KOKIA--Angel
Akiko Yoshida (kokia)
Blood type: O
Birthplace: Tokyo
Hobbies: Collecting stickers, dressing up puppies, playing with computers
Favorite food: Sea urchins, sticky rice snacks, French bread (hard), spring rolls, coconut milk
Favorite color: Black, dark brown, brown, black, black, dark brown. Favorite color: black, dark brown
Favorite sport: skiing, horseback riding
Favorite pet: puppy (have three)
Favorite music: Disney Music, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Céline Dion
Hate food: honeydew melon, watermelon
Eat candy: bite, not bite
Singing: always barefoot
Singing: always barefoot
Singing: always barefoot
When eating candy, always barefoot
Singing: always barefoot
Singing: always barefoot
When I sing: always barefoot
When I have time: always go to the movies
When I love something: always with all my heart
On love: love my puppy so much that I can put it in my eyes and it doesn't even hurt
When I hate the cold of the winter: I can take it away with the warmth of snuggling up to her
"Her real name is Yoshida Akiko. KOKIA (pronounced backwards, KOKIA is the Japanese pronunciation of "亜纪子（あきこAKIKO）"--Author's note), began playing the violin and the piano at the age of two, and grew up as a musical prodigy, specializing in vocal music in high school and college. After entering the music scene in 1998, her voice amazed Ryuichi Kawamura of "Sea of the Moon", who took her under his wing as the female vocalist in the RKS project, making her a favorite student of Ryuichi Kawamura's. KOKIA has released seven albums (actually, there are only three, but I'm afraid that seven is counted as her demo album), and two years ago, KOKIA released a new album, "Kokia", which was released by the band. --Two years ago, Gigi Leung's cosmetics advertisement used her songs as background music, and Sammi Cheng also covered her song "ありがとう（Thanks）", which introduced everyone to KOKIA's beautiful voice, which has a strong Irish flavor. Japan's Enya, some say she is the successor of Nakajima Miyuki, in fact, KOKIA is KOKIA, her singing voice a little more into the world of life, her music is a little more playful flavor. From Irish Gültter music, classical, world, folk music, opera, KOKIA always skillfully blends them, her music is always hard to locate, sometimes like a bardess, singing out the far-reaching meaning with her voice slowly; sometimes like a music urchin, teasing the listener's senses with a jumping note full of life energy; and sometimes like a master of mysticism, using the mesmerizing music as a spiritual healing prescription."
"KOKIA, who grew up with a piano as a toy, naturally put his feelings in music, and while learning solid music theory in music school, he also fused the joy of pop sounds into the splendor of classical music and stepped into the singing world, winning the Hong Kong International Pop Music Awards in 1999 with the song "ありがとう", which immediately became popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan with its Günter-esque beautiful melody, and in 2001, he became the first artist to win the Hong Kong International Pop Music Awards. In 2001, KOKIA was invited to Taiwan to participate in the four major New Year's Eve concerts, and became the first Eastern singer to stand in the Presidential Plaza to sing. KOKIA's crystal clear voice is not only a favorite for cosmetics, but also a soulful interlude in the popular idol drama "Dolphin Bay Lovers", in which KOKIA's moving songs are used. And in her latest album "Remember Me" in 2003, she once again wrote "The Power of Smile" for the Japanese Kao Essential shampoo commercial song, which took the Top 5 on the Japanese public confidence charts, as well as the theme song of the Japanese drama "For the Beloved", "Unchanged ~ since 1976 ~"
The first songs she introduced were "The Power of Smile", "The Power of Smile", "The Power of Smile" and "The Power of Smile". p>Her earliest introduced song was appeared in the TV drama "Wonderful Hands", the song "私は歌う小鸟です(我是一個歌唱的小鸟です)" played in the drama was even an extremely popular song at one time, and it was used by cosmetic Fancl firstly as the theme song of the advertisement.
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The "Heavenly Voices" section of the Red Mantle campus Web site put it quite well when it promoted KOKIA's three albums
"I regretted listening to her songs. Regret what? I regret that it took me so long to recognize such an amazing musician! KOKIA is quite diverse: she can be ethereal, mysterious, mischievous and childlike, and it's hard to imagine that all these different styles could come from the same person. The point is, even with such a wide range of songs, she handles them all very well, and doesn't sound unnatural or forced when she sings a certain type of song, which I really admire her for!"
On 'songbird': "Maybe you don't know who KOKIA is, maybe you find her appearance unappealing, maybe you're not interested in listening to her music at all, but I'm here to say, "Just give it a listen." Because whichever of her songs is a gem, divorced from pop elements and only pure musical intent. In her music, vocals and instruments blend together, especially in some of the lyrically slow songs, where her voice is completely transformed into notes that hover and flutter in the air. If I had to say something about her history, I'd have to drag in Sammi Cheng, who wrote the lyrics and music for 1999's "Thanks a Lot," a song by none other than KOKIA, and who notably handles all of her own songs."
For "trip trip," "KOKIA's second album. album, and I'm really happy to have found it - it's over a year old, after all. In contrast to SOUNDBIRD, she has made great strides in her singing skills and creative ideas, making her music more spiritual. I remember one of my friends said that listening to her songs will make you more irritable when you are in a bad mood. I have to agree with this statement, KOKIA's voice is very penetrating, however, I think it is this characteristic that gives the music its soul and captures the listener's heart. It's worth mentioning that both 'a gift' and 'Windswept' are jingles, both without lyrics, and only KOKIA's chanting really puts the vocals into the music."
For "Remember me": "The new album, which I've been looking forward to for close to 2 years, was finally released yesterday, and the experience of time has truly transformed KOKIA into a musical genie, with songs that weave and jump in and out of the notes. The new album has a variety of styles, from spiritual chants to light rock. One thing that sets KOKIA apart from other Japanese singers is that her music is quite focused on listeners outside of her home country, with 2 songs performed in full English, and some of them have a strong foreign folk flavor, which has also been seen in her previous albums. I'd also like to recommend her lyrics. The lyrics of hers that are in my possession are quite interesting."
"It was love at first listen for KOKIA and didn't experience something to fall y in love with her. Looking back on her musical journey, the biggest feeling I got was growth. In this collection of her own edited music, there is her old single disc first released in November 1998, with young singing, very much like the singing style of the theme song in the current Moves Slowly, and there is also the newest single disc released at the end of September '03, "the power of smile," which is like a line of flowing water with sound and language, which is unforgettable to me. I hate it when other sites say she's "Japan's ENYA, Nakajima Mika's successor"! KOKIA is KOKIA, and her songs are full of her unique vitality, KOKIA is just KOKIA!