Aoi Teshima

Overview

Aoi Teshima (手嶌葵, born June 21, 1987) is a Japanese singer and voice actress from Kasuga, Fukuoka, now based in Fukuoka City and signed to Rendez-vous. She rose to fame singing the theme song of Studio Ghibli's Tales from Earthsea and went on to sing and act in both of Goro Miyazaki's first features, Tales from Earthsea and From Up on Poppy Hill. Since May 21, 2017 she has served as a support ambassador for the "City of One Million Roses," Fukuyama.

Career

Early years

Teshima grew up with her parents' love of classic musicals such as The Wizard of Oz, The Secret Garden, The Little Prince and Breakfast at Tiffany's. Hearing Louis Armstrong's "Moon River" in junior high school sparked her love of jazz, along with the music of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. During a difficult period in junior high, when she struggled to attend school, Bette Midler's "The Rose" became her emotional support; she covered it live as an amateur, and a recording of that cover became the trigger for her debut.

After junior high she enrolled at the C&S Music School in Fukuoka, which lets students earn high school and junior college qualifications while training musically, and began performing as an amateur in 2003. She took part in the DIVA event, sponsored by Yamaha's Teens' Music Festival, in 2003 and 2004. In March 2005 she performed at the Japan-Korea Slow Music World event in South Korea, after which a Yamaha representative passed her demo CD to Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki. Taken with her cover of "The Rose," Suzuki recommended it to Goro Miyazaki, who also loved it, and the still-unknown newcomer was chosen to sing the theme of Tales from Earthsea and to voice its heroine, Theru.

2006-2011

On June 7, 2006, she made her major debut with the single "Theru's Song" (テルーの唄). It entered the Oricon chart at No. 5, with roughly 300,000 CDs shipped and about 650,000 downloads, the biggest for a Studio Ghibli theme song at the time. Her first album, Gedo Senki Kashu, followed on July 12, and the film opened on July 29. Author Ursula K. Le Guin praised her singing. She also sang "Light" and "Warmth of the Moon" in the Wii game Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon, and "Miracle Star" served as the theme of the Japanese version of Arctic Tale.

She released Haru no Kashu in February 2007 and the single "Miracle Star" in October. In 2008 came the film-music cover album The Rose I Love Cinemas (March), the single "Niji" (June) and the album Niji no Kashu (July); in May she sang the national anthem before 30,000 people at Fukuoka's PayPay Dome. In 2009 she appeared on CHAGE's album and released La Vie En Rose I Love Cinemas in October. In 2010 she joined Ryuichi Sakamoto on "Yuki no Furu Machi o," sang the duet "Because" with Yoko Kanno, and released Christmas Songs in November.

In 2011 she collaborated with Goro Miyazaki again on From Up on Poppy Hill, singing the main theme "Summer of Goodbye" (released June 1) and other songs in the film, and voicing Yuko (released July 16). The album Kokuriko-zaka kara Kashu followed in July, and Collection Blue in November.

2012 onward

On September 30, 2012, Kasuga City presented her with its Citizens Cultural Award. That year she moved to Victor Entertainment and released the digital album Miss AOI - Bonjour,Paris! in December. Ren'dez-vous came out on July 23, 2014. On February 10, 2016 she released the single "Letter to Tomorrow" (明日への手紙), the theme of the Fuji TV drama Love That Makes You Cry, which topped the Billboard Japan Hot 100. Aoi Works best collection 2011-2016 followed on April 20, and in November the song won Best Theme Song at the Tokyo Drama Awards 2016.

She released "Chirite Nao" (theme of the film Miotsukushi Ryoricho) on October 14, 2020, and "Tadaima" (theme of TBS's Heaven and Hell: Psychic Duo) on February 24, 2021, followed by her first best-of album, Simple is best, on June 2, 2021. Highlights from Simple is best Vol. 2 and a limited analog edition arrived that October. In autumn 2022 she voiced the title call for the Fuji TV drama silent, and in 2023 she narrated the NHK BS Premium program Taka o Tsugu Mono. She also appeared on Reki's Mukishi under the name "Come on Aoi" and has sung for McDonald's and Toshiba commercials.

Musical style

Film music and jazz are the roots of her sound. Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and "Moon River" shaped her style, and she is a devoted fan of musicals such as Funny Face and Mary Poppins. Her cover albums of film songs are sung in English. She describes herself as stubborn and strong-willed, and says she is camera-shy.