Kumiko Koda (神田 來未子, Kōda Kumiko) (born November 13, 1982), better known by her stage name Kumi Koda (倖田 來未, Kōda Kumi), is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Kyoto, known for her Urban and R&B songs. Having debuted in 2000 with the single "Take Back", Koda gained fame for her seventh single, "Real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba", the songs of which 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 spot respectively.
Though her early releases presented a conservative, quiet image, since as early as 2003 Koda has adopted a sexier and more provocative style. Because of this image, she has become a fashion leader among young women, setting trends such as the ero-kakkoii style. She has also won many fashion awards such as, the "Best Jeanist Award" and the title of "Nail Queen" three times since 2006. Since the rise in her popularity, Koda has lent her face and songs to many advertisements. In 2006 and 2007, Oricon awarded with Koda the title of best-selling artist.
On January 31, 2008, a day after the release of her sixth studio album, Kingdom, Koda became the center of controversy when she made a comment on Japanese radio show, All Night Nippon.
On March 14, 2007, Koda released her thirty-fifth single ("But/Aishō"), another greatest hits album (Best: Bounce & Lovers), and a DVD of her second tour Live Tour 2006–2007: Second Session. Her second single of 2007, "Freaky", reached the top spot on the Oricon, giving Koda her fourth number-one single. Koda performed at the Japanese leg of Live Earth in Tokyo on July 7, 2007, and attended Ap Bank Fes '07, an conservationist-themed concert, hosted by Kazutoshi Sakurai of Mr. Children on July 15, 2007. At the end of 2007, Koda released two singles, "Ai no Uta" and "Last Angel", a collaboration with Korean boy band TVXQ better known as Tohoshinki in Japan. "Last Angel" was used as the theme song for the Japanese release for Resident Evil: Extinction. On December 1, she held her first performance at Tokyo Dome for her third nationwide and first arena tour. Koda became the seventh solo female singer to perform at Tokyo Dome with an estimated audience of 45,000 people. Having sold more than 7.3 billion yen worth of CDs and DVDs, Koda was again the best-selling artist of the year in Oricon's 2007 year-end rankings.
Koda released her thirty-ninth single "Anytime" on January 23, 2008; it was followed by her sixth studio album Kingdom, which was released in the same format as her previous album. With a little over 420,000 copies sold, Kingdom debuted atop the Oricon. On January 31, Koda hosted All Night Nippon; discussing her manager's recent marriage and plans on having children, Koda remarked that "When women turn 35, their amniotic fluid goes rotten, so I'd like them to have a child by 35". Because of the controversy instigated by the comment, Avex released an apology stating that as a consolation, all promotion of Kingdom would cease. Additionally, several of Koda's commercial endorsements were placed on hiatus. Koda herself made a public apology on Fuji TV. Despite the controversy, Kingdom remained on top for a second consecutive week. Two months after her controversial statement, Koda released Live Tour 2007: Black Cherry Tour Special Final in Tokyo Dome, her fourth live DVD. Her fourth nationwide tour Koda Kumi Live Tour 2008: Kingdom commenced on April 12, 2008.
Koda's fortieth single "Moon" was released on June 11, 2008. Like "Freaky", "Moon" contained four tracks. The single contained "Moon Crying", used as the theme for Asahi Television drama Puzzle, and a collaboration track with Black Eyed Peas' Fergie Koda again attended Avex's annual summer concert A-Nation '08. She appeared at all eight shows in Japan and performed with other Avex artists such as Every Little Thing, Ai Otsuka, Namie Amuro, Ayumi Hamasaki, TVXQ, and Maki Goto. In October, Koda released her forty-first single, "Taboo". With around 66,000 copies sold in its first week, "Taboo" debuted at the number-one position and became Koda's fifth single to reach the top. Koda released her forty-second single "Stay with Me" on Christmas Eve, which debuted atop of the chart selling 58,000 copies. Koda's seventh studio album, Trick, was another number-one album for the singer, selling 253,000 in its first week. The album stayed at the number-one spot for a second week selling 56,000 copies. Although the album debuted at the number-one position, this was her lowest selling album since her third studio album, Secret.
