This
talented woman of African-American and Korean descend is an important
part of the J-pop scene. Crystal Kay, also known as Kuri or C-Kay, is
well known for her atmospheric R&B/pop sound. Her biggest
influences are Janet and Michael Jackson. Crystal is also considered
the pioneer for interracial acts in Japan. Her success opened doors
for mainstream success of other interracial artists. Similar artists
are BENI and Namie Amuro (安室奈美恵).
C-Kay was
born in Yokohama on February 26, 1986. From the start she was
musically influenced by her parents. Her African-American father was
a sailor in the “United States Navy” and also a bassist. Her
Korean mother was a professional singer. It's not a surprise that
Crystal debuted as a jingle singer at the age of six. In 1999 C-Kay
signed with “Epic Records”, a subdivision of Sony Music
Entertainment. That same year she teamed up with composer Yoko Kanno
to release her debut single “Eternal Memories”. The single
claimed the #47 spot on the Oricon charts. Before the year ended she
released two other singles.
On March 23,
2000, debut album “C.L.L Crystal Lover Light” went on sale. Fans
said that this album had more of an indie and acoustic vibe. Her
later albums are mostly R&B/pop. “C.L.L Crystal Lover Light”
charted for 4 weeks and peaked at #60 on the Oricon charts. Since
single “Shadows of Desire” got released on the same day as the
debut album, it failed to chart. It was also her first all English
A-side single.
After a year
of inactivity, Crystal made her comeback in 2001 with the single
“LOST CHILD”. For this single she collaborated with Shinichi
Osawa and Hiroshi Fujiwara. “LOST CHILD” was later used as the
theme song for the film “Satorare”. Also in 2001, C-Kay went
through and image and genre change to a more urban style. Single
“Girl's Night”would be the introduction to Crystal's
transformation. The titular track was used as the theme song for the
music program “Japan Countdown”. The single charted for only one
week and claimed the #100 spot. On July 4, 2001, single
“Ex-Boyfriend” was released and featured hip-hop artist VERBAL
from the group “m-flo”. The single had some success since it
peaked at #44 in the Oricon charts and stayed in the charts for 5
weeks. C-Kay's second album, “637 -always and forever-”, hit the
shelves on August 22, 2001. It seemed more successful than her debut
album. The album claimed the #19 spot on the charts and 15 640 copies
were sold in the first week. The year ended with a Christmas themed
single called “Think of U”.
Crystal's
first release of 2002 was single “Hard to say”. It featured
SORA3000 (a.k.a. Jesse McFaddin) andnd best selling album of 2003. SPHERE of INFLUENCE. ☆TAKU of
m-flo was the producer for this single. “Hard to say” debuted at
#26 on the Oricon charts and was C-Kay's first single to have claimed
a spot in the top 30. The next single release, “Girl U Love”,
charted poorly. It peaked at #156. Surprisingly the new album “Almost
Seventeen” peaked at #2 and charted for 58 weeks. In the first week
51 360 copies were sold. Since it had a total of 213 023 copies sold
it became the 62nd
best selling album of 2003.
The year
2003 started with the release of C-Kay's 10th single
“Boyfriend -part II-”, which claimed the #23 spot on the Oricon
charts. For her next single, “I LIKE IT”, she once again teamed
up with m-flo. Since this single was meant to go hand-in-hand with
m-flo's 14th single, "REEEWIND!", which is the groups first
single in their loves... series and was credited as “m-flo loves
Crystal Kay”. Because of this, C-Kay in turn credited her single as
“Crystal Kay loves m-flo”. “I LIKE IT” was the first single
release to reach the top 10 on the Oricon charts. It peaked at #8 and
charted for 13 weeks.
Two more
singles were released in 2003. There was “Candy”, written and
produced by YOSHIKA, and “Can't be Stopped”. Soon after the
fourth album, “4 REAL”, followed. The album peaked at #5 on the
charts. The year ended with the release of C-Kay's first full English
album, “NATURAL -World Premiere Album-”, on December 17. The
album featured English versions of her previously released singles
but also cover songs. Despite the title being “NATURAL -World
Premiere Album-”, it was never officially released outside Japan.
On May 12,
2004, the single “Motherland” was released. The titular track was
used as the theme song for the anime of “Fullmetal Alchemist”
(episodes 26-41). This would be her second single that reached the
Oricon top 10. “Motherland” peaked at #9. Only a month later
C-Kay's first best-of album, “CK5”, was released. The title was a
homage to her 5 year anniversary. November 17 was the release date of
yet another single called “Bye My Darling”. Before 2004 came to an
end, Crystal graduated from “Kinnick High School” and enrolled in
“Sophia University”. It is said that during her college years she
became good friends with Beni Arahisro (BENI). The two knew each
other from the American school they attended in Yokohama during their
teens.
In January
2005, single “Kiss” was introduced to the public. It's C-Kay's
seconds best selling single. It reached the #10 spot on the charts
and charted for 13 weeks. Two months later album “Crystal Style”
went on sale. It peaked at #2 on the Oricon charts and charted for 31
weeks. Since 296 756 copies were sold it became the #44 best selling
album of 2005. The next release that year was “Koi ni Ochitara”.
The single also claimed the #2 spot and charted for 37 weeks. The
titular track was used as the theme song for the drama series with
the same name. C-Kay said that this single changed the focus from R&B
to J-Pop. Next up, in October, was a collaboration with R&B/pop
duo “CHEMISTRY” for the single “Two as One”. Like the two
previous releases, this one also peaked at #2 in the charts. The
titular song was also used as a theme song for “Toyota WISH
commercials”.
