Early Life
Chara grew up in Kawaguchi, Saitama. She started learning the piano from age four, and starting composing songs in elementary school. In her first year of elementary school, she performed a song she had written, "Sayonara" (サヨナラ, Goodbye?), at a school piano recital.
She originally received her nickname Chara in junior high school. Her nickname started as Arabiki (あらびき?), a type of sausage that rhymes with her maiden name, Watabiki. This was later changed to Charabiki, adding in charachara (ちゃらちゃら?) (an onomatopoeic word for someone who talks continuously), before settling on Chara, after a teacher called her this. She was so well known by this name that not even some of her friends knew her real name. She continues to use this name as she believes it brings out her inner child.
After finishing high school, Chara went to Tokyo to a vocational school, majoring in music and specialising in piano. However, she dropped out one year into her two year degree.
From 1984 onwards, she worked as a keyboardist in several different unsigned bands. During this time, she found part-time work as a roller-skating waitress. In 1988, to get a chance to sing her own compositions, she decided to become a band vocalist instead. Her first live performance was at the Shinjuku Ruido live house in 1990.
Read more about this topic: Chara (singer)
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