Unlike all-too many J-pop chanteuses, Dreams Come True lead vocalist Miwa Yoshida can actually sing. In fact, she sings incredibly well. The combination of Yoshida's bright, assured vocal style and bassist/producer Masato Nakamura's keen pop sensibility made DCT one of Japan's biggest groups straight through the '90s. The band debuted in 1988 as a trio comprising Yoshida, Nakamura and keyboardist Takahiro Nishikawa, and soon became a consistent hit-making machine. In 1996 Yoshida released a brilliant...

Unlike all-too many J-pop chanteuses, Dreams Come True lead vocalist Miwa Yoshida can actually sing. In fact, she sings incredibly well. The combination of Yoshida's bright, assured vocal style and bassist/producer Masato Nakamura's keen pop sensibility made DCT one of Japan's biggest groups straight through the '90s. The band debuted in 1988 as a trio comprising Yoshida, Nakamura and keyboardist Takahiro Nishikawa, and soon became a consistent hit-making machine. In 1996 Yoshida released a brilliant solo album, Beauty And Harmony, recorded in the U.S. with top sessions players such as guitarist David T. Walker, percussionist Ralph McDonald and saxman Michael Brecker. In 1997 DCT left Sony and signed a worldwide deal with Virgin, reportedly for $25 million, in the hope of cracking the U.S. market. That same year saw the trio release an English-language version of their album Sing or Die, which unfortunately died in the U.S. DCT's career in Japan continued to flourish, however, as the band developed into a major summer live-concert attraction. In March 2002 DCT became a duo when Nishikawa quit the band, which wasn't all that surprising. For a long time Nishikawa had been very much the odd man out in the DCT lineup, especially after the contretemps surrounding his involvement in a car accident made his continued presence in the group something of a liability. Meanwhile DCT continue as a mainstay of the J-pop scene, although their popularity has diminished since their early-'90s heyday.