Tomiko Van Explained

Tomiko Van
Background:solo_singer
Birth Date:9 January 1979
Birth Place:Yamato, Kumamoto, Japan
Years Active:1999–present
Module:
Child:yes
Kanji:伴 都美子
Romaji:Ban Tomiko
Katakana:バン トミコ
Hiragana:ばん とみこ

, is a Japanese pop singer and occasional actress. She is as a member of the band Do As Infinity (DAI), along with Ryo Owatari and Dai Nagao, that has resumed activities after their 2005 split.

Career

Do As Infinity

See main article: Do As Infinity.

Beginnings as solo artist

Tomiko Van began as a solo artist while she was with Do As Infinity with the song "Again", which appeared on the charity album Song Nation, and later in 2003 with the song "Drive me nuts", which was recorded for trance DJs project Cyber X. Van also appeared in six commercials for the Japanese hair product company Lavenus.[1]

2005

After Do As Infinity disbanded on September 29, 2005, Avex Trax, Van's label, announced that the singer was going solo.[2]

2006

In 2006, Van made her debut as a solo artist with her album Farewell. Singles were not released prior to her album, released in March 2006. Her first official single as a solo artist, "Flower", was released in June of the same year, and made the weekly top ten of the Japanese charts. Two other singles followed that year, "Senkō", in September, and "Yumeji", a late November release.

2007

2007 started out with Van's first cover album titled . The album was Van's only release that year. Tomiko van also acted in a movie Heat Island.

2008

In 2008, Van's third album and second cover album, , was released in March. In this album, she covered songs performed by male artists, such as Spitz and Masaharu Fukuyama. Despite her one-year hiatus from the music scene, the album charted at number 10 on the first day of release. Van's fourth solo single, "Tokyo Biyori", was released on June 18, 2008.[3] Her second original album, Van, was released in December 2008.

On September 29, 2008, Do As Infinity officially reunited as a band, and released a four-track single on June 17, 2009.

Personal life

Van married a man four years her junior in September 2012, first publicly announcing her marriage at a Do As Infinity concert at Shibuya AX in Tokyo on September 29.[4] As of 2016 she is the mother of two children.[5] [6] She divorced her husband in July 2018.[7]

Discography

Singles

Information Sales
"Flower"
  • Released: June 7, 2006
  • Oricon Top 200 daily peak: 7
  • Oricon Top 200 weekly peak: 10
  • Weeks on chart: 6
24,230
copies sold
"Senkō"
  • Released: September 27, 2006
  • Oricon Top 200 Daily peak: 8
  • Oricon Top 200 Weekly peak: 14
  • Weeks on chart: 4
13,860
copies sold
"Yumeji"
  • Released: November 29, 2006
  • Oricon Top 200 Daily peak: 10
  • Oricon Top 200 Weekly peak: 14
  • Weeks on chart: 3
10,237
copies sold
"Tokyo Biyori"
  • Released: June 18, 2008
  • Oricon Top 200 Daily peak: 9
  • Oricon Top 200 Weekly peak: 18
  • Weeks on chart: 3
10,500
copies sold

Albums

InformationSales
Farewell
  • Released: March 29, 2006
  • Oricon Top 200 weekly peak: 7
  • Weeks on chart: 10
  • Oricon Daily Chart: 5
45,409
copies sold
Voice: Cover You With Love
  • Released: March 28, 2007
  • Oricon Top 200 weekly peak: 22
  • Weeks on chart: 4
  • Oricon Daily Chart: 13
14,581
copies sold
  • Released: March 5, 2008
  • Oricon Top 200 weekly peak: 28
  • Weeks on chart:4
  • Oricon Daily Chart: 10
7,979
copies sold
Van.
  • Released: December 10, 2008
  • Oricon Top 200 weekly peak: 28
  • Weeks on chart: 4
  • Oricon Daily Chart: 9
8,852
copies sold

Music videos

YearSongDirector
2006"Flower"Masaki Ookita
"Hold Me..."Ten Shimoyama
"Farewell"Naoto Kumasawa
Hiroshi Usui
Wataru Takeishi
2007Wataru Takeishi
2008"Cherry"Ryuuji Seki
Ryuuji Seki

Featured and collaborative releases

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Do As Infinity Stories. TV.com. August 20, 2008. February 12, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080212091221/http://www.tv.com/do-as-infinity/person/168008/biography.html. dead.
  2. Web site: Tomiko Van's official profile. Avex Group. August 20, 2008. Japanese. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100209050501/http://www.avexnet.or.jp/van/prof/index.html. February 9, 2010.
  3. Web site: News section at Tomiko Van's official website. Avex Group. June 17, 2008. August 20, 2008. Japanese. August 19, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080819125216/http://www.avexnet.or.jp/van/info_schedule/index.html#news. dead.
  4. Web site: Do As Infinity's Van Tomiko announces her marriage . Tokyohive . Theory Media, LLC. . June 14, 2014.
  5. News: Do As Infinity's Tomiko Van Gives Birth To 2nd Child. January 13, 2016. JpopAsia.
  6. Web site: Do As Infinity's Van Tomiko announces her pregnancy . Tokyohive . Theory Media, LLC. . December 7, 2013 . June 14, 2014.
  7. Web site: Do As Infinity・伴都美子、昨年7月に離婚 故郷・熊本で暮らす現在「生き返った感じ」 . Oricon . August 4, 2019 . August 9, 2019.