hitomi

hitomi (born ヒトミ, 古谷仁美, Furuya Hitomi, on January 26, 1976 in Tochigi, Japan) is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record label owner and executive, and animal rights activist. Since her debut in 1994, hitomi has consistently be

hitomi (born ヒトミ, 古谷仁美, Furuya Hitomi, on January 26, 1976 in Tochigi, Japan) is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record label owner and executive, and animal rights activist. Since her debut in 1994, hitomi has consistently been one of the most popular and successful musicians in Japan, with an impressive discography including hit releases "By Myself" (1996), "Is It You?" (2001), "Samurai Drive" (2002), and "Japanese Girl" (2005).

Born in Tochigi, Japan (but raised in Kawasaki, Kanagawa), hitomi got her big break while auditioning for a modeling gig, where she met eminent music producer Tetsuya Komuro. In the following year, November of 1994, she made a CD single debut titled "Let's Play Winter" from avex trax. Since then, hitomi has written most of her own lyrics. She has also performed covers, an example being the Bananarama hit "Venus" that she performed an English-language cover of recently, recorded on her June 2005 single, Japanese Girl.