Yuna Ito (伊藤 由奈 Itō Yuna?) (born September 20, 1983) is an American pop singer-songwriter and actress who is active in Japan. She was born in Los Angeles and was raised in Hawaii. Ito made her musical debut with the single, "Endless Story", which was used as one of the theme songs for the 2005 film Nana; she also starred in the film, portraying Reira Serizawa. In 2006, Ito reprised her role as Reira for the sequel of the film singing the theme song, "Truth". In 2007, Ito released her debut album, Heart, which debuted atop the Oricon.Contents [hide] 1 Biography 1.1 Early life and music interest 1.2 2005-2007: Debut 1.3 2008-present 2 Discography 2.1 Studio albums 2.2 Notable singles 3 Filmography 4 Awards 5 Radio programs 6 References 7 External links
[edit] Biography [edit] Early life and music interest
Ito was born to a Japanese father and a Korean-American mother[1] in Los Angeles, California. Her family later moved to Oahu, Hawaii where she remained until the start of her singing career in Japan. From a young age Ito dreamed about becoming a singer, after being inspired by the powerful vocals of Mariah Carey.[2] At the age of fifteen she was offered a music contract, but turned down because "they saw her as a girl and not a singer".[2]
Initially when Ito told her parents of plans to become a singer they disapproved of her choice. Her parents wanted Ito to attend school and meet a "nice guy". Ito disagreed with her parents, saying they wanted to "compact her life into a storybook".[2] Ito graduated from McKinley High School in 2001 and has a younger brother named Johnny. [edit] 2005-2007: Debut
In 2005, Ito was chosen to portray Reira Serizawa, the vocalist for rock band Trapnest in the film adaptation of Ai Yazawa's popular manga series Nana.[2] She released her debut single, "Endless Story", under the name "Reira Starring Yuna Ito"; the song was used as one of the theme songs for the film. "Endless Story" debuted on the Oricon chart at the #2 position.[3] Following the release of "Endless Story" was her second single, "Faith/Pureyes" (2006), which debuted at #6 on the charts, failing to achieve the success that "Endless Story" had achieved.[2][3]
Ito released her third single, "Precious", which debuted at #3 on the charts.[3] The single contained two b-sides, "I'm Free" and "Secret"; the latter was co-written by Ito and was the first time she contributed to one of her singles. Ito released three more singles in 2006; "Stuck on You", "Losin'", and "Truth". The singles debuted at the respective numbers of #20, #19 and #10.[3] "Truth", released under the name "Reira Starring Yuna Ito", was used as a theme song for Nana 2 in which Ito portrayed Reira Serizawa.
Ito started off 2007 with the release of her debut album Heart. Upon its release Heart topped the Oricon album chart.[2] Heart was certified Double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.[4] In March, Ito released her seventh single, "I'm Here", which debuted at #15 on the Oricon chart.[3]
The single following "I'm Here" was "Mahaloha" (June), which was a collaboration with Micro from the band Def Tech. The single debuted at #5 on the chart and marked a first musical for Ito.[clarification needed] Along with Micro, Ito wrote the lyrics and composed the song.[5] At the end of the year, Ito released her ninth single, "Urban Mermaid", which debut at #10 on the charts.[3] [edit] 2008-present
Her tenth single, entitled Anata ga Iru Kagiri: A World to Believe In, was released in on January 16, 2008. The song is a duet with Celine Dion. When Dion heard Ito's rendition of her song, she proposed the idea of a duet.[6] Dion originally released this song on her latest English album Taking Chances. The song was used in an au LISMO commercial.[7] A World to Believe In was nominated for 'Best Collaboration Video', for the MTV Video Awards Japan '08,[8] but lost to Kumi Koda's Last Angel.[9]
