Mari Iijima

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mari Iijima 飯島真理
Mari Iijima at Tekkoshocon 5, April 14, 2007
Background information
Born	May 18, 1963 (1963-05-18) (age 45)
Origin	Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Japan
Genre(s)	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, Songwriter
Years active	1983 - present
Label(s)	MARIMUSIC/BounDee
Website	Official Website

Mari Iijima (飯島真理, Iijima Mari^?, born on May 18, 1963 in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress who has released various top 10 albums in Japan. She is also known by her nickname, Marin.

Iijima is fluent in both Japanese and English. She was nominated for the 2000 Los Angeles Music Awards' Best Pop Artist for her first English album "No Limit". She has released several independent albums (in English) in the United States, including her most recent, "Uncompromising Innocence."

She is best known, though, for her portrayal of Lynn Minmay in the classic Japanese anime The Super Dimension Fortress Macross. Recently, Iijima reprised her role as Minmay in ADV Films' English-language release of Macross, becoming one of the few Japanese voice actors to ever participate in an English dub. In interviews and commentaries available on ADV's Macross DVDs, Iijima has stated that she was for some time disillusioned with her association with Minmay and had felt that it hampered her career as a singer, but she has since come to accept the Minmay character as a part of her.

Iijima eventually moved to Los Angeles, California and married James Studer on 30 September 1989. They had two children (twins) before divorcing on 7 February 2001.

She released her newest Independent American release, Uncompromising Innocence, on November 5th, 2006. It quickly sold out at CD Baby.

In 2007 Iijima had new remastered CDs out in Japan (Rose, Blanche, Midori, and Kimono Stereo) and plans to make a new CD for the U.S. in the future. Her DVD, "Collage" is also available now in NTSC format for American audiences.

Iijima was one of the finalist in the Song of the Year Awards for her song 'Swim' in January and March of 2007. The judging was done by Norah Jones, Shelia E. and other famous individuals in the music world. Her song was sent to major record labels, famous agents, and management companies.

Iijima has also received proof of entry for the 50th Grammy Awards provided entries for 'Swim' a track on 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).

Iijima performed to large crowds at live shows in Japan in the Osaka and Tokyo regions during April and May of 2007. She has an exclusive solo concert in Japan in the summer of 2007 and at the start of 2008.

Iijima is currently promoting her music at anime conventions and music festivals. She will be attending as a musical guest at the Chicago-area Japanese animation convention Anime Central in 2008 along with HALCALI and Peelander-Z.^[1]