in 2019, in celebration of her 20th anniversary. In 2021, Kuraki released her fourteenth studio album '' Unconditional Love'', which peaked at number four in Japan and spawned a number-one single " Zero kara Hajimete". Kuraki is best known for singing the theme songs for the Japanese television

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, 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 Japane ...

series, ''

Case Closed ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 1994, with its cha ...

''. As of October 2020, she has recorded twenty-three songs for the series and earning her a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for singing the most theme songs for the same television series. Kuraki also holds the record for being the only female artist to have all of her singles consecutively debut in the Top 10 since her debut in 1999, and is the 38th best-selling Japanese music artist of all time. To date, Kuraki has seven number-one albums (five originals and two compilations) and two number-one singles.

Biography

Early life and career beginnings

Mai Kuraki was born on October 28, 1982, to entrepreneur, film director and actor, Isomi Yamasaki. Her grandfather is Saneharu Yamasaki, a poet, and her aunt is Reiko Takizawa, an actor. Upon hearing

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

's music and seeing the dance moves of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

, Kuraki dreamed to be a singer. While in high school, with the help of her father, who was a friend of the music label,

, Kuraki sent a demo tape to the label and contracted a record deal with them. However, before Kuraki made her debut in Japan, she made her American debut. Under Giza USA and Bip! Records, Kuraki released the single, " Baby I Like" under the stage name Mai K. The cover of Yoko Black. Stone song, even impressed executives from the major label

East West Records East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in London, England. History Upon its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had one hit with ...

, prompting the label to distribute it. However, the song failed to chart on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

charts and Giza sent her back to Japan.

2000–2001: ''Delicious Way'' and ''Perfect Crime''

After coming back to Japan, Kuraki began working on her J-pop materials. She released her Japan debut single, " Love, Day After Tomorrow", on December 8, 1999. The single entered the

single chart at number 18, and eventually peaked at number 2, selling 1.4 million copies and becoming the fourth best-selling single of 2000 in Japan. In June 2000, Kuraki's debut studio album, '' Delicious Way'' was released to a commercial success, debuting at number one in Japan and selling 2,210,000 copies in its first week, which still has been the biggest first week sales for the debut album in Japan as of 2020. ''Delicious Way'' has sold over three million copies and was certified 3x million as well as won "Rock album of the Year" at the 16th annual Japan Gold Disc Awards. As of 2020, the album remains as the ninth best-selling album in Japan. The album has spawned three other singles, " Stay by My Side", " Secret of My Heart", and "

", all of which reached top three in Japan. "Secret of My Heart" won a

Japan Gold Disc Award The is an award presented by the Recording Industry Association of Japan in the field of music. Categories *Artist of the Year *New Artist of the Year *Best Enka/Kayokyoku Artist *Best Enka/Kayokyoku New Artist *Single of the Year *Song of the ...

for "Song of the Year" and was chosen as the theme song to the television

series, ''

'', for which Kuraki would be known for singing the multiple theme songs. In 2000, Kuraki sent six singles inside the top 100 on the Oricon Yearly Singles chart. In July 2001, Kuraki released her second album, ''

''. The album sold over 800,000 copies in its first week and debuted atop on the Oricon chart. The album has sold over 1.3 million copies and been certified Million 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 ...

(RIAJ). ''Perfect Crime'' won "Rock album of the Year". The album has spawned six singles, including platinum-certified singles, "

Reach for the Sky ''Reach for the Sky'' is a 1956 British biographical film about aviator Douglas Bader, based on the 1954 biography of the same name by Paul Brickhill. The film stars Kenneth More and was directed by Lewis Gilbert. It won the BAFTA Award fo ...

", " Tsumetai Umi"/" Start in My Life", and " Stand Up". In August 2000, Kuraki embarked on her first promotional tour, Sokenbicha Natural Breeze 2001 Happy Live, supported by

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance bar, temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pembe ...

, as their advertising campaign for their brand, Sokenbicha.

2002: ''Secret of My Heart'' and ''Fairy Tale''

In January 2002, Kuraki released her first English-language album, '' Secret of My Heart'' in the United States. The album included the English versions of her hit songs as well as her US single, "Baby I Like". Like the single, ''Secret of My Heart'' commercially failed in the US market. In the same month, Kuraki embarked on her first nationwide headlining tour, Mai Kuraki "Loving You..." Tour 2002. The fourteen-show tour was attended by approximately 150,000 audience. In April, Kuraki signed a promotional deal with

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 ...

for their brand, Sea Breeze. her song, " Feel Fine!" was used for their television commercial, in which Kuraki herself appeared. In June 2002, Kuraki made her television appearance, performing at the 2002 FIFA World Cut Official Concert Korea/Japan Day with the other artists such as

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

and

Ken Hirai is a Japanese R&B and pop singer. Since his debut, Hirai has worked as a model, actor, composer, lyricist, singer, and brand ambassador. During his career, Hirai has released 45 singles and nine studio albums as of January 2019.Fairy Tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

'' was released in October 2002. The album debuted at number one in Japan, and has sold over 730,000 copies nationwide. The album has spawned four top-three singles, " Can't Forget Your Love", "Feel Fine!", " Like a Star in the Night", and " Winter Bells", which peaked at number one in Japan. ''Fairy Tale'' won the "Rock & Pop album of the Year" award at the Japan Gold Disc Awards. In the same month, Kuraki embarked on the Mai Kuraki Fairy Tale Tour 02–03 in support of the album. In December 2002, Kuraki published her first autobiographical book, ''Myself Music''.

