Yui

Yoshioka Yui 01

Yui is a Japanese singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actress. She is currently signed to Studioseven Recordings and attached to the talent agency Stardust Promotion.

Yui grew up in a single parent family and so does not have any memory of her father. She does remember always being close to music, be it from her mother’s car stereo or the radio; she would remember the tunes and sing along. By the time she was in elementary school she thought she would like to become a singer.

During her third year in middle school, following the influence of her mother, Yui began keeping a journal of everyday feelings and poetry. Because of this, by the time she was in high school, she began writing songs. While in high school she worked part-time to help pay for tuition. Always busy, she thought there was no longer a road to music. Eventually she became ill. While in hospital, with time to think, she was overwhelmed with the desire to make music. She decided that school and music could not coexist. Upon leaving the hospital she encountered a live street performance and expressed her desire to pursue a musical career to the band, Bianco Nero, at the end of the concert. Bianco Nero recommended to Yui that she should join a private music school and soon, she dropped out of high school and seriously began studying songwriting and guitar at a juku in her hometown of Fukuoka. Aspiring to become a professional, she carried her guitar around and sang at the entrance of Tenjin Station in Fukuoka. Doing these street performances helped Yui to eventually overcome her shyness.

Her professional career began in March 2004 when at the recommendation of her juku instructors she applied for an audition hosted by Sony Music Japan. Despite the audition rule that a participant could only sing two songs, Yui sang three, with all of the judges gave her the highest score possible and causing a fierce scramble among record labels to sign her. She first sang “Why Me” (a song later included in her major label debut single), followed by “It’s Happy Line” and “I Know”. Because “I Know” was incomplete at the time, the judges were able to get a glimpse of what would later be dubbed “Yui-go”, or Yui-speak (Yui語 in Japanese), nonsensical English hummed to a tune during her songwriting process — an example of Yui-go can be found in the film Midnight Sun when Yui is working on the song “Goodbye Days”.

On Christmas Eve of that year, she released her debut single “It’s Happy Line” under the indie label Leaflet Records, coupled with the track “I Know”. The pressing was limited to only 2,000 copies in her home area.

Other Information

Birth name : Yoshioka Yui (吉岡唯)
Born : March 26, 1987
Birthplace: Fukuoka, Japan
Genres : J-pop, Pop rock
Occupations : Singer, songwriter, actress
Instruments : Vocals, Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, piano, drums
Height: 155 cm / 5′1″
Blood type: AB
Favorite place: Shingu Sea in Fukuoka
Hobbies: Movies, reading, acoustic guitar, badminton
Family: Father (deceased), mother, grandmother, no siblings
Inspiration:: Avril Lavigne, Michelle Branch
Years active : 2004–Present
Labels : Studioseven Recordings, Leaflet Records(2004)

Discography

From Me to You, 2006
Can’t Buy My Love, 2007
I Loved Yesterday, 2008
My Short Stories, 2008
It’s All Too Much/Never Say Die - Inspired by the Yellow Submarine written by George Harrison, Yui’s newest song It’s All Too Much is the theme song of the movie Kaiji. There are times when people are fed up with everything, yet YUI wants to push you through this thick, suffocating fog with her song. Never Say Die, the coupling song is sung by Kira, a character in the Movie.