Juju (singer)

Juju
ジュジュ
Born February 14, 1976 (1976-02-14) (age 36)
Origin Hiroshima, Japan
Genres R&B, jazz, j-pop
Occupations Singer, lyricist
Instruments Singing
Years active 2004 (2004)–present
Labels Sony Music Associated Records Inc
Website www.jujunyc.net

Juju (ジュジュ?) (stylized as JUJU) (born February 14, 1976)[1] is a Japanese jazz singer. She is represented by Sony Music Associated Records Inc.[2]

Contents

Biography

She currently resides in New York City. She dreamed of being a jazz singer while growing up in Kyoto, and participated in all sorts of music-related activities. At age 18, she left for the US alone. While in New York, she was very taken with the "New York sound," including jazz, R&B, hip-hop, soul, Latin music, and house. Around 2001, Juju began to be featured in a number of works by other artists. In 2002, she provided music for the film Kyōki no Sakura. In 2004, she debuted with her first single "Hikaru no Naka e". The same year, concurrent with her musical activities in New York, she started performing live in Japan. When her third single, "Kiseki wo Nozomu nara", was released, it topped the USEN charts and remained on the chart for a record length of 22 weeks. At this point, while she received support from a small group of listeners, she remained mostly unknown. On August 23, 2008, with the release of "Kimi no Subete ni", a collaboration between Spontania and Juju, she broke out onto the Japanese popular music scene, with the single receiving over 2.5 million downloads. Again, on November 26, 2008, another collaboration with Spontania named "Sunao ni Naretara" earned her even more fame, with the song receiving 2.2 million downloads.[3]

Discography

Original albums

Year Album Information Oricon
albums
chart
[4]		 Reported
sales
[5]		 Certifications
2007 Wonderful Life 13 42,000
2009 What's Love?
  • Released: March 4, 2009
  • Label: Sony (AICL-1996)
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 3 265,000
  • RIAJ: Platinum
2010 Juju
  • Released: March 17, 2010
  • Label: Sony (AICL-2092)
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 2 145,000
  • RIAJ: Gold
2011 You
  • Released: July 13, 2011
  • Label: Sony (AICL-2263)
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 1 324,000

Cover album

Year Album Information Oricon
albums
chart
[4]		 Reported
sales
[5]		 Certifications
2010 Request
  • Female vocalist cover album
  • Released: September 29, 2010
  • Label: Sony (AICL-2178)
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 1 474,000
  • RIAJ: Double platinum
2011 Delicious
  • Jazz cover album
  • Released: November 30, 2011
  • Label: Sony (AICL-2327～2328,AICL-2329)
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 5 35,388

Extended plays

Year Album Information Oricon
Albums
Charts
[4]		 Reported
sales
[5]
2007 Open Your Heart: Sugao no Mama de (素顔のままで?, "Staying Honest")
  • Released: June 6, 2007
  • Label: Sony (AICL-1826)
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 16 36,000
2008 My Life
  • Released: June 11, 2008
  • Label: Sony (AICL-1826)
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 117 1,800

Singles

As lead artist

Release Title Notes Chart positions Oricon
sales
[5]		 Album
Oricon Singles Charts
[4]		 Billboard Japan Hot 100†
[6]		 RIAJ digital tracks†
[7]
2004 "Hikari no Naka e" (光の中へ?, "Into the Light") — — — — Open Your Heart
"Cravin'" — — — —
2006 "Kiseki o Nozomu Nara..." (奇跡を望むなら．．．?, "If You Wish for a Miracle...") 85 — 32 8,700
2007 "Natsu no Hana" (ナツノハナ?, "Summer Flower") 78 — — 6,500 Wonderful Life
"Wish for Snow/Kiseki o Nozomu Nara...Xmas Story" 55 — — 2,800 What's Love?
2008 "Donna ni Tōkutemo..." (どんなに遠くても...?, "No Matter How Far") 84 56 — 3,000
"Sora" (空?, "Sky") 88 49 — 1,200
"Sunao ni Naretara/I Can Be Free" (素直になれたら?, "If I Could Be Honest") (Juju feat. Spontania) "Kimi no Subete ni" answer song 6 2 1* 84,000
2009 "Yasashisa de Afureru Yō ni" (やさしさで溢れるように?, "Like Overflowing with Kindness") 11 3 12* 18,000
"Ashita ga Kuru Nara" (明日がくるなら?, "If Tomorrow Comes") (Juju with Jay'ed) April Bride Movie OST 2 3 1 150,000 Juju
"Present" 29 14 7 7,300
2010 "Sakura Ame/Ready for Love/S.H.E./Last Kiss" (桜雨?, "Cherry Blossom Rain") 20 8 3
16		 7,700 Juju/Request
"Trust in You" 30 18 7 7,400 You
"Hello, Again (Mukashi Kara Aru Basho)" My Little Lover cover 15 19 1 23,000 Request
"Kono Yoru o Tomete yo" RIAJ #1 for three weeks 10 12 1 80,000 You
2011 "Sayonara no Kawari ni/Negai" (さよならの代わりに/願い?, "Instead of a Goodbye/Wish") 14 39 14
2		 12,000
"Mata Ashita..." (また明日...?, "See You Tomorrow...") 9 11 1 47,000
"You/Beloved" Re-cut single, "Beloved" Glay cover 28 65 17 6,400 You/TBA
"Lullaby Of Birdland/Mizuiro no Kage" (みずいろの影?, "Aqua Shadow") 59 87 28 1,800 Delicious
* charted on monthly Chaku-uta Reco-kyō Chart.
†Japan Hot 100 established February 2008, RIAJ Digital Track Chart established April 2009.

