Yuna Ito is the new rising star in Japan's music business. The 22-year-old half Japanese, half Korean Hawaiin has debuted under the synonym of "REIRA starring YUNA ITO" with her song "Endless Story", which landed on number 2 of ORICON SINGLE RANKING. As Reira Serizawa from the most famous manga NANA, created by Ai Yazawa, Ito's idenity was kept a secret until the very last...
Yuna Ito was born on September 20th, 1983, between a Japanese father and a Korean mother in Los Angeles, California. She grew up in the United States, Hawaii, and even spent her High School time. When Yuna was little she used to sing to songs of both Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson and had always one dream: Becoming a star!
But before that should become true, she won several singing contest in her home town of Honolulu, and nationwide in Hawaii. One of the most famous ones was Brown Bags. To be able to participate she had performed "Geeny in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera on a school knock-out. Already having a singing contract at the end of 2001, Yuna started a modelling career in Korea, but this never helped her get started.
In early 2005 then Yuna auditioned for the role of charismatic vocalist Reira from TRAPNEST and eventually was chosen for the role. To make her debut even more exciting Yuna's label SONY BMG JAPAN did everything to keep any information about Yuna a secret.
When finally NANA the movie opened in Japan, people were going crazy about the wonderful, "high-pitched", voice of Yuna and the movie song "Endless Story", released September 7, 2005, ended on its first day of selling on number 2 of Japan's bill-board charts. Yuna was everywhere! On magazine covers, posters and eventually had her first TV appearance on MUSIC STATION, singing with all her love "Endless Story". Even famous singer Mika Nakashima who was starring as NANA wrote a message toYuna, wishing her good luck for the performance and that she herself was sitting in front of the TV to follow her!
Only on March 1, 2006, then her 2nd single, entitled "Faith/Pureyes" should be put on the market With "Faith" being ending theme to the drama "UNFAIR" and "Pureyes" being song for the BIOCLEN ZERO Commercial this single sold about 50.000 copies which was a dissapointment considering "Endless Story" had outsold Mika Nakashima's "Glamorous Sky" with over 500.000 copies.
Next should come Yuna's maybe biggest hit after NANA. "Precious" was announced as theme song for the 2006 blockbuster "LIMIT OF LOVE ~Umizaru~" and would become Yuna's 3rd single set to be released on May 3, 2006. With it are coming 2 b-sides, "I'm Free" and "Secrets", both co-written by Yuna herself.
Riding on the wave of success that "Precious" got Yuna on with over 200.000 copies sold, Sony announced a 2-Month Single Project. Not just is she singing "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" for the "COO" CM of Daihatsu, a song that is featured on her 4th single "stuck on you", released August 9, 2006, but also is singer of the Japanese ending theme of TV show "LOST", "losin", her 5th single, available since September 6, 2006.
Despite being famous, Yuna travels back home very often. Just recently she hosted the "honjitsu Yuna Ito party" where she performed on a small stage for 90 lucky people.
Her last single for the year 2006 will be another theme song for "NANA2" that will be released in December under "REIRA starring YUNA ITO" since she will reprise her role as REIRA Serizawa. "Truth" is her 6th single so far, hitting stored December 6, and last until her debut album comes out.
"HEART" was released January 24, 2007, and immediately took over the Japanese Album Charts, hitting the pole position on Daily, Weekly and Monthly Album Charts, selling well over 200.000 copies in its first week. "HEART" marked a major success for Ito, who until then had been entitled an one-hit-wonder, when it actually got #1 for a week on the United World Charts. The album is still charting, and has until now sold more than 500.000 units.
Ito's 7th single "I'm Here" became available on March 14, 2007, but was a minor success considering the statues "HEART" had achieved. Even though it was used as a theme song to "UNFAIR -the movie-", Ito's second tie-in with the franchise, the single only sold about 40.000 units, a number that has become average for all of It's singles.
Next up for Ito will be a collaboration single entitled "Mahaloha" with Micro of Def Tech, in stores June 27, 2007.
