Yoko
Ishida's dreams of stardom - and Pioneer Entertainment's hopes of commercial
success - have brought her to several North American anime conventions in
the last two years. The singer who made her name through Pioneer's series
of Para Para remixes of anime theme songs is part of Pioneer's plans to market
CD's of anime music to anime fans, expanding on what the company describes
as a $500 million anime market in the U.S. On the first of July, Ishida's
album Sweets, featuring anime theme songs, will go on sale on the U.S. "Since
I'm an anime song singer, I'm interested in the opening and closing songs,"
Ishida said at Anime Central. "I listen to anime songs and I also listen
to J-pop. As I started singing anime songs, I wanted to write my own songs.
On my new album, Sweets, i wrote the lyrics to four of the songs."
Ishida
started as a girl who liked karaoke and had a dream. "I've always liked singing
since I was a little girl," she said. "I once made mock concerts with my
friends when I was a girl. I even pretended to have a handshaking session.
I've always wished that one day I could become a singer and performer on
stage." The fantasy became reality when Ishida won a talent contest and got
a recording contract. Then came the break when Pioneer chose Ishida as the
voice of their Para Para Paradise albums, which have led to her performing
more than 100 anime theme songs.
Manager
Nick Hiroi produces the songs for Ishida. "When making anime songs I have
to consider the animation that goes along with the songs," said Hiroi. "If
it's a gentle anime you can't have a very strong song, otherwise you would
have a mismatch." In releasing Ishida's songs in the U.S., she's entering
one of the world's most competitive markets for popular music, but she's
not worried. "It probably isn't very difficult to be a success, as long as
you're writing songs that can be enjoyed by everyone and performing plenty
of concerts," Ishida said.
Yoko
Ishida's dreams of stardom - and Pioneer Entertainment's hopes of commercial
success - have brought her to several North American anime conventions in
the last two years. The singer who made her name through Pioneer's series
of Para Para remixes of anime theme songs is part of Pioneer's plans to market
CD's of anime music to anime fans, expanding on what the company describes
as a $500 million anime market in the U.S. On the first of July, Ishida's
album Sweets, featuring anime theme songs, will go on sale on the U.S. "Since
I'm an anime song singer, I'm interested in the opening and closing songs,"
Ishida said at Anime Central. "I listen to anime songs and I also listen
to J-pop. As I started singing anime songs, I wanted to write my own songs.
On my new album, Sweets, i wrote the lyrics to four of the songs."
Ishida
started as a girl who liked karaoke and had a dream. "I've always liked singing
since I was a little girl," she said. "I once made mock concerts with my
friends when I was a girl. I even pretended to have a handshaking session.
I've always wished that one day I could become a singer and performer on
stage." The fantasy became reality when Ishida won a talent contest and got
a recording contract. Then came the break when Pioneer chose Ishida as the
voice of their Para Para Paradise albums, which have led to her performing
more than 100 anime theme songs.
Manager
Nick Hiroi produces the songs for Ishida. "When making anime songs I have
to consider the animation that goes along with the songs," said Hiroi. "If
it's a gentle anime you can't have a very strong song, otherwise you would
have a mismatch." In releasing Ishida's songs in the U.S., she's entering
one of the world's most competitive markets for popular music, but she's
not worried. "It probably isn't very difficult to be a success, as long as
you're writing songs that can be enjoyed by everyone and performing plenty
of concerts," Ishida said.
