| Himeka | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Catherine St-Onge |
| Born | July 20, 1981 |
| Origin | Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupations | singer |
| Instruments | Singing |
| Years active | 2009–Present |
| Labels | Sony Music Japan International |
| Website | www.himeka.info |
Catherine St-Onge (born July 20, 1981), better known by her stage name Himeka (stylized as HIMEKA) is an anime song singer of French Canadian descent. While fluent in English and her native French, she is moderately proficient in Japanese. Her stage name, Himeka, comes from a character she created in a story she wrote when she was 13 years old.
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Born in Quebec, St-Onge was very interested in theater and music. At the age of 12, St-Onge taught herself English by singing Disney songs. Soon after at 13, she began writing her own stories in which Himeka was the main character.[1] Her interest in Japanese culture started at the age of 15 when she saw an episode of the anime series Sailor Moon.[2] In 2008, St-Onge moved to Japan in order to pursue her singing career.[3] She was the winner of the Second Annual Animax Anison Grand Prix, which gathers aspiring singers from all over Japan for the chance to make a professional debut and sing a theme song in an anime television show.[4] Her debut single "Asu e no Kizuna", released on May 27, 2009, was the opening theme to the anime adaptation of the PlayStation 3 video game Valkyria Chronicles.[5] The single debuted at number 28 on the Oricon single charts.[6]
Her second single was named "Hatenaki Michi" and was released on November 25, 2009.[7]It was the featured ending song for a new anime named Tegamibachi. The singled peaked at #33 on the weekly Oricon chart.[8][9]
Then St-Onge's announced her first cover album, Anison: Utattemita, was released on 3 March 2010.[10] And after 2 months her third single, named "Mirai e...", was released on May 26, 2010. It was featured as the ending theme in the anime Senkō no Night Raid.[11]
After a short while, St-Onge announced her first digital single, named "La la la, Sekai o Hitotsuni", to be released on 14 July 2010. The song is an official support song for the World Cosplay Summit 2010 in Nagoya, Japan. It was the first song St-Onge composed by herself.[12]
After a very long period of no releases and barely any performances, St-Onge's official website confirmed, on 19 October, 2011, that her first original album is going to be released on 30 November 2011. The title of the album is "himekanvas" and it will include all her released singles, 7 original songs and 2 cover songs.[13]