1. Aoyama Thelma
A quarter Afro-Trinidadian from her father's side, Aoyama (28) is a Japanese pop and R&B singer who grew up in Japan (though she spent 2 years of middle school in California) listening to Janet Jackson, who inspired her to become a performer. She has collaborated with K-pop artists and has had a song featured in the movie "Doraemon: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King." However, her biggest claim to fame was single Soba ni Iru ne in 2008. This song was thematically a response to the song Koko ni Iru yo which she also featured in, and the two worked in tandem to portray both sides of a relationship separated by distance. Released in January of that year, it was only later on in September that the Guinness World Records named the single the best-selling digital download single in Japan after it had amassed over 2 million full-length downloads, and by November, it sold over 8.7 million downloads (of varying length). Unfortunately the record was surpassed the next year, but it was a big achievement for someone who at the time was a relative unknown.
Most popular song: Soba ni Iru ne feat. SoulJa (2008) (not soulja boy)
2. Crystal Kay
Born Crystal Kay Williams, Crystal Kay (29) was raised by a father who was African-American bassist/sailor and a mother who was a 3rd generation Korean-Japanese singer in Yokohama, Japan. She's fluent in Japanese and English due to attending school on an American military base in Japan, and she cites Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson as her influences as well as Speed and Amuro Namie. She's collaborated with a bunch of artists like BoA and M-Flo, and her discography is huge (just check it out on Wikipedia). People in the West typically know her from her song "Motherland" which was used as an ending theme in the anime Fullmetal Alchemist.
Most popular song: Koi ni Ochitara (2005)
3. NESMITH
Most notable as being part of the EXILE family of boybands, NESMITH (32) was born to an African-American father and a Japanese mother and grew up in the Kumamoto prefecture of Japan. He's been in groups Nidaime J Soul Brothers, EXILE, THE SECOND from EXILE, and DANCE EARTH PARTY, all under the Exile-led label LDH. His claim to fame is being one of the main singers in Nidaime J Soul Brothers (which is the predecessor to Sandaime J Soul Brothers) and the THE SECOND from EXILE.
Most popular song: Japanese Soul Brothers by Nidaime J Soul Brothers + Sandaime J Soul Brothers (2011)
4. Jero
Quarter-Japanese Jero (34) inherited his Japanese heritage and love of enka from his grandmother Takiko. He is considered the first black enka singer in history. What is enka? (It's grandma music) It's a more traditional style of Japanese pop music, the modern form of which emerged after the second World War. Though Jero grew up in America, he sang enka from the age of six and studied Japanese in high school and college before making his debut in Japan in 2008 with "Umiyuki." The same year he was awarded the Best New Artist Award in the 50th Japan Record Awards. Most enka singers wear kimono and other forms of traditional dress but Jero insisted that he keep his hip hop-influenced clothing, wanting to merge the two cultures, so when you look at the video below, don't be too surprised.
Most popular song: Umiyuki (2008)
Honorable Mention: Chris Hart
I couldn't include him officially since he was born and raised in America and also has no familial connection to Japan, but Chris Hart (31) has been making waves lately in Japan with a string of cover albums and one original album. He supposedly gained an interest in Japan and Japanese culture when he took a Japanese class at 12 and continued his studies throughout college until he moved to Japan at the age of 24. After working on vending machine maintenance for some time, he was scouted by Japanese TV executives on Youtube and the rest is history. His songs have been used as themes for dramas and he has toured extensively throughout Japan.
Most popular song: home (2013)
Video sources: 12345
Wikipedia sources: 123456
A quarter Afro-Trinidadian from her father's side, Aoyama (28) is a Japanese pop and R&B singer who grew up in Japan (though she spent 2 years of middle school in California) listening to Janet Jackson, who inspired her to become a performer. She has collaborated with K-pop artists and has had a song featured in the movie "Doraemon: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King." However, her biggest claim to fame was single Soba ni Iru ne in 2008. This song was thematically a response to the song Koko ni Iru yo which she also featured in, and the two worked in tandem to portray both sides of a relationship separated by distance. Released in January of that year, it was only later on in September that the Guinness World Records named the single the best-selling digital download single in Japan after it had amassed over 2 million full-length downloads, and by November, it sold over 8.7 million downloads (of varying length). Unfortunately the record was surpassed the next year, but it was a big achievement for someone who at the time was a relative unknown.
Most popular song: Soba ni Iru ne feat. SoulJa (2008) (not soulja boy)
2. Crystal Kay
Born Crystal Kay Williams, Crystal Kay (29) was raised by a father who was African-American bassist/sailor and a mother who was a 3rd generation Korean-Japanese singer in Yokohama, Japan. She's fluent in Japanese and English due to attending school on an American military base in Japan, and she cites Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson as her influences as well as Speed and Amuro Namie. She's collaborated with a bunch of artists like BoA and M-Flo, and her discography is huge (just check it out on Wikipedia). People in the West typically know her from her song "Motherland" which was used as an ending theme in the anime Fullmetal Alchemist.
Most popular song: Koi ni Ochitara (2005)
3. NESMITH
Most notable as being part of the EXILE family of boybands, NESMITH (32) was born to an African-American father and a Japanese mother and grew up in the Kumamoto prefecture of Japan. He's been in groups Nidaime J Soul Brothers, EXILE, THE SECOND from EXILE, and DANCE EARTH PARTY, all under the Exile-led label LDH. His claim to fame is being one of the main singers in Nidaime J Soul Brothers (which is the predecessor to Sandaime J Soul Brothers) and the THE SECOND from EXILE.
Most popular song: Japanese Soul Brothers by Nidaime J Soul Brothers + Sandaime J Soul Brothers (2011)
4. Jero
Quarter-Japanese Jero (34) inherited his Japanese heritage and love of enka from his grandmother Takiko. He is considered the first black enka singer in history. What is enka? (It's grandma music) It's a more traditional style of Japanese pop music, the modern form of which emerged after the second World War. Though Jero grew up in America, he sang enka from the age of six and studied Japanese in high school and college before making his debut in Japan in 2008 with "Umiyuki." The same year he was awarded the Best New Artist Award in the 50th Japan Record Awards. Most enka singers wear kimono and other forms of traditional dress but Jero insisted that he keep his hip hop-influenced clothing, wanting to merge the two cultures, so when you look at the video below, don't be too surprised.
Most popular song: Umiyuki (2008)
Honorable Mention: Chris Hart
I couldn't include him officially since he was born and raised in America and also has no familial connection to Japan, but Chris Hart (31) has been making waves lately in Japan with a string of cover albums and one original album. He supposedly gained an interest in Japan and Japanese culture when he took a Japanese class at 12 and continued his studies throughout college until he moved to Japan at the age of 24. After working on vending machine maintenance for some time, he was scouted by Japanese TV executives on Youtube and the rest is history. His songs have been used as themes for dramas and he has toured extensively throughout Japan.
Most popular song: home (2013)
Video sources: 12345
Wikipedia sources: 123456
. I hope you enjoy this post! See you next month for Aries. 