Koda's forty-third single, "It's All Love!", was released on March 31, 2009. The single is an collaboration with her younger sister, Misono. The second song from the single, "Faraway", was used for the theme song for the manga-based movie Subaru. It's All Love! debuted atop the Oricon and made the sisters the first siblings to top the chart in its initial week. In addition, two albums were released on March 25, Out Works & Collaboration Best and Koda Kumi Driving Hit's [sic]. The former is a compilation of the tracks that are collaborations with other artists and the latter is a remix album. Out Works & Collaboration Best and Koda Kumi Driving Hit's debuted at #7 and #6 respectively. On July 8, 2009, Koda released her forty-fourth single, "3 Splash".
Since the start of her career Koda has been writing the lyrics to her songs. On her second studio album, Grow into One, Koda wasn't as much involved with the writing of the lyrics, as only four songs were written by her. Koda's control over the writing of the lyrics grew with her thirty-third single "Yume no Uta/Futari de... ". The single was originally intended to be a single song about "happy love", however Koda felt the melody had represented both the elements of happiness and sadness. She wrote the lyrics for both songs to represent the sadness and the happiness. In doing so Koda ended up creating two songs with the same melody. She remarked, "It was a first time experiment for me, but I was able to convey how happiness and sadness are two sides of the same coin." Koda lists Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, and Beyoncé Knowles as her inspirations; she has also stated that when she produces, she "is like a different person"; thus, she refers to herself in the third person and "looks at [herself] objectively".
Koda was not as involved concerning the composition of her songs. "Milk Tea" (ミルクティー, Miruku Tii), from Black Cherry, marked the first time she composed a song. Her involvement in the composition stage grew during the production of her seventh studio album Trick.
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Rai was born in Mangalore to Krishnaraj Rai and Vrinda Rai. Her family belongs to the Bunt community of Mangalore. She has one elder brother, Aditya Rai who works in Navy and has also co-produced one of Rai's movies, Dil Ka Rishta (2003). At an early age her parents moved to Mumbai where she attended the Arya Vidya Mandir high school in Santa Cruz. Rai then entered Jai Hind College at Churchgate for one year, and then moved to Ruparel College in Matunga to finish her "HSC" studies. She did well in school and planned to become an architect and went on pursuing studies in architecture. She can communicate in several languages, including her mother tongue Tulu, as well as Hindi, English, Marathi and Tamil. She started studying architecture but gave up her education to pursue a career in modelling.
Rai made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam's Tamil film, Iruvar (1997) with Mohanlal, The film was a commercial and critical success and won many awards including Best Film award at the Belgrade International Film Festival, two National Film Awards, and two Filmfare Awards South. Rai made her Bollywood debut in the film, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya opposite Bobby Deol, which also released that year; the film did not do well at the box office. and was also panned by critics. However, her third project, S. Shankar's Tamil film, Jeans (1998) was a critical and commercial success, earning her the Filmfare Best Actress Award South. The film, which portrayed Rai in a dual role, took Rai two years to complete.
In 1999 Rai starred in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam opposite Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan, the film was centered around a Love triangle and won critical acclaim and was her first Bollywood box office success. She won her first Filmfare Best Actress Award for the film. In the same year she appeared in Subhash Ghai's Taal , in which she played the role of a young village girl Mansi, who becomes a big Pop star after being hurt by her lover played by Akshay Khanna, the film was an average performer in India but was a big success among the international audience, especially in the United States, where it became the first Indian film to reach the top 20 on Variety's box office list. the film gave her another nomination for Best Actress at the Filmfare; her performances in the films was applauded by critics and earned her critical acclaim .
