Chitose Hajime

Chitose Hajime is a singer from Amami shima and sings in a style particular to that region with distinctive falsetto effects. She was recognized as a gifted folk singer at a young age. She won many folk song competitions released two traditional folk albums on an indie label and was approached by numerous record labels. She decided to study to become a beautician instead of pursuing music. However Hajime had severe allergic reactions to many of the chemicals used by beauticians. She withdrew from school and seriously considered a music career. In 2001 she released a self titled minialbum on the indie label Office Augusta. The album was covers of older songs but was so well received that Hajime was pushed to release another minialbum. In August 2001 Chitose released her second minialbum with Augusta Records entitled Kotonoha . This release featured 5 original tracks. In 2002 she released her first major label single on Epic Records Wadatsumi no Ki . It was the third highest selling single of the year behind only Hikaru Utadas traveling and Ayumi Hamasakis H. Three months later she released a brand new single Kimi wo Om . While also very popular it was not nearly the success that her first single was although it did help to cement her as a permanent artist. Her first major album Hainumikaze followed later in the year. It sold 800000 copies charted for 57 weeks and was the 16th highest selling album of the year. She released 3 more singles before her second major album Nomad Soul nomado souru was released in 2003. Shortly after a concert tour and the release of a live album and DVD in 2004 Hajime announced that she would be taking time away from the music scene to get married and have a child. Her first child miscarried but she successfully gave birth to a girl on January 20 2005. She returned to the music industry in November 2005 with the single Kataritsugu Koto the ending theme for the anime BLOOD+. The single was a hit reaching 12 on the Oricon charts. She followed this success with her next comeback single Haru no Katami the ending theme for the anime AYAKASHI Japanese Classic Horror. This single sold 6050 copies in its first week and remained on the charts for 7 weeks total. A third single was released before her next album. The single Ao no Requiem was the theme song for the Studio GAGA film Hatsukoi. It featured 1 extra track and charted for 3 weeks. The following week Hajime released her third original major album Hanadairo . The album was available in both a regular edition and a limited edition. The limited edition featured a 13th track Shinda Onna no Ko ? with Ryuichi Sakamoto as well as a DVD containing the music videos for Kataritsugu Koto and Haru no Katami. Studies have revealed that her particular style of singing including aspects of traditional Amamishima music has a relaxing effect that has been observed in electroencephalograms taken from the brains of people listening to her singing. Source: Wikipedia