Le Couple

Overview

Le Couple (ル・クプル, from the French word for "couple") was a Japanese music duo made up of the married pair Emi Fujita (vocals, lyrics) and Ryuji Fujita (guitar, composition). Formed in 1990 and ending its activities in 2007, the duo is best known for "Hidamari no Uta" (ひだまりの詩), which sold over 1.8 million copies. Its genres are kayokyoku and J-pop.

Members

• Emi Fujita: born May 15, 1963 in Kiyose, Tokyo; vocals and lyrics.
• Ryuji Fujita: born November 7, 1963 in Itabashi, Tokyo; guitar and composition.

Career

Emi joined the Himawari theater company as a child and worked as a child actress, also taking part in the chorus group Himawari Kitties. She debuted as an enka singer in her first year of junior high school, but without success, and retired in 1978. After discovering bluegrass and country music, she kept performing as an amateur singer in live houses. Ryuji took up guitar in junior high under the influence of the Beatles and played bass in country bands from around age 19. At 21 he joined the house band at the Shinjuku live house Wishbone, where he met Emi.

The two married in 1990. They gave up music for a while, but about three years later resumed it as a shared hobby and began writing original songs. While performing at Tokyo live houses they were scouted by an agency's chief manager and debuted as Le Couple.

Their debut came in July 1994 with "Umi no Soko de Utau Uta," a cover of a song by Moko Beaver Olive. From October 1995, to promote the third single "7-gatsu no Kanshō," they drove a wagon around Japan visiting cable radio stations, covering all 631 stations over nine months.

They released the single "my special thanks" in December 1996. "Hidamari no Uta," the fifth single released on May 16, 1997, was used as an insert song in the TV drama Under One Roof 2 and sold over 1.8 million copies. That year it won the Excellence Award at the 39th Japan Record Awards, and the duo appeared at the 48th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen. Also in 1997 came the album "Another Season ～5番目の季節～," the single "Sofa" and the album "on the sofa."

Further releases followed: "もしもあなたと暮せたら," the album "小さな願い" and "逢えてよかった" in 1998; "ふたつの夢," "お帰りなさい" and the album "My special thanks" in 1999; and "ジュリアン" and the album "Style F" in 2000. The live video "ひだまりの詩 〜Tour de JAPON '98〜" was recorded on July 11, 1998 and released on October 7. The compilation "10年物語 All Singles of the Decade and More" appeared in 2004.

The duo suspended activities in 2005, and after the couple divorced in February 2007, Le Couple formally ended. Emi had already made her solo debut in November 2001 with the album "Camomile," and continued working solo under names such as Emi Fujita and Emi. Ryuji runs A-Music, an entertainment agency that mainly manages actors.

"PLATINUM BEST Le Couple&藤田恵美 ～The greatest gift～" was released on June 17, 2015. On September 11, 2015, the former couple reunited on the TV program "Bakuhō! The Friday" and performed "Hidamari no Uta" for the first time in about ten years. They explained that the divorce stemmed from Ryuji's struggle to balance work, which led to verbal abuse toward Emi, and that they had withheld this to protect the clean image of the song. Contact between the former couple and their families reportedly continues.

Musical Style

Le Couple's music spans kayokyoku and J-pop. Emi wrote the lyrics and sang while Ryuji composed and played guitar. Emi's grounding in bluegrass and country and Ryuji's experience with the Beatles and country bands shaped their musical foundation.