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Beni Arashiro

 
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Beni Arashiro
安良城紅

Background information
Birth name Arashiro Beni
Born March 30, 1986 (1986-03-30) (age 23)
Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Origin Japan, United States
Genres Pop, R&B
Occupations Singer-songwriter, actress, model, TV personality
Years active 2004-present
Labels Avex Trax (2004-2008)
Nayutawave Records/Universal Music Japan (2008-present)
Website Official website

Beni Arashiro (安良城紅 Arashiro Beni?, born March 30, 1986 in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan) is a Japan-based Pop and R&B singer-songwriter, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label. In 2008, Arashiro left Avex Trax and transferred to Universal Music Japan where she started to perform under the mononym, Beni.

Contents

Life and career

Start of her career

Born in Okinawa she moved to California and then Yokohama.[1][2][3] Her father is American of White and Amerindian descent, and her mother is Uchinanchu. She was influenced from Namie Amuro, Alicia Keys and her father's favorite singer Janet Jackson.[4] She graduated from U.S. Naval Base, Japan. She was studying political science.

From a young age she wanted to become a singer and because of her musical parents she took lessons at the piano from a young age. Because her parents were living overseas she was traveling between Japan and America a lot which exposed her to both Japanese as overseas music. When she was in Japan she participated in the Kokuminteki Bishojo Contest the largest talent contest. She made it all the way to the finals. This was quite special since she had no formal training. When her demotape was seen by Avex Trax they were impressed by her clear vioce natural beauty and English pronunciation that they decided to give her a debut.[5] She became a member of Bishoujo Club 31. Beni was the first from the group to pursue a solo career while being active as a member of the group.[6] Her first solo single named "Harmony" was released on the 9th of June in 2004. The song Harmony was a theme song for the Japanese drama Rei-kan Bus Guide Jikenbo.

2004–2005: Rising popularity and first album

Her second single named "Infinite..." showcased a different side of Beni. The song had a more R&B tune and Beni showed dance skills in the music video. The song Infinite... was also a intro song for the music TV program "COUNT DOWN TV" in October 2004.

Her third single, released November 25, was "Here Alone" from which the leading song was the ending song for the popular Japanese drama Kurokawa no Techo. Although the single wasn't a hit, the song itself was a hit. A few months after Here Alone an album named Beni and single named "Miracle" were released on February 7, 2005. Although the single charted low, the album was well received because of the variations in music styles and vocal range. After her album release she won at the 19th Japan Gold Disc Awards the titel "New Artist of the Year".[5]

2005–2006: Decline in sales and Girl 2 Lady

Because of her popularity she got a contract with KOSE to promote KOSE's new VISE line of makeup. In the first official CM her new single song was promoted named "Hikari no Kazu dake Glamorous". The single also included a cover of Christina Milian CALL ME, BEEP ME which is the theme song for Disney's popular animated series, Kim Possible. The music video was not only promoted in the US, but also in 68 counties worldwide. However the single charted at the #40 place on the Oricon chart. She also became the face of Glico confectionery.

Nearly 6 months later, her 6th single "Cherish" released. The leading song Cherish served as theme song for NTV's Ongaku Senshi MUSIC FIGHTER and POWER PLAY. The B-side song named Goal the 3rd ending theme song for an Animanga Eyeshield 21. Two months later, on 22 February 2006 (a year after debut album Beni), her second album named Girl 2 Lady was released. The album was promoted by the 2nd KOSE VISEE CM song FLASH which was a digital release. The album however reached the #87 spot on the Oricon.[5][7] Shortly after the release she started playing in an Andrew Lloyd Webber play named The Beautiful Game in Japan. In the Musical she was the female heroine.[8]

