hitomi WHO!?!?

***ImpactBreaker*** · #1 4th July 2004, 09:00 PM

OK decided to make a simple thread talking a little bit about the 3 hitomis people usually get confused with (hitomi, Hitomi Yaida, Hitomi Shimatani)

I'll start with hitomi

Geez I hope it won't be too confusing lol.

hitomi (ALL IN LOW CASES)

The artist named just "hitomi" under low cases used to be a model, has a very thin body and is quite pretty. If you get to see her lips and listen to her nasal voice you won't ever forget who she is. Her style is a mix of pop, slow classic style ballads and some rock. She's been around since 1994, will make 10 years of career now

hitomi and Hitomi Shimatani are both under avex label

Here's some screenshots from her PVs: http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/attach...tid=2128&stc=1

Quote:

intro
Hitomi Furuya is a vibrant young lady with a distinctive voice. Her music transcends all eastern and western cultures in the basic theme of love and life, so watch out, she's going to take the world by storm!

history
She met Tetsuya Komuro at an audition while she was doing a model for magazines. The following year of November in 1994, she made a CD debut titled "Let's Play Winter" from avex trax. Since then, all lyrics in her productions have been written by hitomi, herself.

profile know MORE about hitomi?
Full Name: Hitomi Furuya
Prefecture: Kanagawa
Date of Birth: 26 January 1976
Blood Type: B
Star sign: Aquarius
Height : 167cm (5'6")
Weight : 48 kg (105lbs)
Measurements : 82-59-82 (32":23":32")
Previous Job: Fashion model

albums
# DATE NAME NOTES

01 27 Sep 1995 GO TO THE TOP
02 11 Sep 1996 By Myself
03 12 Nov 1997 Deja-Vu Got No.2 in Oricon Charts
04 24 Feb 1999 h Got No.1 in Oricon Charts continuously for 2 weeks
05 Oct 1999 Thermo Plastic
06 Dec 2000 Love Life
07 Jan 2002 huma-rhythm
08 Sep 2002 SELF PORTRAIT
09 Oct 2003 HTM `TIARTROP FLES`
10 2004 Traveler

singles
# DATE NAME NOTES

01 28 Nov 1994 Let's Play Winter
02 22 Feb 1995 We are "Lonely Girl"
03 21 Apr 1995 Candy Girl 400,000 copies
04 26 Jul 1995 Go to the Top Got No.1 in Oricon Charts
05 28 Feb 1996 Sexy
06 22 May 1996 In the future
07 07 Aug 1996 By myself Got No.1 in Oricon Charts
08 09 Apr 1997 Busy Now
09 11 Jun 1997 Problem
10 01 Oct 1997 Pretty Eyes
11 22 Apr 1998 Sora Composed by hitomi, herself
12 02 Dec 1998 Progress
13 27 Jan 1999 Someday
14 1999 kimi no tonari
15 04 Aug1999 there is ...
16 1999 taion
17 Jun 2000 LOVE 2000
18 2000 MARIA/eien toiu CATEGORY
19 Nov 2000 kimi ni KISS
20 2001 INNER CHILD
21 Aug 2001 IS IT YOU?
22 Jan 2002 SAMURAI DRIVE
23 2002 Understanding
24 Aug 2002 flow/BLADE RUNNER
25 hikari
26 kokoro no taibito/SPEED STAR

Source:http://www.geocities.com/luvhitomi/

Quote:

hitomi (Tochigi Prefecture, 1976- )
BUY hitomi's latest album, Huma Rhythm

If you spend any time watching Japanese television, you'll have seen this slinky songstress apearing in commercials advertising not just her latest single but also cars, makeup or a host of other products. Starting as a teen-fashion magazine model while still in school, hitomi (she dropped her family name, Furuya, and went all lower case - very hip!) has been around longer than Hamasaki Ayumi, who in many ways she resembles, but has only lately started to catch up in the popularity stakes.

She married a design company employee in November 2002 and went "into hiding" for a year and a half. In May 2004, she started her first tour in almost two years. She got publicity for the tour by playing an unannounced "secret live" in the departures lobby of Tokyo's Haneda Airport.

