Chihiro Onitsuka Musical artist

Chihiro Onitsuka (鬼束ちひろ, Onitsuka Chihiro) (born October 30, 1980) is a Japanese singer-songwriter. In 2000, Onitsuka released her debut single "Shine" and gained a recognition with its follow-up "Gekkou" which became a hit. Insomnia, her first studio album released in following year topped the Japanese Oricon chart and sold more than a million copies. "Memai", one of the singles from her debut album provided her with honor of winning the prize for lyrics of the 43rd Japan Record Awards in 2001.During her career, Onitsuka has repeatedly brought about troubles that are mostly owing to her physical problem and mental instability. She had put recording career on hold until March 2007, after some confrontations with record labels and management offices during the mid-2000s.Onitsuka has enjoyed a successful career as one of the most popular Japanese female solo artists during the early 2000s. As of 2009, Onitsuka has released 5 studio albums, 17 singles, 2 compilations and several DVDs, which has sold at least 4.1 million.