Kuraki Mai

So goes Mai Kuraki's favourite phrase. This very young achiever was born on October 29, 1982 and as a child, Mai dreamt of being a piano instructor or an ice cream shop assistant. However, the demo tape she submitted to Giza studio when she was only a junior in high school sealed her fate.

After successfully winning a contract in the said studio, Mai got to work right away. She debuted in the Us under the name Mai-K with the single "Baby I Like." She was instantly noticed and great things were expected from her. Her second single "Love, Day After Tomorrow" did surprisingly well in Japan considering that it was her first single there. More singles came after that and in just a short time, Mai's name was already side by side Japan's biggest female hitmakers namely Hikaru Utada and Ayumi Hamasaki.

"Delicious Way," the first album Mai released, was a great success in Japan having sold more than 3 million copies making it the highest selling album in 2000. Quickly following it after just one year is her second album "Perfect Crime" which unfortunately didn't do as well as her first album garnering only more than 1 million copies sold. To date, seven albums have already been released under her name with five of them bagging the no. 1 spot during its hype.

Mai's influence include the big voices in pop and R & B like Whitney Houston, Lauryn Hill and Mariah Carey. It's fairly easy to appreciate her works as there is diversity in it. Her songs vary from pop, dance, ballad, and R & B. And like Utada, Mai writes the lyrics of her songs.

In the anime world, Mai Kuraki is a household name in one of the most popular and long-running mystery series Detective Conan. During the time of it's airing, Mai perforemed about five songs as opening, ending or movie theme for the series. One lovely song from the said saeries is entitled, "Secret of My Heart."

Now at age 25, Mai's star continues to shine brightly as one of the most promising talents in Japan.