About Koda Kumi
Kumiko Kōda (神田 來未子, Kōda Kumiko; born November 13, 1982), known professionally as Koda Kumi (倖田 來未, Kōda Kumi), is a Japanese singer from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs. After debuting with the single "Take Back" in December 2000, Koda gained fame in March 2003 when the songs from her seventh single, "Real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba", were used as themes for the video game Final Fantasy X-2. Her popularity grew with the release of her fourth studio album Secret (2005), her sixteenth single "Butterfly" (2005), and her first greatest hits album Best: First Things (2005), reaching the number-three, number-two, and number-one spots respectively. Though her early releases presented a conservative, quiet image, she has become a fashion leader among young women, setting trends such as the ero-kakkoii style. In 2006 and 2007, Oricon named Koda as the top selling artist of the year. Koda's first semi-biographical book, Koda-shiki ("Koda-style") was officially described as "a story about a girl who was filled with inferiority complex pursuing her way". Koda's first release of 2005 was her fourteenth single, "Hands" (January 19). After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Koda recorded the charity single "The Meaning of Peace" with Korean singer BoA as part of Avex's Song+Nation project to raise funds for charity.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.