Kokia

is a Japanese singer and songwriter performing under the stage name Kokia (styled KOKIA). Her most well known songs are (which reached number 2 in Hong Kong when it was covered by Sammi Cheng) and "The Power of Smile" (which topped at No. 8 in the singles chart). She is also recognized for her numerous contributions to anime/game soundtracks, the most notable being "Ai no Melody/Chōwa Oto (With Reflection)" for the film Origin: Spirits of the Past, "Follow the Nightingale" for the game Tales of Innocence, "Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi" for the anime Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino, "Dance of the Spirits" for the anime The Ancient Magus' Bride and "For Little Tail" for the game Tail Concerto.

Kokia often performs in Europe, basing her activities in Paris and releasing music through Wasabi Records, a subsidiary of Kazé.

Biography

Early life, Pony Canyon debut Kokia was born in 1976. She started playing the violin when she was two and a half years old, but preferred the family piano. Often instead of playing with toys, Kokia played with the family piano. Kokia remembers putting picture books on the music stand and creating music that represented the scenes. and opera, later majoring in opera at the Toho Gakuen School of Music.

While at university, a friend gave a demo tape Kokia had recorded to a record executive. The song became a big hit in Hong Kong, reaching to no2 in the pop charts there. Her first releases after this were five songs for Luna Sea vocalist Ryuichi Kawamura's production project, ЯKS, in 2000. The album was released under Victor Entertainment, heralding in Kokia's relationship with the label. In 2001, she re-debuted in proper under Victor, and released three singles. and also to over 120,000 people at a 2001 new year's countdown event in Taiwan. Her biggest hit, however, was "The Power of Smile/Remember the Kiss". It gained notoriety after being used in a Kao haircare commercial. The resulting album, Remember Me, also broke the top 20, and sold over 45,000 copies.

Kokia's fourth album Uta ga Chikara (released in 2004) also found modest success, selling 20,000 copies. The best collection reached number 19 on the albums charts.

In November 2007, Kokia had her second successful game/anime tie-up single, with "Follow the Nightingale". The song, used for the game Tales of Innocence, reached number 30 on Oricon.

In 2014, she sang at a number of events in collaboration with Billboard Live Japan which lead up to her first performance with a full orchestra in December 2014, where she sang with the Nihon philharmonic orchestra in collaboration with Billboard Japan.

In 2017, she sang a memorial song at the joint memorial service for the 10th anniversary of the Chūetsu offshore earthquake (hosted by Kashiwazaki City and Kariwa Village).

Since 2017, she has been releasing animal-themed albums as part of the tontonton project, under the Kokia Jirushi.

While the concert was canceled due to COVID-19, KOKIA started the live streaming "1 to 1 Live for you" in April 2020. This live streaming is often held on the official KOKIA channel on YouTube. In 2020, she started to distribute the singles digitally while using TuneCore, a music digital distribution service. In 2020, she moved to London, England. In 2023, after three years in London, she returned to Japan.

From 2021 onward, Kokia continued releasing work through her own channels. In 2021, she released the album on January 1 and the concert DVD THE MISSING PIECE & Missing You on October 5. In 2022, she released on April 29 and Animal CD vol.4 on September 30.

In 2023, she marked her 25th anniversary with the Tokyo Opera City concerts KOKIA 25th Anniversary concert 2023 "you and me" in April, and released the digital anthology album The Lighthouse in November. In 2024, she began the radio program The Essence of Music on October 6, released the anthology album essence -25th Anniversary All Time Best- on November 20, and held the strings concert KOKIA 2024 Strings concert “SHI-NA-RU” at Suntory Hall Blue Rose in November. In 2025, she presented KOKIA LAYERS 2025 – lights and shadow –, billed as the concluding chapter of the LAYERS music-stage project. In 2026, she began the weekly radio program Kotodama Potori on January 4 through MUSIC BIRD's community FM service, and released the album LAYERS on February 22. In February 2026, Kokia opened Cafe and Gallery Hotori , a café and gallery she produces in Kichijōji Higashi-chō, Musashino, Tokyo; its grand opening was held on February 23.

Artistry

Voice Her voice is often praised by critics, for its clarity of sound, and she is highly rated as a live singer. In 2004, on the TV show , Kokia attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the longest note held. In her a cappella performance of 'O Sole Mio, she held a note for 29.5 seconds, but did not break the record.

Song writing Since her second album, Trip Trip, Kokia has written every original song that appears on her albums. In "Chōwa Oto", Kokia also has a separate code (the numbers 3 25 15 21 23 and 1) which correspond to the letters of the English alphabet (1=A, 26=Z) to write the song's name in wāpuro rōmaji (C Y O U W A). Trained in classical voice at Toho Gakuen, she often blends choral textures, orchestral accompaniment, and operatic gestures with pop songwriting. In 2008, her album The Voice (stylised as The VOICE) received Adlib magazine’s Adlib Awards in the Domestic World/New-Age category, underscoring that reception.

Her interest in Celtic/Irish idioms is heard on the Ireland-recorded album Fairy Dance ~KOKIA meets Ireland~, a collaboration with local musicians that her label described as a “Celtic healing album.”

Critics have noted how some anime/game themes employ chant-like writing, layered choir and “opera-esque” passages; for example, reviews of “Follow the Nightingale” (Tales of Innocence) and “Karma” (Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom) highlight these neoclassical/dark-wave-like sonorities.

Separate from her originals, Kokia has issued jazz-standard cover sets (Watching from Above in 2016; Watching from Above 2 in 2019, first released digitally in 2023), featuring material such as “Fever,” “Blue Skies,” and “One Note Samba.”

Personal life Violinist Kyoko Yoshida is Kokia's older sister, and also attended the Toho Gakuen School of Music.

Kokia's grandfather was the manager of a Japanese shipbuilding company. She created a short film, , and a song ("Grandfather's Ship") in his honour.

Kokia was raised as a Christian, and attended Sunday mass from a young age. She writes many of her songs about God, such as "Why Do I Sing?", "Everlasting", and .

Kokia has done humanitarian work for various causes. At high school, she was a member of the volunteer committee, and strived to help the disabled, elderly and AIDS victims. or about ways for people to live their lives better. Kokia primarily makes songs about love and peace.

Kokia is an avid dog lover. Throughout most of the 2000s, she owned four dogs: Donna, Muta, Nero and Titti. However, Donna died in February 2010. She has made references to dogs in several of her songs, such as , and in "Say Hi!!", where the lyrics speak of "driving to the beach to play with our Donna." Many of her blog posts are centred around her dogs, with a special category dedicated to these posts.

Discography

Songbird (1999) Trip Trip (2002) Remember Me (2003) Uta ga Chikara (2004) Aigakikoeru: Listen for the Love (2006) The Voice (2008) Fairy Dance: Kokia Meets Ireland (2008) Christmas Gift (2008) Kokia Infinity Akiko: Balance (2009) Akiko Infinity Kokia: Balance (2009) Real World (2010) Moment (2010) Kokoro Bakari (2012) Where to Go My Love? (2013) Color of life (live in 15th anniversary concert) (2014) I Found You (2015) Tokyo Mermaid (2018)

KOKIA Jirushi limited album Watching from Above (2016) Animal CD vol.1 (2017) Animal CD vol.2 (2018) Watching from Above 2 (2019) Animal CD vol.3 (2020) Hoshi no uta kaze no naka (2020) Konosekai no katasumide (2021)

Books Mama no daijisan, SHUFU TO SEIKATSU SHA, 2019, Happy ryoku—oyako no "Happy" wo sodateru, ASA Publishing Co., Ltd.,2019,