Yuki Isoya

Yuki Isoya (better known as Yuki) (born on february 1972) is one of Japan's most notable female vocalists. Best known as the front-woman and lead vocals of the former rock band Judy and Mary, she has also been part of the largely unknown NiNa (with Kate Pierson of The B-52's) and the all girl rock band Mean Machine (alongside Chara).

As well as being a strong vocalist with prominent and varied longevity in Japan's music business (including hosting her own radio program), and appearing regularly in various commercials and ads (for cosmetic products as well as a recent campaign for Sony Ericsson cellphones) Yuki is also a very avid fan of fashion. She often models her unique and popularly mimicked wardrobe for magazines such as Cutie, Non-no, and Zipper. She is also the primary model for the Japanese photography group known as Sleep, whom she has collaborated with to create merchandise, including the limited edition White Line Backpack.

Biography

Yuki was born in Hakodate, Hokkaido to her parents Mo and Ryouko. Her father was an elementary school principal. She has two siblings: an older sister, Yukari, and a younger brother, Taminori. After graduating from Hakodate Iai Women's High School, she worked as a tour guide. After graduating from Hakodate Otan College, she worked as a beautician. She is married to Magokoro Brothers front man YO-KING. She gave birth to her first child, a boy, on April 18, 2003. However, the child died from unknown causes (SIDS) on March 17, 2005. She gave birth to a second child on August 29, 2006.

In July 2008, she will sign with american record label Sony BMG to distribute most of her releases in the US.

Yuki Isoya, or generally just Yuki, began her career as the front woman for the near generation-defining noisy pop Judy and Mary in 1991. If you are Japanese, you'd have had to have been in a coma for the past 15 years not to know at least one of their songs. In all, they released seven albums, three compilation albums and twenty-two singles. Judy and Mary broke up in 2001 following the Warp Tour Finale held at the Tokyo Dome, where fans bid them a tearful farewell. I thinks it's a matter of time before they rejoin if only to release an 'it's been a while' album. Japanese bands usually seem to enjoy functional relationships and if they break up it's usually genuinely to explore other creative directions.

YUKI has done that. While I don't mind JAM, I think she has really pushed herself to new directions exploring everything from dub to club-inspired dance pop. Both incarnations enjoy popularity in Japan and abroad. She's a J-pop girl whose talent and innovation makes her more than a guilty pleasure. Today's video for Joy is off her 2005 release by the same name. It's really hard to choose which YUKI video to show because they're all pretty great but this is the song that really stood out at the concert so I have to give her props for that. The video really seems to borrow from the early Daft Punk play book which is great to see - it's all a lot of fun.