2006–2008: Gem, first live tour and compilation album

Because of the participation in the musical it took a long time for Beni to release new material. When the musical stopped touring in 2006, she began modeling as the face of Cecil McBee, one of the largest and most popular Japanese clothing lines that appeals to teenage and college girls. She was also the host of the NHK fashion program, Tokyo Kawaii TV, where Beni discusses the latest fashion trends in Japan. When she became the face of Orion Beer a new single was announced to be released on the 20th September. Her seventh single is named "How Are U?". This single was her first single not to chart on the Oricon chart and is considered a total flop. Her eight single named "Luna" was an ending theme song for the Japanese drama Warui Yatsura. This single charted at the #77 spot making it a small comeback from Beni. On April 24, 2007, Beni released her third studio album named Gem. The album charted at the #114 place on the Oricon chart.[9]

Shortly after the albums release she went had her first one-man live tour. After the tour it was announced that Beni would make a movie debut in a movie called Bra Bra Ban Ban to be released nationwide in theater in March.[10][11] She would also sing the theme song for the movie that would be released as a single. However the official website removed the single and replaced it by a Greatest Hit album album named Chapter One: Complete Collection.The DVD included a digest of her first LIVE tour.

2008–present: Going from Beni Arashiro to BENI

In June 2008, Japanese rapper Dohzi-T featured her in a song "Mō Ichi do...", which sold over two million ringtone downloads.[12] In October 2008, it was announced that she left her label Avex Trax and moved to Universal Music Japan and she would write her own songs. At the same time, she changed her stage name to Beni and suspended her acting career.[13] Her first single in Universal, "Mō Nido to...", was her answer song to "Mō Ichi do...". The digital download for the song started on November 12 and debuted at #1 on the Recochoku ringtone daily rankings.[14][15] The official PV began to be aired on November 28 on YouTube.[16] It ranked at #1 on the YouTube favourite music video ranking in Japan at the first week.[17] The physical CD, released on December 10, 2008, was charted at #20 on Oricon.

Her next single "Kiss Kiss Kiss" was released on April 8, 2009. Despite the fact that it ranked at the #40 spot on the Oricon ranking, the song hit the #1 spot for weekly full-track download sales on the RIAJ Digital Track Chart. Her single "Koi Kogarete" was released on June 10. The single features the theme song for brand FOREVER 21.[18] Although the song debuted at the #9 place on the RIAJ Digital Track Chart, the single charted at the #70 place on the weekly chart of the Oricon charts. On August 12, 2009, "Zutto Futari de" was released. The single included a Orion beer commercial song named "With U".[19] The song debuted at #6 on the RIAJ Digital Track Chart, but the single charted at the #67 place on the Oricon weekly charts.

BENI's new album named Bitter & Sweet was released on September 2, 2009.[20] The album ranked #5 on the weekly Oricon chart selling about 30,000 copies in the first week, making it Beni's highest ranked and best sold album to date. Bitter & Sweet was certified Gold by RIAJ for shipment of 100,000 copies.[21] She went on a club tour. The tour was named Bitter&Sweet RELEASE TOUR.[22] The tour was so successful that new tour dates were added.[23] On 9 October, Beni's official website announced a limited re-cut single named KIRA☆KIRA☆ to be released on 11 November.[24][25]

On 16 December, Beni's official website announced a new single named サイン.[26] With it came the collaboration with the popular brand MURUA.[27]

Discography

Albums

  1. 2005 February 9 - Beni reached #14 on Oricon
  2. 2006 February 22 - Girl 2 Lady reached #87 on Oricon
  3. 2007 April 24 - Gem reached #114 on Oricon
  4. 2008 March 5 Chapter One: Complete Collection (Greatest hits album) reached #166 on Oricon
  5. 2009 September 2 - Bitter & Sweet (BENI) reached #5 on Oricon

