kodakumi.jpgIt was reported that Kumi Koda is Japan’s biggest pop icon last year with an amazing 12.7 billion yen in sales from releasing 12 singles, a greatest hits album and a DVD last year. She receives the Oricon Award for Highest Sales by a Japanese Artist in 2006.

Born in November 13, 1982, she was the first girl born to the Koda family in a number of generations. She has strong support from her grandfather who taught her Japanese bamboo flute and her mother who taught Japanese harp. She practised classical Japanese dance at the age of three. She started as professional singer in 2000 with her first single, Take Back. However it was not a success that time. She only started to become really popular in Japan in the year 2005, from her singles compilation album named “BEST ~first things~”. In this album, each song moves in chronological order from her debut single “Take Back” to her last single “Star”, aside from the first track “No Tricks”.

She prides herself as being a modern-day sex goddess. She has the highest female debut since Utada Hikaru’s “Single Collection Vol. 1”, selling 983,000 copies of BEST~second session~. She is ranked as the top most searched person on Yahoo! Japan for year 2006 and VOGUE NIPPON has named her as part of their Women of the Year 2006!

She has won quite a few awards such as:

  • November 21, 2006: “Nail Queen” by Japan Nail Expo
  • November 28, 2006: DIME Award Trend Grand Prize 2006!
  • December 17, 2006: Grand Prix Winner of the 39th Nihon Yusen Record Taishou
  • December 30, 2006: Best Vocal Performance of 2006 at the 48th Nihon Record Taishou