Actors - Mika Nakashima

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	Actors - Mika Nakashima

Mika Nakashima (中島美嘉 Nakashima Mika, born February 19,1983) is a Japanese singer and actress from Kagoshima-Ken, Kyushu, Japan.

Biography

She had always dreamed of becoming a singer since she was a child. She decided not to attend high school, and pursued her dream in a musical career. The very first demo-tape she sent to a record company had given her the chance. She was chosen out of 3000 girls, as the heroine of the 2001 fall season drama, "Kizudarake no Love Song (Scarred Love Song)" of the Fuji TV station. In November, she made her sensational debut from Sony Music Associated Records, with the song "STARS", which was also the theme song of the drama. Her second single "CRESCENT MOON", a groovy track with an 80's flavor, was the limited product of 100,000 copies only. Amazingly, it sold out the first day of its release. In March of 2002 she released her third single "ONE SURVIVE" (which received great feedback) and her first video "FILM LOTUS", in May her 4th single "HELPLESS RAIN", in August her 5th single "WILL" was released, tying-up to the sales of over 200,000 and Top Ten hits.

Her first album "TRUE" released in August 2002 was a #1 hit in the Oricon charts. In only 3 weeks, "TRUE" became a million seller. Then as commemoration of one year since her debut, Mika released a Premium EP "Resistance", which hit the charts #1 spot two weeks in a row. On December 18, a documentary video "Kiseki: the document of a start" was released.

Mika has won her a vivid public recognition and aroused the excitement in many listeners of her generation. It was not a surprise that 2002 was a great year for Mika as she received "New Artist of the Year" from The Japan Gold Disc Awards, "Best New Artist of the Year" from All Japan Request Awards 2002, and "New Artist of the Year" from THE 44th Japan Record Awards.

Mika became one of the most popular female vocalists in Japan. Her popular songs include Gundam Seed's ending song "FIND THE WAY", "Sakurairo Maukoro", and "Yuki no Hana" which was covered by Korean male singer Hyo-Shin Park and this covered song is inserted in popular Korean drama Mianhada Saranghada (Sorry, I Love You). It was also one of the most popular karaoke songs in Japan in 2004. In 2004 she sang the ending theme of the anime series based on the manga "Hi no tori" as aired on NHK.

In 2005 she costars alongside Aoi Miyazaki in the live-action movie Nana, based on the manga of the same name, which was released September 10, 2005. Mika also sang one of the theme songs for the movie, which was released as a single under the name NANA starring MIKA NAKASHIMA. The single, titled "GLAMOROUS SKY" was written by the manga's author, Ai Yazawa and composed by L'Arc~en~Ciel frontman hyde. It was Mika's first #1 single on Oricon charts. The single has sold over 423,000 copies making it the best-selling female single of the year and the tenth highest selling overall. The single continued selling well into the next year and sold 442,000 copies, just 10,000 copies behind her NANA co-star, Yuna Ito's "ENDLESS STORY".

Mika's latest single, her 17th one, "CRY NO MORE", was released on February 2006. It include a b-side entitled "BLACK & BLUE". The song is the second ending theme for Blood+.

Neat Facts: Mika has a cat named Dio. Dio also has a daughter. Mika's favorite color is purple. Mika's ethnic background is always a controversal issue. People always think that she is hispanic but she is full Japanese. Mika smokes ciggarettes but not very often. She is also a member of the White Band: End Poverty Association. Mika is the first Japanese person to recieve an Honorary Citzenship from Memphis.

Discography

Albums

#TRUE (August 28, 2002) over 1,200,000 #LOVE (November 06, 2003) over 1,400,000 copies sold #MUSIC (March 09, 2005) over 600,000 copies sold {still charting} #BEST (December 07, 2005) #1, over 1,001,504 sold in Japan (#3 United World Charts) {still charting}

Mini-Albums

# RESISTANCE (November 07, 2002) # Oborozukiyo ~Inori (September 15, 2004)

Singles

# STARS (November 07, 2001) # CRESCENT MOON (February 06, 2002) # ONE SURVIVE (March 06, 2002) # Helpless Rain (May 15, 2002) # WILL (August 07, 2002) # Aishiteiru (January 29, 2003) # Love Addict (April 09, 2003) # Seppun (June 25, 2003) # FIND THE WAY (August 06, 2003) # Yuki no Hana (October 01, 2003) # SEVEN (April 07, 2004) # Hi no Tori (June 02, 2004) # LEGEND (October 20, 2004) # Sakurairo Maukoro (February 02, 2005) # Hitori (May 25, 2005) # GLAMOROUS SKY (August 31, 2005; released under the name "NANA starring MIKA NAKASHIMA") # CRY NO MORE (February 22, 2006)

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