Misato Watanabe

Overview

Misato Watanabe (渡辺美里, born 12 July 1966) is a Japanese singer, lyricist and singer-songwriter raised in Tokyo. She debuted in 1985 on EPIC Sony (now Epic Records Japan) and rose to stardom in 1986 with "My Revolution," written by Tetsuya Komuro. Although only two of her singles reached No. 1 on the Oricon chart (eight reached No. 2), nine of her albums topped it, and she is often called an "album artist." Her eight consecutive years of No. 1 albums ties her for fifth place all-time. She has never changed labels since her debut.

Career

Before debut

A lover of singing since childhood, she attended Tokyo Metropolitan Matsubara High School, where she managed the rugby club; senior schoolmates included Nobuyuki Shimizu, EPO and Yoshiyuki Sahashi. She formed an amateur band in 1983 and in 1984 won the Best Vocal Award at the 3rd Miss Seventeen Contest (about 180,000 entrants), alongside contemporaries such as Sayuri Kokusho and Shizuka Kudo. She also worked as a model for Seventeen magazine.

1985–1989

She debuted on 2 May 1985 with "I'm Free," the theme of the TBS drama Super Police. In June she sang backing vocals for labelmate-agency senior Takako Shirai at the National Stadium event "All Together Now." Her live-house tour GROWIN' UP LIVE began in September, her debut album Eyes followed on 2 October, and she played her first hall concert in Osaka in November.

"My Revolution" (January 1986), the theme of the TBS drama Sailor-fuku Dori, hit No. 1 on Oricon and sold roughly 700,000 copies (445,000 by Oricon's count). Her second album, Lovin' you (July 1986), was the first double-disc original album by a Japanese solo artist. In August she launched the stadium concerts MISATO SPECIAL '86 KICK OFF, the first such undertaking by a female solo singer; her Seibu Lions Stadium show became an annual tradition.

From 1987 she wrote most of her own lyrics, or both lyrics and music, usually crediting lyrics as "MISATO" and composition under her real name. "Koi shitatte Ii janai" (April 1988) was her first CD single, and the album Ribbon (May 1988) became her first million-seller. Her July 1988 Seibu concert, ribbon power, was the subject of NHK satellite broadcasting's first uncut live broadcast attempt.

In 1989 she studied briefly in London and starred in her first film, on the Flower bed. The second night of her July Seibu concerts was cut short by torrential rain and lightning and later became known as a "legendary live." "Niji o Mitakai" debuted at No. 1 in October, she staged SUPER Flower bed BALL '89 at Tokyo Dome on 30 November, and her first nine singles were reissued on CD in December as analog production ended.

1990s

In 1990 Takahiro Matsumoto of B'z joined the recording of "Love is magic," and she toured with misato 1990 TOUR tokyo. Christmas shows at Yokohama Arena became a regular feature. For her 10th anniversary in 1995 she released her first best album, She loves you, along with a video collection and her first photo book, and held an anniversary concert at Seibu stadium. In May 1999 she gave her first full-orchestra concert.

2000s onward

She held her 15th consecutive Seibu Dome live in 2000, the year longtime director and executive producer Yoji Kosaka left Epic; she has produced herself since. She appeared as a secret guest at Disney on Classic in 2002 and sang the opening theme of the Doraemon anime in 2003. In 2004 she played a radio DJ in the film Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World, with "Anata ni Aete" used as an insert song. Her 20-year run of Seibu stadium lives ended in August 2005 with MISATO V20 Stadium Legend – Final Chapter – NO SIDE, and on 31 December 2005 she made her first appearance on Kohaku Uta Gassen. In 2007 she held the Present Tree Live at Yakushi-ji temple in Nara and, from May that year, has been managed by her own office, Lalamahalo. Later albums include Kokoro Ginga (2007), Dear My Songs (2008), Serendipity (2011) and ID (2019). At her 2011 event Misato Matsuri she performed with Masayuki Suzuki for the first time.

Seibu Stadium Lives and the MISATO TRAIN

Her summer concerts at Seibu stadium, running from 1986 to 2005, drew a total of about 700,000 people, with 40,000 tickets selling out on the day at their peak; the final show drew around 39,000. Titles running from "kick off" to "NO SIDE" refer to the start and end of a rugby match, apparently echoing her days as a rugby club manager. From 1990 to 2005 Seibu Railway ran a special "MISATO TRAIN" to carry concertgoers, with a different headmark each year.

Musical style

Watanabe's pop draws on kayokyoku, J-pop and city pop, and she is regarded as a pioneer of girls' pop distinct from the idol mold. Composers and producers including Tetsuya Komuro, Yasuyuki Okamura, Naoto Kine, Senri Oe, Takeshi Kobayashi, Nobuyuki Shimizu and Yoshiyuki Sahashi contributed songs. From 1987 she increasingly wrote her own material, and her fearless stadium performances won a devoted following. She was also a well-known radio personality, at one point hosting four regular programs a week.