Music Career
Anza made her music debut in 1992 as a member of the pop idol group Sakurakko Club, and released a number of singles with them. She and Ayako Morino, also of Sakurakko Club fame, were in a spin-off duo called Momo. They released two singles in 1993 and 1994.
With Anza joining the Sailor Moon musicals in 1993, she appeared regularly on the CD releases for the musicals, both in solo and group songs. From her five-year period as Sailor Moon, she can be heard on the "La Soldier" single (released prior to the very first musical), the first five Memorial Album of the Musical releases, as well as three of the eight compilation albums which have been released since Sera Myu's conception.
In 1994, Moon Lips, a group of Sera Myu actresses including Anza, provided vocals for the Sailor Moon theme song "Moonlight Densetsu" which was used for that show's third and fourth seasons (Sailor Moon S and Sailor Moon Super S, respectively).
Shortly following her graduation from the Sailor Moon musicals in 1998, she released a solo single entitled "Dream" under the Sony Music Entertainment Japan record label. "Dream" was also featured as the ending theme song for the TV show Famitsu Wave. In April 1999, she released "Tobira wo Akete" (under Victor Entertainment), a single which was used as a theme song for the anime Cardcaptor Sakura. In September 1999, Anza provided vocals for "Ai wo Shizumeteru", the ending theme song to the PlayStation game Psychic Force 2. Another of her songs, "Mienai Chizu", was used as an insert song in episode 68 of Cardcaptor Sakura.
In 1999, Anza went in a completely different direction with her music. She formed Head Phones President with brothers Hiro and Mar, who previously helped her on her solo work. Their sound can be described as nu metal, with occasional harsh, screamed vocals interspersed with soft melodic singing. Anza is often introduced as being on "vocals and visuals".
In 2003, Toho recorded four of its Les Misérables musicals live, and they released four double-disc albums (available only by special order directly from Toho). Anza appears on the light blue album with Kazutaka Ishii as Jean Valjean.
In 2006, Anza was signed onto the Universal Music Japan and released her debut single with them: "Kanata e". It was used as the second ending theme song for the anime Glass no Kantai.
In late 2008, she joined the rock band Vitamin-Q along with Masami Tsuchiya, Kazuhiko Kato, Gota Yashiki and Rei Ohara. However, after Kato's suicide on October 17, 2009, the fate of the group is uncertain.
Currently, Anza mixes Head Phones President and her solo career.
Read more about this topic: Anza (singer)
Famous quotes containing the words music and/or career:
“Have you ever been up in your plane at night, alone, somewhere, 20,000 feet above the ocean?... Did you ever hear music up there?... It’s the music a man’s spirit sings to his heart, when the earth’s far away and there isn’t any more fear. It’s the high, fine, beautiful sound of an earth-bound creature who grew wings and flew up high and looked straight into the face of the future. And caught, just for an instant, the unbelievable vision of a free man in a free world.”
—Dalton Trumbo (1905–1976)
“It is a great many years since at the outset of my career I had to think seriously what life had to offer that was worth having. I came to the conclusion that the chief good for me was freedom to learn, think, and say what I pleased, when I pleased. I have acted on that conviction... and though strongly, and perhaps wisely, warned that I should probably come to grief, I am entirely satisfied with the results of the line of action I have adopted.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)