Riyu Kosaka
Encyclopedia
is a J-pop
singer, as well as a member of the Konami
-produced J-Pop group BeForU
. Kosaka was born in the Kanagawa Prefecture
on January 17, 1985.
and Toshiba-EMI
staff held auditions to form a J-pop group, which would eventually become BeForU
. Many talented people auditioned, and Kosaka, who was then fifteen years old, was one of four who went on to join the group. The group, produced by Naoki Maeda, originally made songs specifically for Bemani
games—their first song, Dive, was promoted intensely in the time leading up to the release of Dance Dance Revolution 5thMix
.
. Two different versions were included in the game, True... (radio edit) and True...: Trance Sunrise Mix. For the first time for any member of BeForU, a CD single was released. including a long version of both the radio edit and the trance sunrise mix, as well as a remix of a solo performance of Dive, renamed Dive to the Night. True... was a success in the DDR community, and Kosaka continued to release other songs for use in Bemani both with BeForU and as a solo singer.
In 2005 and 2006, she also collaborated with Ryo Horikawa
as a radio personality for Pakedio Channel, and her song Little Wings is available on the album Pakedio Channel Vol. 1.
In 2007, Riyu Kosaka recorded a song for the film Kamen Rider The Next
, Platinum Smile. The song is an insert song for the movie with Kosaka providing the singing voice for Erika Mori, who portrays Chiharu Kazami, the younger sister of Shiro Kazami/Kamen Rider V3
. In December 2007, Riyu released her sixth single, Kokoro no ato
. The song was used as the introduction song in the anime Mokke
.
In 2008, Riyu released her second studio album, Every Struggle
, which was also her debut album on a major record label. The album contained her four most recent singles at the time and 7 new tracks, for a total of 11 tracks overall. Due to the break-up of BeForU
in late 2008, Riyu did not produce any solo works for some time.
In 2010, Riyu announced the release of her song 'キミが聞こえる' which would be featured on 'あまつみそらに!' as the ending theme and was also released as part of the soundtrack in June 2010. This release, however, was not on avex trax
but on 5pb.
which may indicate she has switched labels. Kosaka will also be performing at the 'Live5pb.2010' concert.
.
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
singer, as well as a member of the Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
-produced J-Pop group BeForU
BeForU
BeForU was an all female Japanese teen pop group who performed music primarily for the Bemani series of rhythm games. BeForU debuted in 2000 with their song "Dive", which was notable as being the first Japanese pop song in the Dance Dance Revolution series. BeForU was produced by Naoki Maeda, one...
. Kosaka was born in the Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
on January 17, 1985.
Discovery by Konami
On November 20, 2000, KonamiKonami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
and Toshiba-EMI
Toshiba-EMI
(formerly , is one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. in June 30, 2007 after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. The current CEO and president is San-e Ichii. When EMI Music Japan was trading as Toshiba-EMI, it was...
staff held auditions to form a J-pop group, which would eventually become BeForU
BeForU
BeForU was an all female Japanese teen pop group who performed music primarily for the Bemani series of rhythm games. BeForU debuted in 2000 with their song "Dive", which was notable as being the first Japanese pop song in the Dance Dance Revolution series. BeForU was produced by Naoki Maeda, one...
. Many talented people auditioned, and Kosaka, who was then fifteen years old, was one of four who went on to join the group. The group, produced by Naoki Maeda, originally made songs specifically for Bemani
Bemani
is Konami's music video game division. Originally named the Games & Music Division, or simply G.M.D., it changed its name in honor of its first and most successful game, Beatmania, and expanded into other music-based games.-Bemani video games:...
games—their first song, Dive, was promoted intensely in the time leading up to the release of Dance Dance Revolution 5thMix
Dance Dance Revolution 5thMix
Dance Dance Revolution 5thMIX, or DDR 5th Mix, is the 5th game in the Dance Dance Revolution series of music video games. It was released to the arcades by Konami on March 27, 2001. Although only officially released in Japan, units exist worldwide. DDR 5th Mix contains a total of 124 songs, nine of...
.
True...
