Kumi Koda

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Kumi Koda
倖田 來未


Img_capt =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Kumiko Kōda
Born = birth date and age|1982|11|13
Died =
Origin = Kyoto, Japan
Instrument = Singing
Genre = J-Pop, R&B
Occupation = Singer, Songwriter
Years_active = 2000–Present
Label = Rhythm Zone (Japan)
Associated_acts = misono, Fergie, Smap, Exile, Tohoshinki
URL = [http://www.rhythmzone.net/koda/ Official Site]
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

:"This is a Japanese name; the family name is Koda."

nihongo|Kumi Koda|倖田 來未|Kōda Kumi|extra=born nihongo|Kumiko Kōda|神田 來未子|Kōda Kumiko on November 13, 1982 is a Japanese pop singer from Kyoto who debuted in 2000 with "Take Back". She is the older sister of pop singer Misono. Koda did not achieve major success until the release of her seventh single, "Real Emotion / 1000 no Kotoba". Her popularity reached a new level in 2005 after the release of "Secret" and "Butterfly". Later that year she became one of the best-selling artists of 2005 with the success of "Best ~first things~".

Biography

Early career

Before she signed onto Avex, Koda auditioned alongside Maki Goto for the third generation of the Japanese all-girl idol group known as Morning Musume. It is uncertain whether she forfeited the Morning Musume competition or if she lost to Goto.

Koda officially debuted as a singer under Avex with the single "Take Back", released December 6, 2000, and continued with a second single, "Trust Your Love", which was also released in the United States. "Trust Your Love" sold poorly in Japan and failed to chart, but debuted at #20 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music Charts. It held the nineteenth position on Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales Charts and went on to top the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Charts. [cite web|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fm20011226sm.html|title=Tower's pop fire flickers?|publisher=Japan Times|date=2001-12-26|accessdate=2008-06-19] Koda's first studio album, "affection," was released on March 27, 2002.

Koda remained active despite her charting failures. Her fifth single, "Love Across the Ocean", debuted at #19, and her sixth single, "m·a·z·e", fared much worse. Koda finally tasted success with her seventh single, "Real Emotion / 1000 no Kotoba". The songs were the main vocal themes of "Final Fantasy X-2"; in addition, Koda voiced the character of Lenne in the Japanese version of the game. "real Emotion" debuted at #3 and outsold all her previous works. Her second album, "Grow Into One", came out shortly thereafter and was a moderate success.

From then on, Koda would continue a string of top twenty hits with "Come With Me", "Gentle Words", and "Crazy 4 U". These singles were included in her next album, "Feel My Mind". The best performing single from that album was "Come with Me", which sold 42,000 copies. During the recording of "Feel My Mind", Koda was asked to cover the theme song of the anime series, "Cutie Honey". The song, also titled "Cutie Honey", was included as a bonus track on the album and became the title track of her first single after the album's release.

Koda's fourth album, "Secret", was released in February 2005 and charted third on Oricon's Top 200 Chart. This was her highest charting release to date, and her first album to debut in the top five. The album included the singles "Cutie Honey," "Chase", "Kiseki", "Hands", and "Hot Stuff". The album was certified two times platinum by RIAJ for selling 521,000 copies total.Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) (2005-7). [http://www.riaj.com/data/others/gold/200507.html nihongo|Gold Album Certifications July 2005|ゴールド等認定作品認定　2005年7月] ja icon. Retrieved on 2007-6-26.] Shortly thereafter, Koda released her first live DVD, "Secret ~First Class Limited Live~".

Best ~first things~ era

After "Secret", Koda released her sixteenth single, "Butterfly". The song became her highest charting single at that point in her career, debuting second on the weekly Oricon chart. It was well-received by the Japanese public and ended up ranking fifth in the monthly chart.

After the success of "Butterfly," Koda released "Flower" and "Promise/Star"; both peaked fourth in the weekly chart and continued her string of top-ten hits. On September 21, Koda released her first best-of compilation, "Best ~first things~". The album debuted at #2 on the daily chart, but shot to the number one position on the weekly chart in its second week of release, giving Koda her first #1 album.

