Nanase Aikawa

Nanase Aikawa (Misa Saeki) is a rock singer who was born on 16 February 1975 in Osaka. She had a troubled childhood and is rumoured to have been in a girl gang her teens. She perfomed in a number of singing competitions while still at school and came to the attention of music producer Tetsuro Oda and dropped out of school when fifteen to be trained by Oda. She released her first single Yumemiru Shoujo jairarenai five years later.

Three more singles followed then her first full album Red in 1996, which sold more than two million copies in its first month. Red gained her an invitation to perform on Khaku Uta Gassen, a New Year's Eve singing contest sponsored by NHK television.

Aikiwa’s first concert tour took place in 1997 to coincide with her second album, which sold 1.8 million copies. Further releases and tours followed, and her 1999 album I.D. debuted at number one in the rock chart, her fourth consecutive album to be released at the number one slot.

Red was voted the Best Album at the eleventh Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards, and her album Paradox was also voted Best Album of the Year at the twelfth Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards.

The First Quarter mini album focused more on ballads and soft music than rock although she returned to a rock sound with R.U.O.K?!. A number of famous heavy metal rock musicians and visual kei band members contribute to the album, as well as touring with her.

In 2006, she became the spokesmodel for the designer Val Valenza.

Aikawa is known as an intensely private person and gave no media interviews until three years after she’d arrived on the music scene. In 2001, she announced that she had got married that day and was three months pregnant on her official website. Her son was born 6 September, 2001.

Trivia

Aikawa has also written several children's books and a radio diary.

She is also an expert on color therapy.

Band Members

The R.U.O.K?! band:

• Guitar: Marty Friedman
• Guitar: Tomoaki Ishizuka
• Drums: Shinya Yamada
• Bass: 'Crazy' Cool Joe
• Keyboards: D.I.E

External Links

• Nanase Aikawa Official Site (Japanese)
• Nanase Aikawa Official Site (at record label) (Japanese)
• NANASE-ONLINE