Hiroko Shimabukuro
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 A promotional photo from her latest single, "HERO"
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Hiroko Shimabukuro | |
| Born | April 7, 1984 Okinawa, Japan |
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| Genre(s) | J-pop, Pop, R&B | |
| Years active | 1996-present | |
| Label(s) | SONIC GROOVE | |
| Associated acts |
SPEED, Coco d'Or | |
| Website | Official Website | |
Hiroko Shimabukuro (島袋 寛子 Shimabukuro Hiroko, born April 7, 1984) is a Japanese musician. She was born in Okinawa, Japan, and debuted as a member of the popular 4-girl group, SPEED in 1996. In 1998, hiro released her first solo song "Mitsumete Itai" as a b-side to SPEED's single "ALL MY TRUE LOVE." She made her official solo debut in 1999 with the single, "AS TIME GOES BY", which sold a stunning 800,000 copies in Japan. Since SPEED disbanded in 2000, hiro has remained the most popular member. However, she has kept a relatively low profile preferring to solely work on musical endeavors.
In August 2004 Hiro released an all-English jazz band under the name of Coco d'Or .
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[edit] Biography
She has won three consecutive awards in the Japan Record Awards for "Treasure" (2000), "Your innocence" (2001), and "Eternal Place" (2002).
In terms of CD sales, hiro is the most popular amongst the four SPEED members. "Treasure" sold about 500,000 copies while "Your Innocence" sold more than 200,000 copies. Her first album, "Brilliant", was ranked at #4 solidly for about five weeks, selling 400,000 copies. Her second album, "Naked and True", is the only solo album by a SPEED member to be ranked #1. The recent best singles album she released also reached the top 10 rankings. Her popularity may also have increased slightly in the west as Avex decided to send her to perform in the United States at Seattle's Sakura-con in April 2004. Her songs range from soothing ballads to quick, catchy songs with fine-tuned dance choreographies.
Since the beginning of SPEED, hiro has played a crucial role in the group with her skilled vocals. Despite their young age, SPEED was seen as an authentic artist thanks to hiro's vocals. When SPEED performed "White Love" in 1997, the audience was deeply impressed by her powerful voice when she was just thirteen.
Hiro also has the reputation of being an excellent dancer. Typically, SPEED's dances are very strenuous, but hiro's voice retains stability while dancing also impresses audiences.
Although SPEED debuted when hiro was just twelve years old, the youngest in the group, hiro did not look very childish. As hiro herself said, she had always been seen as older than she actually was because she was relatively tall and matured early. In interviews, Hiro stated that she wanted to become a singer when she was five years old and never imagined becoming anything else.
In 1999, SPEED announced that it was going to disband in March 2000. Their respective career development was the formal explanation as their reason for disbanding. However, it is well-known that hiro's relationship with Naoki Takahashi triggered SPEED's break-up. Hiro had dated him for three years since she was twelve. However, hiro and her management had disputes over their relationship. Hiro also complained about lack of time they could spend together due to SPEED's activities. As a result hiro's relationship with Takahashi forced SPEED to disband.
In August 2004 Hiro released an all-English jazz album under the name of Coco d'Or . Her single "Hikari no naka de" was featured on the soundtrack to the movie Devilman.
After almost a year, her single "clover" was released. It's also the ending theme of anime "Black Jack".
[edit] Trivia
[edit] Fan's Interest
- Although Hiroko isn't particularly active when it comes to media, she's always a hot topic of discussion online. 2-Channel, a large Japanese forum, has a broad range of topics pertaining to Hiroko, ranging from music to her private life. Though discussion is more active around her single and album releases, it always continues.
- It is speculated that Hiroko is dating Japanese comedian and "Hey! Hey! Hey!" host Hitoshi Matsumoto (Downtown), although he is often said to be dating many other idol singers around the same age group. Some fans are concerned by this, especially due to Matsumoto's more flamboyantly open or candid mannerisms. However it is also true that many of hiro's fans favors her dating Matsumoto who is well-known as a boob man. They seem to empathize with him, being fascinated with hiro.
- In spring of 2005, hiro and Matsumoto were photographed by a photo magazine when they were walking together at night. Hiro was keeping her face open while Matsumoto was covering his face with big face mask and cap. In other time when hiro was witnessed walking street with another boy, hiro was also walking tall. Unlike typical girl idols, hiro seems to dislike a secrecy about her private relationships with males because she sees the relationships are nothing wrong and she is fully responsible about datings. When her pregnancy was rumored, she fretted aloud. She seems to be completely confident in her contraceptive technique.
- In earlier of 2006, media reported breakup of the relationship between hiro and Matsumoto. However in autum 2006, they were again witnessed being together as if they were a tight-knit couple. The breakup seemed to come from the relationship of hiro with a new guy, Kei Tanaka who is 22-year-old, same age with hiro, and acted with hiro in the movie "Backdancers !" The movie was filmed early of 2006. It iis common that an actor and an anctress make love during film making. No wonder, Tanaka, far younger guy than Matsumoto, attracts, satisfies hiro. However such sexual dalliance of hiro did not bring the end to the relationship with Matsumoto. The couple seems to be tolerant of love affairs of each other. Matsumoto is well-known as highly sexually-active. His insatiable sexual appetite is said to disgust his former lover Yuuka. However hiro is also an adventurer who's been nonvirgin since she was as young as twelve. Matsumoto and hiro have long been knowing each other since hiro was twelve. So they seem not to expect partner's physical virginity.
- When questioned on television about her personal life and relationships, Hiroko's response was along the lines of "Um, are you speaking of dating? Me dating a lot, no that's not true." Due to the expectations of idols to be virtuous by their labels and the media, any such statements may not be entirely factual.
- In the first episode of her radio talk show, "Hiro Egao de Melody Fair", she revealed that accusation that she had become pregnant made her think about suicide. Hiroko stated that she had no idea what was going on in the media until a friend showed her a newspaper speculating that her wearing a one-piece clothing to a press conference implied that she had accidentally gotten pregnant. In the radio show, she sternly declared that "I have done nothing wrong" and added that she was "tired of being alive". What brought out of her this depression, she says is meeting a middle-age woman at a bakery, whom called her and expressed encouragement.
- In April, 2006, questioned about upcoming movie "Backdancers !", hiro said "What attracts you most would be my dance and nure-ba." This is a very hot topic among her fans (refer to "Backdancers !").
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- [2001.01.31] BRILLIANT
- [2002.08.07] Naked and True
- [2006.02.01] 寛 シングル・コレクション (hiro SINGLE COLLECTION)
[edit] Singles
- [1999.08.18] AS TIME GOES BY
- [2000.02.16] Bright Daylight
- [2000.10.25] Treasure
- [2001.08.01] Your innocence
- [2001.11.21] Confession
- [2002.04.17] love you
- [2002.06.05] Eternal Place
- [2002.07.17] Notice my mind
- [2003.02.26] Baby don't cry
- [2003.07.24] 愛が泣いてる (ai ga naiteru)
- [2004.09.23] 光の中で (Hikari no Naka de)
- [2005.08.03] clover
- [2006.02.01] ヒーロー☆(Hero)
- [2006.08.23] いつか二人で / I will take you (Itsuka futari de / I will take you)
[edit] DVDs
- [2001.04.18] BRILLIANT ON FILMS
- [2003.03.19] Naked and True Clips
- [2006.02.01] 寛 クリップ・コレクション (hiro CLIP COLLECTION)
[edit] Other
- [2006.02.01] 寛 スペシャル・ボックス (hiro SPECIAL BOX)
[edit] Movies
Backdancers ! 2006September
