Mariya Takeuchi

Early life

Takeuchi was born in Taisha in the Hikawa district of Shimane Prefecture in Japan. She grew up in the family Shinise Ryokan (Japanese long-established inn) business by the name of Takenoya, that her paternal great-grandfather founded in 1877. She entered the Japanese Keio University in 1974, majoring in English literature and won a nationwide English recitation contest by The Japan Times in the spring of that year.

Career

Debut and early success Takeuchi joined the music club of her university and there she was invited to participate in 's recordings and in March 1978 so-called the omnibus album recordings. The 1979 singles and were hits, and with that she won the 1979 Japan Record Awards, Tokyo Music Festival, Japan Music Awards, Shinjuku Music Festival, and Ginza Music Festival best new artist awards as a singer. One of her songs from the 1980 album , "Heart to Heart" (music by Roger Nichols), was given English lyrics and a new title, "Now". It was recorded by the Carpenters, released in 1983, and was the last recording by Karen Carpenter before her death. At the end of 1981, after the release of her fifth album , she announced she was going to take a break for a while and paused holding concerts and new releases, and got married six months later.

Return and chart success Several of these songs scored top-ten on the Oricon, such as and performed by Naoko Kawai, performed by Yukiko Okada, and performed by Miho Nakayama. Takeuchi has often re-recorded those songs for her own album. , a song originally written for the album by Akina Nakamori, became known by the composer's recorded version, and had been covered by many artists. "Genki wo Dashite", a song first recorded by Hiroko Yakushimaru, is recognized as one of Takeuchi's notable compositions. The song was later covered by Hitomi Shimatani in 2003, and became a moderate hit.

Since her return to the Japanese music industry in 1984, she has recorded seven successful studio albums that mainly consist of her self-written songs, and all of them had reached No. 1 on the Japanese Oricon chart. In addition to her work as a performer, she has continued writing songs and lyrics for other singers, including Ryōko Hirosue, Takako Matsu, Riho Makise, Seiko Matsuda, Masayuki Suzuki and Tackey & Tsubasa. In addition to her musical career, she has also managed her family's Ryokan Takenoya since May 2018 "until the next generation can take over". Popularized overseas via the vaporwave and future funk scenes, the song has received more than 67 million views on YouTube as of June 2021. and Gorillaz co-creator Damon Albarn calling it "a wonder woman slab of Japanese funk". K-pop singer Yubin's "City Love" is also based on this song. The Blessed Madonna closed a Resident Advisor November 2017 mix with a rendition of this song as well. Chai released a cover of the song in 2020. "Plastic Love" has also inspired numerous fan art and videos. A longer, five minute version was subsequently released on 11 November 2021.

Recent work In 2021, Takeuchi formed a new duo called Peach & Apricot with Anri, a Japanese pop singer-songwriter. "Peach" refers to Takeuchi's popular hit , while "Apricot" comes from Anri's debut album title Apricot Jam. On 3 November 2021, they released their first song together, "Watching Over You". The lyrics were written by Takeuchi, while the music was composed and arranged by Tetsuji Hayashi. The song marks the first collaboration between Hayashi and Takeuchi in 40 years since "Ichigo no Yuuwaku", and Hayashi's first with Anri in 38 years since "You Are Not Alone".

Personal life Her husband is Tatsuro Yamashita, a singer-songwriter and record producer, whom she married in 1982. They have one daughter. Takeuchi has a niece.

, a Japanese record producer, who had mentioned Johnny Kitagawa's sexual harassment allegations in various media, had his management contract terminated in the middle of the period by , to which he had belonged. He stated that Takeuchi and her husband Tatsuro Yamashita, who also belong to the company, agreed with the company's policy.

