Arashiro Beni

Arashiro Beni comes from a multi-cultural background. Her father is an American, while her mother is an Okinawan Japanese who lived in Miyakojima. Her parents were music lovers, who let her take dance and piano lessons from an early age. While Arashiro was born in Kanagawa, she lived out her childhood in California. When she was 12 she moved from California to Yokohama, and attended the American School in Japan. While there, she was classmates with Sony Japan-signed artist Crystal Kay and became close friends with her. Because of this, Arashiro is fluent in both English and Japanese.

In 2002, Arashiro competed in the 8th National Japan Bishojo Contest (a beauty pageant) and became one of the finalists, despite not having any formal training for the beauty contest. Due to her high placing in this contest, she was chosen to be part of the musical/TV personality group Bishoujo 31 in mid-2006 (though at the time were called Bishoujo 31 as 10 more members came in 2004). She became a regular on the TV-show GIRLS A GOGO! along side the rest of the members of this group.

In April 2004 the group with debut with their first single, Da Di Da☆Go! Go! (the ending theme song that was used in their TV show GIRLS A GOGO!). The single broke the top 40 at #34. Arashiro was then picked up by avex trax to become a solo artist away from the Pony Canyon-produced Bishoujo Club 31 and debuted in June with the single Harmony (drama Reikan Bus Guide Jikenbo's theme song). This made her the first of the girls to pursue a solo project. The single, however, would barely see more success than the group's effort, peaking at #26.

Arashiro Beni promoting Here alone (2004)

In August Arashiro found her second TV opportunity by appearing on the MTV Japan show M size appearing in a segment called JANGLISH STYLE from Arashiro Beni ~Otona no Junky Life~. Two months later, her second single Infinite... was released. On the day after the single's release, a special one-off drama starring popular actress Yonekura Ryoko called Kurokawa no Techou was aired, which used a new song of Arashiro's, Here alone, as its ending theme song. Interestingly, Yonekura Royoko had won the 1992 competition for the Bishoujo award that Arashiro had become a finalist in. This new song proved to be much more popular, peaking at #14 on Oricon charts (this is her most successful single to date). At the same time, Arashiro was promoting her second Bishoujo Club single called Tokyo Gourmet Tour which was released two weeks before.

The start of 2005 saw Arashiro become the spokesgirl and CM model for cosmetics company KOSÉ's VISEE range (a title that has gone to such people as Amuro Namie, Hamasaki Ayumi, Koda Kumi and Tsuchiya Anna). Following this in February was debut self-titled album, Beni, as well as a single released on the same day called Miracle taken from the album. In March at the 19th Japan Gold Disc Award ceremony, Arashiro was one of the receivers of the Best New Artist of the Year award. Arashiro starred in her first musical as the heroine Mary Maguire in the Japanese run of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Beautiful Game (it had two dates in March-April).

Arashiro Beni promoting How Are U? (2006)

June saw Arashiro's first new single since her debut album, Hikari no Kazu Dake Glamorous (used as the VISEE CM song to the commercial which starred her). On August 6 she performed both the Japanese national anthem and the American national anthem at the half time show for the American Football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Indianapolis Colts at the Tokyo Dome. August also saw the final release from Bishoujo Club 31, a DVD mini-album.

In late 2005 she would release a single Cherish which was the lead-in to her second album Girl 2 Lady. While Girl 2 Lady was significantly less successful commercially, it also saw Arashiro committing more to her music (she co-wrote several tracks on the album). After a period of inactivity she released a new single How Are U? (produced by YANAGIMAN) in September which did not chart on Oricon charts' top 200 single (implying less than 350 copies sold that week). Nothing else was released in 2006. In 2007, Arashiro made a comeback with the theme song to the drama Warui Yatsura, Luna (peaking at #77) and her third album, GEM, following in April. At the same time, Arashiro became the face of clothing label CECIL McBEE.

After three tie-upped songs were announced for Arashiro in early 2008 (one of those being Mellow Parade, the theme song for the movie Bra Bra Ban Ban [which she starred in herself]), a new single was announced for March; however this was scrapped in favour of placing these songs on her best-of album, Chapter One ~complete collection~, instead. Three months after this, a collaboration ballad single with Dohzi-T was released called Mou Ichido..., which reached the top 10 on Oricon charts.

Categories: Artists | J-R&B | J-Pop | J-Urban | 1986 Births | Kanagawa Artists | English Fluent | iTunes Artists