Singles

  1. 2004 June 9 - Harmony #26 on Oricon
  2. 2004 October 20 - Infinite... #24 on Oricon
  3. 2004 November 25 - Here Alone #14 on Oricon
  4. 2005 February 9 - Miracle #98 on Oricon
  5. 2005 June 1 - Hikari no Kazu dake Glamorous #40 on Oricon
  6. 2005 December 7 - Cherish #96 on Oricon
  7. 2006 September 20 - How Are U? Failed to chart
  8. 2007 February 28 - Luna #77 on Oricon
  9. 2008 December 10 - Mō Nido to... (BENI) #20 on Oricon
  10. 2009 April 8 - Kiss Kiss Kiss (BENI) #40 on Oricon
  11. 2009 June 10 - Koi Kogarete (BENI) #70 on Oricon
  12. 2009 August 12 - Zutto Futari de (BENI) #67 on Oricon
  13. 2009 November 11 - KIRA☆KIRA☆ (BENI) #94 on Oricon
  14. 2010 January 20 - サイン (BENI)

Collaborations

  1. 2008 June 11 - Mō Ichi do... #7 on Oricon
  2. 2008 September 24 - STAR IN MY SKY feat. BENI (MAKAI - Stars) #32 on Oricon
  3. 2008 September 24 - Mō Ichi do... feat BENI, summer days feat.BENI<08'ver> (Dohzi-T - 12 Love Stories) #3 on Oricon
  4. 2009 March 25 - BENI - Supterstar (Yesterday Once more ~Tribute To [The Carpenters|Carpenters]~)[28]
  5. 2009 March 25 - Finally feat.BENI (MAKAI - LEGEND)[29]
  6. 2009 August 12 - The Boy is Mine, Tynisha Keli feat. BENI
  7. 2009 September 16 - L.O.T.（Love or Truth) feat. BENI (M-flo - Tribute: Maison de m-flo) #8 on Oricon[30]
  8. 2009 December 16 - Heaven feat. BENI (Dohzi-T - 4 ever)[31]

