A more jazz-influenced member of the J-pop scene, Mika Nakashima was born on February 19, 1983, in Kagoshima, Japan. She opted out of schooling to pursue a career in show business, and the singularity of that goal paid off when, in 2001, she beat out 3,000 other entrants to win the auditions to star in a television drama. The theme song for said drama, "Stars", was her first single, and was a hit. Signed to Sony, she released her first album, True, in 2002. This was followed by the albums Love (2003), Music (2005), The End (2006), and Yes (2007) - which were all hits, most hitting the top spots on the charts. Her best-of compilation, Best, was also a number one seller, and was released in 2006.
