» Takeuchi Mariya – Another Jewel of Japan Lost in a Reverie

A few months ago, I had stumble upon the beautiful voice of Takeuchi Mariya (竹内まりや) while watching Around 40, which had starred Amami Yuki and Fujiki Naohito. Shiawase no Monosashi was featured as the theme song to this romantic comedy drama. It was such a pretty and catchy song that it become an instant favorite of mine. As always, I went searching for more of her songs.

It appears that she has quite an impressive resume as a singer-songwriter, and was very popular in the last 1970′s and 1980′s. Now-in-days, her songs can be found within the folk songs genre.

To the present, Takeuchi-san have released 11 studio albums, 35 singles, several compilations, and a live album which was recorded in 2000. Its sales have estimated more than 15 million units. In particular, her 1994 compilation Impressions was sold more than 3 million copies in Japan only, and became the best-selling album for her. Source: Wikipedia

Besides Shiawase no Monosashi, my other favorites include Genki wo Dashite, Chance no Maegami, EKI, Un Buco Nella Sabbia and a few more.

Somehow, Takeuchi-san reminds me of the infamous Teresa Tang (鄧麗君), very popular and influential Chinese pop singer. This is probably due to similar song genres, singing styles and period when they were most popular. Just my two cent though.