MINMI

Bona fide pop star in Japan, Minmi works a mix of world influences into her music, notably reggae, soca, and American hip-hop. Somewhat surprisingly for the hyper-engineered Japanese pop apparatus, Minmi makes a point of writing her own pieces and holding down most production, keeping tight control of her finished product. She burst onto the charts with 2002's reggae-infused "The Perfect Vision." Building her sound, she added more straightforward J-pop to her repertoire with 2004's Imagine album, then went into soca-based sounds with 2005's compilation album, Friends. Another studio album followed, as did additional best-of compilations. Released in 2008, Minmi Best 2002-2008 peaked at number two on the Oricon charts, holding high positions for months after its release. ~ Adam Greenberg