After Dive's success in 5thMix, BeForU produced more tracks for inclusion in DDRMAX Dance Dance Revolution 6thMix, including Dive: More Deep and Deeper Style and Firefly. This is where Kosaka got her first solo track, True...True...
"True..." is the first single by Riyu Kosaka. It was released on October 17, 2001. It features her solo track True..., which debuted on Konami's DDRMAX Dance Dance Revolution 6thMix. It also features a cover of BeForU's Dive, entitled Dive to the Night....
. Two different versions were included in the game, True... (radio edit) and True...: Trance Sunrise Mix. For the first time for any member of BeForU, a CD single was released. including a long version of both the radio edit and the trance sunrise mix, as well as a remix of a solo performance of Dive, renamed Dive to the Night. True... was a success in the DDR community, and Kosaka continued to release other songs for use in Bemani both with BeForU and as a solo singer.
Breaking out from Bemani
While they continued to make music for Konami, BeForU began to put more emphasis on themselves as legitimate musicians, and this included Kosaka. In 2004, the band's first CD was released, containing some solo work by Kosaka; in the same year, her first full solo album, Begin, was released. Begin contained three original songs, as well as eleven re-recorded Bemani songs, some of which were covers of other artists. A year later, she released Riyu Kosaka First Live at O-EAST 2005, a CD+DVD set of her first full-blown concert. (This cannot actually be considered her first live performance, as she did limited performances to promote her single True.... ) Since that time, Kosaka has released a number of singles both on her own and with BeForU, as well as a new album with BeForU.In 2005 and 2006, she also collaborated with Ryo Horikawa
Ryo Horikawa
is a Japanese voice actor. He is married to fellow Japanese voice actress Hitomi Oikawa, whose birth name is also . His former stage name is also Ryo Horikawa, which has his given name, Makoto, pronounced as Ryo.-Career:...
as a radio personality for Pakedio Channel, and her song Little Wings is available on the album Pakedio Channel Vol. 1.
In 2007, Riyu Kosaka recorded a song for the film Kamen Rider The Next
Kamen Rider The Next
is a 2007 Japanese tokusatsu film directed by Ryuta Tasaki and written by Toshiki Inoue. The film was released on October 27, 2007. The film borrows elements from the Kamen Rider V3 television series and is a sequel to the Kamen Rider The First movie...
, Platinum Smile. The song is an insert song for the movie with Kosaka providing the singing voice for Erika Mori, who portrays Chiharu Kazami, the younger sister of Shiro Kazami/Kamen Rider V3
Kamen Rider V3
is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the second installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series, and the direct sequel to the original Kamen Rider...
. In December 2007, Riyu released her sixth single, Kokoro no ato
Kokoro no ato
"Kokoro no ato" is Riyu Kosaka's fifth single with Avex and her sixth single overall. It was released on December 12, 2007. Unlike her previous singles with Avex, this single did not ship with a CD+DVD edition...
. The song was used as the introduction song in the anime Mokke
Mokke
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by manga author Takatoshi Kumakura. The manga was first serialized in the Japanese seinen manga magazine Afternoon Season Zoukan on August 2000. The magazine was suspended after its 14th issue, and the manga continued its serialization from the...
.
In 2008, Riyu released her second studio album, Every Struggle
Every struggle
Every Struggle is the second studio album by Riyu Kosaka and her first major album since she joined record label Avex Trax. It was released on February 27, 2008...
, which was also her debut album on a major record label. The album contained her four most recent singles at the time and 7 new tracks, for a total of 11 tracks overall. Due to the break-up of BeForU
BeForU
BeForU was an all female Japanese teen pop group who performed music primarily for the Bemani series of rhythm games. BeForU debuted in 2000 with their song "Dive", which was notable as being the first Japanese pop song in the Dance Dance Revolution series. BeForU was produced by Naoki Maeda, one...
in late 2008, Riyu did not produce any solo works for some time.
In 2010, Riyu announced the release of her song 'キミが聞こえる' which would be featured on 'あまつみそらに!' as the ending theme and was also released as part of the soundtrack in June 2010. This release, however, was not on avex trax
Avex Trax
, listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange as 7860 and abbreviated as AGHD, is the holding company for a group of entertainment-related subsidiaries based in Japan...
but on 5pb.