Get Hitomi CDs, videos and more at the best prices at YesAsia.com

One of the many artists discovered and raised by J-Pop super-producer Komuro Tetsuya, hitomi got her start in music with the avex trax label in 1993. She made her debut with Let's Play Winter in 1994 and the next year sold 400,000 copies of Candy Girl, her third single. She released three chart-topping albums and had considerable success under the guidance of Komuro, who encouraged her to write her own songs. But she really hit the big time after she went her own way in 1999.

Like Hamasaki, she is more independent than the closely-guarded "idols" and chooses her own look, which has made her one of the fashion leaders adulated by teenage girls across the country. Her skinny frame and come-hither expression have also ensured her a large male fan base. This broad-based popularity have enabled her to make the leap from recording artist to "image" girl, with all the lucrative comercial deals that brings.

hitomi is not afraid to use her sexuality, and indeed looks up to Madonna as one of her role models in this respect. Even when dressed, she tends to leave plenty of skin showing. She has appeared nude, with strategically placed long golden locks, on an album cover (right), released a single called Sexy, and her last release with Komuro was a greatest hits album simply called H. The double entendre is lost unless you know that the letter is pronounced "etchi" in Japanese, which is slang for sex.

She knows the right names to drop to establish her credibility, listing Beck, Bjork and Radiohead as her favorite western artists and Jane Birkin, Serge Gainsbourg and Vincent Gallo as her favorite actors.

http://www.japan-zone.com/modern/hitomi.shtml

Official website: http://www.avexnet.or.jp/hitomi/

***ImpactBreaker*** · #2 4th July 2004, 09:17 PM

Hitomi Yaida (AKA Yaiko)

Yaiko has a unique voice under the JPOP scene. It's IMPOSSIBLE to confuse her songs with any of the other hitomis because once you hear her voice you won't mistake it. Her style is mainly a poppish Rock. Her songs are pretty nice and addictive. She's under AOZORA RECORDS different from the other hitomis.

here are the screenshots from some of her PVS:
http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/attach...tid=2129&stc=1

A review about her from some website:

Quote:

Too many solo vocalists sing what they are told to sing on music they did not participate in. However, this new wave of multitalented and committed artists making music on their own terms is particularly refreshing and has Yaida Hitomi in the first row alongside the cream of the crop of Japanese artists.

From the first bouncy notes of Not Still Over, I was hooked. I later found out her musical range extended far beyond what I first tasted. Embracing her eccentricity instead of trying to blend in, Yaida Hitomi owes most of her success to her own hands and flair. This happy-go-lucky attitude has taken her very far and she is even on the verge of becoming an international star. She has already given the United Kingdom a taste of her music under the pseudonym "Yaiko".

Yaida Hitomi is often compared to Shéna Ringö. Aside from their common record label and age, I feel both artists’ styles are unique enough to invalidate this assumption. Even if her voice is slightly more generic, her talent for voice effects, holding notes and music composition sets her apart from everybody else.

Hitomi can play most of the instruments she composes for, but decided to leave music production during recordings and shows to an underground band named Diamond Head. Every crazy beat and sound that pops out of Hitomi’s head is interpreted faultlessly, whether it is the trendy guitar, synthesizer or more atypical instruments like bells and trumpets. This makes me wonder how long these music buffs can remain in the shadows. Yaiko, herself, always accompanies her troupe with her own guitar and positive attitude.

She insists during interviews that her songs are the embodiment of deep feelings she wants to express. This produces an energetic style full of wonders and surprises: "heart rock," as she calls it. Yaida Hitomi is still human, though: she openly admits there are many ugly things about herself and promises to reveal those in her songs, as well. Her dark side is not as exploited as her joyous traits but since she stays true to herself, who can blame her for having such exemplary proportions?

Breaking out in the music industry usually requires a healthy balance of talent and luck. As a twenty-one-year-old student with no prior stage or recording experience, Yaida Hitomi composed, produced and mixed enough songs on her own to compile a demo tape that found its way to the right clique. In turn, these influential people did not miss the potential in such an amazing artist and a few months later, this Osaka-native was recording her first album and mentally preparing herself for her first shows.

The first local hit (straight off of that illustrious demo tape) was Howling. She then followed up with two singles, B'Coz I Love You and My Sweet Darlin', which were later added to her first album, Daiya-monde, in October 2000. Candlize and i/flancy were released during the same month of the two following years and were as big, if not bigger than her debut album in terms of popularity.

