Jazz-pop diva Mika Nakashima has been one the music industry's most successful artists since the turn of the century. Appealing as both a pop singer and a "serious artist", Nakashima's smoky, emotive voice and sophisticated style belie her youth. Born in 1983, Nakashima was committed to becoming a professional singer from a young age, foregoing high school to pursue her dream as soon as possible. She was selected from 3,000 girls to play the heroine of the autumn 2001 Fuji TV drama...

Jazz-pop diva Mika Nakashima has been one the music industry's most successful artists since the turn of the century. Appealing as both a pop singer and a "serious artist", Nakashima's smoky, emotive voice and sophisticated style belie her youth. Born in 1983, Nakashima was committed to becoming a professional singer from a young age, foregoing high school to pursue her dream as soon as possible. She was selected from 3,000 girls to play the heroine of the autumn 2001 Fuji TV drama Kizu darake no love song, making her musical debut in November with the single "Stars", the theme song for the drama, on Sony Music Entertainment. "Stars" was a bona-fide hit, selling half a million copies and immediately establishing Nakashima as a star. Her second single, a limited edition of 100,000 copies entitled "Crescent Moon", debuted on the Oricon charts at #4 and sold out on the release day, further cementing her status as a bankable artist. Each of her next three singles, all released before May 2002, sold over 100,000 copies. Nakashima released her first full-length, True, in August 2002. Featuring a mature, jazz-inflected style that contrasted favorably with Japan's typical "idol" music, the record debuted at #1 on the Oricon charts, selling 1 million units in the first three weeks after release, and going on to sell close to 1.5 million. Later the same year, Nakashima received the Best New Artist award from the All Japan Request Awards for 2002, netting the Golden Arrow Best New Artist the following February, and Album of the Year for True at the Gold Disc Awards the next month. She avoided the sophomore slump when her second album, the November 2003 Love sold over 1.5 million copies, bettering her debut. A concept album revolving around the theme of love, Love showcased Nakashima performing a wider variety of music ranging from ballads to rock to club jazz. Love was awarded the Best Album award at the Japan Record Awards, held by the Japan Composers Association. Her third album, Music, was released in March 2005, followed by Best in December of the same year. In addition to Japan, Nakashima has hit it big in Taiwan, China, and especially Korea, where in 2003 she was the first Japanese artist ever to sell over 30,000 units, outgunning even the traditionally popular Ayumi Hamasaki and Hikaru Utada.