Interesting Facts
- Yuna was born in Los Angeles
- Attended McKinley High School until 2001
- Her test scores where always great, that's why her mother never was too fond of her daughter becoming a singer
- Her parents had several restaurants, the current is in Honolulu, Hawaii- "Ai No No"
- Misses her friends and family a lot while in Japan
- Has more than one relative that attends McKinley High
- Friend with Hawaiin JPop singer Melody, Angela Aki and AI
- Angela Aki and she attended the same Japanese language school
- Her favourite music style is R&B, even though she persues a JPOP career in Japan
- English is her native language, Japanese her 2nd language
- Can write fluently in Kana (Japanese writings)
- Her bloodtype is A
- Likes listening to CHRYSTAL K
- Debuted as a Korean model in 2003
- Even though "stuck" on you failed to enter the TOP10 in the charts, it took over the #1 spot for 3 days in a row at most downloaded song on bitmusic, also in the TOP30 were "These Boots Are Made For Walkin", "Precious", "ENDLESS STORY" and "Faith".
- Yuna's favourite colour is black
- She resides in Tokyo when she's in Japan, and in Honolulu when she's in Hawaii.
- Her star sign is Virgo
- Education: Sacred Hearts Academy (7th-8th grade), McKinley High School (9th-12th grade), Makiki Japanese Language School.
Possible Name Meanings
Ito is the sixth most common Japanese surname. It is formed from the kanji characters for "that one" and "wisteria."
Yuna is also a common Japanese given name. The first character in her name, "yu" means "reason" and the second, "na," is a phonetic kanji commonly used in names.
Although "Yuna" happens to be a very common Korean name, the name "Yuna", as given to her by her parents, does not carry any form of Korean origin.
Profile
Birth name: Yuna Ito
Also known as: 伊藤 由奈 (Japan), 유나 (Korea)
Born: September 20, 1983 (1983-09-20) (age 25)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Origin: Oahu, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Genre(s): Japanese Pop, R&B
Occupation(s): Singer, songwriter, actress, composer, model, spokesperson
Years active: 2005-present
Label(s): Studioseven Recordings, Sony Music Japan
Associated acts: Celine Dion, Micro
Website: http://www.yunaweb.com/ (Japanese)
CD
1. WORKAHOLIC
2. ENDLESS STORY
3. losin'
4. Know-how
5. Precious
6. Tender is the Night
7. Fragile
8. Nobody Knows
9. Faith
10. Stay for Love
11. Truth
12. Perfume
13. Precious -wedding extended ver.-
DVD
1. Truth (Original Version)
2. stuck on you
3. Faith
4. losin'
5. Precious (Special Version)
6. ENDLESS STORY (The Memories)
Chart: #1
Sales: 530,000+ units
RIAJ Certification: 2x Platinum
CD
1. Power of Love
2. alone again
3. あなたがいる限り ～A WORLD TO BELIEVE IN～
4. Urban Mermaid
5. HEARTBEAT
6. Colorful
7. Unite As One
8. Mahaloha
9. A Long Walk
10. Moon Rabbit
11. I'm Here
12. Wish
13. Tokyo Days
14. MY HEART WILL GO ON
DVD
1. I'm Here
2. Mahaloha
3. Urban Mermaid
4. あなたがいる限り ～A WORLD TO BELIEVE IN～
CD
1. Urban Mermaid
2. Colorful
3. Mahaloha -Gira Mundo "City Lights at Night" Remix-
4. Urban Mermaid -Instrumental-
DVD
1. I'm Here
2. WORKAHOLIC
3. Precious -encore-
Chart: #10
Sales: 23,833
RIAJ Certification: none
10th Single
あなたがいる限り ～A WORLD TO BELIEVE IN～
2008.01.16
1. "あなたがいる限り ～A World to Believe In～"
2. "あなたがいる限り ～A World to Believe In～" (U.S.A. Mix)
3. "あなたがいる限り ～A World to Believe In～" (Yuna Ito Solo Version)
4. "あなたがいる限り ～A World to Believe In～" (Instrumental)
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Yuna Ito (伊藤 由奈)
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