2003–2004: ''If I Believe'' and ''Wish You the Best''

Kuraki released her fourth studio album, ''

'', in July 2003. The album debuted at number one in Japan and has sold over 445,000 copies nationwide. ''If I Believe'' has yielded four singles, " Make My Day", " Time After Time: Hana Mau Machi de", "

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

" and " Kaze no La La La", all of which reached number three in Japan. In October 2003, Kuraki was featured as a guest vocalist for Tak Matsumoto's single, "Imitation Gold", the cover of Momoe Yamaguchi. The single debuted at number one and has sold over 80,000 copies, earning Matsumoto his first number one single. The song was included on his eighth studio album, '' The Hit Parade'' (2003). In December 2003, Kuraki made her first appearance at the

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 ...

and performed "Stay by My Side" at

Tō-ji , also known as is a Shingon Buddhist temple in the Minami-ku ward of Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 796, it was one of the only three Buddhist temples allowed in the city at the time it became the capital of Japan. As such it has a long history, ...

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 c ...

. ''

'', her first

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

was released on the New Year's Day of 2004. The album became her fifth consecutive number-one album and has been certified million by RIAJ, although the album entirely consisted of previously released songs. In April 2004, Kuraki embarked on the Mai Kuraki 2004 Live Tour Wish You the Best: Grow, Step by Step. The tour was attended by the audience of 117,000. In December 2004, Kuraki performed her single, " at the Kōhaku Uta Gassen.

2005–2006: ''Fuse of Love'' and ''Diamond Wave''

Her fifth studio album, ''

'' was released in August 2005. The album failed to match the success of her previous albums, only peaking at number three on the Oricon chart, while it managed to enter the Taiwan's newly established G-Music chart at number thirteen. ''Fuse of Love'' has spawned four singles, including three top five singles: "Ashita e Kakeru Hashi", " Love, Needing" and "

Dancing Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

". The music video of "Dancing" was directed by Nigel Dick, who also directed the music video of the artists like

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage producti ...

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff ...

, and

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The ...

. The album was later certified gold by the RIAJ and has sold over 185,000 copies nationwide. Kuraki embarked on the Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2005 Like a Fuse of Love, in September 2005. In December 2005, Kuraki made her third appearance at the Kōhaku Uta Gassen, perfotming her debut single, "Love, Day After Tomorrow". In August 2006, Kuraki released her sixth studio album, ''

''. The album was a moderate success, peaking at number three in Japan and number thirteen in Taiwan. It has sold over 132,000 copies and has certified gold by the RIAJ. ''Diamond Wave'' has spawned three top ten singles: " Growing of My Heart", , and "

". From August 2006 to November 2006, Kuraki embarked on the Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2006 Diamond Wave to promote the album.

2007-2009: ''One Life'', ''Touch Me!'', and ''All My Best''

In June 2007, Kuraki left

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 ...

and made a new record contract with the newly founded record label, Northern Music in

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 37.46 ...

, although the labels are both under the

Being Inc Being Incorporated, d.b.a. Being Giza Group, is a Japanese private entertainment conglomerate based in Tokyo's Roppongi district, founded on November 1, 1978 by musician Daiko Nagato. Being Inc. and its subsidiaries are the main supplier of th ...

, group. On 7 June 2007, Kuraki performed "Born to Be Free" at the A3 Champions Cup 2007 in

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. On 16 June 2007, she performed "Secret of My Heart" at the

Golden Melody Awards The Golden Melody Awards (), commonly abbreviated as GMA, is an honor awarded by Taiwan's Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, and Formosan-languages popular and traditional music ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

as the representative artist from Japan. In September 2007, Kuraki made her first appearance at the

Asia Song Festival Asia Song Festival, A-Song-Fe or ASF, is an annual Asian pop music festival held in South Korea, since 2004. It is hosted by Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange (KOFICE) and features artists from Asian countries. Participating ar ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Kuraki embarked on the promotional tour, Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2007 Be With U in December 2007. In January 2008, Kuraki released her seventh studio album, '' One Life''. The album failed to reach top ten in Japan, only peaking at number fourteen, partly due to the chart system of

. The album peaked at number twelve in Taiwan and has been sold over 89,000 copies in Japan, certified gold by the RIAJ. ''One Life'' has spawned four top ten singles, " Shiroi Yuki", " Season of Love", and " Silent Love: Open My Heart"/" Be With U". In October 2008, Kuraki embarked on the Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2008 "Touch Me!" to promote her then unreleased eighth studio album, ''

''. The album was released in January 2009. Kuraki made her first appearance on the music television program, ''

Music Station is a Japanese music television program. Broadcasting live weekly on TV Asahi since October 24, 1986, it currently airs from 9PM-10PM on Fridays. The program is also colloquially known as , , and . The show is currently syndicated throughout th ...

'', where she performed the album's title track, "Touch Me!", to promote the album. This performance became Kuraki's first performance on the television program, aside the Kōhaku Uta Gassen. The album was a commercial success, the album debuted at number one in Japan, earning her first number one album in five years, since the release of ''Wish You the Best'' (2004). It has sold over 90,000 copies nationwide and been certified gold by the RIAJ. The album also peaked at number twelve in Taiwan. ''Touch Me!'' has spawned four top ten singles, " Yume ga Saku Haru"/" You and Music and Dream", " Ichibyōgoto ni Love for You", and " 24 Xmas Time". The title track also charted in Japan, peaking at number sixteen on the

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...

, despite not being released as a single. In April 2009, Kuraki was featured as a guest vocalist on

Zard were a Japanese pop rock group, originally with five members, with lead vocalist Izumi Sakai as its only constant member. Zard's work was sold under the record label B-Gram Records, Inc. Their most popular and successful songs are , , and " M ...

's posthumous single, " Sunao ni Ienakute", The single peaked at number eight in Japan, selling over 36,000 copies nationwide. In July 2009, Kuraki embarked on the Asia tour, titled 10th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Tour 2009 "Best", in celebration of her tenth debut. Her second compilation album, '' All My Best'' was released to a commercial success, debuting atop on the Oricon chart, making her among the two artists who sent two albums atop on the chart in 2009, the other being

Greeeen Greeeen (stylized as GReeeeN) is a Japanese vocal group from Kōriyama in Fukushima Prefecture, comprising the all-male four members: HIDE, navi, 92 (read as "kuni"), and SOH. They made their debut with Universal Music in 2007. Their logo image i ...

