Emi Maria
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese R&B singer songwriter. She debuted in 2007 with the EP "Between the Music."
. Her father is Papua New Guinean, while her mother is Japanese. She spent the first five years of her life in Papua New Guinea, before moving to Kobe
in Japan
.
She first started listening to R&B at 6 due to her sister, listening to such artists as Janet
and Michael Jackson
, and K-Ci & JoJo. She began writing lyrics in junior high school. By high school, she had started writing music and producing her own tracks. She participated in the MTV
Star Tour, and started performing lives in the Kansai
area from 2006 onwards. In 2007, she started appearing on many different Japanese urban artists' albums as a guest artist, such as Seeda and MC Moggy.
In 2007, Emi Maria released her first EP, "Between the Music," under Freest Inc., a label Emi Maria had created for herself. Her debut single "I Gotta (Summer Kiss)" was picked as the iTunes
Japan single of the week in August 2008.
She debuted as a major label artist in 2009, with the release of a digital dingle "One Way Love" under Victor Entertainment
. During this time, she had some of her highest profile collaborations. "Luv Is..." was a song Emi Maria performed with R&B singer Jay'ed
, which features on his top 10 album Musication. In December, she had her first top 10 hit, as a featured artist on Seeda's single "Wisdom," which reaached #8 on the Oricon singles charts. After the release of her first physical single in 2010, "Show Me Your Love," Emi Maria released her first major label album, Contrast
.
Biography
Emi Maria was born in 1987 in Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. Her father is Papua New Guinean, while her mother is Japanese. She spent the first five years of her life in Papua New Guinea, before moving to Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
She first started listening to R&B at 6 due to her sister, listening to such artists as Janet
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
and Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, and K-Ci & JoJo. She began writing lyrics in junior high school. By high school, she had started writing music and producing her own tracks. She participated in the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
Star Tour, and started performing lives in the Kansai
Kansai
The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Depending on who makes the distinction, Fukui, Tokushima and even Tottori Prefecture are also included...
area from 2006 onwards. In 2007, she started appearing on many different Japanese urban artists' albums as a guest artist, such as Seeda and MC Moggy.
In 2007, Emi Maria released her first EP, "Between the Music," under Freest Inc., a label Emi Maria had created for herself. Her debut single "I Gotta (Summer Kiss)" was picked as the iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
Japan single of the week in August 2008.
She debuted as a major label artist in 2009, with the release of a digital dingle "One Way Love" under Victor Entertainment
Victor Entertainment
is a subsidiary of Japan Victor Company that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It was formerly known as...
. During this time, she had some of her highest profile collaborations. "Luv Is..." was a song Emi Maria performed with R&B singer Jay'ed
Jay'ed
Jade Goto , better known by his stage name Jay'ed is a Japanese R&B singer-songwriter. He debuted under Toy's Factory in 2007, and is most known for his single with Juju, "Ashita ga Kuru Nara" which sold over 140,000 copies.- Biography :Jay'ed was born in 1981 in New Zealand to a Japanese father...
, which features on his top 10 album Musication. In December, she had her first top 10 hit, as a featured artist on Seeda's single "Wisdom," which reaached #8 on the Oricon singles charts. After the release of her first physical single in 2010, "Show Me Your Love," Emi Maria released her first major label album, Contrast
Contrast (Emi Maria album)
Contrast is Emi Maria's first major album by Victor Entertainment, released on March 3, 2010.-Track listing:...
.
Albums
| Year | Album Information | Oricon 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. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... Albums Charts |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | A Ballad of My Own
|
44 |
| 2010 | Contrast Contrast (Emi Maria album) Contrast is Emi Maria's first major album by Victor Entertainment, released on March 3, 2010.-Track listing:...
|
50 |
| 2011 | Blue Bird
|
151 |
Extended plays
| Year | Album Information | Oricon 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. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... Albums Charts |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Between the Music
|
— |
| 2008 | iTunes Live from Tokyo
|
— |
| 2010 | Cross Over
|
166 |
As lead artist
| Release | Title | Notes | Chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oricon 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. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... Singles Charts |
Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
RIAJ RIAJ Digital Track Chart The is chart ranks the best selling digital singles in Japan, provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan since April 2009. The chart measures cellphone downloads .... digital tracks* |
||||
| 2008 | "I Gotta (Summer Kiss)" | Appears as a remix on album | — | — | — | A Ballad of My Own |
| align="left"| | Radio single, music video filmed | — | 55 | — | ||
| 2009 | "One Way Love" | Digital download | — | 37 | — | Contrast |
| 2010 | "Show Me Your Love" | 141 | 27 | 31 | ||
| "We Standing Strong" feat. Jay'ed Jay'ed Jade Goto , better known by his stage name Jay'ed is a Japanese R&B singer-songwriter. He debuted under Toy's Factory in 2007, and is most known for his single with Juju, "Ashita ga Kuru Nara" which sold over 140,000 copies.- Biography :Jay'ed was born in 1981 in New Zealand to a Japanese father... |
Digital download | — | — | — | ||
| "Summer Night Bxxxh / Change My Life (Red Spider Dub)" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Mr. Alien" | — | — | — | Cross Over | ||
| "Mirror" | — | — | — | Cross Over/Blue Bird | ||
| "Nobody Like You" | — | — | — | |||
| 2011 | align="left"| | — | — | — | Blue Bird | |
| "Proud" | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes that the song was not released in that format, or it did not chart. |
||||||
As featured artist
| Release | Title | Notes | Chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oricon Singles Charts | Billboard Japan Hot 100 | RIAJ digital tracks | ||||
| 2008 | "Flash" DJ Komori feat. Chie (Foxxi Misq), Emi Maria |
Digital download | — | — | — | What's R&B? |
| 2009 | "Wisdom" Seeda feat. Ill-Bosstino, Emi Maria |
8 | — | — | Seeda Best | |
Other appearances
| Release | Title | Notes | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "In da Club" Tomogen feat. Emi Maria, GS (Doberman Inc.), Yūgi (Infumiaikumiai) |
06 Out Side | |
| "Free Free (Deniece Williams song) "Free" is a popular song by Deniece Williams which was included on her album This Is Niecy. Written by Williams, Hank Redd, Nathan Watts and Susaye Greene and produced by Maurice White and Charles Stepney... " I-Dea (performed by Emi Maria) |
Deniece Williams Deniece Williams June Deniece Chandler known by her stage name Deniece Williams is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer who achieved success in the 1970s and 1980s... cover |
Re;cover | |
MC Moggy feat. Wolf Pack, Emi Maria |
Katrina | ||
| 2008 | "2 My Fans" 10forefdee feat. Kayzabro, Emi Maria |
104: 4 Jpanese | |
Wolf Pack feat. MC Moggy, Emi Maria |
Gold Experience | ||
Hannya |
Background vocals. | Doctor Tokyo | |
| "Sky55" L-Vokal feat. Emi Maria |
Free | ||
| 2009 | "Luv Is..." Jay'ed Jay'ed Jade Goto , better known by his stage name Jay'ed is a Japanese R&B singer-songwriter. He debuted under Toy's Factory in 2007, and is most known for his single with Juju, "Ashita ga Kuru Nara" which sold over 140,000 copies.- Biography :Jay'ed was born in 1981 in New Zealand to a Japanese father... feat. Emi Maria |
Musication | |
| "My Life Is One Way..." Urali feat. Emi Maria |
Departure | ||
| "2 My Fans" (Live) 10forefdee feat. Kayzabro, Emi Maria |
DVD release. | 10forefdee Release Tour Final | |
| "I Gotta (Winter Kiss)" (Live) Emi Maria |