Source: http://www.projectj.net/hitomi.htm

Official website:http://www.aozorarecords.com/yaiko/

***ImpactBreaker*** · #3 4th July 2004, 09:29 PM

Hitomi Shimatani

Well she is quite known for doing cover of songs like Papillon which is a cover from Doesn't Really Matter from Janet jackson. Her style is mainly pop and she seems to like the spanish style a lot since mosts of her songs have a spanish flavor added to them. She dances too. Most of her songs seems to be very cheerful. Her ballads are very sugary and happy, be careful those who are diabetic LOL

Some screenshots from a few of her PVS:
http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/attach...tid=2130&stc=1

review from some website:

Quote:

Shimatani Hitomi
~ Profile ~

Real Name : Shimatani Hitomi 島谷瞳
Date of Birth : 04 September 1980

Place of Birth : Hiroshima, Japan

Blood Type : O

Height : 161 cm

Interest : Watching movies

Shimatani Hitomi was discovered among 200,000 contestants in The Japan Audition 1997.
Gifted with powerful vocal powess, Hitomi hopes to be able to sing like Kudo Shizuka.
However, formal vocal lessons only began in 1999 after she graduated from school.
She made her debut as an Enka singer with her debut single Osaka no Onna on 28 July 1999.
Shimatani Hitomi won 2 Best Newcomer Awards in 1999.

On 27 September 2000, Hitomi released her first JPOP single Kaihoku.
Her fresh and powerful vocals caught the attention of many people.
On 27 February 2001, Hitomi released her second single Papillion, a cover version of Janet Jackson's 'Doesn't Really Matter'.
Personally, I think Papillion sounds much better !
The lyrics also contained some foreign words which made it sound more interesting.
Her first album was also named with the same title.
Hitomi later released Shanti ( meaning 'peace' in the Indian language ) and subsequently her second album also with the same title.
She also released her third single, her own version of a Japanese classic Ama-iro no Kami no Otome, which won the hearts of many Japanese people.

Hitomi then released her eighth single Itsu no Hi ni ka in autumn 2002, and her third album Poinsettia in winter 2002.
Konayuki, one of the tracks in Poinsettia, happens to be one of my favorite songs.

Source: http://www.geocities.com/kai4shimatani/Profile.html

Official website:http://www.avexnet.or.jp/shimatani/

***nmskalmn*** · #4 4th July 2004, 09:38 PM

I once read on another site that 'Yaiko is like Shiina Ringo, but happy'

Great summary ImpactBreaker

Unimatrix Prime™ · #5 4th July 2004, 09:53 PM

Ah! So "hitomi's" last name is Furuya! Didn't know that til now... and that "Flow" PV looks cool (kinda reminiscent to the dark feeling of B.O.Y.)! Wonder where I can find it at...

m-a-z-e · #6 4th July 2004, 10:00 PM

Cool! Great summary I only ever got confused with hitomi and Yaida Hitomi since I already was a fan of Hitomi Shimatani before I ever herd hitomi. ^_^ Thanks for clearing up alot of confusion. =D

AfanforXX · #7 4th July 2004, 10:02 PM

x_x, hitomi is cool, now if only we could download the In the future PV

mimika · #8 4th July 2004, 10:57 PM

i LOVE hitmomi yaida!!!

her voice and songs are great!!! especially Andante & Hitori Jenga

~K+ · #9 5th July 2004, 12:59 AM

Oh, this is good for all the people who mistaken them all the time, if only they read it all and keep it in though o_O'

Go Yaiko and hitomi. I'm so getting Yaiko's 2CD+DVD Set.

mimika · #10 5th July 2004, 02:00 AM

wow u gettin the 2CD set ~K+?? remember to share it when u do..haha...

~K+ · #11 5th July 2004, 02:06 AM

I'll wait and see if there's an OS ver first...the 2CD+DVD is too overpriced.

AyuLover · #12 5th July 2004, 02:18 AM

Hey...."Kimi ni KISS".....I want that song! By "all lower-case hitomi".

LOL....this thread is very interesting-I'm learning a lot because I've been hearing about a lot of Hitomis.

JimmyKoria · #13 5th July 2004, 03:24 AM

I like Yaiko and the hitomi. I was watching the clip of the caucasion speaking really fast japanese, and he was talking about Yaiko's cd. I like her songs very much!