Ami (singer)

Ami
Native name 中島麻未
Born Ami Nakashima
(1988-05-11) May 11, 1988
Minoh, Osaka, Japan
Other names Dream Ami
Occupation
Agent
Height 1.64 m (5 ft 4 1⁄2 in)
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
Years active 2002–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website ami-ldh.jp

Ami Nakashima (中島 麻未, Nakashima Ami), known as Ami or Dream Ami, is a Japanese singer, dancer, model and television personality. She is a former member of the Japanese girl groups Dream and E-girls.[2]

She debuted as a member of the eight-member group Dream in 2002 at the age of 14, and she had remained throughout several line-up changes until the group stopped their activities. She gained fame after becoming part of the collective girl group E-girls in 2011. In 2015, she debuted as a solo artist with the single "Dress o Nuida Cinderella".[3] Apart from music activities, she is widely known for her regular appearances on Japanese television and various media, and was ranked as one of the most popular Japanese female idols by Nikkei in 2016 and 2017.[4][5]

Early life

Ami was born in Minoh, Osaka Prefecture on May 11, 1988, as the youngest child of her family. She has an older brother and an older sister.[6] She harbored a passion for singing from a young age.[4] During her third year in elementary school, Ami enrolled in Minoh's boys and girls choir where she was an alto singer. She became interested in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry after performing in recitals, with the aspiration of getting more people to look at her.[7][8] Prior to debuting, she attended the vocal and dance school, Caless, in Osaka.[9]

Career

2002–14: Dream and E-girls

On July 7, 2002, she was announced to be joining the group Dream as a new member alongside five other girls, after successfully passing the audition held by Avex.[10] The new line-up later debuted with the single "Music is My Thing", used as the ending song for the anime Hikaru no Go in 2003.[11] In 2005, she became a part of the temporary subgroup a☆girls with Aiko Kayo within Girl's Box — a collaborative unit made up of female singers affiliated to Avex. The duo recorded and performed a cover of the 1980s duo Wink.[12] Later in 2008, Dream, at that time rebranded as DRM, changed management to LDH. They also changed their group name back to Dream and Ami started to use her given name romanized as stage name.[13]

In April 2011, she began her activities as a part of LDH's new collective unit, E-girls, with the members of Dream, Happiness and Flower during the live events E-Girls Show.[14] On December 28, 2011, she debuted officially as a member of the group on their debut single "Celebration!", holding a concurrent position as a member of both E-girls and Dream.[15] Initially featured only as a performer, Ami made her first appearance as a vocalist in E-girls' line-up on their third single and breakthrough song "Follow Me" in 2012.[16] Since then, she had remained one of the main vocalists and the most prominent member of the group until her departure from the group.[17]

In 2014, she took part in Dance Earth Project's stage play Changes, and participated in the single "Peace Sunshine" as a member of Dance Earth Party alongside other Dream members.[18][19]

2015–17: Solo debut and Re: Dream

On April 29, 2015, during E-girls' concert at Saitama Super Arena, it was announced that Ami would make her solo debut in the summer as Dream Ami, while remaining active in both of her groups.[3] Her debut single, "Dress o Nuida Cinderella", was released on July 29 and peaked at number five on the Oricon Singles Chart.[20] The following month, she was featured on Tofubeats' single "Positive". The song was released digitally on August 9, and served as the lead single for the studio album of the same name.[21]

On February 24, 2016, it was announced that she would sing the theme song for the Japanese version of the Disney film Zootopia, and provide the voice for one of the characters.[22] The song titled "Try Everything" is the Japanese version of the song of the same title by Shakira and was released in two different versions in April.[23][24] It reached number eight on Billboard Japan's Hot Animation of the Year 2016.[25] In October 2016, she released her third single, a Japanese cover of the Cardigans' Lovefool.[26] It was the first single to include a song for which she had been credited as lyricist.[27]

