Mai Kuraki

Mai Kuraki (倉木麻衣 Kuraki Mai, b. October 10, 1982 in Funabashi, Chiba) is a Japanese pop singer.

Related Topics:
October 10 - 1982 - Funabashi, Chiba - Japan

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She was influenced at an early age by Whitney Houston's singing and Michael Jackson's dancing. In her second year of junior high school, she submitted a demo tape to the GIZA recording label and won a contract. She debuted in the United States in 1999 with the song "Baby I Like," recorded under the pseudonym Mai K. Her first Japanese single, "Love, Day After Tomorrow," was released later in the year.

Related Topics:
Whitney Houston - Michael Jackson - 1999

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Kuraki's career has been somewhat overshadowed by that of her slightly younger contemporary, Utada Hikaru. They are both categorized as R&B singers and both write their own lyrics. Although Kuraki is often viewed as a better dancer (and sometimes as a better singer) than Utada, Utada's earlier Japanese debut, Japanese-American background, songwriting abilities, bilingual singing abilities, and superior promotion by Toshiba-EMI have led many fans to view Kuraki as an inferior product. Despite this, Kuraki's album Delicious Way sold more than 4 million copies in 2000, and her second album, Perfect Crime, sold more than 2 million copies in 2001.

Related Topics:
Utada Hikaru - 2000 - 2001

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Her all-African-American tour band, Experience, is also somewhat profilic. They were featured in the music video for "Stand Up," and released one single featuring Kuraki Mai's vocals and a Michael Jackson tribute album.

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Her English-language ventures, the single Baby I Like and the album Secret of My Heart were both major flops, even though they were the flagship releases of the GIZA USA label.

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Year 2002 was a year of success for Kuraki Mai. January that year, "Winter Bells," the 10th opening theme for a popular anime Detective Conan, reached the top position of the Oricon charts. FT Shiseido chose "Feel fine!" as the theme song for its 100 year celebration campaign. The single release of the song briefly held the daily top spot against Ayumi Hamasaki's "Free & easy," but ultimately lost out the weekly top spot.

Related Topics:
Anime - Detective Conan - FT Shiseido - Ayumi Hamasaki

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In October 2003, she released a rock cover of a Momoe Yamaguchi, a 70's idol, song, "IMITATION GOLD" as part of Tak Matsumoto's HIT PARADE project, which claimed the top position on the Oricon charts, despite selling less than 50,000 copies on the first week. Her newest releases since "Love,needing," have been featuring more retro-sounding songs. In March 2005 she graduated from Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto.

Related Topics:
Tak Matsumoto - Ritsumeikan University - Kyoto

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To date, Kuraki has recorded 5 studio albums (4 of which went to #1), 24 singles (3 of which went to #1), a compliation album, and 7 DVD/Videos.

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