Best ~second session~ era

In December 2005, Koda began a project in which she released twelve singles for twelve consecutive weeks. Nine of the singles were limited to 50,000 copies, while the remaining three were "normal" editions.

The first single of the project, "You", debuted at number one on the daily chart, giving Koda her very first #1 single.

The fourth and fifth singles of the project, "Shake It Up" and "Lies", debuted at #6 and #7 respectively while "you" was still charting at ninth. This feat made Koda the first female artist to have three singles in the top ten of the Oricon Weekly Singles chart.Oricon (2007-1-9). [http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/ranking/8505/ nihongo|Kōhaku, Year-End Program Guests Boom! Koda Kumi's Feat First in Women's History!|紅白・年末番組出演組が好調！倖田來未は女性史上初の快挙！] ja icon. "Oricon Style". Retrieved 2007-6-26.]

To celebrate the success of the project, Koda released her second best-of compilation, "Best ~second session~". The album featured all twelve singles along with two new tracks. It is the first of Koda's albums to be released in three different formats (CD+2DVD, CD+DVD, and CD-only).

The CD+2DVD version of the album, limited to 650,000 copies, sold out within days of the album's announcement. "second session" debuted at #1 on the weekly chart with 983,000 copies sold.

Black Cherry era

Koda's first single after the “"~12 Singles~ Collection"” was "Koi no Tsubomi" (Love Bud), released in May 2006. It charted second in its debut first week with sales of 140,000 copies sold. This was the highest debut week sales for female artists in 2006, until Ayumi Hamasaki surpassed it with "Blue Bird" in June. Soon afterwards, Koda reclaimed the title with the release of "4 hot wave", which also ranked second behind KinKi Kids, nearly breaking their streak of consecutive #1 singles. Up until "4 hot wave", it makes it Koda's nineteenth consecutive single to debut in the top 10 since "Kiseki". [Oricon (2007-5-30). [http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/ranking/23185/ nihongo|Koda Kumi Breaks Own Record with Drama "Ugly Love" Theme Song!|倖田來未、ドラマ『ブス恋』主題歌で自己記録更新！] ja icon. "Oricon Style". Retrieved 2007-6-26.]

After the release of "Koi no Tsubomi", there was news of Koda's first photobook in the making. The photobook was confirmed and titled "MAROC" and photographed by Leslie Kee in Morocco. It was later revealed that the photobook will be tied with her quadruple A-side thirty-second single, "4 hot wave". Both items were released on the same date and have similar covers.

The title tracks in "4 hot wave" were used in advertisements. "I'll be there" was used in Seabreeze advertisements for a sun tanning lotion, "Ningyo-Hime" (Mermaid Princess) was used in Vodafone 705T advertisements for a mobile phone, "With your smile" was the theme for NTV's 2006 Japan Pro Baseball, and "JUICY" was used by Gemcerey, a Japanese jewellery company, to promote their product, "Binary Face".Sony Magazines (2006-6-25). [http://www.musicnet.co.jp/m_movie/mm20060721205005.html nihongo|Four-Song Single "4 hot wave" Released! Comments and Presents Arrive!|４曲入りシングル「4 hot wave」リリース！　コメント＆プレゼントが到着！] ja icon. "Musicnet". Retrieved 2007-6-26. ] "Binary Face" is designed by Koda and the concept is said to be based on her. The "lion" is to represent the dark, sexy and powerful woman while the "rabbit" is for the innocent, weak, and cute side of a woman. [Gemcerey (2006). [http://www.gemcerey-kyoto.jp/topics/000292.html nihongo|Gemcerery Binary Face Appears at Daimaru Shinsaibashi Branch!|ジェムケリー　バイナリーフェイス（Binary　Face ）　大丸　心斎橋店に登場！] ja icon. Retrieved 2007-6-26.]

The single following "4 hot wave", "Yume no Uta / Futari de..." (Dream Song/Two of us...), was released on October 18, 2006. Named the "Two-Story Ballad", it was released in CD and CD+DVD format. The first pressing for the CD+DVD version contained one of nine special photo liners and two bonus tracks, while a special 8 page booklet was available only in the CD-only version.

