- Mari Iijima
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Mari Iijima
飯島 真理
Mari Iijima in 2010Background information Born May 18, 1963 Origin Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, Japan Genres J-Pop, Pop, Synthpop Occupations Singer, Songwriter Years active 1983–present Labels Marimusic/BounDee Website Official Website Mari Iijima (飯島 真理 Iijima Mari, born May 18, 1963 in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki) is a Japanese singer-songwriter who has released over 20 original albums to date. She writes and produces most of her own music, is a multi-instrumentalist, and is an accomplished piano player. After being signed to JVC Victor in 1982, Mari first became known for her voice-acting role as Lynn Minmay in the anime Macross. Her debut original album Rosé was released in 1983, which was produced by composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. She also later collaborated with other world-renowned musicians, such as Van Dyke Parks. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Contents
Biography
Mari's original demo tape was picked up by JVC Victor in 1982 and she was signed to the record company as a singer-songwriter. Soon afterward, she was asked to audition for the role of Lynn Minmay in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross by the label and the producers chose her to play the role. The series quickly became a mega hit and brought Mari to stardom. Her debut album Rosé, containing no Macross tracks, had lyrics and music written by Mari. It debuted at #10 on the charts in September 1983 and she started her career as a singer & songwriter with success.[1]
Mari eventually moved to Los Angeles in 1989 to expand her music career. After releasing her first independent (and the first English language) album No Limit, she was nominated for the 2000 Los Angeles Music Awards' Best Pop Artist for the particular album and she was in the final 4 for the award.
Mari Iijima Live in Tokyo at the Hakuju Hall on July 31, 2010
She won the best asian song for her track Unspoken Love from the album Wonderful People at the Just Plain Folks Awards in 2006 and performed as a guest performer.
She entered the 50th Grammy Awards with Swim, a track from her 2006 album Uncompromising Innocence. Her listed entries are for the "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" category (entry#55) and the "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)" category (entry#175).
In 2006, she reprised her role as Lynn Minmay in ADV Films' English-language release of Macross.[2] which made her the first actor to play the original role in both Japanese and English languages for an entire anime series.
Iijima released her twenty-first studio album, called Echo, in August 2009. The title was taken from the nymph character Echo that appears in Echo and Narcissus. The album's theme is unrequited love.[3]
She most recently released her new EP, 2 Seconds of Infinity at the end of July 2011, and she performed her 2 live concerts, Hello and Goodbye on July 30, 2011 in Tokyo, Japan.
Discography
Original Albums
Year Title 1983 Rosé 1984 Blanche 1985 Midori 1985 Kimono Stereo 1987 Coquettish Blue 1988 Miss Lemon 1989 My Heart in Red 1990 It's a Love Thing 1991 Believe 1993 Different Worlds 1994 Love Season 1995 Sonic Boom 1996 Good Medicine 1997 Europe 1998 Rain & Shine 1999 No Limit 2001 Right Now 2003 Silent Love 2004 Wonderful People 2006 Uncompromising Innocence 2009 Echo Best Of Albums
Mari Iijima Live in Tokyo at the Hakuju Hall on July 31, 2010Year Title 1984 Variée 1993 The Classics 1995 Best of the Best 2005 Mari picks "The Ultimate Collection" (1983-1985) 2005 Mari picks "The Ultimate Collection" (1987-1999) 2004 Gems 2007 palette Singles
Year Title 1983 Yumeiro no Spoon Kitto Ieru 1984 Ai Oboete Imasu ka 1 gram no Shiawase 1985 Cecile no Amagasa 1986 Harukana Hohoemi -Kodou Kougen- 1987 People! People! People! 1988 Kagami yo! Kagami (I wanna marry you) Blue Christmas 1989 Still Secret 1990 Nichiyoubi Date Sayonara Ienai Bokura wa Tenshi ja Nai 1991 Love is a miracle 1992 Ki・ra・i 1993 Ai Oboete Imasu ka (re-release) 1994 Don't fade out! 1995 Is There Anybody Out There? 1996 Forever Young 1997 Mikazuki no Canoe Friends 2002 Eternal love ~Hikari no Tenshi~ 2003 Eternal love 2003 2009 Iki wo Shiteru Kanjiteiru Filmography
Year Title Role Notes 1982 The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Lynn Minmay Voice actress and singer 1984 Macross: Do You Remember Love? Lynn Minmay Voice actress, singer, and songwriter for "Tenshi no Enogu" 1999 Pacific Blue Kiko Season 5 - episode 12 "God's Gift" 2001 Spyder Games Soraya Episodes 1&2 2001 Lorna Doone Composer (2001 re-release of 1922 film) 2004 Green Tea-r Yoko Lead actress and songwriter 2006 The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Lynn Minmay[2] ADV Films' 2006 English Dub Video Games
Year Title Role Notes 2002 Galaxy Angel Theme song performance "Eternal love ~Hikari no Tenshi~", "Tenshi-tachi no Kyuusoku" 2003 Galaxy Angel: Moonlight Lovers Theme song performance "Eternal love 2003", "Tenshi-tachi no Kyuusoku" 2004 Cy-Girls Aska (voice) References
- ^ "Anime Idol". LA Weekly People Issue 2011. LA Weekly. 2011-05-19. http://www.laweekly.com/2011-05-19/la-life/mari-iijima-anime-idol/. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
- ^ a b ADV Films Official Macross English Dub Page.English/Japanese Cast Information. 04-09-09
- ^ "Mari Iijima Interview". J-Pop World. http://www.j-popworld.com/Interviews/Mari_Iijima.php. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
External links
- Official website
- Mari Iijima's channel on YouTube
- Mari Iijima on Facebook
- Mari Iijima on Twitter
- Interview with LA Weekly
- Mari Iijima convention appearances on AnimeCons.com
Categories:- Japanese actors
- Japanese voice actors
- 1963 births
- Living people
- Japanese female singers
- Japanese expatriates in the United States
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