Harumi Tsuyuzaki -- Believe Yourself

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkpt6h_believe-yourself_lifestyle

Back in the late 90s, when I was teaching in a school in Tokyo, one of my students engaged me in conversation about music and she told me that she was going to see one of her old high school classmates perform at a concert that night. I assumed her friend was going to sing indies rock at some sort of hole-in-the-wall live house in either Shinjuku or Shibuya, but then my student said matter-of-factly that her old buddy was actually a pretty accomplished R&B chanteuse at a fairly well-known venue. I forgot the name of the place but all I could remember was that it was not exactly small.

Her friend was Harumi Tsuyuzaki（露崎春女） and she has been called the Mariah Carey of Japan, thanks to her powerhouse of a voice. I asked my student to write down the kanji and romaji for Ms. Tsuyuzaki's name, and then I set out to look for her CD. At the time, her latest disc was her 4th studio album released in August 1998 titled "Believe Yourself".

Tsuyuzaki herself is from Kawasaki City and as a high school student undertook voice training before joining the gospel group, The Voices of Japan in 1990. She made her debut in 1995 with the debut single, "Time". Tsuyuzaki was also a big fan of Sing Like Talking's Chikuzen Sato（佐藤竹善) for his own vocal talents even before her entrance into the music industry, and in that same debut year of hers, she was able to join him and his band on a concert tour as a backup singer. Actually, if you check my profile on SLT's smashing "Together", you can see her in the video as the young lady pretending to play the slide trombone near the end.

"Believe Yourself" was Tsuyuzaki's 8th single released in October 1998. It was written by her and composed by t.kura. Although the song is pretty darn uptempo and she amply demonstrates that Carey-like voice, for some reason, she also reminds me of mellow Anita Baker. There is also a track on the titular album titled "Tender Trap", which unfortunately I cannot track down on the Net, but is my favourite song because of the combo of her voice and some mighty fine horns.

Harumi Tsuyuzaki -- Believe Yourself