The "Two-Story Ballad" single originally started out as a single song about "happy love". When Koda listened to the original melody given to her, she commented that the melody had both the elements of happiness and sadness. As a result, she collaborated with her staff on producing two songs but with the same melody, and her staff agreed to it. She wrote another set of lyrics for the song to represent sadness. This is the first single Koda had control over; she wrote the lyrics, chose the outfits, and produced the concepts for the videos of both songs. She confidently remarked that "it was a first time experiment for me, but I was able to convey how happiness and sadness are two sides of the same coin." [Sankei Sports (2006-8-25). [http://www.sanspo.com/geino/idol/ka/koda_kumi/20060825.html nihongo|Kumi Koda Writes 2 Songs with 1 Melody! Ballad Filled with Happiness and Sadness|倖田來未、１メロディーで２作！バラードに幸せと悲しみ込める] ja icon. "Sanspo.com". Retrieved 2007-6-26. ]

After the success of "Yume no Uta / Futari de...", Koda and Exile released their duet covering a pop classic called "Won't Be Long", originally by the Bubblegum Brothers. The single charted second in its debut week and sold 130,710 copies.

She followed it up with "Cherry Girl / Unmei", released on December 6, 2006. It contained two major tie-ins; "Cherry Girl" is the theme song of a drama starring herself, and "Unmei" (Destiny) will be the theme song of a movie named "Ōoku". [Sankei Sports (2006-10-20). [http://www.sanspo.com/geino/idol/ka/koda_kumi/20061020.html nihongo|Time Warp to Edo! Koda Kumi Pours Sexy Singing Voice into "Ōoku"|江戸にタイムスリップ！倖田來未「大奥」にセクシーな歌声を注入] ja icon. "Sanspo.com". Retrieved 2007-6-28.] Toshiba also signed the usage of "Cherry Girl" in their television commercials to promote their new mobile phone, the SoftBank 811T.Sankei Sports (2006-11-28). [http://www.sanspo.com/geino/idol/ka/koda_kumi/20061128.html nihongo|Koda Kumi Hocks Cell Phones from Camera-Eye-View - New Softbank Commercial|倖田來未、カメラ目線でケータイをアピール－ソフトバンク新ＣＭ] ja icon. "Sanspo.com". Retrieved 2007-6-28.] This single charted third in its debut week, with 61,817 copies sold.

Two weeks after the release of "Cherry Girl / Unmei", Koda's 5th studio album titled "Black Cherry" was released. The album has three versions: the CD-only version, the CD+DVD version, and the limited CD+2DVD version.

The album includes her singles from 2006: "Koi no Tsubomi", "4 hot wave", "Yume no Uta / Futari de...", and "Cherry Girl / Unmei", with the exception of "Yume no Uta / Futari de..." in which "Futari de..." will be excluded from the album. The number of tracks is totaled to fifteen, which is raised to eighteen in first pressings of the album. Announced on her official site, the last track on the album, "Milk Tea", will be Koda's first composition. Typical of album releases, the first DVD disc will contain most of Koda's music videos produced in 2006, including a video she made collaborating a duet with Taiwanese singer Show Luo of the English version of "Twinkle". This video will be on both Koda's and Show Luo's albums. According to Koda's official site, the second DVD disc, available only in the limited CD+2DVD editions, contains "Cherry Girl", a drama starring herself. It also includes famous drama actors such as Megumi, Yuko Ito, Masaharu Takeda, Mari Hoshino and Mari Hamada.

Oricon reports that "Black Cherry" is the first female studio album to stay at number one for four weeks in six years, selling 802,000 copies. The last female studio album to have done so is Ayumi Hamasaki's 2000 album, "Duty".Oricon (2007-1-16). [http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/rank/41238/ nihongo|Koda Kumi Four Straight Weeks at Top First Time in Six Years|倖田來未、4週連続首位で6年ぶりの快挙！] ja icon. "Oricon Style". Retrieved 2007-6-28.]