5pb.
is a Japanese video game manufacturer and record label for video game and anime music. 5pb. formed on April 6, 2005 after Chiyomaru Shikura left Scitron to begin the company as its executive director, the position he still holds. The company name is derived from the phrase "The Five powered &...
which may indicate she has switched labels. Kosaka will also be performing at the 'Live5pb.2010' concert.
Discography
This is a discography of Kosaka's solo work outside of Bemani. For her complete discography see BeForU discographyBeForU discography
This is the discography of J-pop group BeForU. BeForU was a J-Pop group from December 31, 2000 to December 12, 2007. DDR sound producer, Naoki Maeda conceived a vision a for a four girl group. Thousands of girls auditioned in the first Bemani Auditions,...
.
Singles
- True...True..."True..." is the first single by Riyu Kosaka. It was released on October 17, 2001. It features her solo track True..., which debuted on Konami's DDRMAX Dance Dance Revolution 6thMix. It also features a cover of BeForU's Dive, entitled Dive to the Night....
(2001) - Yamato NadeshikoYamato Nadeshiko (song)"Yamato Nadeshiko" is a single by Riyu Kosaka released on October 18, 2006. This is her second solo single...
(2006) (Yamato Nadeshiko Spirit or Perfect Japanese Woman Spirit) - Danzai no Hana: Guilty Sky (2007) (Danzai no Hana or Flower of Conviction, for the anime ClaymoreClaymore (manga)is a dark fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Norihiro Yagi. The series initially premiered in the now defunct Monthly Shōnen Jump in the May 2001 issue. When the magazine was canceled in June 2007, the series was temporarily moved to Weekly Shōnen Jump where it was still published...
) - Dober ManDober Man"Dober Man" is Riyu Kosaka's third single with Avex and her fourth single overall. It was released on July 11, 2007 as both a single CD and in a CD+DVD edition....
(2007) - Platinum SmilePlatinum Smile"Platinum Smile" is Riyu Kosaka's fourth single with Avex and her fifth single overall. It was released on October 24, 2007 as both a single CD and in a CD+DVD edition...
(2007) - Kokoro no atoKokoro no ato"Kokoro no ato" is Riyu Kosaka's fifth single with Avex and her sixth single overall. It was released on December 12, 2007. Unlike her previous singles with Avex, this single did not ship with a CD+DVD edition...
(2007) (Kokoro no Ato or Traces of heart, for the anime MokkeMokkeis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by manga author Takatoshi Kumakura. The manga was first serialized in the Japanese seinen manga magazine Afternoon Season Zoukan on August 2000. The magazine was suspended after its 14th issue, and the manga continued its serialization from the...
)
Other CDs
- Baby's Tears (2006) (as part of the Sky GirlsSky Girlsbegan as a single episode OVA anime by Konami, directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki and animated by J.C.Staff. The 30 minute episode was released in Japan on August 25, 2006. A television adaptation of Sky Girls started on July 5, 2007, and ended on January 11, 2008.-Story:The Weapon Of Raid Machines ,...
Original Soundtrack) - I-revoミュージックICE限定配信曲 (2006) (available for download only from BeForU's i-revo homepage, this digital album is referred to by fans as Little Wings or Startup.)
- Platinum Smile (2007) as featured on the Kamen Rider the NextKamen Rider The Nextis a 2007 Japanese tokusatsu film directed by Ryuta Tasaki and written by Toshiki Inoue. The film was released on October 27, 2007. The film borrows elements from the Kamen Rider V3 television series and is a sequel to the Kamen Rider The First movie...
original soundtrack) - あまつみそらに! Soundtracks (2010) Riyu provides vocals for the ending theme 'キミが聞こえる.'
DVDs
- Riyu Kosaka First Live at O-EAST 2005 (2005)
- Riyu's Summer Vacation (2007)
- BeForU / Four Piece Riyu Kosaka / Live 2008 (2008)