Misaki Itō (伊藤 美咲, Itō Misaki) commonly known as Misia (ミーシャ, Mīsha; born July 7, 1978) and stylized in all caps, is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Born in Tsushima, Nagasaki, Misia moved to Fukuoka at the age of 14 to pursue a recording career. There, she continued her secondary education and briefly attended Seinan Gakuin University before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She was signed to BMG Japan in 1997, after auditioning for record producer Haruo Yoda.
Misia came to prominence following the release of her debut album, Mother Father Brother Sister (1998), which became the seventh best-selling Japanese debut album of all time, earning her two Japan Gold Disc Awards and one Japan Record Award. In 2000, Misia released her sophomore album, Love Is the Message, which earned her another Japan Gold Disc Award and Japan Record Award. Her third studio album, Marvelous (2001), spawned her first number-one single on the Oricon singles chart, "Everything". The song became one of the best-selling singles of all time in Japan, and is the third best-selling physical single by a Japanese solo female artist of all time.
In 2001, Misia and her management, Rhythmedia, signed a recording contract with Avex and formed their own label, Rhythmedia Tribe. Her first album under Rhythmedia Tribe, Kiss in the Sky, became Misia's fourth consecutive number-one album on the Oricon albums chart. In doing so, Misia became the fourth solo female artist with the longest streak of number-one albums since their debut. Following a series of successful records, including Mars & Roses, Singer for Singer and Ascension, Misia returned to her former record label, BMG Japan. After Sony Music Entertainment Japan's acquisition of BMG Japan, Misia relocated to the Sony subsidiary, Ariola Japan.
Misia has released thirteen studio albums and is among the all-time best-selling Japanese music artists, having sold more than 20 million records. She is one of the top-touring artists in Japan, becoming the first female artist to play all five of Japan's largest stadiums in 2004. Besides her musical career, Misia is also a committed philanthropist and involves herself in humanitarian causes and biodiversity conservation activities.
Contents
Biography
Early life
Misia was born on July 7, 1978, to parents who were both doctors. BusinessWeek reported in 2002 that her real name was Misaki Ito (伊藤美咲, Ito Misaki) though her official site lists only her stage name. Her father loved jazz, and her mother is Ryukyuan, and loved Western music. Originally both her parents studied vocal music.
She grew up in Tsushima, Nagasaki.
She gradually came to want to leave Tsushima, where she was not able to get enough information about music, and wanted to take voice lessons in earnest in Fukuoka. Subsequently, she left her home and moved to Fukuoka with her elder sister where she attended high school. During junior high and high school she sang and played the trumpet in the brass band club.
While going to the high school, she also began to go to a music academy and met two Black American vocal trainers there while she was in the eleventh grade. She began training with them in gospel and R&B. In April 1997, she was accepted into Seinan Gakuin University in commercial science.
Career beginnings
In May 1997, Misia finally passed a BMG Japan audition to find a soulful female R&B singer. Misia sang "Goodbye Darlin'" by Dreams Come True and was chosen from about 3,000 candidates. She decided to pursue a music career instead of school education and took a leave of absence from university. Her perception of the image of an R&B singer is hair styled in dreadlocks, so she styled her own hair that way that November. She used the stage name "MISIA" at the beginning of her music career.
Establishing her popularity: 1998–2002
Misia debuted on February 21, 1998, with "Tsutsumikomu Yō ni..." which peaked at number 11 on the Oricon single charts.
Her second single "Hi no Ataru Basho" reached number 9 and was used in the soundtrack of the movie Hood. Her first album, Mother Father Brother Sister, was released on June 24, 1998, entering the charts at number 3 and reaching number 1 after 4 weeks. In March 1999, she won Best New Artist of the Year and Best Pop Album of the Year at the Japan Gold Disc Awards.
Misia's second album, Love Is the Message was released on January 1, 2000, which went on to sell over 2 million copies. In October of the same year she released her most well-known song "Everything", which sold nearly 1.9 million copies.
In 2001, one of Misia's dreams came true with the release of "I Miss You (Toki o Koete)", a collaboration with Dreams Come True, her favorite band. She and Masato Nakamura, the leader of DCT, created the music while Misia wrote the lyrics. The single was released on January 1, 2001.
Avex Trax: 2002–2007
In 2002, she transferred to a new record label, Rhythmedia Tribe, affiliated with Avex Group.
