Nanase Aikawa

Nanase Aikawa (相川七瀬), born on February 16, 1975, in Kami-shinjo, is a Japanese singer-songwriter active since 1995. She works in j-pop, pop, and pop rock, has long been associated with Avex Trax, and her official website is hosted by Avex. After an unsuccessful audition in 1990, she was later contacted by Tetsuro Oda. She then moved to Tokyo, began voice training, and made her debut in November 1995 with “Yume Miru Shoujo Ja Irarenai” on avex's motorod label. Aikawa first drew wide attention with “Yume Miru Shoujo Ja Irarenai,” “Koi Kokoro,” and “Sweet Emotion,” at a time when female-fronted rock was gaining prominence in Japan. Her first album, Red, was released in July 1996. It debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon album chart and sold more than 2.45 million copies, while “Koi Kokoro” became her biggest hit and a million seller. That same year, she also made her first appearance on NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen. She followed with the No. 1 albums paradox in 1997 and crimson in 1998. Her first national tour, Live Emotion '97, ended at Nippon Budokan less than two years after her debut. In anime music, she performed “Owarinai Yume” for InuYasha and “UNLIMITED” for Samurai 7. In 2026, she launched a 30th-anniversary tour leading up to a November performance at Nippon Budokan, with Tetsuro Oda and Marty Friedman taking part.