Olivia Lufkin

Irrashai!

As what Red Ollero a.k.a. 'Plasticbagman' posted, I'll be handling Japanese Rock, or J-Rock. I've been a fan of Japanese music ever since I got myself addicted to Japanese Animation (or anime). So for my debut post, I'll be featuring an emerging J-Rock artist that got her debut from an anime (which I also watch).

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Olivia Lufkin

Daughter of an American father and a Japanese mother, Olivia Lufkin, or simply OLIVIA, is a female solo J-Rock artist.


Discovery of a talent
OLIVIA was discovered by top Japanese music label Avex Trax and was teamed up with two other female artists, forming D&D in the late '90s which had a Eurobeat sound.

However, OLIVIA seemed to have huge potential as a solo artist and so she was dropped from D&D in late 1998 and went on a solo career, still under Avex Trax. She released nine singles, all of which are alternative rock, from 1999 to 2000 and later was compiled in her first album synchronicity which was released late 2000. Two singles followed in 2002 and 2003.

Downfall of success
Unfortunately, OLIVIA's highest Oricon (top entertainment chart in Japan) record was #29 with her second and third album. Though with not much success, she continued to produce her own songs and decided not to go mainstream. Avex Trax then decided to transfer her to their 'indie' sublabel cutting edge and produced four English-only mini-albums. She then released her second album, The Lost Lolli, which was English-only but only made it to #111 in the Oricon charts. She then had an unofficial hiatus and worked as a model and fashion designer.

Comeback
Although The Lost Lolli was not a big hit in Japan, Avex Trax released an overseas version of the album, reflecting OLIVIA's good foreign career (since only top-selling artists had international releases). Her long absence was broken when it was announced that she will be recording the ending song for the anime NANA (adapted from the manga of the same title) under the name OLIVIA inspi' REIRA(TRAPNEST) (Reira Serizawa being the character in the anime that she is portraying). The pilot episode aired April 5, 2006 and the single, titled a little pain, was released on June 28 of the same year which debuted in the Oricon Top 10 Daily Charts.

What new with OLIVIA?
OLIVIA released the album titled The Cloudy Dreamer on January 17, 2007 which reached #15 in the Oricon Weekly Charts. Songs included in the album are the new opening and ending songs for the anime NANA and the ending song for the live action drama Jigoku Shoujo. She recently performed in the Pacific Media Expo (PMX), an event that covers Japanese entertainment in general, in Los Angeles.

Must-hear songs

• a little pain - single; first ending song, NANA; included in the album The Cloudy Dreamer.
  
• Wish - single; second opening song, NANA; included in the album Untitled (as OLIVIA inspi' REIRA(TRAPNEST)).
  
• Starless Night - single; second ending song, NANA; included in the album Untitled (as OLIVIA inspi' REIRA(TRAPNEST)).
• Dream Catcher - ending song, Jigoku Shoujo Live Action; included in the album The Cloudy Dreamer.
  

References:
Olivia Lufkin at Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_Lufkin
Olivia Lufkin Online
http://www.olivialufkinonline.com/
Olivia Lufkin's Official Website
http://www.avexnet.or.jp/olivia/