As featured artist

Release Title Chart positions Oricon
sales
[5]		 Album
Oricon Singles Charts
[4]		 Billboard Japan Hot 100†
[6]		 RIAJ digital tracks†
[7]
2003 "In-mail" (Dohzi-T feat. Juju) 79 — — 3,500 Dai San no Otoko
2008 "Kimi no Subete ni" (君のすべてに?, "All of You") (Spontania feat. Juju) 7 3 2* 83,000 Music

Other appearances

Release Artist Title Album
2001 K Dub Shine feat. Juju "Sex Friend" (セックスフレンド Sekkusu Furendo?) Save the Children
DJ Masterkey feat. Hi-Timez + Juju "Meaning of Life" Daddy's House Vol. 1
2002 Juju "Family (Is One of Nature's Masterplaces)" Kyōki no Sakura Original Soundtrack
"I Confess"
"Kako no Nai Mirai" (過去のない未来 Pastless Future?)
2003 Chris feat. Juju "Horoscope Love" Love Me or Not
DJ Masterkey feat. Juju "Free Your Mind" Daddy's House Vol. 2
2005 Juju "Come, Fly with Me" Jam Films S Original Soundtrack
Hi-Timez feat. Juju "How You Feel" Goo Goo Hoo
2007 One Draft feat. Juju "Sakura Saku Koro" (桜咲く頃 When Cherry Blossoms Flower?) "Furusato" (single)
Bliss feat. Juju "Another Day" Tokyo Calling 2
Nobodyknows feat. Juju "Go My Way" Vulgarhythm
Dohzi-T feat. Mumy-D, Juju "Best Friends" One Mic
Juju "The Power of Love" Tribute to Celine Dion
Juju "Corcovado" Jobiniana: Ai to Hohoemi to Hana
2008 Pax Japonica Groove feat. Juju "Funtime" Pax Japonica Groove
Dohzi-T feat. Juju "In-mail ('08 Ver.)" 12 Love Stories
Jazztronik feat. Juju "Yume no Tsuzuki" (ユメノツヅキ After the Dream?) JTK
2009 I-Dep feat. Juju "Now, and Now" Pop Out!! What!!!
2010 Toshinobu Kubota feat. Juju "Is It Over?" Timeless Fly
2011 GLAY feat. Juju "Time fot Christmas" Hope and The Silver Sunrise

References

  1. ^ (Japanese) "JUJU、限定80人のファンの前でスペシャル・ライヴ". Barks. 2009-02-12. http://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000046989. Retrieved 2010-01-31. 
  2. ^ "JuJu." Sony Music Online Japan. Retrieved on February 22, 2009.
  3. ^ "[1]." goo Music profiles. Retrieved on July 1, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e "アーティスト： JUJU". Oricon. http://ranking.oricon.co.jp/free_contents/search/search.asp?artcd=343427&artist=%82i%82t%82i%82t&ordt=sle&bs=all&bs2=1. Retrieved June 14, 2011. 
  5. ^ a b c d e "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」". Oricon. http://ranking.oricon.co.jp. Retrieved June 14, 2011.  (subscription only)
  6. ^ a b "Hot 100｜JAPAN Charts｜Billboard JAPAN" (in Japanese). Billboard. http://www.billboard-japan.com/system/jp_charts/hot100/. 
  7. ^ a b "有料音楽配信チャート" (in Japanese). RIAJ. http://www.riaj.or.jp/data/others/weekly_chart/index.html. 

External links