. The album has sold over 250,000 copies nationwide and been certified platinum by the RIAJ, as well as enter the year-end album chart at number twenty-five. The album has spawned two top three singles, "

Puzzle A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct or fun solution of the puzzl ...

" and " Beautiful". The lead track from the album, "Watashi no, Shiranai, Watashi." was used in the television commercials for the cosmetic company, Kosé, in which she was featured as a model. The song peaked at number twenty on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, even though it was not released as a single. The double A-side single, "Puzzle"/" Revive" became Kuraki's first top three single in 5 years since "Ashita e Kakeru Hashi" (2004). On 31 October 2009, Kuraki held a Halloween concert, titled 10th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2009 "Best" Happy Happy Halloween Live at

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 ...

. "Puzzle" was used as the ending theme for the thirteenth movie '' Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser'', while "Revive" was used as the twenty-fifth opening theme song for the TV series.

2010–2012: ''Future Kiss'' and ''Over the Rainbow''

In March 2010, Kuraki released the double A-side single, " Eien Yori Nagaku"/"

Drive Me Crazy ''Drive Me Crazy'' is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film based on the novel ''How I Created My Perfect Prom Date'' by Todd Strasser. Originally entitled ''Next to You'', the film's title was changed to ''Drive Me Crazy'' after one of the s ...

". The former was used in the television commercial for Kosé, while the latter was used as the Japanese theme song to the American television series, '' Heroes Season 3''. The single peaked at number four in Japan and fifteen in Taiwan. In November 2010, her ninth studio album, ''

'' was released. The album debuted at number three and has sold over 65,000 copies in Japan. It also peaked at number eleven in Taiwan, making her highest-charting album in the country to date. The album has spawned four top five singles, "Revive", "Beautiful", "Drive Me Crazy", and " Summer Time Gone". The title track of the album was performed on the several television programs including '' SMAP×SMAP'' and ''Music Station'', making it peak at number thirteen on the Billboard Japan Hot 100. Another song from the album, "Tomorrow Is the Last Time" was used as the theme song to the anime, ''Case Closed'' and charted on the

RIAJ Digital Track Chart The was a record chart that ranks the best selling digital singles in Japan, with data provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan from April 2009. The chart measures cellphone downloads (着うたフル ''Chaku-Uta Full'') (not downl ...

at number forty-two. In November 2010, Kuraki performed at

Kamigamo Shrine is an important Shinto sanctuary on the banks of the Kamo River in north Kyoto, first founded in 678. Its formal name is the . It is one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan and is one of the seventeen Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto whic ...

in Kyoto, the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

, as a part of the Tokyo FM's 40th anniversary campaign. In March 2011, Kuraki sang the national anthem at the soccer charity match, titled "The Tohoku Earthquake recovery support charity match Ganbarou Nippon!", at Yanmar Stadium Nagai,

. The match was held again in August 2011, where Kuraki performed the anthem. In April 2011, she released a single titled "

Anata ga Irukara is a song by Japanese singer songwriter Mai Kuraki. It was written by Kuraki, Yue Mochizuki and Akira Onozuka. The song was released on April 11, 2011 to support victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The proceedings were d ...

", which she dedicated to the victims of the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peni ...

. The song was re-released in August as a video single, featuring the performance by a professional

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

Shizuka Arakawa is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic champion and the 2004 World champion. Arakawa is the first Japanese skater to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating and the second Japanese skater to win any Olympic medal in fi ...

. The proceeds from all versions of the song were donated to the

Japanese Red Cross Society The is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross. The Imperial Family of Japan traditionally has supported the society, with the Empress as Honorary President and other imperial family members as vice presidents. Its headquarters ...

to benefit the victims and the reconstruction in the

disaster area A disaster area is a region or a locale that has been heavily damaged by either natural, technological or social hazards. Disaster areas affect the population living in the community by dramatic increase in expense, loss of energy, food and serv ...

. In June 2011, Kuraki was featured on Nerdhead's single, "Doushite Suki nandaro?" under the name, Mai-K. The song peaked at number fifteen in Japan. In August 2011,

Sanrio is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the '' kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are so ...

announced their collaboration with Northern Music for the creation of one of the characters of Wish me mell, Maimai. Maimai is officially based on Kuraki herself in collaboration with Sanrio, and she released the series' official image song "Stay the Same". In October 2011, Kuraki held a charity concert titled Mai Kuraki Premium Live One for All, All for One at Nippon Budokan. The concert was supported by the musicians such as Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Alex Ru, and Nerdhead. In November 2011, Kuraki released her first

video single A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, " Strong Heart". The single peaked at number seven and three in Japan and Taiwan respectively. The part of the proceeds were donated to reconstract the disaster area of 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. In January 2012, her tenth studio album '' Over the Rainbow'' was released. The album debuted at number two in Japan and has sold approximately 50,000 copies nationwide. ''Over the Rainbow'' was preceded by four top ten singles, " 1000 Mankai no Kiss", " Mou Ichido", " Your Best Friend", and "Strong Heart". From the same month, she embarked on the Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2012: Over the Rainbow in support of the album. In April 2012, Kuraki won The Most Popular Asian Influential Japanese Singer at the 2012 Channel V "Migu" Chinese Music Award, which was held in

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

. In June 2012, she signed a promotional deal with NGW Japan to promote their bottled

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. T ...

series, Ice Field. In September 2012, Kuraki held her first orchestral concert titled Mai Kuraki Symphonic Live -Opus 1- at

Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. It opened in 1990 and is operated by Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture. There is a concert hall with 1999 seats and a playhouse with 834 seats as ...