Kingdom era

Koda began 2007 with three releases: "But / Aishō", "Best ~Bounce & Lovers~", and a DVD release of her second tour "Live Tour 2006 ~ 2007: Second Session" in Japan. "But / Aishō", her thirty-fifth single, debuted second and sold 63,692 copies. "Best ~Bounce & Lovers~" charted second as well, selling 161,458 copies. Her tour DVD fared better on the charts; it debuted first, selling 75,000 copies.

Her second single of 2007, titled "Freaky", was released on June 27, 2007 and features four songs, with only "Freaky", and "Run For Your Life" having a promotional video. The other two songs, "Sora" (Sky) and "girls" were used as Japanese television commercials for her "Fever Live in Hall" pachinko marketing campaign.

Koda also performed at the Japanese leg of Live Earth in Tokyo on July 7, 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1641046,00.html?xid=feed-cnn-topics|title=What Live Earth Really Meant|publisher=Time|date=2007-07-08|accessdate=2008-06-19] in addition to attending ap bank fes '07. [ap bank (2007) [http://www.apbank-ecoreso.jp/07/livearea/index.html ap bank fes'07] ja icon. Retrieved 2007-9-12.] an environmental preservation themed concert, hosted by Kazutoshi Sakurai of Mr. Children on July 15, 2007. She performed hits "Cherry Girl", "But", "Freaky", "Kiseki", and "Girls".

Her third single of 2007, titled "Ai no Uta", was released on September 12, 2007 and was described as a "love ballad delivered straight to the person she loves," and also features the theme song to the "World Judo Championships 2007", "Come Over". Despite low physical sales, the song reached number 1 on most of the download charts across Japan.

Koda's 38th single was a collaboration with Korean group Tohoshinki, released November 7, 2007, titled "Last Angel feat. Tohoshinki" and was the image song for "". The single also included a B-Side titled "Dear Family". [Avex Marketing (2007). [http://rhythmzone.net/koda/information/newrelease071107.html nihongo|Koda Kumi Schedules Release of New Single, Her 38^th!!|倖田來未 38枚目となるニューシングルの発売が決定！！] ja icon. "Kumi Koda Official Web Site". Retrieved 2007-9-26.]

On December 1, to mark Koda's 7th year anniversary in the music industry, she held a special finale performance at Tokyo Dome for her 3rd nationwide (1st Arena tour) live tour. Koda became the sixthFact|date=March 2008 solo female singer to perform at Tokyo Dome with an estimated audience of 45,000 people. She also got to perform "I feel Love" with the Blue Man Group on this day as well.

Koda's 39th single "anytime" was announced to be released January 23, 2008. This single would be released a week prior to her 6th studio album entitled Kingdom on January 30, 2008.The album contains Koda's 2007 A-side singles: But / Aishō, Freaky, Ai no Uta, Last Angel, and anytime.

Following a similar pattern to her previous album releases, the album was available in 3 formats; CD Only, CD+DVD and CD+2DVD. The album contained music videos for all tracks, while the 2nd DVD contained the 70 minute charity live event 'Premium Limited Live In Hall In Yokohama Arena' concert.

At the end of the year Oricon reported that Koda's 5th album 'Black Cherry' was awarded the best selling female album and the second best selling album overall in Japan for the year 2007. This marks Koda's second consecutive time Koda has received this award, as she received the same award in 2006.

On March 31, Koda's 4th Live DVD was released which contains footage of her 'Black Cherry Tour Special Final in Tokyo Dome. However, as a result of the controversy in February, the CM medley performance was removed from the DVD footage.

Koda's 4th nationwide tour 'Kingdom Live Tour 2008' will commence on April 12, 2008, despite rumours of postponement and cancellation. In spite of her controversial statement, extra tour dates have been added to her existing 16 appearances as a result of the high demand of tickets.

Controversy

On January 31, 2008, Koda stated on "All Night Nippon" that "When a woman reaches the age of 35, her amniotic fluid begins to rot." [ [http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-2495 Kumi Koda comment goes "rotten", suspended for month - Tokyograph ] ] The incident happened when Koda was talking about her manager, who was recently married, to have children before she turns 35 years old or the amniotic fluid becomes dirty. She explained that "this is really true! I heard it on the news!" Many women were deeply outraged by this.

