Asuca Hayashi | Profile Jaws dropped when Asuca Hayashi began singing at Toshiba-EMI’s Music Talks showcase event in Tokyo in late 2002. Just 13 at the time, the diminutive (154 cm tall) Hayashi displayed an amazingly mature, almost husky voice and a confident, charismatic onstage persona. Born and raised in Osaka, Hayashi became interested in music at an early age. Her entrée into the world of show business came when her piano teacher sent a demo tape to a music producer, and that contact resulted in her being signed to Toshiba-EMI. Hayashi's music is very much in the R&B/pop-fusion vein of artists such as Hikaru Utada. Among those who saw Hayashi’s ”Music Talks” performance was EMI Southeast Asia boss Norman Cheng, who decided she would appeal to Asian music fans outside of Japan and so arranged to have her perform at after-show concert at the ninth Channel V Chinese Music Awards in Shanghai on Jan. 19, 2003. Hayashi’s debut single, "Ake-kaze (Morning Wind)", which peaked at No. 14 on the Oricon singles chart, was released on Jan. 22, 2003, in both Japan and Taiwan. "Ake-kaze" – which was used as the theme song for a rice-cooker TV commercial -- is a vocal tour-de-force, with Hayashi hitting some very low notes before zooming up a couple of octaves for some piercing high notes. Her first album, the very impressive and assured Saku, was released in May 2003 in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China. In March 2004 Hayashi was one of the recipients of the New Artist of the Year award at the Recording Industry Association of Japan’s Gold Disc Awards ceremony. Definitely an artist to watch. |