. In December 2012, she released an orchestral compilation album, ''Mai Kuraki Symphonic Collection in Moscow''. The lead track from the album, "Hakanasa" was chosen as the Japanese theme song to the Chinese fantasy film, '' Painted Skin'' and the television series adapted from the film.

2013–2014: ''Mai Kuraki Best 151A: Love & Hope''

In February 2013, Kuraki released a single " Try Again", which was used as the theme song to the anime series ''Case Closed''. The single peaked at number seven and managed to enter G-Music J-Pop chart at number three. In June 2013, Kuraki embarked on the national tour titled Mai Kuraki Live Project 2013 "Re:". In September 2013, she held her second orchestral concert, Mai Kuraki Symphonic Live -Opus 2- in Tokyo. In March 2014, as a part of JICA's Nantokashinakya! Project, Kuraki visited

Siem Reap Siem Reap ( km, សៀមរាប, ) is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia. Siem Reap has French colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

to support and help education system in Cambodia. After the visit, Kuraki started the project to raise fund to found a school in Trei Nhoar, Puok District, Cambodia. In February 2016, the project was completed, and Trey Nhoar Community Learning Center was founded. From June 2014, Kuraki embarked on two tours, 15th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2014 Best "151A": Fun Fun Fun and 15th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2014 Best 151A: Muteki na Heart. During the former tour, Kuraki performed at the relatively small music venues while she performed at the music halls during the latter tour. In November 2014, Kuraki released her third compilation album '' Mai Kuraki Best 151A: Love & Hope'' in celebration of her fifteenth debut anniversary. The album peaked at number two in Japan and has sold over 67,000 copies, certified gold by the RIAJ. It also chart in Taiwan at number nineteen. ''Mai Kuraki Best 151A: Love & Hope'' has yielded six top ten singles, " Koi ni Koishite"/" Special Morning Day to You", "Try Again", " Wake Me Up", " Muteki na Heart"/" Stand by You".

2015–2017: ''Smile'' and "Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)"

In May 2015, Kuraki released a promotional single "

Serendipity Serendipity is an unplanned fortunate discovery. Serendipity is a common occurrence throughout the history of product invention and scientific discovery. Etymology The first noted use of "serendipity" was by Horace Walpole on 28 January 1754. ...

" in celebration of 40th anniversary of

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

San'yō Shinkansen The is a line of the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail network, connecting Shin-Osaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka, the two largest cities in western Japan. Operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West), it is a westward cont ...

. The single debuted at number six on the Recochoku weekly chart. In November 2015, Kuraki and other musicians including

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 ...

, Tetsuya Takeda, and

Ai Kawashima is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter and pianist. After overcoming her tragic childhood, she released her debut single ''Asueno tobira'' (Door to Tomorrow) as the duo I Wish (band), I Wish in 2003. She is well known for her numerous street perform ...

recorded the charity single "Hitori, Hitotsu" to support the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. In April 2016, Kuraki held her first concert in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, at the

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...

. In May 2016, Kuraki signed an ambassador deal with Nihon Unisys and wrote the image song to the company, "Make That Change". In September 2016, Kuraki embarked on the China tour, Mai Kuraki "Time After Time" Chine Live Tour. In January 2017, Kuraki released " Yesterday Love" as the first VR single in Japan. In the following month, her first studio album in five years, ''

'' was released to a minor commercial success. The album managed to peak at number four and has sold over 29,000 copies in Japan. The album was preceded by one single, "Yesterday Love", and two promotional singles, "Serendipity" and " Sawage Life". To promote the album, Kuraki embarked on the Mai Kuraki Live Project 2017 Sawage Live. In April 2017, Kuraki released the single " Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)", the ending theme for the animated film Detective Conan: Crimson Love Letter. The song instantly entered the major music charts in Japan, selling about 30,000 physical copies in its first week. "Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)" peaked at number two on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and number five on the

Oricon Weekly Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In ...

. Finally it sold over 76,000 physical copies and became her best-selling song since her 2004 single "Ashita e Kakeru Hashi". Finally the song became the best-selling single by a solo female musician in Japan, and fifty-second overall. Also, the song sold over 250,000 digital copies and became her most downloaded song since her debut, certified as platinum by the RIAJ. On July 25, 2017 she was awarded a

for singing the most theme songs in a single anime series (''

''). Kuraki's fourth compilation album '' Mai Kuraki x Meitantei Conan Collaboration Best 21: Shinjitsu wa Itsumo Uta ni Aru!'', a collaboration with ''Case Closed'', was released on October 25, 2017. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number four and selling over 79,000 copies in Japan. In December 2017, Kuraki made her first appearance at the

in twelve years, performing "Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)".

2018–2020: ''Kimi Omou: Shunkashūtō'' and ''Let's Goal!: Barairo no Jinsei''

In September 2018, Kuraki appeared on the television commercials of

Kyoto City 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 c ...

, as an Kyoto sightseeing ambassador. In October 2018, Kuraki was chosen as an image character for the department store chain Parco, for their

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival () a ...

campaign. In the same month, Kuraki released her first concept album, '' Kimi Omou: Shunkashūtō''. The album peaked at number three and has sold approximately 30,000 copies in Japan. The album has spawned five singles, "Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)", " We Are Happy Women", " Do It!", " Light Up My Life", and " Koyoi wa Yume wo Misasete". From 13 October 2018, she embarked on the Mai Kuraki Live Project 2018 "Red It Be": Kimi Omou Shunkashūtō to promote the album. "Light Up My Life" served as the theme song to the Japanese

tactical role-playing game Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (turn-bas ...