Ami released her fourth single, "Hayaku Aitai", on March 22, 2017. She wrote the lyrics for the title track, used as the theme song for the live-action movie Daytime Shooting Star.[28] The song ranked as one of the most listened songs among teenage girls on Line Music in 2017, and the lyrics were cited as one of the reasons for its popularity.[29][30] On June 5, 2017, it was announced that she would focus on her solo activities as one of the acts making up the E.G. Family. The two-day concert "E.G. Evolution" held on July 15 and 16 at Saitama Super Arena were her last activities as a member of both groups.[2] She announced on her birthday that she would be releasing her fifth single "Kimi no Tonari" on July 12, 2017.[31]

Her first studio album, Re: Dream, was released on October 4, 2017.[32] In support of the album, she embarked on her first solo concert tour named Dream Ami 1st Live Tour 2017 Re: Dream. The live house tour consisted of five shows and visited five cities in Japan throughout the month of November.[33]

Discography

Tours

Filmography

Film

Title Year Role Notes Ref.
Zootopia 2016 Gazelle Japanese dub [22]
Under the Black Dress 2017 Yui Short film [34]

Television

Title Year Role Network Notes Ref.
Shūkan Exile 2012–14 Host TBS
Monsieur! 2013 Ami CBC Episode 10 [35]
High Noon TV Viking! 2014–16 Regular cast Fuji TV Thursday appearances [36]
BF Kaigi 2014–15 Host TV Asahi [37]
Chibi Maruko-chan 2015 Herself (voice) Fuji TV Television special [38]
Good Time Music 2016–17 Host TBS [39]
Rikukaiku Konna Jikan ni Chikyu Seifuku Suru Nante 2017– Regular cast TV Asahi Biweekly appearances [40]

Radio

Title Year Role Network Ref.
Beautiful Harmony 2013–17 DJ/Co-host FM802 [41]

Web shows

Title Year Role Network Ref.
Dam Channel 2013 Host Club Dam [42]
Dam Channel TV 2017–18 [43]
Manatsu no Ookami-kun ni wa Damasarenai 2017 Regular cast AbemaTV [44]
Mafuyu no Ookami-kun ni wa Damasarenai 2018 [45]

