Olivia Lufkin

Olivia Lufkin (born December 9, 1979), professionally known as Olivia, is a Japanese singer and songwriter.

Lufkin began her solo career after singing in the Japanese girl group D&D.

In 1982, she moved to San Diego, California, then back to Okinawa.

She later moved to North Carolina for two years before returning to Okinawa.

Olivia was discovered by the director of Rising Productions (Vision Factory) while attending the Okinawa Actors' School, subsequently signing to Avex Trax as part of the Japanese idol group D&D.

Producer Tetsuya Komuro thought Olivia would be perfect for a project he was planning along with Jean Michel Jarre.

The project was to create the theme song for the 1998 FIFA World Cup entitled "Together Now".

The single was released a month after D&D's first and only album.

It was then decided that D&D would separate into two groups: 'Olivia' as Olivia's solo project, and Aya & Chika as 'Aya & Chika from D&D'.

Her first single, "I.L.Y. (Yokubō)," had a driving pop rock sound.

While she did not write her first two singles, which were composed and produced by T2ya, she did write her third single, "Dear Angel" and most subsequent singles.

In 1999 and 2000, Olivia released six singles, all with a pop-rock sound.

Toward the end of 2000, she released her first solo album, Synchronicity, which contained all singles released to date, five new tracks and one bonus track.

It would peak at number twenty on the Oricon Charts.

After a hiatus of more than a year, Olivia began to take control of her career, releasing her seventh single "Sea Me" on December 12, 2001.

This marks her switch to one of Avex Trax's sub-labels, Cutting Edge, from which she continues to release singles and albums.

Her releases became increasingly rare and sporadic thereafter, with a video clips collection appearing four months later.

Olivia's next single, "Into the Stars," was planned to be released in July 2002 with an album at the end of the year.

However, the single was postponed until September.

The album release was similarly delayed.

2003 saw a complete style change and an onslaught of mini-albums as she began a series of collaborations with her brother, Jeffrey Lufkin.

During this time, her music became considerably darker in both style and lyrical content.

Instead of singles, four mini-albums were released exclusively through Tower Records Japan in Shibuya, Tokyo.

These included Internal Bleeding Strawberry, Merry&Hell Go Round, Comatose Bunny Butcher and The Return of the Chlorophyll Bunny.

Alongside this, Olivia decided to launch a rare-items fashion label called Black Daisy Ville with her friend Friedia Niimura (Rin Kozue).

This fashion line continued until the summer of 2004, featuring a line of clothes and accessories.

Niimura later moved to the United States and the line discontinued.

In 2004, Olivia released her second album, The Lost Lolli.

It featured the best material from her four mini-albums, and introduced two new tracks, "Alone in Our Castle" and "Fake Flowers", as well as two re-arrangements.

The album was released nationwide with a limited first press version available at Tower Records Japan.

"SpiderSpins (Lost Lolli Mix)" was used as a promotional radio single and video for the release.

The Lost Lolli only peaked at #111 on the Oricon Charts.

However, despite the moderate success of the album, Avex Trax released an overseas version of this album, reflecting Olivia's increasing success outside Japan.

Typically, only chart-topping artists release overseas versions of their albums.

After releasing The Lost Lolli, Olivia went on an unofficial hiatus except for a performance at the "Halloween of the Living Dead" concert hosted by Hyde on October 30, 2005.

She gained mainstream success in 2006 after creating songs for the fictional band Trapnest under the alias "Olivia Inspi' Reira (Trapnest)."

The songs were used for the popular anime adaptation of Nana.

Lufkin was born in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture.

She was born as the daughter of a Japanese mother and an American father.

Her two younger siblings are Jeffrey Lufkin, a musician she regularly collaborates with, and Caroline Lufkin, an independent musician.