In 2000, she appeared in Mansoor Khan's Josh alongside Shahrukh Khan and Chandrachur Singh, in which she played a Catholic girl named Shirley who falls in love with the sibling of her Brother's enemy. The film was a commercial success. Later that year she appeared in Satish Kaushik's Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai opposite Anil Kapoor. It was a moderate success and her performance earned her a Filmfare Best Actress Award nomination. Later that year she played a supporting role in the Aditya Chopra's Mohabbatein alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan, the film was a major commercial success and became the second highest grosser of the year, it also earned her a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award nomination. Later that year, she also starred in the Tamil film Kandukondain Kandukondain, alongside Mammooty, Ajith Kumar and Tabu.
In 2002, Rai appeared alongside Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas, an adaptation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay famous novel by the same name. She played the role of Paro (Parvati), the love interest of the protaganist played by Khan. The film received a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival. and became the highest grossing film of the year both in India and overseas. Devdas won numerous awards including 10 Filmfare Awards, and Rai received her second Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance. In 2003, she acted in Rituparno Ghosh's Bengali film, Chokher Bali, an adaptation of one of Rabindranath Tagore's novels by the same name. She portrayed the character of a young woman called Binodini, who is left to her own devices when her sickly husband dies soon after they are married. That year she also appeared in her home production Dil Ka Rishta alongside Arjun Rampal and Rohan Sippy's Kuch Na Kaho alongside Abhishek Bachchan, none of which succeeded.
In 2004 she appeared in Gurinder Chadha's Bollywood-style English adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Bride and Prejudice alongside Martin Henderson. In the film she potrayed the role of Lalita Bakshi, the film's counterpart of Elizabeth Bennet in Austen's novel. This was followed by Rajkumar Santoshi's Khakee alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan and Jayapradha, in the film she played a negative role for the first time in her career. In the same year she appeared in in her second film with Rituparno Ghosh, Raincoat alongside Ajay Devgan. The film was highly acclaimed by the critics, whereas Rai received rave reviews for her performance.
In the year 2006, Rai starred in J P Dutta's Umrao Jaan an adaptation of the Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada (1905), written by Mirza Hadi Ruswa. She potrayed the role of a real life courtesan and poetess by the same name from 19th century. The film was a critical and commercial failure, though Rai's work was generally well received. Critic Taran Adarsh wrote, "Aishwarya Rai looks ethereal. She has looked heavenly and performed so convincingly. She emotes through her expressive eyes and the consistency in her performance is evident from start to end". Later that year she appeared as a master thief, Sunheri, in Yash Raj Films's Dhoom 2 directed by Sanjay Gadhvi, with an ensemble cast of Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu and Uday Chopra. The film turned out to be a blockbuster and became the highest grossing film of the year in India. The film also sparked a controversy for a scene containing a kiss between her and Hrithik Roshan. Her performance earned her a sixth nomination for Filmfare Best Actress Award.
In 2007 she appeared in Mani Ratnam's Guru as Sujata, speculated to be based on the life of Indian businessman Dhirubhai Ambani, it was a rag to riches story about an ambitious small town man who ends up as the owner of the biggest corporation in India. The film was premièred at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, making it the first Indian film to have a mainstream international premiere in Canada. The film was critically acclaimed and performed well at the box office, becoming one of the highest grossers of the year. Rai won the critical acclaim, with one critic writing, "Aishwarya Rai stuns you with a powerful performance. Known for her angelic looks all the while, the actor will make people sit up and notice the reservoirs of talent in Guru". Rai got her seventh nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award for the film. In the same year she starred in Jag Mundhra's British film Provoked as Kiranjit Ahluwalia(an NRI woman who killed her abusive husband after facing severe domestic violence) alongside Naveen Andrews. The film was panned by critics and was also a commercial failure, though rai received positive reviews from critics. In the same year she appeared as a female Indian warrior from Kerala named Mira, in Doug Lefler's epic film The Last Legion alongside Sir Ben Kingsley, Colin Firth and Thomas Sangster. The film was a critical failure.
In 2008, she starred alongside Hrithik Roshan in Ashutosh Gowariker's historical drama Jodhaa Akbar which was a critical and commercial success playing the role of Jodha Bai, the wife of the Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, played by Roshan; and also co-starred with husband Abhishek Bachchan and her father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan in Sarkar Raj, playing the CEO of a major power company proposing to establish a new power plant in rural Maharashtra.