, '' Valkyria Chronicles IV''. In March 2019, Kuraki released a double A-side single " Kimi to Koi no Mama de Owarenai Itsumo Yume no Mama ja Irarenai"/" Barairo no Jinsei". Both songs served as the theme songs to the special episodes of ''

'', " The Scarlet School Trip", on which Kuraki appeared as a voice actor. The song peaked at number four, becoming her forty-second consecutive top ten CD single since her debut "Love, Day After Tomorrow", extending her record for being the only female artist in Japan to do so. In celebration of 20th anniversary of debut, Kuraki embarked on the Asia tour 20th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2019 in Asia from July 2019. In August 2019, she released her thirteenth studio album '' Let's Goal!: Barairo no Jinsei''. The album debuted at number three and has sold over 29,000 copies in Japan. In support of the album, she embarked on the tour, 20th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2019 "Let's Goal!: Barairo no Jinsei" from August to November 2019. In December 2019, Kuraki released her fifth compilation album '' Mai Kuraki Single Collection: Chance for You''. The album peaked at number six and has sold over 29,000 copies in Japan. The four-disc single collection was mastered by the

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated/winning engineers, Ryan Smith,

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

Randy Merrill Randy Merrill is an American mastering engineer who has worked with international artists including DAY6, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Harry Styles, One Direction, Adele, Imagine Dragons, Beck, Liam Gallagher, Jonas Brothers, Muse, Cage the ...

Joe LaPorta Joseph J. LaPorta (born ) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey.http://www.allmusic.com/artist/joe-laporta-mn000199340/credits/date-asc/ Career Born and raised in New York, LaPorta graduated from New York Univer ...

, and

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

. In October 2020, Kuraki wrote All at Once's song, "Just Believe You", which also sampled Kuraki's single, "Secret of My Heart".

2021-present: ''Unconditional Love''

On 6 March 2021, Kuraki released the first single in approximately two years, " Zero kara Hajimete". The song was written in celebration of the 1000th episode of the anime television series, ''Case Closed''. On the same day, the songs which Kuraki wrote for the anime were released on

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

platforms such as

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish 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 over 456 million monthly active us ...

and

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 M ...

. In June, "Zero kara Hajimete" was re-released as a

. The single topped on the

Weekly DVD chart, becoming Kuraki's first number-one on the chart since ''Mai Kuraki Clip & Live Selection "My Reflection"'' debuted atop in January 2004. In August 2021, Kuraki announced the release of her thirteenth studio album, ''Unconditional Love''. The singer will also embark on the tour, Mai Kuraki Live Project 2021 in support of the album. On 26 January 2022, the website Goo Ranking released a survey of "TOP49 female celebrities who might surprise you to know they are 40 years old in 2022". She ranked 2nd with 97 votes. The survey was based on the vote of 500 people, made of 50% females and 50% males, with age around 20~40 years.

Artistry

Influences

Kuraki has cited

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

, and

as being major influence in her career. She cites the live performance of Houston and the music videos of Jackson as the mains reasons why she started to dream of becoming a singer. In the interview with Natalie, Kuraki stated that she practiced vibrato, singing "

Man in the Mirror "Man in the Mirror" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released on February 6, 1988, as the fourth single from Jackson' ...

" by Jackson. She has covered several songs from Jackson's discography, including "I'll Be There", "Smile", and "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". In the 2014 interview with Barks, Kuraki told that she sang "

Grace of My Heart ''Grace of My Heart'' is a 1996 American musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Allison Anders and starring Illeana Douglas, Matt Dillon, Eric Stoltz, Patsy Kensit, and John Turturro. The film charts the music career of Denise Waverly ...

", a song by the Japanese

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

MAX at the audition. Kuraki also named

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

Stacie Orrico Stacie Joy Orrico (born March 3, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter and occasional actress. After signing to ForeFront Records, Orrico recorded her first album, '' Genuine'' (2000), which sold 13,000 units in its first week of release. Af ...

, and

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

as sources of inspiration. Kuraki has been cited by many musicians as their main influence. Shizuka, a former member of

E-girls E-girls (sometimes stylized as E-Girls or e-girls; stands for Exile Girls) was a Japanese collective girl group created and managed by LDH while signed to music label Rhythm Zone from Avex. As of 2017, the band consisted of 11 members; 8 of wh ...

and

Mikako Komatsu is a Japanese voice actress and singer. Career Komatsu passed an audition held at the first corner of Nippon Broadcasting System "Takashi Fujii's All Night Nippon R". A member of "Younger Sister", she left the group in September 2007. She worke ...

have cited Kuraki as one of their major influence.

Yui Yui may refer to: People * Yui (name), a Japanese name *Yui (singer) (born 1987), Japanese singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actress * Yui people or Ibi, a Timucuan-speaking people in what now is Georgia, United States Places * Yui, Sh ...

sang " Like a Star in the Night" and

Ai Takahashi (born September 14, 1986) is a Japanese singer and actress formerly associated with the Hello! Project and is best known as the leader of Morning Musume and Hello! Project until 2011. She is also a former member of its popular subgroup Mini Moni ...

sang " Tsumetai Umi" for their auditions.

Musical style

Kuraki's songs are often written and produced by the fellow musicians from her label, Being Group, such as

Aika Ohno Aika may refer to: Arts and media * ''Aika'' (album), a 1996 album by Finnish singer-songwriter Aki Sirkesalo *''Agent Aika'', a 1997 anime OVA produced by Bandai Visual and Studio Fantasia * AIKA Online, an MMORPG *Aikakone or Aika, a Finnish m ...

Akihito Tokunaga (born 22 September 1971) is a Japanese musical composer and arranger under Giza Studio label since 2000. Biography Since college he worked as orchestrator, then start working as a bassist. For artists as Zard, Mai Kuraki, B'z and many others f ...

, and

Yoko Blaqstone Yoko Ishiguro, known professionally as Yoko Blaqstone, is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, lecturer, and the owner of Japanese independent record label Piza Studio. Based in Osaka, Japan, she has worked with a range of popular Japan ...

, and Cybersound, an engineering team in Boston and

Michael Africk Michael Africk (born 20 August 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-platinum record producer and software entrepreneur. After signing with Disney's Hollywood Records and releasing a solo album in 1999, he toured with N'Sync and Britne ...

. Kuraki frequently blends elements of

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 ...

, R&B,

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, and sometimes

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

into her songs, and her records typically include a combination of ballads and uptempo tracks. Following her debut, Kuraki was credited with influencing the revival of R&B in Japan of the late 1990s and the early 2000s. Other musicians in the field counts

Misia Misaki Itō, commonly known as and stylized as MISIA, is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Born in Nagasaki, Misia moved to Fukuoka at the age of 14 to pursue a recording career. There, she continued her secondary education and briefly attended ...

Hikaru Utada , who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. By 2010, Utada had become one of the most influential, and best-selling, musical artists in Japan. Born in the United States to Japanese parent ...

, and

Yuki Koyanagi is a Japanese pop singer. She released her first single, "Anata no kisu o kazoemashô – You Were Mine" on September 15, 1999. This song was a huge hit in Japan and made the 17-year-old a sensation overnight. Her second album, ''Expansion'', so ...

. ''Delicious Way'' (2000) prominently displayed R&B and J-pop sound, while ''Perfect Crime'' (2001) incorporates rock sound, as seen on "Stand Up" and " Come On! Come On!". Her third studio album ''Fairy Tale'' (2002) adopted a wide range of genres, including surf rock on "Feel Fine!" and Christmas music on "Winter Bells", while sticking to the R&B sounds. On her fourth studio album ''If I Believe'' (2003), Kuraki mixed the elements of R&B, J-pop and kayokyoku on "Time After Time (Hana Mau Machi de)". On the album, she recorded a song, "Tonight, I Feel Close to You" with a Singaporean singer

Stefanie Sun Stefanie Sun (, born 23 July 1978) is a Singaporean singer-songwriter. In 2000, she released her debut album, '' Yan Zi'', which won her a Golden Melody Award for Best New Artist. In 2004, she released her eighth studio album, '' Stefanie'', w ...

. Her fifth and sixth studio albums ''Fuse of Love'' (2005) and ''Diamond Wave'' (2006) saw the drastic change in her musical style, diverting into the

teen pop Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop" About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Teen pop incorporates different subgenres of pop music, as well as elements o ...

and J-pop sounds throughout the entire albums. Kuraki returned to R&B sound on her seventh studio album, ''One Life'' (2008). For the album, Kuraki listed some musicians outside of Being Group, including Martin Ankelius and Daisuke Miyachi. For ''Touch Me!'' (2009), Kuraki worked with R&B, J-pop, hip hop music, aiming for musical diversity and artistic growth. Kuraki worked with

Rodney Jerkins Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...

on her ninth studio album ''Future Kiss'' (2010), influenced by the American R&B sounds. For her tenth album '' Over the Rainbow'' (2012), Kuraki collaborated with a Japanese hip hop musician, Nerdhead, on the several songs. Kuraki listed some American musicians on her eleventh studio album ''Smile'' (2017), including

Nash Overstreet Hot Chelle Rae ( ) (formerly known as Miracle Drug) is an American pop rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2005. The band currently consists of Ryan Follesé (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Nash Overstreet (lead guitar, backing vocals), a ...

and

Porcelain Black Alaina Marie Beaton (born October 1, 1985), known professionally as Porcelain Black, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, and model. At age 16, she embarked on her music career as a solo act under the name Porcelain and the Tramps with Vir ...

. After the

gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that was historically used for imperial court music and dances. was developed as court music of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and its near-current form was established in the Heian period (794-1185) around t ...

-influenced song " Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)" (2017) commercially succeeded, Kuraki veered into incorporating the traditional Japanese sounds on her songs. Her twelfth studio album ''Kimi Omou: Shunkashūtō'' (2018) mixed elements of J-pop, R&B, gagaku, kayokyoku, and rock. For her thirteenth studio album ''Let's Goal!: Barairo no Jinsei'' (2019), Kuraki enlisted the Western musicians such as

Fernando Garibay Fernando Garibay (;) is an American record producer, songwriter, DJ, academic and entrepreneur. Artistic career He was the official musical director of Lady Gaga's Born This Way Ball and the producer of her '' Born This Way'' album. Fernando ...

Benjamin Ingrosso Benjamin Daniele Wahlgren Ingrosso (born 14 September 1997) is a Swedish singer, songwriter and record producer. As a child, he appeared in the leading role in several musicals, and in 2006 he won Lilla Melodifestivalen with the song "Hej Sofia" ...

, and

Quiz & Larossi Andreas Romdhane (a.k.a. Quiz) and Josef Larossi are a Swedish production duo. They have a studio based in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden. They have worked together since 1999 when they wrote songs for Lutricia McNeal. During their partnership ...

Image

Upon her debut in December 1999, Kuraki scarcely made the appearances on the television shows or the concerts, with people calling her "the Veiled Diva". The similar strategy have taken for the other artists from her label, Being Group, including Zard,

Maki Ohguro is a Japanese pop singer and songwriter from Sapporo, Hokkaido under B-Gram Records label. Biography In 1989, she passed Being Inc.'s singers audition, the "3rd BAD". In 1992, she debuted with the single "Stop Motion" released under B-Gram ...

, and

Miho Komatsu is a former Japanese singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Kobe, Japan, Komatsu began her career as a songwriter, writing "Kono Machi de Kimi to Kurashitai" for Field of View. In May 1997, she released her debut single " Nazo", which served ...

. Her first performing took place at the first show on the Sokenbicha Natural Breeze 2001 Happy Live in August 2000. Kuraki her made her first appearance on the live broadcasting television show when she performed "Stay by My Side" on the Kōhaku Uta Gassen in December 2003. She began to appear on multiple television show after performing "Touch Me!" on the television show, ''Music Station'' in February 2009.

Legacy

As of 2020, Kuraki has sold over 20 million albums and singles worldwide, and is the 38th best-selling Japanese music artist of all time. Kuraki's works have earned her several awards and accolades, including seven

s. Kuraki is the only female artists in Japan who has sent all her forty-two singles within the top ten on the

weekly singles chart, since her debut single "Love, Day After Tomorrow" (1999). Her debut album, ''Delicious Way'' sold over 2,210,000 copies in its first week and it has remains as the biggest first week sales for the debut album by a Japanese artist. The album is also the third best-selling debut album and the ninth best-selling album overall in Japan. Kuraki's music is known throughout East Asia, winning The Most Popular Asian Influential Japanese Singer at the Chinese Music Awards 2012.

Other ventures

Products and endorsements

In March 2000, Kuraki collaborated with entertainment company

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

and released a

puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion. H ...

for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

, '' Techno BB''. Kuraki designed the main character in the game, called Mai B Bear. In April 2001, Kuraki teamed up with Coca-Cola Japan to promote their beverage product, Sokenbicha. Those who bought the product could apply for the tickets to attend Kuraki's first promotional tour, Sokenbicha Natural Breeze 2001 Happy Live. In December 2001, Kuraki appeared in the television advertisements for the

's product,

Sea Breeze A sea breeze or onshore breeze is any wind that blows from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass; it develops due to differences in air pressure created by the differing heat capacities of water and dry land. As such, sea breezes ar ...

. Three of her songs, "Feel Fine!", "Kiss", and "If I Believe" have been used for the advertisement series. In 2009, she signed a deal with cosmetic company Kosé to promote their Esprique Precious collection. From August 2009 to 2011, Kuraki was featured in five television advertisements for the collection. Her songs, "Watashi no, Shiranai, Watashi.", "Eien Yori Nagaku", "Summer Time Gone", "

Boyfriend A boyfriend is a male friend or acquaintance, often specifying a regular male companion with whom a person is romantically or sexually involved. A boyfriend can also be called an admirer, beau, suitor and sweetheart. The analogous female te ...

", and " 1000 Mankai no Kiss" were all used in the ads. She has also endorsed several brands, U-Can, Clevery Home, Icefield,

JR-West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

, Parco, and

Dwango The Dial-up Wide-Area Network Game Operation, better known by the acronym DWANGO, was an early online gaming service based in the United States. Launched in 1994, it was originally known for its compatibility with ''Doom'', for which it function ...

. City of Kyoto has appointed Kuraki as an ambassador of the city and starred her in their television advertisements after the hit of "Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)". The advertisements featured Kuraki's song, "

Hanakotoba is the Japanese form of the language of flowers. The language was meant to convey emotion and communicate directly to the recipient or viewer without needing the use of words. Flowers and their meanings See also *Language of flowers * *Plant ...

". Many of Kuraki's songs have been used in television advertisements. In 2017, her song " Kimi e no Uta" was used in the television commercial by Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. In 2009, "Top of the World",

The Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...

' cover by Kuraki, was used in the advertisements by

Lion Corporation is a Japanese multinational manufacturer of detergent, soap, medications, and oral hygiene products and other toiletries. The company also has a chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study o ...

, for their detergent brand

Top A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a few ...

Philanthropy

Kuraki has been involved with many charities and philanthropies. In April 2006, Kuraki performed at the Cosmo Earth Conscious Act Earth Day Concert at

in Tokyo. The annual event has been held by

Japan FM Network is a commercial radio network in Japan. It was founded in 1981. TOKYO FM is the main station of the network. Japan FM Network stations Special station Originally in JFN, but now independent FM Fuji was a member from 1988 to 199 ...

, Tokyo FM, and

Cosmo Oil Company is a Japanese petrochemical company. It is Japan's third-biggest refiner by sales after JX Holdings and Idemitsu Kosan. History Cosmo traces its corporate roots to Maruzen Petroleum (丸善石油株式会社), a company established in 1931, alt ...

to raise awareness for the

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...

. Ahead of the performance, Kuraki had a talk with a Kenyan social, environmental and political activist

Wangari Maathai Wangarĩ Muta Maathai (; 1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) was a Kenyan social, environmental and a political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. As a beneficiary of the Kennedy Airlift, she studied in the Un ...

. Following these events, Kuraki stated that she would begin to start working on global environmental conservation. Kuraki had been a member of the governmental project, Team Minus 6%, which was established to reduce the emission of

greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs and Emission (electromagnetic radiation), emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse ...

. During the Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2006 Diamond, Kuraki invited a Japanese politician

Yuriko Koike is a Japanese politician who currently serves as the Governor of Tokyo since 2016. She graduated from the American University in Cairo in 1976 and was a member of the House of Representatives of Japan from 1993 until 2016, when she resigned to ...

on the stage to talk about the environmental issues. Kuraki was among the first and biggest artists to work on the charities and philanthropies after the

. On March 29, 2011, eighteen days after the earthquake occurred, Kuraki performed the national anthem at the charity

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

match "The Tohoku Earthquake recovery support charity match Ganbarou Nippon!", which was played to raise a donation to the victims. All the players, referees, and Kuraki gratuitously participated in the match, and Yanmar Stadium Nagai allowed them to use the stadium free of charge, to send as much donation as possible to the victims. The match was played on March 29, 2011 as well, and Kuraki performed the national anthem again. On April 11, 2011, Kuraki released a charity single, "Anata ga Irukara". The proceeds from the single was donated to the

. In August 2011, Kuraki visited

Onagawa, Miyagi is a town located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 6,319, and a population density of 97 persons per km2 in 3,110 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Onagawa is located on the rugged Sanri ...

, to do a soup-run and perform a concert. She has visited the city several times since 2011, performing at the music festival Gareki Stock and including the city on her tours. In October 2011, Kuraki held a charity concert, Mai Kuraki Premium Live One for All, All for One at Nippon Budokan. The video of the concert was included on the video album of the same title and was released in March 2012. Another charity single, "Strong Heart" was released in November 2011. In June 2013, Kuraki participated in the Green Wall Project, which aims to plant evergreen broad-leaved trees to work as natural tide embankments in

Iwanuma 270px, Iwanuma City Hall is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 43,946 in 18,062 households, and a population density of 730 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Iwanuma is at the ...

Miyagi Miyagi may refer to: Places * Miyagi Prefecture, one of the 47 major divisions of Japan * Miyagi, Gunma, a village in Japan, merged into Maebashi in 2004 *Miyagi District, Miyagi, a district in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan Other uses * Miyagi (surna ...

, where the tsunami killed 180 people in March 2011. To promote the project, Kuraki performed at the symposium, in January 2013. Following the

2016 Kumamoto earthquakes The were a series of earthquakes, including a magnitude 7.0 mainshock which struck at 01:25 JST on April 16, 2016 (16:25 UTC on April 15) beneath Kumamoto City of Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu Region, Japan, at a depth of ...

in April 2016, Kuraki took part in the volunteering project in

Mashiki, Kumamoto is a town located in Kamimashiki District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. As of March 2017, the town has an estimated population of 33,001 and a density of 500 persons per km². The total area is 65.67 km². Kumamoto Airport is located in Mas ...

by soup-running and performing the live. In October 2017, Kuraki visited the city again to participate in the conference titled "Mirai Talk", where the citizens in the city talked about the strategy for reconstruction. In September 2019, after the

Typhoon Faxai Typhoon Faxai, known in Japan as , was the first typhoon to strike the Kantō region since Mindulle in 2016, and the strongest typhoon to hit the region since Ma-on in 2004. It was also the worst to hit the region since Talas in 2011, until t ...

hit

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the ...

, Kuraki performed at the public school Nagasaku Gakuen to cheer up the elementary school students in the prefecture. In June 2011, Kuraki performed at the charity concert to encourage blood donation, Love in Action Meeting, as a headliner. In March 2014, as a part of JICA's Nantokashinakya! Project, Kuraki visited

to support the education system in Cambodia. After the visit, Kuraki started her own project with the support by JICA, called Minna de Cambodia ni Terakoya wo Tateyou! Project to found a school in Trei Nhoar, Puok District, Cambodia. Kuraki raised a fund by selling charity merchandises, raising a donation, and auctioning. In February 2016, the project was completed, and Trey Nhoar Community Learning Center, the first school in the village, was founded. The project was featured as a documentary television program titled ''Mai Kuraki Cambodia no Uta: Sore ga Yume no Hajimari ni naru''. Her single, " Stand by You" (2014) was written based on her experience in the country.

Discography

*'' Delicious Way'' (2000) *''

'' (2001) *''

'' (2002) *''

'' (2003) *''

'' (2005) *''

'' (2006) *'' One Life'' (2008) *''

'' (2009) *''

'' (2010) *'' Over the Rainbow'' (2012) *''

'' (2017) *'' Kimi Omou: Shunkashūtō'' (2018) *'' Let's Goal!: Barairo no Jinsei'' (2019) *'' Unconditional Love'' (2021)

Filmography

Books

* ''Myself Music'', (Tokyo:

Tokuma Shoten is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’s product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, m ...

, 2002) * ''Mai Kuraki: Treasure Book'', (Tokyo: CSI, 2020)倉木麻衣　デビュー20周年記念出版！　トレジャーブック
/ref>

Tours

*Sokenbicha Natural Breeze 2001 Happy Live (2001) *Mai Kuraki Loving You... Tour 2002 (2002) *You & Mai First Meeting 2002 (2002) *Giza Studio Hotrod Beach Party (2002) (As Mai-K and Friends) *Mai Kuraki Fairy Tale Tour 02-03 (2002–2003) *Giza Studio Valentine Concert (2003) (co-headlined with

Rina Aiuchi , professionally known by her stage name, and formerly known as R, is a Japanese singer, songwriter, businesswoman, fashion model, and YouTuber. Born in Higashiōsaka, Japan, she won the first season of the audition ''Super Starlight Contest'', ...

and

Garnet Crow Garnet Crow (stylized as GARNET CROW) was a Japanese pop/rock band formed in 1999 and associated with the Giza Studio record label. Members include Yuri Nakamura, Hitoshi Okamoto, Nana Azuki, and Hirohito Furui, with Nakamura leading on vocals. Mus ...

) *Mai Kuraki 2004 Live Tour Wish You The Best: Grow, Step by Step (2004) *Mai-K a Tumarrow 2005 (2005) *Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2005 Like a Fuse of Love (2005) *Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2006 Diamond Wave (2006) *Mai-K.net "De Ma Chi" Live de Show (2006) *Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2007 Be With U (2007) *Mai-K.net Exclusive Live: You & Mai Summer 2008 (2008) *Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2008 "Touch Me!" (2008) *10th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2009 "Best" (2009) *Mai Kuraki Live Tour "Future Kiss" (2010–2011) *Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2012: Over the Rainbow (2012) *Mai Kuraki Live Project 2013 "Re:" (2013) *15th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2014 "151A": Fun Fun Fun (2014) *15th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2014 "151A": Muteki na Heart (2014) *Mai Kuraki Live Project 2017 "Sawage Live" (2017) * Mai Kuraki Live Project 2018 "Red It Be": Kimi Omou Shunkashūtō (2018) *20th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2019 in Asia (2019) * 20th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2019 "Let's Goal!: Barairo no Jinsei" (2019)

Accolades

References

External links

* *
Mai Kuraki
on

Northern Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuraki, Mai 1982 births Living people 20th-century Japanese women singers 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers Being Inc. artists English-language singers from Japan Japanese women pop singers Japanese women record producers Japanese rhythm and blues singers Japanese women singer-songwriters Musicians from Chiba Prefecture People from Funabashi Ritsumeikan University alumni Fantasy on Ice guest artists