Her single "Kokoro Hitotsu" released on August 27, 2003, was used as the theme song to the hit movie Dragon Head.
The single "Namae no Nai Sora o Miagete", released on July 7, 2004, was used as the theme song for the drama Tenka. "Tobikata o Wasureta Chiisana Tori" is used as the theme song of the PlayStation 2 role-playing game Star Ocean: Till the End of Time and also appears within the game as an orchestral arrangement. Also, "Sea of Dreams" was used as the Tokyo DisneySea 5th Anniversary theme song.
Misia became the first female solo act to tour the five major dome stadiums of Japan (Tokyo Dome, Nagoya Dome, Osaka Dome, Sapporo Dome and Fukuoka Dome) in 2004, drawing 357,000 spectators in seven performances.
Return to BMG Japan: 2007–present
It was announced on May 1, 2007, that Misia had left Avex Trax to return to her former record label, BMG Japan. "Any Love" was released on July 4, 2007; the song was composed by Satoshi Shimano, who also produced her debut hit.
Her song "To Be in Love" is the Japanese theme song to Bridge to Terabithia.
On September 29, 2007, Misia held her first overseas concert, in Taiwan.
Her next single, "Royal Chocolate Flush", was released in December 2007, and the first album since returning to BMG, Eighth World, came out in January 2008.
Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle Mariners), a major league player, chose "Ishin Denshin" and "Royal Chocolate Flush" by Misia as an at-bat music of 2008 with Sayuri Ishikawa's "Amagi-goe".
In May 2008, Misia joined Sadao Watanabe, Juanes, Youssou N'Dour, and Bono for the 'One For All' event on May 29, 2008, for 1,500 in Yokohama, Japan.
Misia put out three new releases from April to June 2008: Yes Forever in April, "Yakusoku no Tsubasa" in May, and Decimo X Anniversario de Misia: The Tour of Misia 2008 Eighth World + The Best DJ Remixes in June.
In continuation of her 10th anniversary celebration, Misia released her first digital single, "Catch the Rainbow" (produced by Sakoshin) on August 30, 2008.]
She wrapped up The Tour of Misia Discothèque Asia in early March, a tour that brought her to Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai and opened her eyes to the different responses of crowds as she noted "In Japan, it is like people are melting into one group in their excitement, but in Singapore young couples started to kiss. I often see Japanese couples hand-in-hand, but it is rare to see them showing they love each other in front of others."
Philanthropic work
Misia began getting involved in fund-raising in 2002 and went on to visit Kenya, Mali, and Malawi, setting up the charity Child Africa. Child Africa holds exhibitions, benefit concerts, collects donations and provides help of educational specialists and advisers. Some of Misia's own tour merchandise available at her shows are made by people she has met on her visits to Kenya.
On March 1, 2010, Misia was appointed Honorary Ambassador for the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10) by the U.N. Secretary General. Her role was largely to raise awareness of the issues and she created a website titled Satoyama Basket to encourage education on the issue of biodiversity.
At her 2010 "Hoshizora no Live VI" tour, Misia produced a "Biodiversity Band" (a silicon bracelet) with profits going to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The tour also included a biodiversity booth under the cooperation of the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.
During the 2010 World Cup, for which Misia contributed a song, she visited the "Football for Hope Center" to communicate with local children who received football lessons but also advice on HIV & AIDS.
In May 2010, Misia expanded her activities by establishing a foundation named "mudef" (Music Design Foundation) for which she is a board member. The principal aim of mudef is "to raise awareness on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to accelerate its accomplishment". Within eight major goals of MDGs that are to be met by 2015, the conservation of biodiversity and the achievement of universal primary school, her two major focuses, are included.
Discography
Mother Father Brother Sister (1998)
Love Is the Message (2000)
Marvelous (2001)
Kiss in the Sky (2002)
Mars & Roses (2004)
Singer for Singer (2004)
Ascension (2007)
Eighth World (2008)
Just Ballade (2009)
Soul Quest (2011)
Misia no Mori: Forest Covers (2011)
New Morning (2014)
Love Bebop (2016)
Life Is Going On and On (2018)
Hello Love (2021)
Love Never Dies (2025)
Filmography
Sing (2017): Meena (Japanese voice)
Sing 2 (2022): Meena (Japanese voice)