References

  1. ↑ "Dream Ami、変わらぬ絆に涙「Dreamは名字みたいなもの」". Oricon (in Japanese). November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "E-Girls Announces Huge Line Up Change + Dream Disbands". Jpop Asia. June 5, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "E-girls Member Ami To Make Solo Debut This Summer". Jpop Asia. April 29, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  4. 1 2 "E-girls・Ami「まだまだ納得できてない」 今後の夢とは？". Modelpress (in Japanese). February 12, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  5. ↑ "HKT指原が連覇　NMB山本、乃木坂の白石も上昇". Nikkei Style (in Japanese). June 15, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  6. ↑ Ami (January 2, 2012). "家族大公開！笑" (in Japanese). Ameba Blogs. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Dream Ami、感極まり涙も…初単独ソロツアー東京公演に熱狂＜MC＆衣装＞". Modelpress (in Japanese). November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  8. ↑ "音力〜ONCHIKA〜 (2015年7月30日放送回)" (in Japanese). Goo. July 30, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Debuted Artists from Caless" (in Japanese). Caless Official Website.
  10. ↑ "Profile" (in Japanese). Dream Official Website. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Music is My Thing – Dream" (in Japanese). Oricon. February 13, 2003. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  12. ↑ "3rd X'mas featuring Dream, Nao Nagasawa, SweetS, Nanase Hoshii, Aiko Kayo, Paradise Go!! Go!!, Michi Saito" (in Japanese). Avex. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  13. ↑ "DRMから初期メン長谷部優が脱退＆「Dream」に改名". Natalie (in Japanese). July 22, 2008. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  14. ↑ Dream (April 21, 2011). "週刊EXILEで大集合" (in Japanese). Ameba Blogs. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Celebration! – E-girls" (in Japanese). Oricon. December 28, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  16. ↑ "イメージ一新したE-Girls、新曲「Follow Me」MV解禁". Musicman-net (in Japanese). August 25, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  17. ↑ "＜Dream Amiインタビュー＞E-girlsの"顔"が「役目を果たした」と感じた瞬間…ソロ専念で金髪はどうする？「E.G.family」を初めて語る". Modelpress (in Japanese). July 6, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  18. ↑ "DANCE EARTH PROJECT「CHANGES」" (in Japanese). FujiTV. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  19. ↑ "EXILE、E-girlsら「DANCE EARTH」ユニット新曲リリース". Natalie (in Japanese). April 16, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Dress o Nuida Cinderella – Ami". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  21. ↑ tofubeats×Dream Amiによる"まさにドリーム"なコラボが実現！ (in Japanese). Dream Ami Official Website. August 6, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  22. 1 2 "Dream Amiがディズニー「ズートピア」で主題歌担当、ポップスター役で声優も". Natalie. February 24, 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Try Everything by Dream Ami". iTunes Store. Japan. April 15, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Try Everything (Dream Ami version) by Dream Ami". iTunes Store. Japan. April 20, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  25. ↑ "【ビルボード年間Hot Animation】アニメチャートトップは2016年一大旋風を巻き起こした映画の主題歌" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Dream Ami releases cover of The Cardigans' "Lovefool"". Arama Japan. 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  27. ↑ Dream Ami ニューシングル「Lovefool -好きだって言って-」今夜ラジオ初オンエア＆初のDream Ami作詞曲を含む収録内容を公開!! (in Japanese). Dream Ami Official Website. September 10, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  28. ↑ ""Hirunaka no Ryuusei" Live-Action Film Trailer Featuring Theme Song by Dream Ami Posted". Crunchyroll. January 31, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  29. ↑ "『2017年間ランキング』を発表 LINE MUSICで楽しめる4,300万曲の中で今年 最も支持された楽曲は？" (in Japanese). Line Music Magazine. December 21, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  30. ↑ "いま若者からの支持がアツい！ Dream Ami 新曲「はやく逢いたい」大盛り上がり" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. April 4, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Dream Ami Announces 5th Single On Birthday". Jpop Asia. May 11, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Dream Ami Announces 1st Studio Album "Re: Dream"". Jpop Asia. July 17, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  33. ↑ Dream Ami 1st. Live Tour 2017 Re: Dream (in Japanese). E.G.family mobile. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  34. ↑ 「CINEMA FIGHTERS」 『色のない洋服店』 「ドレスを脱いだシンデレラ」 (in Japanese). E.G.family mobile. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  35. ↑ "The Cast of Monsieur!" (in Japanese). Monsieur! Official Website.
  36. ↑ 【Ami】フジテレビ新番組「バイキング」レギュラー出演決定！ (in Japanese). E-girls Family Official Fanclub. March 20, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  37. ↑ "学園恋愛カードゲーム『ボーイフレンド(仮)』ジュノンボーイで実写化!?". Oricon News (in Japanese). September 30, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  38. ↑ "本人役で登場！Ａｍｉ、「ちびまる子ちゃん」で声優デビュー". Sanspo (in Japanese). January 17, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  39. ↑ "及川光博、新音楽番組でMC初挑戦！Dream Amiとタッグ組み「新しい及川を」". Natalie. April 16, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  40. ↑ "Rikukaiku Konna Jikan ni Chikyu Seifuku Suru Nante" (in Japanese). TV Asahi.
  41. ↑ "大阪出身のAmi（Dream/E-girls）、FM802新番組『Noz Beautiful Harmony』で初レギュラーDJ". Barks (in Japanese). March 28, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  42. ↑ DAM CHANNELのMCが毎月替わる！ 10月のMCはAmi(E-girls)に決定. Daiichi Kosho (in Japanese). October 2, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  43. ↑ Dream Amiが新MCを務める｢DAM CHANNEL TV｣4/9(日)より配信中！ (in Japanese). Dream Ami Official Website. April 14, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  44. ↑ Dream Ami、AbemaTV「真夏のオオカミくんには騙されない」新スタジオキャストに決定！ (in Japanese). Dream Ami Official Website. June 30, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  45. ↑ Dream Ami、AbemaTV人気番組「オオカミくんには騙されない」シーズン3、『真冬のオオカミくんには騙されない』MCに出演決定！ (in Japanese). Dream Ami Official Website. January 5, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
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