From the start of Mika Nakashima's career, she was destined for success. Starring as the heroine in a nationwide TV drama series "Kizudarake no Love Song" in 2001, she sang its theme song, STARS, which debuted on the Oricon charts at number three. The following year, after several successful singles, she received the Gold Disc Award for Best New Artist in 2002. That summer, Nakashima released her first album, True, which sold over a million copies in just three weeks, reaching number one on the Oricon charts.
In January of 2003, she began her first nationwide tour, tickets of which sold out in minutes. By that fall, her second album was released, once again topping the Oricon charts and selling over 150 million copies.
Over the next two years, Nakashima released her third album and a best-of album while embarking on two more tours. It was also during this time she starred in "NANA," a manga-based movie as character Nana Osaki. In the movie, she sang GLAMOROUS SKY, which was composed by HYDE of the rock band L'Arc~en~Ciel and had lyrics written by the manga's author, Ai Yazawa. When the song was subsequently released on a single, it was her only single to reach number one on the Oricon charts, selling 860,000 copies overall in two years.
In 2006, she went to New Orleans in the United States and recorded a charity single to help rebuild the city from the disaster of Hurricane Katrina.
That winter, the sequel to "NANA" aired in theaters in Japan and she again sang the main theme, Hitoiro, composed by GLAY's Takuro. Days after the movie's debut, she flew to New York with actress Yui Ichikawa who had played Nana Komatsu, promoting "NANA 2" at a special premiere at IFC Center. Nakashima later released both Hitoiro and the mini-album The End under the name Nana starring Mika Nakashima.
In March 2007, she released her fourth full-length album YES, which was soon followed by her first tour since 2005. After the tour wrapped up, she returned to the recording studio, bringing her singles count up to 24 by the end of the year. The following year, along with a series of releases, she collaborated with television celebrity Morisanchuu under the name MICA 3 CHU and produced the single I don't know. It was also during this year she appeared in the drama "Ryusei no Kizuna" and was invited to sing the main theme.
In April of 2009, Nakashima embarked on the Trust Our Voice Tour 2009, promoting her new album, No More Rules. By December, she had released her 30th single and a new DVD.
The year 2010 was an equally busy one for Nakashima, appearing in the Japanese horror film "Death Kappa" and hitting the recording studio several times. However, by summer she was diagnosed with patulous eustachian tubes in both of her ears. Experiencing hearing problems, she canceled an upcoming performance at Nippon Budokan in the winter while she focused on recovering.
Nakashima recently announced her plans for 2011, including a 33-stop tour starting with Sun City Hall in Koshigaya on April 22. The tour is scheduled to run until July.
