| Emi Maria | |
| Birth Date: | 9 June 1987 |
| Birth Place: | Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea |
| Origin: | Kobe, Japan |
| Genre: | Pop, R&B |
| Occupation: | Singer-songwriter |
| Years Active: | 2006–present |
| Label: | Freest Inc. (2007) K.S.R. (2008) Victor Entertainment (2009–present) |
| Associated Acts: | DJ Komori, Hannya, I-Dea, Jay'ed, L-Vokal, MC Moggy, Seeda, Tomogen, Urali, Wolf Pack |
Emi Maria (stylized as EMI MARIA; born 9 June 1987) is a Japanese Papua New Guinean R&B singer-songwriter who debuted in 2007 with the EP Between the Music.
Emi Maria was born in 1987 in Papua New Guinea.[1] Her mother is Japanese-New Guinean, while her father is Papua New Guinean.[1] She spent the first five years of her life in Papua New Guinea, before moving to Kobe in Japan.[1]
She first started listening to R&B at 6 due to her sister, listening to such artists as Janet and Michael Jackson, and K-Ci & JoJo.[2] She began writing lyrics in junior high school.[1] By high school, she had started writing music and producing her own tracks.[1] She participated in the MTV Star Tour, and started performing lives in the Kansai area from 2006 onwards.[3] In 2007, she started appearing on many different Japanese urban artists' albums as a guest artist, such as Seeda and MC Moggy.[4]
In 2007, Emi Maria released her first EP, Between the Music on Freest Inc., a label she had created for herself.[1] Her debut single "I Gotta (Summer Kiss)" was picked as the iTunes Japan single of the week in August 2008.[5]
She debuted as a major label artist in 2009, with the release of a digital single "One Way Love" under Victor Entertainment.[1] During this time, she had some of her highest profile collaborations. "Luv Is..." was a song Emi Maria performed with R&B singer Jay'ed, which features on his top 10 album Musication.[6] In December, she had her first top 10 hit, as a featured artist on Seeda's single "Wisdom", which reached number 8 on the Oricon singles charts.[6] After the release of her first physical single in 2010, "Show Me Your Love", Emi Maria released her first major label album, Contrast.[1]
| Year | Album information | Oricon Album charts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | A Ballad of My Own
| 44 | |
| 2010 | Contrast
| 50 | |
| 2011 | Blue Bird
| 151 | |
| 2014 | In My World
| — | |
| 2015 | Euphoria
| — |
| Year | Album Information | Oricon Album charts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Between the Music
| — | |
| 2008 | iTunes Live from Tokyo
| — | |
| 2010 | Cross Over
| 166 |
| Release | Title | Notes | Chart positions | Album | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oricon Singles Charts | Billboard Japan Hot 100 | RIAJ digital tracks* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | "I Gotta (Summer Kiss)" | Appears as a remix on album | — | — | — | A Ballad of My Own | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio single, music video filmed | — | 55 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | "One Way Love" | Digital download | — | 37 | — | Contrast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | "Show Me Your Love" | 141 | 27 | 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "We Standing Strong" feat. Jay'ed | Digital download | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Summer Night Bxxxh / Change My Life (Red Spider Dub)" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Mr. Alien" | — | — | — | Cross Over | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Mirror" | — | — | — | Cross Over/Blue Bird | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Nobody Like You" | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | — | — | — | Blue Bird | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Proud" | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | "Lost in Tokyo" | — | — | — | — | "—" denotes that the song was not released in that format, or it did not chart. *Japan Hot 100 established February 2008, RIAJ Digital Track Chart established April 2009.|} As featured artist
Other appearances
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