YUI

Yui, Yui Yoshioka (ユイ), stylized as YUI or yui, is a Japanese singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actress. Born and raised in Fukuoka prefecture, she played live at various locations in her hometown before being noticed by Sony Music Japan when she was 17 years old, and released her debut single months later. Her singles, however, were only met with moderate success until the breakout "Good-bye Days", which charted for 44 weeks on Oricon and marked her as one of the Japanese music industry's rising stars. Since Yui's debut album, From Me to You, each of her soloist album releases has topped the charts, with at least one single reaching number one on the Oricon charts from 2007 until her second hiatus in 2012, including five straight from mid-2008 to late 2010. 

Interesting Facts:

-After retiring from music as a soloist in 2012, she formed the band Flower Flower in 2013. 
-ranking number one in 2011 Count Down TV "Dearest Female Artist" and Music Station "Artist You Most Want to Marry" polls, as well as Radio Television Hong Kong's "Most Popular Japanese Artist"

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Notable instruments :
-Fender GA-45SCE
-Fender GDC200 SCE
-Fender Stratocaster
-Squier Bronco Bass
-Fender Telecaster
-Fender Jaguar
-Martin 0m-28
-Fender thinline

Discography

Albums chart rank:
-2006: From Me to You #4
-2007: Can't Buy My Love #1
-2008: I Loved Yesterday #1
-2008: My Short Stories #1
-2010: Holidays in the sun #1
-2011: How Crazy Your Love

Albums chart rank :

-2005 Feel My Soul #8
-2005 Tomorrow’s way #15
-2005 LIFE #9
-2006 TOKYO #15
-2006 Good-bye days #3
-2006 I remember you #2
-2007 Rolling star #4
-2007 CHE.R.RY #2
-2007 My Generation/Understand #1
-2007 LOVE & TRUTH #1
-2008 Namidairo #3
-2008 SUMMER SONG #1
-2009 Again #1
-2009 It's All Too Much/Never say Die #1
-2010 Gloria #1
-2010 to Mother #1
-2010 Rain #2

Studio albums as Flower Flower:
-2014 Mi (実, lit. Fuit)
-2018 Spotlight

Compilation albums:
-2008 My Short Stories
-2012 Green Garden Pop
-2012 Orange Garden Pop

Fillmography:
    2007: Thank You My Teens
    2011: Yui 4th Tour 2010: Hotel Holidays in the Sun
    2012: Yui 5th Tour 2012 Cruising: How Crazy Your Love

Flms& TV:
-2006     Song of the Sun - Kaoru Amane (Lead)
-2011     Kaitō Royale -    Cameo 

Awards:
-2007   30th Japan Academy Prize: Rookie of Year
-2008   MTV Student Voice Award 2008: Best Artist
-2008   Space Shower Music Video Awards 08 : Best Pop Video
-2010   Gloria     1st Brazil's J-Station Music Awards: Hit of The Year -Won
-2011      Rain MTV Video Music Awards Japan: Best Female Video -Nominated
             Holidays in the Sun -    MTV Video Music Awards Japan: Best Album of the Year

Inspiretions: Avril Lavigne & Michelle Branch
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Yui was born in Fukuoka, Japan. The Associated Press has reported that her full name is Yui Yoshioka.

She grew up in a single-parent family, her father leaving her mother when she was three. Growing up, Yui asserted that she had always been close to music, as she would remember the beats from music she heard on the radio, and would be able to sing it. During elementary school, Yui thought she would like to become a singer.  Self-described as shy and horrible at talking to others as a child, she would play outside by herself in mountains, rivers, by the sea and in rice paddies.

During her third year in primary school, she was influenced by her mother to begin writing a journal of her feelings and tried to compose them into poems. By the time Yui attended high school, she began to write songs, thinking of that as being able to express herself little by little.  While in high school, she worked part-time at a Chinese restaurant to help pay for tuition. Between music, school and work, however, she only had one or two hours of sleep, and believed she no longer had the time to realize her dreams of a music career. She subsequently became ill; however, it was at the hospital that she was overwhelmed with the desire to make music, and finally decided that school and music could not coexist.

Soon after leaving the hospital, she got a chance to see her first live street performance.  She expressed a desire to pursue a musical career to the band, Bianco Nero, at the end of the concert. The band advised Yui to join a private music school, juku. Despite the social norm of finishing school in Japan and discouragement from her teachers, Yui did not hesitate to drop out of high school and began to study guitar and songwriting at the music cram school "Voice" in her hometown of Fukuoka.  Aspiring to become a professional, she took to street performing at Fukuoka's Tenjin Station. These street performances helped Yui to overcome her shyness.
Initial career

Yui's professional career began in March 2004 when, at the recommendation of her cram school instructors, she applied for an audition hosted by Sony Music Japan.  Although instructed that a participant could only perform two songs, she first sang "Why Me" (a song later included in her debut Sony Records single), followed by "It's Happy Line," and then half of "I Know", performing the unfinished third song because she wanted the judges to hear a song full of hope.

The judges gave her the maximum score. Although "I Know" was incomplete at the time, the judges were able to get a glimpse of what would later be dubbed "Yui-go" (YUI語), or Yui-speak, nonsensical English hummed to a tune during her songwriting process. An example of Yui-go can be found in the film Song of the Sun.

On December 24, 2004, Yui released her debut single, "It's Happy Line", under the indie label Leaflet Records, coupled with the track "I Know," although the pressing was limited to only 2,000 copies in her home area.