After the outbreak of public outrage, Koda held a public apology on Fuji TV where she apologized for her insensitive sayings. [cite web|url=http://archive.japantoday.com/jp/news/427464|title=Tearful Koda apologizes on TV for 'rotten womb' gaffe|publisher=Japan Today|date=2008-02-08|accessdate=2008-06-19] She apologized continuously over the show. Koda also released an apology on her website stating that "I sincerely and deeply apologise for offending people with my remark." [cite web|url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/japanese%20pop%20star%20apologises%20over%20offensive%20comments_1058343|title=JAPANESE POP STAR APOLOGISES OVER OFFENSIVE COMMENTS|publisher=contactmusic.com|date=2008-02-04|accessdate=2008-06-19] Subsequently, on February 2, 2008, Avex Entertainment Inc. released an apology stating that as a consolation, all promotion of her album, Kingdom, would cease. Due to this controversy several of Koda's commercial endorsements were placed on a hiatus. [cite web|url=http://news.wtnrradio.com/story.php?story=151|title="Sexy Kumi Koda Apologizes for Controversial Comments"|publisher=WorldTime News Report|date=2008|accessdate=2008-06-19] [cite web|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5htiYmFz6W0J2PPi7Sn1Js16SsS7g|title=Japanese diva in hot water over 'rotten' womb gaffe|publisher=Agence France-Presse|date=2008-02-03|accessdate=2008-06-19] Recently cosmetic company Kose have reopened their Visee site with Koda still endorsing their products.

Koda's normal activities resumed on April 12, 2008, making her appearance on the first day of her nationwide tour. [cite web|url=http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment/view/singer-kumi-koda-makes-comeback-concert|title=Singer Kumi Koda makes comeback concert|publisher=Japan Today|date=2008-04-14|accessdate=2008-06-19] It was the first public appearance for Koda in 72 days.

Post-Kingdom era

Koda's 40th single was released on June 11, 2008. The single is titled Moon and contains 4 tracks similar to previous releases such as Freaky. The single contains 'Moon Crying', which is the theme for Asahi Television drama "Puzzle", 3 other tracks which includes collaboration track with Black Eyed Peas' Fergie and a song written by Japanese reggae singer PUSHIM. [Rhythm Zone/Avex Entertainment (2008). [http://rhythmzone.net/koda/info/newrelease0806.html nihongo|New single "Moon" release|ニューシングル「MOON」発売決定!] ja icon. "Kumi Koda Official Web Site". Retrieved 2008-04-17.]

Moon is the first release by Koda since her controversial statement in January 2008.

Koda has once again been confirmed to attend Avex's annual summer concert "A-Nation '08". She'll be appearing at all 8 shows around Japan and will be performing along with other high profile Avex artists such as Every Little Thing, Ai Otsuka, Namie Amuro, Ayumi Hamasaki, Tohoshinki and many others. This will be her 7th year participating in the A-Nation concerts. [A-Nation 08 - Avex Entertainment (2008). [http://a-nation.net/pc/ nihongo|Participating Artists Announcement #1|出演予定アーティスト　第１弾発表！] ja icon. "A-Nation 08 Official Website. Retrieved 2008-04-26.]

Her 41st single, "Taboo" was released on October 8, 2008. The single contains a song titled "Taboo", a remix, and a b-side titled "Always". [http://www.rhythmzone.net/koda/info/release081008.html]

