Kokia

KOKIA (born 22 July 1976, real name Yoshida Akiko (吉田亜紀子) is a Japanese singer. She was a very musical child and learned the violin. During her stay at a music university in the USA, she started to learn the piano, whilst perfecting her English. When KOKIA returned home, she was accepted into the Toho Gakuen, the most prestigious musical school in Japan. She majored in opera, as this style showed off her voice to its full potential. KOKIA's first single in 1998, Aishiteru Kara, reached the Top 20 in Japan. This caught the eye of well known producer/singer 菅野よう子, and she offered to include KOKIA into the BRAIN POWERD soundtrack. Ai no Rinkaku, a duet between KOKIA and Yoko Kanno, was produced. In 2004, KOKIA's song "Yume ga Chikara" was used to support the Japanese team at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. 'KOKIA' is 'Akiko' backwards in Japanese, and also the name of a Hawaiian Hibiscus, which is a flower that blooms on her birthday Following her 2006 best album, Pearl, she has become somewhat of an indie artist.