Miori Takimoto, the actress in the morning drama “Treasured Possessions,” finds a breakthrough in her debut as a solo singer.
Actress Miori Takimoto (32) released her first original song as a solo artist, the digital single “Anata de” at midnight on August 7. The song, with lyrics written by Takimoto herself, is a ballad about the sorrow of parting that everyone experiences. Takimoto revealed that during the preparation stage before recording the song, she was so moved that she burst into tears as she sang the lyrics: “Because they are my own words, I was filled with various feelings when I sang them. …… ( I hope you will listen to the song with your loved ones in mind.
Many may find it surprising that Takimoto, who is active as an actress, would release a song. However, her debut in the entertainment world was with the dance and vocal unit “SweetS,” which she formed in 2003, when she was in the sixth grade, after auditioning for a major record company, Avex. Unfortunately, the group disbanded in 2006. Later, at the age of 17, she was scouted by Stardust Promotion, to which she still belongs, and transferred to the company.
In January 2010, she made her debut as an actress in the movie “Higanjima. She got her breakthrough as an actress when she was cast as the heroine in the NHK TV drama series “Teppan” that aired in the second half of the same year. In parallel with her acting career, she also participated in the major debut of a five-piece girls’ band “LAGOON” in 2002 as vocalist MIORI, but the band also disbanded in 2004.
However, her cover performance of Utada Hikaru’s “Flavor Of Life” on the YouTube music program “MUSICGLOBE~Buzz the World~,” uploaded in January of this year, has been viewed more than 2.8 million times and became a hot topic. Her singing ability was once again recognized by the public, and she held her first solo live concert in Osaka in February and in Tokyo in March.
She has been doing well as an actress, but she has not been able to make the most of her singing ability and has been a “treasure trove” of talent. She could have resumed her singing career earlier. The release of “In You” has not been widely reported, so it has not attracted much attention. She will probably appear on music programs in the future and gradually make her activities as a singer known.
Takimoto, who made his name with the film “Teppan,” has been active in supporting roles rather than leading roles in subsequent films. Even recently, she has appeared in such high-profile productions as the drama “My Neighbor Nurse Aide” (NTV), which was released in January of this year, and the movie “Weird House,” which was released in March and became a box-office hit, grossing over 5 billion yen.
Among the actors who belong to the same agency as Takimoto, Yuika Motokariya (36) appeared in “Fight” in the first half of 2005, Wakana Aoi (26) appeared in “Warotenka” in the second half of 2005, and Mei Nagano (24) appeared in the first half of 2006 in “Half, Blue. (Aoi Wakaka, 26) in “Warotenka” in the second half of 2005, and Nagano Meika (24) in “Half, Blue” in the first half of 2006. However, except for Nagano, there have not been many offers for leading roles in post-asadora dramas, giving the impression that their careers have been somewhat stagnant.
In Nagano’s case, she had already established herself in the leading roles in several films before she became the heroine of the morning drama. On the other hand, although Motokariya, Takimoto, and Aoi got their breakthrough roles in morning dramas, their agencies did not insist on “leading roles” in their job selections. Since two “morning drama heroines” are born every year, one in the first half of the year and the other in the second half, their breakthroughs do not last forever. Perhaps because of this, Takimoto’s presence has not been so prominent after the morning dramas, giving the impression that she has not grown as an actor.
Takimoto’s resumed singing career has the potential to be a “breakthrough” for her acting career in the near future.
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PHOTO: Yutaka Asai