Ironic Clown

Yes, so as you may have guessed from the image above this post is about my love for the singer/songwriter Chihiro Onitsuka.

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Chihiro Onitsuka was born on the 30th of October, 1980 in Nango, Miyazaki. She was strongly influenced by Western Artists such as The Carpenters and later on Jewel which is her main inspiration as a singer and songwriter.

Chihiro was originally signed under the label Toshiba EMI, however in 2004 she changed labels due to the fact that Toshiba EMI released an A-side album against her will. To this day Toshiba EMI still release material of Chihiro… I guess they must miss her huh?

Ironically her first single Shine didn’t even make to top 200 on the Oricon Charts, however her second single Gekkou which was of an entirely different nature, being a haunting ballad compared to an upbeat pop song, which honestly does not suit Chihiro. Her second single was followed by Cage and in 2001 followed by Memai/Edge which Best Lyrics Award at the Japan Record Awards.

Her first album Insomnia was released on the 7th of March, 2001 and currently is her only number one material to date. It is estimated that sales topped 1.4 million. From then on her popularity has declined, however she still managed to release beautiful piano-driven ballads.

In 2002 Chihiro started a new era with the release of infection/LITTLE BEAT RIFLE. Despite being possibly Chihiro’s best and most emotional song to date infection was plagued with controversy. The Western world was getting over the grief and terror of the September 11 attacks, when Chihiro released a song with figurative lyrics about a “heart-shattering” explosion. Unfortunately the timing couldn’t have been worse and because of this promotion of infection was cancelled – one of the many mistakes made by Toshiba EMI. Chihiro released a sixth single Ryuuseigun which was then followed up with her second album This Armor

A mere nine months later and Chihiro released her third album Sugar High. With very little promotion Sugar High still managed to reach two on the Oricon. During the end of Chihiro’s Toshiba EMI days she released four singles Sign, Beautiful Fighter, Ii Hi Tabidachi Nishe e and Watashi wo Waltz wo. Then tragedy struck… Chihiro needed to have throat surgery (which is the worst type of surgery for a singer as it can permanently effect their voices) if she was to peruse her singing career. Chihiro’s voice is noticeably different and weaker on her fourth album LAS VEGAS however in later singles her voice seems to have improved.

Being the smart label that they are (cough cough) Toshiba EMI decided to release a best of album, entitled Singles Box against Chihiro’s wishes which in return Chihiro packed her boxes and broke the ties with the record label.

In 2004 she signed a label under Universal Music and released a breaking her folk barriers by released a rock inspired single Sodatsu Zazzou. Despite once again having little promotion (not even a PV!) the single reached 10 on the Oricon Charts!

And then…

…Chihiro seemed to disappear from the face of the planet…

Chihiro went on a three year hiatus in which she was stalked, at one point weighed only 36 kilograms, read comics and listened to Arashi and Tori Amos.
In 2007 Chihiro came back from the dead (or at least it seamed that way) and released two singles everyhome and Bokura Barairo no Hibi followed by her fourth and much anticipated album LAS VEGAS.

Currently after the release of LAS VEGAS Chihiro has released two singles Hotaru which was released in August, 2008 and X/Last Melody which was released on the 20th of May 2009. Another single Kaerimichi wo Nakushite is scheduled for release on the 25th of July 2009, which will hopefully be followed up by a fifth album.

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I discovered Chihiro Onitsuka purely by chance. The first song of hers I ever listened to was Gekkou and from then on I have been captivated! Chihiro’s alto voice is STUNNING! Her head voice and most notably her chest voice is ~amazing~!

Waiting for Chihiro to release new material has been an excruciating wait, however it was worth the wait. X/Last Melody was released a few days ago (May 20 to be exact) and is amazing and shows a darker and aggressive side of Chihiro.

Chihiro is highly recommended to people who like… uh anyone really? I won’t make comparisons to other artists because the fact of the matter is that her voice is completely original and her arrangements are so ambient that she bends the rules of pop and rock to come up with emotional, heartwarming and heartbreaking songs about love, pain and loss delivered with mystifying arrangements and an exceptional voice.

Yes… I’m just slightly obsessed ^^