References

  1. ^ "Beni Arashiro kicks off her career". Japan Today. 2005-08-03. http://archive.japantoday.com/jp/newsmaker/267. Retrieved 2008-12-09. 
  2. ^ (Japanese) "安良城 紅". goo. http://music.goo.ne.jp/artist/ARTLISD1169529/index.html. Retrieved 2008-12-09. 
  3. ^ (Japanese) "Close up Vol. 112: Arashiro Beni". Excite Music. 2005. http://www.excite.co.jp/music/closeup/0502/beni.dcg. Retrieved 2008-12-09. 
  4. ^ (Japanese) "Arashiro Beni Special Interview". Hot Express. 2005. http://www.hotexpress.co.jp/interview/arashirobeni/. Retrieved 2008-12-09. 
  5. ^ a b c "Nippop". Nippop. 2009-06-27. http://nippop.com/artists/Beni_Arashiro/. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
  6. ^ "BENI - 安良城紅 - artiesten - JaME Nederland". David Hickey & Tessa. 2007. http://www.jame-world.com/nl/database-artists-overview-669-beni.html. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
  7. ^ "Arashiro Beni". Halvsie Wiki. 2009-06-27. http://wiki.halvsie.com/index.php?title=Arashiro_Beni. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
  8. ^ "allmusic (((Beni Arashiro > Biography)))". David Hickey. 2009-06-27. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:avfixqudldde~T1. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
  9. ^ "allmusic (((Beni Arashiro > Biography)))". David Hickey. 2009-06-27. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:avfixqudldde~T1. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
  10. ^ "Film: j-pop singer Beni Arashiro to make her big screen debut in 2008". Richie. 2009-06-27. http://karakui.com/2007/12/03/film-j-pop-singer-beni-arashiro-to-make-her-big-screen-debut-in-2008/. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
  11. ^ "Arashiro Beni in Bra Bra Ban Ban". MyStarHill. 2007-11-30. http://blog.mystarhill.com/?s=arashi. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
  12. ^ (Japanese) "童子-T、キャリア19年目にして“旬”を迎える". Barks. 2008-10-01. http://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000043791. Retrieved 2008-12-02. 
  13. ^ (Japanese) "安良城紅が“BENI”に名義変更、歌手一本で再出発". Oricon. 2008-11-09. http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/confidence/59819/. Retrieved 2008-12-09. 
  14. ^ (Japanese) "BENI新曲「もう二度と…」着うたが初登場1位獲得". natalie. 2008-11-13. http://natalie.mu/news/show/id/10963. Retrieved 2008-12-10. 
  15. ^ (Japanese) "BENI、新曲PVには「自分では恥ずかしくて見れない」シーンも". Barks. 2008-12-01. http://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000045341. Retrieved 2008-12-10. 
  16. ^ (Japanese) "BENI　着うたが大ヒット中「もう二度と・・・」の切なすぎるPVが完成！". vibe-net. 2008-11-28. http://www.vibe-net.com/news/?news=0036424. Retrieved 2008-12-10. 
  17. ^ (Japanese) "BENI、好きな人ができると周りが…". Barks. 2008-12-09. http://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000045523. Retrieved 2008-12-10. 
  18. ^ (Japanese) "BENI Nayutawave records NEWS". Universal Japan. 2009-04-29. http://www.universal-music.co.jp/beni/news/index.html. Retrieved 2009-05-04. 
  19. ^ (Japanese) "BENI Nayutawave records NEWS". Universal Japan. 2009-07-07. http://www.universal-music.co.jp/beni/news/index.html. Retrieved 2009-07-07. 
  20. ^ (Japanese) "BENI official website NEWS". Universal music Japan. 2009-07-29. http://www.universal-music.co.jp/beni/news/index.html. Retrieved 2009-07-29. 
  21. ^ (Japanese) "ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2009年9月". RIAJ. http://www.riaj.or.jp/data/others/gold/200909.html. Retrieved 2009-10-14. 
  22. ^ (Japanese) "BENI official website NEWS". Universal music Japan. 2009-09-24. http://www.universal-music.co.jp/beni/news/index.html. Retrieved 2009-09-24. 
  23. ^ (Japanese) "The 'B'log". universal. 2009-09-24. http://ameblo.jp/beni-official/. Retrieved 2009-09-24. 
  24. ^ (Japanese) "Universal Music Japan - BENI". universal. 2009-10-09. http://www.universal-music.co.jp/beni/disco/index3.html. Retrieved 2009-10-09. 
  25. ^ (Japanese) "GLAMEROUS..A fansite to BENI". Jennifer. 2009-10-09. http://www.beni-arashiro.com/. Retrieved 2009-10-09. 
  26. ^ (Japanese) "BENI Nayutawave records NEWS". Universal Japan. 2009-12-17. http://www.universal-music.co.jp/beni/news/index.html. Retrieved 2009-12-16. 
  27. ^ (Japanese) "BENI×マルイ　コラボレーション決定!!". Excite Music hall. http://www.excite.co.jp/music/news/story/67462/. Retrieved 2009-12-28. 
  28. ^ (Japanese) "Amazon.jp: イエスタデイ・ワンス・モア~Tribute To Carpenters~". Amazon.jp. 2009-07-24. http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%A4%E3%82%A8%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%87%E3%82%A4%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AF%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BB%E3%83%A2%E3%82%A2~Tribute-Carpenters~-%E3%82%AA%E3%83%A0%E3%83%8B%E3%83%90%E3%82%B9/dp/B001PBQL9C/ref=sr_1_39?ie=UTF8&qid=1248450997&sr=8-39. Retrieved 2009-07-24. 
  29. ^ (Japanese) "Amazon.jp: LEGEND:MAKAI". Amazon.jp. 2009-07-24. http://www.amazon.co.jp/LEGEND-MAKAI/dp/B001Q6IJ2I/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1248450639&sr=8-2. Retrieved 2009-07-24. 
  30. ^ (Japanese) "Yesasia: m-flo TRIBUTE -maison de m-flo- (Japan Version)". Yesasia. 2009-08-18. http://www.yesasia.com/us/m-flo-tribute-japan-version/1020469275-0-0-0-en/info.html. Retrieved 2009-08-18. 
  31. ^ (Japanese) "Dohzi-T official website DISCOGRAPHY". Universal Japan. 2009-12-15. http://www.dzt.jp/discography.html#CD20. Retrieved 2009-12-15. 

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