Awards and accomplishments

Music awards

She won her first award at the 47th Nihon Record Taishō for 'Butterfly' on January 1, 2006, [Tokyo Broadcasting System (2007). [http://www.tbs.co.jp/program/nihonrecordtaisyo_20051231.html nihongo|47th Annual Shine! Japan Record Grand Prize|第47回　輝く！日本レコード大賞] ja icon. "TBS". Retrieved 2007-9-12.] and was awarded "Triple Crown" at the Japan Gold Disc Awards on March 10, 2006, for pocketing three awards: "Pop Artist of the Year", "Pop Album of the Year", and "Music Video of the Year".Sankei Sports (2006-3-10). [http://www.sanspo.com/geino/idol/ka/koda_kumi/20060310.html nihongo|Koda Kumi Proves Ability! Receives Gold Disk Award Grand Prix|倖田來未、実力を証明！ゴールドディスク大賞グランプリ受賞] ja icon. "Sanspo.com". Retrieved on 2007-6-26.] She continued to win more awards for this song; on May 27, 2006, the MTV VMAJ's awarded Koda with "Best Female Video" and "Best Video of the Year" for "Butterfly", and "buzzASIA from Japan" for "Trust you", a track off her 4th album, "secret". [PGS (2006). [http://www.pgslive.com/repo/060531_1.html MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2006] ja icon. "PGS LIVE!". Retrieved 2007-9-12.]

In the second half of 2006, the song "Yume no Uta" from her 33rd single, "Yume no Uta / Futari de...", garnered Koda more awards. She was a Grand Prix winner at the 39th Japan Usen Grand Prize. [Sankei Sports (2006-12-17). [http://www.sanspo.com/geino/idol/ka/koda_kumi/20061217.html nihongo|Tearful Koda Wins Japan Usen Grand Prize Grand Prix! Blocks Nagakawa's 4th Consecutive Win|倖田、涙の日本有線大賞グランプリ受賞！氷川の４連覇を阻止] ja icon. "Sanspo.com". Retrieved 2007-9-12.]

On May 26, 2007, Koda took home 3 awards from MTV VMAJ for the second year in a row. Being nominated in 3 categories, she won 2 of the 3 nominated awards for her video "Yume No Uta", taking home "Best Female Video and "Best Video of the Year" for the second time. Koda also won herself a special award known as "Best Stylish Artist Award". [The Hochi Shimbun (2007-5-27). [http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/entertainment/news/20070527-OHT1T00034.htm nihongo|Koda Kumi Wins 3 Crowns for Second Straight Year: MTV Awards|倖田來未が２年連続３冠...ＭＴＶアワード] ja icon. Retrieved 2007-9-25.]

At the 2007 Best Hit Kayousai Koda's "Ai no Uta" earned her the Grand Prix in the pop category, also winning one of the golden awards for the 49th Nihon Record Taishō.

Fashion awards

Within 2006 , Koda began winning awards for being a new trendsetter in Japan, including the "Best Jeanist Award" on September 4, 2006, [Best-Jeans.com (2007). [http://www.best-jeans.com/jeanist/p00_02.shtml Best Jeanist] . Retrieved 2007-9-25.] and the title of "Nail Queen" for her nail art on November 21, 2006, by Japan Nail Expo. [Sankei Sports (2006-11-21). [http://www.sanspo.com/geino/idol/ka/koda_kumi/20061121.html nihongo|Who Has Beautiful Hands? Koda Kumi, Akiko Wada Named Nail Queens!|美しい手は誰？倖田來未、和田アキ子らがネイルクイーンに！] ja icon. "Sanspo.com". Retrieved 2007-9-25.] [Ishida, Michiyo (2006-11-23). [http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/eastasia/view/243150/1/.html Manicure art steals the show at Japan nail expo] . "MediaCorp News". Retrieved 2007-9-25.] Finally, Vogue Nippon named her one of their "Women of 2006". [Vogue Nippon (2006). [http://www.vogue.co.jp/woty/ Women of the Year 2006] . Retrieved 2007-9-25.]

Oricon accomplishments

On Japan's Oricon charts, Koda has made several notable accomplishments and broken records set by others. From her ~12 Singles~ Collection and "Best ~second session~", she became the first female artist to have three singles in the Top 10 of the Oricon weekly singles chart, and the female artist with the highest album debut week sales since Utada Hikaru's "Single Collection Vol. 1" with 983,000 copies of "Best ~second session~" sold.Oricon (2007-3-13). [http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/ranking/15289/ nihongo|Koda Kumi Second "Best Of" Album Starts as 980,000-Disk Big Hit! Number 1 on Release!|倖田來未、ベスト盤第2弾が初動98万枚の大ヒット！初登場首位に！] ja icon. "Oricon Style". Retrieved 2007-6-26.]

