倖田來未 (Koda Kumi)(Kumiko KÅda (神田 來未å), born November 13, 1982 in Kyoto, Japan, is a famous female Japanese solo R&B and pop singer. She is the older sister of singer misono. She dreamed of becoming a singer ever since she was in elementary school. She auditioned alongside Goto Maki for the 3rd generation of Morning Musume when she was seventeen, but didn’t make it. Coincidentally, Goto would join Avex Trax 7 years later in 2007. She was noticed by Avex Trax, however, and was signed and began releasing pop music with an urban feel.Koda officially debuted with the single TAKE BACK in December 2000 and later in May 2001, her second single, Trust Your Love, charting at #59 and #18 respectively. After two more singles, COLOR OF SOUL and So Into You, she released her first studio album affection in 2002, which charted at #12.Despite her charting failures, 倖田來未 remained positive and released her fifth single, love across the ocean debuting at #19. This was another disappointment for Koda and her following single, m・a・z・e, charted even poorer at #25. Finally, some success came her way when she was asked to do the main songs of Final Fantasy X-2 with real Emotion/1000ã®è¨€è‘‰ (1000 words), while also providing the voice for the character Lenne in the Japanese version of the game and providing the motion capture for Yuna’s dance during the opening. This single proved to be a success, debuting at #3 and gaining her more recognition. Releasing her second studio album, grow into one, ensured 倖田來未 her first album to chart and continue the trend in the top ten, debuting at #9.
