Yo Hitoto | Profile Born in 1976 to a Taiwanese father and Japanese mother, popular singer Yo Hitoto spent most of her pre-kindergarten life in Taiwan. After the unfortunate death of her father to lung cancer, Hitoto moved back to Japan with her mother and older sister, where the family found solace in music. Tragedy struck again when Hitoto was sixteen with the death of her mother, after which she was brought up by her sister. Despite the setbacks, Hitoto was a top student, and was admitted to the prestigious Keio University, where she joined an a capella group called K.O.E. ("koe" is the Japanese word for voice), performing on the streets of Tokyo and honing her vocal chops. During this time, she made the acquaintance of Yoichi Kitayama of the hugely popular a capella group The Gospellers, who encouraged her to compose and pursue a professional career. Hitoto began to write and perform with other artists shortly thereafter and in October 2002 released her debut single "Morai Naki" to an enthusiatic reaction from the marketplace. Despite her age, Hitoto's writing style and vocal delivery were exceptionally mature, and immediately won her a range of fans much wider than the typical J-pop idol. Her debut full-length, Tsukitenshin was released in December of the same year, selling close to a million copies and establishing Hitoto as a major star. The music was more of the same - a mixture of piano-driven balladry, lushly orchestrated poppier numbers, and folky, honest tracks that somehow simultaneously recalled traditional Japanese music and fit in with today's modern pop format. She has released consistently since, chalking up significant sales for her label Columbia and maintaining a high profile spot in the world of J-pop. Hitoto expanded her range when she hit the big screen in 2003 in the highly acclaimed Café Lumière, an homage to legendary auteur Yasujiro Ozu from the Chinese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien. She has also maintained her Taiwan connection, and is best known there for her performance of a Taiwanese folk song in a beer commercial there. by Bill Haw
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