Jun Shibata

Jun Shibata, nicknamed Shibajun, is a J-pop singer who achieved moderate success on the country's music scene with her soft ballads that are often entirely piano-based (she also has a handful of upbeat tracks that show touches of light jazz). Shibata, who pens her own tunes, debuted in 2001 with the indie single "Boku No Mikata," soon re-released by Dreamusic. Shibata left her first scratch on the Oricon charts with the single "Sore Demo Kita Michi" (2002), and, although her debut full-length, Ooruto No Kumo (2002), only charted at the modest number 59, the singles "Kataomoi" (2002) and "Tonari No Heya" (2003) made it to the Top 20. The next three years saw Shibata keeping to a yearly album schedule, with Tameiki (2003) and Hitori (2004) entering the Top 20 and Watashi (2005) climbing to number six. In 2003 Shibata also collaborated with the popular J-pop duo Chemistry, providing lyrics for their 2003 track "Tsukiyo." She was snatched by Victor in 2006, with the single "Guren No Tsuki" released on the new label that year and featured in the drama Utsukushii Wana; the album Tsukiyo No Ame (2007) was promoted by that, hitting number nine and prompting Shibata to embark on her first Japan-wide solo tour. The limited release of Tsukiyo No Ame featured the short movie for her song "Hiromi," in which Shibata starred with the actress Wada Toshihiro. Her sixth album, Shin'ai Naru Kimi E, was delivered in 2008 and entered the Top Ten as well. ~ Alexey Eremenko