The duo Chemistry have been one of the more successful acts from the wave of smooth soul and R&B artists that appeared at the turn of the century. Comprising Kaname Kawabata and Yoshikuni Dochin, Chemistry came together for the popular televised audition program Asayan, where many other major acts including Ami Suzuki and Morning Musume also got their starts. Chosen from over 19,000 contestants who auditioned between October 1999 and January 2001, the duo pre-debuted with the single...

The duo Chemistry have been one of the more successful acts from the wave of smooth soul and R&B artists that appeared at the turn of the century. Comprising Kaname Kawabata and Yoshikuni Dochin, Chemistry came together for the popular televised audition program Asayan, where many other major acts including Ami Suzuki and Morning Musume also got their starts. Chosen from over 19,000 contestants who auditioned between October 1999 and January 2001, the duo pre-debuted with the single "Saigo No Yoru" in December 2000, making their major label debut on Sony with the single "Pieces of a Dream" in March 2001. Produced by Kiyoshi "KC" Matsuo, also known for his work with Ken Hirai among others, the single shifted well over one million units and hit number one on the Oricon charts. The duo released their second single, "Point of No Return", later that year, also making the trip to Taiwan to participate in the 2001 MTV Summer Summit. This was followed shortly by the duo's third single, "Go Your Own Way". A short-run 48 hour webcast accompanied the release of the latter, chalking up over one million hits in the two days it was online. Chemistry dropped their first full-length album, The Way We Are, in November 2001. Serving up more of the duo's smooth sound, the record featured collaborations with Keiko Lee and Dabo, and sold a staggering three million units, entrenching Chemistry at the top of the charts and triggering a slew of television appearances, endorsements, and events. Second to None appeared in January 2003, topping two million units in sales and again putting Chemistry at the top of the charts. In mid-2003, the duo released the remix album Between the Lines, marking a split with producer Matsuo and collaborations with Ketsumeishi, Lisa, and others. The duo's third album, OneOne, was released in February 2004 and featured Kawabata and Dochin, who produced much of the record, experimenting more with their sound and incorporating a wider variety of beats and styles. While not posting the sales numbers of its predecessors, OneOne still sold almost a million units - enough to put it close to the top of the sales charts for the year. Their fourth album, Hot Chemistry, was released in 2005. While Chemistry has had limited success in Europe and the United States, other Asian countries have extended them a warm welcome. In addition to the abovementioned trip to Taiwan, they have performed well on the Taiwan charts, hitting number three in 2003 with their single "My Gift to You". The duo was selected in 2002 as part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup official artist unit Voices of Korea/Japan, along with Brown Eyes (Korea), Lena Park (Korea), and Sowelu (Japan), raising their profile significantly in Korea, adding to the mutual cultural interest that has been blazing between the two countries since the turn of the century. In 2003, Chemistry traveled to Shanghai with labelmate Mika Nakashima to perform at the 2003 Asia Superstar Anti-Piracy Concert, playing to a massive audience of receptive Chinese fans.