Discography

Albums Year Title Label Chart positions (JP) Certifications Sales 1978 Beginning RCA 17 113,000 1979 University Street 7 236,000 1980 Love Songs 1 358,000 Miss M 14 73,000 1981 Portrait 14 103,000 1984 Variety Moon Records (Warner Music Japan) 1 483,000 1987 1 IFPI Hong Kong: Gold 1,072,000 1992 Quiet Life 1 RIAJ: 3× Platinum (old threshold) 1,155,0002000 Souvenir: Mariya Takeuchi Live (live album) 3 RIAJ: Platinum (old threshold) 335,000 2001 Bon Appetit! 1 RIAJ: 3× Platinum (old threshold) 1,224,000 2004 Longtime Favorites (cover album) 1 RIAJ: Platinum 348,000 2007 Denim 1 RIAJ: 2× Platinum 466,000 2014 Trad 1 RIAJ: Platinum 262,000 2024 Precious Days 1 129,349

Compilations Year Title LabelCertifications Sales 1982 Viva Mariya!!RCA 32,000 1990 Morning Glory Moon Records 21,000 1994 Impressions RIAJ: 3× Million 3,052,0002008 Expressions RIAJ: Million 947,000Sincerely... The Mariya Takeuchi Songbook Complete Edition (English covers of her songs by various artists)Universal Music 2013 Mariya's Songbook (Songs written for various singers)Moon Records 2019 Turntable (Other best songs that did not collected in Expressions, and Mariya's rarities, Premium covers) RIAJ: Gold 128,456 Yukiko Okada, Mariya's Songbook (Songs written for Yukiko Okada) Pony Canyon

Singles Year Title

1978

84 BEGINNING

30 UNIVERSITY STREET

39

3

42

did not chart

80

did not chart

70 PORTRAIT (#1)Turntable (#2)

20

78 1985

5

20

46

43

55 REQUEST (#1) Quiet Life (#2) 1988

70 REQUEST 1989

2

1990

3

11

18 1993

42

19

5

48 VARIETY (#1) Quiet Life (#2) 1995

3

1996

13 1998

1 1999

6

7

40

30

8

30

19 2007

23 Expressions (#1)Denim (#2)

6 Expressions

12

2010

18 2012

10

15

7

10

Expressions

2018

6 2019

3 2020

1

Songwriting credits for other singers Year Singer Title Chart positions (JP) Album (Mariya's self-cover) 1980 Ann Lewis PORTRAIT 1982 Naoko Kawai 5 REQUEST 8 Chiemi Hori 26 Hiromi Iwasaki *Music only 14 Keiko Masuda KINYA 1983 Masahiro Kuwana 1984 Hiroko Yakushimaru 1*Album chart REQUEST Turntable Yukiko Okada 20 Turntable 7 14 1985 Hiroko Yakushimaru *Lyrics only 2*Album chart Yukiko Okada 7 Quiet Life 1986 Akina Nakamori 1*Album chart REQUEST Turntable VARIETY 30th Anniversary Edition Mariya's Songbook(First Limited Edition)Demo source Miho Nakayama 5 REQUEST Mariya's Songbook(First Limited Edition)Demo source Eri Morishita Turntable Masahiko Kondō *Lyrics only 1987 Hiroko Yakushimaru 3*Album chart Satomi Fukunaga 14 Mariya's Songbook(First Limited Edition)Demo source 1988 Hiroko Yakushimaru 8*Album chart Denim Masayuki Suzuki *Lyrics only 12*Album chart *Lyrics only 1991 Riho Makise 4 Turntable 1997 Ryōko Hirosue 2 Turntable Bon Appetit! 3*Album chart 2004 Tackey & Tsubasa *Lyrics only 2*Album chart 2006 Takako Matsu 10 Denim 2007 10*Album chart TRAD 2008 Mitsuki Takahata 30 TRAD 2009 ManaKana *Lyrics only 18 TRAD 2011 Seiko Matsuda 14 TRAD Turntable Mana Ashida 8*Album chart Aya Matsuura 2017 Saori Hayami 21