Shoko Nakagawa

Her father Katsuhiko Nakagawa a rock and pop idol in his own right (with some stylistic elements similar to David Bowie), Shoko Nakagawa developed an entertainment lifestyle brand fairly early. Though her father was primarily a musician, Shoko moved into a collection of pop culture roles other than singing at the beginning, dabbling with illustration, fashion, voice acting, and general celebrityhood. After some time as the voice behind a number of popular cartoons (and the singing associated with their merchandising), Nakagawa began releasing singles under her own name with 2006's trance-laden Brilliant Dream, which had a fair showing on the Oricon charts, propelling her to further recording endeavors. A mini-album of favorite anime theme songs followed in 2007 with an eye toward her fan base, and 2008 saw the release of her first full-length album, Big Bang!!!, which debuted (and peaked) with a number five showing on the Oricon charts. ~ Adam Greenberg