The singer's second album Wish was released on February 20 in both CD and CD+DVD formats. Wish debuted at number three on the charts. Since the release of Wish, the album has been certified gold by the RIAJ.[10] Unite As One a song on her album, was used as the ending theme song for Konami's Time Hollow.[11] In March, Ito became spokesperson for Proactiv Japan.[12] Ito was featured in the commercial along with her song, "Tokyo Days", as the theme.[12]
In June 2008, Ito collaborated with popular Japanese music producer Takeshi Kobayashi (who produced music for Mr. Children, a famous Japanese band) and Russian conductor Mikhail Pletnev, to sing Gate, the theme song for the documentary movie with the same name, Gate.[13][14]
Her eleventh single entitled "Miss You" was released on September 3, 2008.[15]. "Miss You" is currently being used as the theme song for Ito En Vitamin Fruit.[16] "Miss You" inspired the cellphone novel Tenshi no Koi (天使の恋 lit. Angel's Love?), which was written by sin.[17] Love Machine Gun will be used as the main theme song for the novel.[18] Ito was featured in the 6/4 edition of the magazine, "Oricon Style", as the fifth-most suited for bridal wear.[19] She was also featured in the 6/11 edition as sixth for most princess-like.[20]
On October 3, 2008, Ito posted an entry on her blog, writing that she had recorded a new up-beat tempo song.[21] Her upcoming single is revealed to be titled Koi wa Groovy x2 (恋はgroovy×2 lit. Love is Groovy Groovy?) and will be used as the Gap Japan's 2008 Holiday Collection Winter Neutrals campaign song.[22] In addition to her song being used, Ito was also chosen to be a Gap model in July, according to her blog.[23][24][25]
Ito released an English version of "Koi wa Groovy x2", entitled "groovy x2" under the pseudonym Christine Ito (伊藤 クリスティーン?).[26] Sony Music Japan created an official website for Christine and a blog.[27][28] Ito collaborated with hip-pop/reggae duo Spontania for their upcoming single Ima Demo Zutto (今でもずっと lit. Now and Forever?), which was released on January 28, 2009.[29][30] Ito's thirteenth single "Trust You", became the fourth ending theme song for the anime Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Second Season. The single was released on March 4, 2009 and became Ito's first Top 5 single since "Mahaloha" in 2007. "Trust You" has become Ito's third highest debut single in terms of sales since "Precious" in 2006.
On March 31, 2009 Ima Demo Aitai Yo... feat. Spontania (今でも会いたいよ... lit. I Still Miss You?), which was the answer song to Spontania's "Ima Demo Zutto", was released online through ringtone sites.[31] Ito's third album titled Dream was released on May 27, 2009.[15] Her latest single, "Let it Go", was released on November 11, 2009. In between the release of her album and this single, Ito performed in a Japanese stage/musical production. [edit] Discography Further information: Yuna Ito discography[edit] Studio albums 2007: Heart 2008: Wish 2009: Dream [edit] Notable singles 2005: "Endless Story" 2006: "Precious" 2006: "Truth" 2007: "Mahaloha" 2007: "Anata ga Iru Kagiri: A World to Believe In" 2009: "Trust You" 2009: "Let it go"
[edit] FilmographyYear Film Role 2005 Nana Reira Serizawa 2006 Nana 2 Reira Serizawa
[edit] Awards Best New Artist (Best Hit Kayōsai 2005, 11.21.2005) Best New Artist (Japan Cable Awards 2005, 12.17.2005) Special Award for Nana (47th Japan Record Awards, 12.31.2005) Best New Artist (Japan Gold Disc Awards 2006, 9.3.2006) Gold Artist Award (Best Hit Kayōsai 2006, 11.20.2006) Audience Request Award (39th Yūsen Taishō, 12.16.2006) Best Asia from Japan (MTV Video Music Awards Japan, 05.25.2007) [edit] Radio programs
From October 4, 2005 until March 28, 2006, Ito was moderator of her own radio show, Journey, which aired on Tokyo's InterFM radio station. Ito later returned with a new radio show, Heart to Heart.[32]
On February 27, 2008, Ito did a public live talk show with Hilary Duff on Tokyo FM's radio show entitled Wonderful World. Although she appeared on the radio show, Hilary Duff's main purpose was to promote Disney Mobile, which she did also on the show.[33]
