Kobayashi Akiko, also known as holi, is a Japanese singer-songwriter.
History[]
She began her music career in 1984 after getting a job as a secretary at a music publishing company. While there she began writing songs for other artists. She made her debut as a singer-songwriter a year later with the smash hit Koi ni Ochite -Fall in Love- which caused her to become an international phenomenon. After that she began composing music for other artists as well as maintaining her own solo career.
She moved to the United Kingdom in 1992 and changed her stage name to holi. In 2001 she returned to her original name. In 2004, she decided that she would move between Japan and the United Kingdom so she could maintain her career in both countries. She made sporadic media appearances and musical releases until the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic when she went on a full hiatus, considering retirement. However she announced her return to entertainment in 2024 on a talk show.[1]
Discography[]
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Trivia[]
- She got married to an ordinary British man in 2001.
- In 2024 she revealed that she and her husband met when taking Bollywood dance classes together.
- Her debut as a singer was an accident. Kobayashi had written her debut single for another female singer who happened to suddenly retire from entertainment just before the recording date. Kobayashi was the singer on the demo tape, and the production staff liked her singing voice, so she was given a temporary recording contract to record the song. When the debut single became extremely popular, she was given a full recording contract.
- She graduated from Gakushuin University Faculty of Literature with a focus in Philosophy.