In 2006
there was only a single and an album released. “Together” from
the single "Kirakuni / Together", was used as the theme
song for the Japanese broadcast of the “2006 Winter Olympics”.
The single was recorded in the U.S. with producers Jam & Lewis,
known for working with C-Kay's idol Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey.
Crystal has stated that working with the producers was the personal
highlight of her career. The recording took place in Los Angeles and
lasted 3 days.
After a year
of hiatus, C-Kay returned to the music scene with a new new single
called “Kitto Eien ni”, which was used as the ending theme for
the film “Boku wa Imōto ni Koi o Suru”. A month later "Konna
ni Chikaku de..." went on sale. The title track was as the
ending theme for the anime series “Nodame Cantabile”. In May an
other single, “Anata no Soba de”, was released. A month later
C-Kay released the album “ALL YOURS” In the first week it sold 51
211 copies and managed to claim the #1 spot in the Oricon charts. At
the end of 2007 it placed #87 in the year-end charts. The track
“Lonely Girl” was featured on the Japanese broadcast of the
American series “Lost” and featured on the soundtrack to the
third series in Japan. The second track on “All Yours”, “Dream
World” was used to promote the “Barista's Special” for “Tully's
Coffee”.
The next
single release was scheduled for June 11, 2008. That's almost a year
after the release of her album “ALL YOURS”. On July 16 another
single, “ONE”, went on sale. The rack was used as the theme song
for the 11th “Pokémon” film. She also did the voice
for Nurse Joy's Chansey in the film. Soon after, it was announced
that the album “Color Change!” would go on sale on August 6. The
album peaked at #8. 2008 was also the year that C-Kay graduated in
Sociology from “Sophia University”. It allowed her to focus more
on her singing career.
On February
18, 2009, Crystal was a featured artist along with VERBAL of m-flo on
the song “Universe” with South Korean singer BoA, from her single
“Eien/Universe/Believe in Love”. The single peaked at #8. On May
15 it was revealed that C-Kay and Jin Akanishi, from the boyband
KAT-TUN, wrote a duet together called “Wonder”. The song was
first performed by Jin on the KAT-TUN's concert tour in 2009. This
was the second time that Kay sang with him, the first time was during
her second appearance on KAT-TUN's variety show, “Cartoon KAT-TUN”.
On August
12, 2009, C-Kay released the single, “After Love: First
Boyfriend/Girlfriend”. The release was announced on Crystal's
official website on July 1, 2009. It marks her 10th
anniversary. “After Love: First Boyfriend” featured Kaname from
Chemistry. “After Love: First Boyfriend” is a follow up to the
2003 single “Boyfriend -part II-”. It was also used for “Tully's
Coffee” commercials throughout July 2009. “Girlfriend”,
featuring the Korean artist BoA, was used as the image song for the
Japanese dubbed release of the film "He's Just Not That into
You".
On September
2 Crystal released her second best-of album, “Best of Crystal Kay”.
The CD featured over 30 songs from her discography. The album was
also released with a limited edition disc containing 4 new songs,
including “Step by Step”, which was produced by Yasutaka Nakata
of Capsule. It was also used as the theme song for anime “Janguru
Taitei” (Kimba the White Lion). The fourth track "Helpless
Night" is a collab between C-Kay and Jin Akanishi. The song is
performed almost entirely in English.
In 2010,
C-Kay accepted her first role for a drama series. In “Hidarime
Tantei Eye” she played the character of Kokusho Akira, a genius
hacker who has carried out many crimes all over the world. On
February 24 a new mini-album, “FLASH”, followed. The title song
was used in a commercial for Canon IXY Digital cameras. The second
song of “FLASH”, “Victoria”, was once again used for a
“Tully's Coffee” commercial. On the mini-album there was also a
tribute to her idol, Michael Jackson. C-Kay wrote the song by
herself. On June 16 the first concert DVD, “Crystal Kay Live In NHK
Hall: 10th Anniversary Tour CK10” was released. On June 22 it was
announced that Crystal would sing both the opening and ending theme
for the drama “Jūnen Saki mo Kimi ni Koishite”.
C-Kay's
“Spin the Music” tour was planned to have 9 shows all over Japan
starting on February 5 and ending on March 29, 2011. The tour was
cancelled after she went to the hospital and was diagnosed with Acute
Nephritis. Crystal was advised to cancel the tour in order to rest
and recover from her illness. Her record label offered refunds
through the tour's website. C-Kay later performed at the August 2011
“MTV Zushi Fes” music festival. On October 5, “Delicious Deli
Records” announced that after 12 years Crystal had left “Sony
Music Japan” and signed to them.
In 2012
C-Kay released 2 new singles and an album. Album “VIVID” featured
popular producers such as BACHLOGIC, UTA, T.KURA and MICHICO. The
album reached #35 on the Oricon charts and charted for 4 weeks.
On February
27, 2013, digital single “My Heart Beat” was released via iTunes.
A month later “CK LIVE 2013 "VIVID"” went on sale. It
is the second live DVD released by Crystal, at the same time it's her
first video release under “Universal Music Japan”. On Facebook
she wrote that she want all of her fans to check the DVD out, because
she, her dancers and staff put their hearts into it.
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