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Music Monday: melody.
Sep. 18th, 2023 09:24 pmFor today's Music Monday, I'll reminisce about a jpop idol who debuted to wild success, released a string of equally successful albums, and ended her career because....well, I'll get into that later.
Melody Ishikawa, better known by her stylized stage name melody., is a Japanese-American singer born in Hawaii. Discovered by one of Japan's most successful record producers while she was in high school, Melody completed her education before moving to Japan at 19 to pursue a singing career. After being attached to several girl group projects that fizzled out, melody. eventually debuted a solo artist and saw immediate success. Her first album, Sincerely, had four singles peak in the top 40 of the Oricon charts. melody.'s songs feature an effortless mix of Japanese and English lyrics, and a joyful, upbeat dance-pop sound.
My personal favorites from Sincerely are So Into You, and a dance-pop cover of Over The Rainbow. As my college radio show was scheduled for Tuesday and Friday evenings, I liked to end with one of these infectiously cheerful tracks during the long winter months--it felt like a way to give a bit of brightness to whoever might be wandering the campus during broadcast hours. ♥
The following years saw melody. release two more albums, Be as One and READY TO GO!, and her most successful single, Realize, which was also the theme song for j-drama Dragon Zakura.
In 2008 melody. released her final studio album, Lei Aloha. Meant to be a reflection of melody.'s life in Hawaii as a child, the songs on Lei Aloha tend towards softer ballads with understated string and piano arrangements. The sole single, Haruka ~Haruka~ was the ending theme song for Daisuki!!, a tender j-drama about a severely disabled woman trying to raise a child after the death of her husband.
After Lei Aloha melody. abruptly retired from the music business, citing a desire to work in fashion design. However, a year later, she announced her marriage to guitarist Miyavi, which is likely the real motivation for her sudden exit.
Of course, it's not uncommon for Asian pop idols to retire when their marriage becomes public but it always hurts to see a successful female performer to completely stop releasing new material. OTOH....Melody did marry perhaps the greatest Japanese guitarist of all time and a global rock icon so you know what? Get it, girl.
Melody Ishikawa, better known by her stylized stage name melody., is a Japanese-American singer born in Hawaii. Discovered by one of Japan's most successful record producers while she was in high school, Melody completed her education before moving to Japan at 19 to pursue a singing career. After being attached to several girl group projects that fizzled out, melody. eventually debuted a solo artist and saw immediate success. Her first album, Sincerely, had four singles peak in the top 40 of the Oricon charts. melody.'s songs feature an effortless mix of Japanese and English lyrics, and a joyful, upbeat dance-pop sound.
My personal favorites from Sincerely are So Into You, and a dance-pop cover of Over The Rainbow. As my college radio show was scheduled for Tuesday and Friday evenings, I liked to end with one of these infectiously cheerful tracks during the long winter months--it felt like a way to give a bit of brightness to whoever might be wandering the campus during broadcast hours. ♥
The following years saw melody. release two more albums, Be as One and READY TO GO!, and her most successful single, Realize, which was also the theme song for j-drama Dragon Zakura.
In 2008 melody. released her final studio album, Lei Aloha. Meant to be a reflection of melody.'s life in Hawaii as a child, the songs on Lei Aloha tend towards softer ballads with understated string and piano arrangements. The sole single, Haruka ~Haruka~ was the ending theme song for Daisuki!!, a tender j-drama about a severely disabled woman trying to raise a child after the death of her husband.
After Lei Aloha melody. abruptly retired from the music business, citing a desire to work in fashion design. However, a year later, she announced her marriage to guitarist Miyavi, which is likely the real motivation for her sudden exit.
Of course, it's not uncommon for Asian pop idols to retire when their marriage becomes public but it always hurts to see a successful female performer to completely stop releasing new material. OTOH....Melody did marry perhaps the greatest Japanese guitarist of all time and a global rock icon so you know what? Get it, girl.