In 2009 Rai was awarded the Padma Shri for her contributions to Indian cinema. In the same year she refused to accept the second-highest Order Of France, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres as her father was suffering from serious illness, and she wanted her whole family to attend the award function. She is only the fourth Indian actor after Amitabh Bachchan, Nandita Das and Shahrukh Khan to be chosen for an Order Of France .
Aniston moved to Hollywood and was cast in her first television role in 1990, starring as a regular on the short-lived series Molloy and in the TV movie Camp Cucamonga. She also co-starred in Ferris Bueller, a television adaptation of the 1986 hit movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The series, however, was quickly canceled. Aniston then appeared in two more failed television comedy shows, The Edge and Muddling Through, and guest-starred on Quantum Leap, Herman's Head, and Burke's Law. After the string of canceled shows, along with her appearance in the critically derided 1992 horror film, Leprechaun, Aniston considered giving up acting. Aniston's plans changed, however, after auditioning for Friends, a sitcom that was set to debut on NBC's 1994–1995 fall line-up. The producers of the show originally wanted Aniston to audition for the role of Monica Geller, but Courtney Cox was discovered to be best suited for the part of Monica. Thus, Aniston was cast as Rachel Green. She played the character of Rachel from 1994 until the show ended in 2004.
The program was successful and Aniston, along with her co-stars, gained wide renown among television viewers. Her hairstyle at the time, which became known as the "Rachel", was widely copied. Aniston received a salary of one million dollars per episode for the last two seasons of Friends, as well as five Emmy nominations (two for Supporting Actress, three for Lead Actress), including a win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. According to the Guinness World Book of Records (2005), Aniston (along with her female costars) became the highest paid TV actress of all time with her $1 million-per-episode paycheck for the tenth season of Friends.
Jennifer Aniston was cast in a Heineken commercial which was later banned due to branding issues. Later, in 1994, Microsoft invited Aniston, along with Friends co-star Matthew Perry, to shoot a 30-minute promotional advertisement for their new operating system, Windows 95. She gained critical acclaim for her performances in The Object of My Affection (1998), a comedy drama about a girl who falls for a gay man,[20] and in the low-budget 2002 film, The Good Girl, directed by Miguel Arteta, playing an unglamorous cashier in a small town. The latter film opened in relatively few theaters—under 700 in total—taking $14M in the U.S. box office. In late 2005, Aniston appeared in two major studio films, Derailed and Rumor Has It.
In addition to her career as a TV actress, Aniston has enjoyed a successful film career. Her biggest box office success to date was her appearance in 2003's Bruce Almighty, in which she played the girlfriend of title character Jim Carrey. Aniston then starred in the 2004 film, Along Came Polly opposite Ben Stiller. In 2006, Aniston appeared in the low-budget drama, Friends with Money, which was first shown at the Sundance Film Festival, received a limited release. Aniston's next film, The Break-Up, which was released on June 2, grossed approximately $39.17 million during its opening weekend, despite lukewarm reviews.
In 2007, Aniston guest starred in an episode of Courteney Cox Arquette's series Dirt. Aniston played Arquette's snobby rival Tina Harrod. In addition to acting, Aniston has also directed a hospital emergency room-set short film named Room 10, starring Robin Wright Penn and Kris Kristofferson; Aniston has noted that she was inspired to direct by actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who directed a short film in 2006.
Forbes listed Aniston as the 10th richest woman in the entertainment industry for the year 2007. She is behind such powerhouses as Oprah Winfrey, J. K. Rowling, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Jennifer Lopez and is ahead of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and the Olsen twins. Aniston's net worth is approximately $110 million. Aniston was also included in the annual Star Salary Top 10 of trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter for 2006. According to Forbes in October 2007, Aniston was the top-selling celebrity face of the entertainment industry. In 2008, Aniston landed the seventeenth spot on Forbes Celebrity 100 list based on "earnings and fame." Forbes listed Aniston's earnings as $27 million.