On February 13th, 2006 Oricon reported that Koda's first Live DVD, "secret ~First Class Limited Live~" set a new Oricon record on the music DVD charts by remaining at the top of the Oricon DVD charts for 7 weeks in total. [Oricon (2006-2-13). [http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/special/061221_04.html nihongo|Other Talked-About Songs Chart Announcements|その他 話題作のチャート発表！] ja icon. "Oricon Style". Retrieved on 2007-9-25.]

Then, with the release of her 5th album, "Black Cherry", Koda was the second female artist to release a studio album that remained at the top of the Oricon weekly album charts for four weeks after Ayumi Hamasaki with her album, "Duty", released in 2000.

At the end of 2006, Oricon named her the top seller of 2006 with JP¥12,702,200,000 profit, approximately US$106,808,520.Oricon (2006-12-21). [http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/special/061221_04.html nihongo|Annual Hit Chart Special - 2006 Artist Total Sales Ranking Big Announcement!|年間ヒットチャート特集『2006年 アーティストトータルセールスランキング大発表！』] ja icon. "Oricon Style". Retrieved on 2007-6-26.]

At the end of 2007, Oricon named her the top seller of 2007 with JP¥7,344,400,000 of profit. approximately US$64,600,000

Online accomplishments

Koda, while having success on Oricon charts with physical CD sales, maintains success on online music sales as well. It is reported that twenty-two of her music videos chart the top 100 most downloaded videos, with four of her videos dominating the top five, and having "Koi no Tsubomi" top the Overall Downloads Chart, which thirteen of her other songs chart.Label Mobile (2007). [http://recochoku.jp/recochoku_ranking/2006_movie.html nihongo|Annual Ranking 2006 - Ringtone Movie Downloads|年間ランキング2006 > 着信ムービーダウンロード] ja icon. Retrieved 2007-9-25.] Label Mobile (2007). [http://recochoku.jp/recochoku_ranking/2006_all.html nihongo|Annual Ranking 2006 - All Downloads|年間ランキング2006 > 総合ダウンロード] ja icon. Retrieved 2007-9-25.]

Yahoo! Japan reported Koda Kumi to be the top most searched person in 2006. [Yahoo Japan (2007). [http://picks.dir.yahoo.co.jp/new/review2006/general.html nihongo|2006 Search Word Ranking|2006検索ワードランキング] ja icon. Retrieved 2007-9-25.]

Discography

Studio albums
* 2002: "Affection"
* 2003: "Grow Into One"
* 2004: "Feel My Mind"
* 2005: "Secret"
* 2006: "Black Cherry"
* 2008: "Kingdom"

Compilation albums
* 2005: "Best ~First Things~"
* 2006: "Best ~Second Session~"
* 2007: "Best ~Bounce & Lovers~"

Performances in the United States (as Koda)

*May 23, 2002 - May 26, 2002: New York - Tokyo Music Festival; New York, NY.
*January 30, 2004: Ushicon 3 Anime Convention: Austin, Texas.
*March 25, 2005: KamikazeCon Anime Convention: Houston, Texas. ( [http://gomorning.com/scene/kumi-koda-kamikazecon-2005/ Review] )

References

External links

* [http://www.rhythmzone.net/koda/ Official Site] - ja icon
* [http://www.kodakumi.co.uk/forum/index.php Taisetsu na Kumi e: Kumi Koda Forum] en icon
* [http://honeyflash.cloudwalking.net/index.php Honey Flash: Kumi Koda Forum] en icon
* [http://www.hellohoney.wordpress.com Hello Honey: Kumi Koda Blog] en icon
* [http://www.kodakuma.skyblog.com Koda Kuma: Kumi Koda Blog] fr icon

Persondata
NAME = Kumi, Koda
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Kumiko, Koda
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Japanese singer
DATE OF BIRTH = November 13, 1982
PLACE OF BIRTH = Kyoto, Japan
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =