Yoshida Akiko (吉田亜紀子) is a Japanese singer and songwriter, best known by her stage name Kokia (stylized as KOKIA). She is most known for the songs "Arigatō..." (which reached number one on the music charts in Hong Kong when Sammi Cheng did a cover of it) and "The Power of Smile." She is also known for soundtracks for anime and video games, such as:
- Ai no Melody/Chōwa Oto of the movie Gin-iro no kami no Agito;
- Siga a Lírio of the game Tales of Inocência;
- Tatta Hitotsu no OmoI watch the anime Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino.
We are talking about her today in this article at the request of a friend who is trying to bring her to do a tour in Brazil. For this, we ask that you follow her social media at the end of the article to show the interest of us Brazilians in her visit.
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KOKIA's career
Childhood and early career - Kokia was born in 1976 and was raised by her mother. She started playing the violin when she was two and a half, but preferred the family piano. Many times, instead of playing with toys, Kokia preferred to play the piano. She remembers putting illustrated books on the music stand and creating songs that represented the scenes. When she was ten, she went, along with her sister Kyoko, to the United States to study at the Summer Music School, which she did again four years later. During high school, she studied music and opera, which she later specialized in at Toho Gakuen Daigaku.
At university, a colleague submitted a demo tape that Kokia recorded for an executive in the music industry. Then, she was hired by Pony Canyon and began her career as a singer in 1998 by participating in the album Brothers, with the songs "Aishiteirukara" (愛しているから?) and "You," while she was still in university. She created her stage name by reversing the syllables of her name. In the same year, she recorded "For Little Tail," used as the opening theme in the game Tail Concerto and later as a secondary track on the 2010 single "Road to Glory." After four singles, she released her debut album Songbird in 1999.
Although until now none of her singles had reached a very high position on the music charts in Japan — "Aishiteirukara" peaked at 99th on the Oricon — "Arigatō..." (ありがとう...?) was a success in Hong Kong. The song ranked third in the award for the most popular international song in Hong Kong (香港国際流行音楽大賞) in 1999. In 2000, the artist Sammi Cheng released a cover version of the song in the country, included in her self-titled album (多謝), and it became a hit.
Victor Entertainment
After the release of her debut album, she left Pony Canyon. Her first work after leaving the label was a feature, with five songs, on the album Kanata Made (彼方まで?) by Ryuichi Kawamura, the vocalist of the band Luna Sea, released in 2000. The album was released by Victor Entertainment, which began her relationship with the label through which, in 2001, she released three singles: "Tomoni," "Tenshi" (天使?) and "Say Hi!!". The following year, she released her second album, Trip Trip, the first to be produced by herself.
In 2003, she released the single "Kawaranai Koto (Since 1976)," which brought her to the "top 50" of the Oricon charts, reaching the 47th position. However, her biggest hit was "The Power of Smile," which gained notoriety for promoting the Kao brand, reached 15th place on the Oricon music chart, and was certified by RIAJ with a gold disc. The album it was included in, Remember Me, also entered the "top 20" of Oricon. She released Uta ga Chikara in 2004, which included the song "Yume ga Chikara," used as an encouragement song for Japan's participation in the 2004 Summer Olympics. In 2006, she collected her best songs in the album Pearl: The Best Collection. Aigakikoeru: Listen for the Love was released that same year in France; its release in Japan occurred in 2007. By 2008, the singer released the albums The Voice, Fairy Dance: Kokia Meets Ireland, and Christmas Gift.
In 2009, Kokia released Kokia Infinity Akiko: Balance and Coquillage: The Best Collection II. Real World, released in 2010, reached the 44th position on the Oricon music chart, being her eighth best-selling album. In the same year, she released the album consisting only of covers of songs, Musique a la Carte. In 2011, she released the album Moment and in 2013, Where to Go My Love?