Aniston appeared in the third episode of Season 3 of NBC's 30 Rock playing Liz Lemon's old college roommate who stalks Jack Donaghy.
On December 25, 2008, Marley & Me, in which Aniston starred alongside Owen Wilson, was released. It set a record for the largest Christmas Day box office ever with $14.75 million in ticket sales.It earned a total of $51.7 million over the four-day weekend and placed #1 at the box office, a position it maintained for two weeks. As of February 15, 2009 its total worldwide gross was $161,608,269.
As of 2009, Aniston's movies have grossed $806,211,361 domestically.
Megan grew up in a very poor household, but this did not stop her parents from encouraging her interest in arts at an early age. At age 5, Megan started to attend drama and dance classes. The Fox family left Oak Ridge and moved to Port Saint Lucie Florida when Megan was 10 years old. With her parents’ support and her dedication, Megan never stopped her training, even while she was completing school. By the time she was 13, Megan began to do some acting, but it was in modeling that her beauty and talent became the talk of town in the entertainment industry. Megan Fox won multiple awards at the 1999 American Modeling and Talent Convention in Hilton Head Islands, South Carolina, even though she was only 5”4 in height and was considered short for the runway.
With her modeling awards, Megan decided to pursue acting and eventually moved to Los Angeles. Producers saw Megan’s potential instantly and by 2001, Fox made her film debut in the straight-to-video release starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie, “Holiday in the Sun” where she played Brianna Wallace. She then graced the world of TV when she grabbed a role in a low-key soap opera, “Ocean Ave.” and continued to attract a small following after appearing in a single episode of comedy series, “What I Like About You” in 2003.
In 2004, Megan Fox went back into the big screen and joined a group of female teens, including Lindsay Lohan, in the “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen”. She then had a small role in the TV movie, “Crimes of Fashion” and a guest appearance in “Two and a Half Men”, three episodes in “The Help” and the TV movie, “Crimes of Passion”. Megan later on grabbed a 29-episode deal on the sitcom “Hope & Faith” with Kelly Ripa.
Throughout 2007, Megan has been featured in some of the top men’s magazines in the industry, including the March issue of FHM, June issue of GQ, July issue of Maxim and September issue of Arena. She also joined the list of Askmen.com’s “2007 Most Desirable Women”, ranking #37. From #65 in 2007, the stunning Megan Fox has been honored FHM’s #1 “2008 Sexiest Women in the World”, beating Jessica Alba and Jessica Biel to the top spot. She also ranked #16 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2008 list.
In 2007, Megan Fox’s biggest break to date came when she was cast in the highly anticipated film, Transformers. Megan played Kylea, the love interest of lead actor Shia LaBoeuf’s character Sam Witwicky, as they tried to save the world and the group of alien robots from the evil decepticons. She later became part of the cast of “How to Lose Friends & Alienate People”, alongside Kirsten Dunst and Jeff Bridges. In the movie, Megan Fox portrays a young Hollywood star named Sophia Maes, who gets her first taste of fame in a biopic of Mother Theresa.
In 2009, Fox appear in Diablo Cody’s “Jennifer’s Body”, alongside Adam Brody and Amanda Seyfried. Megan would also appear in the sequel of Transformers “Revenge of the Fallen” after director Michael Bay told Fox to gain 10 pounds stating that he “doesn’t like skinny girls”. She also signed on for one more Transformers sequel.
The most popular of Megan’s tattoos are the quote from the Shakespeare play King Lear on her right shoulder with the words “We will all laugh at gilded butterflies” and a portrait of Marilyn Monroe on her right arm. Megan explained that Monroe reminds her of “how Hollywood can chew you up and spit you out”. Fox also plans to add more tattoos to her collection of body art in the future.
Aside from being a sexy young icon in Hollywood, Megan Fox loves to read comic books and play video games. She is a huge Def Leopard, Van Halen and Nirvana fan and loves many rock bands. Megan is friends with Kellan Rhude, Jennifer Blanc, Michael Biehn and Amanda Seyfried and calls Transformers co-star Shia LaBeouf as one of her favorite people ever.
