Native name 飯島 真理 Labels Marimusic/BounDee Genres J-Pop, Pop, Synthpop Name Mari Iijima | Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter Role Singer-songwriter Years active 1983–present | |
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Born May 18, 1963 (age 61) ( 1963-05-18 ) Spouse James Studer (m. 1989–2001) Movies and TV shows The Super Dimension Fortress, Macross: Do You Rememb, The Super Dimension Fortress Profiles | ||
Mari Iijima (飯島 真理, Iijima Mari, born May 18, 1963 in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, Japan) is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She writes and produces most of her own music, and plays the piano and other instruments. After being signed to JVC Victor in 1982, Mari first became known for her voice-acting role as Lynn Minmay in the anime Macross. Her debut original album, Rosé, was released in 1983, which was produced by composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. She also later collaborated with other world-renowned musicians, such as Van Dyke Parks. She lives in Los Angeles, California, United States.
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Biography
Iijima's original demo tape was picked up by JVC Victor in 1982 and she was signed to the record company as a singer-songwriter. Soon afterward, she was asked to audition for the role of Lynn Minmay in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross by the label and the producers chose her to play the role. The series quickly became a mega hit and brought Iijima to stardom. Her debut album, Rosé, containing no Macross tracks, had lyrics and music written by her. It debuted at number 10 on the charts in September 1983, and she started her career as a singer-songwriter.
Iijima moved to Los Angeles in 1989 to expand her music career. That same year, she appeared as a guest vocalist on Van Dyke Parks' album Tokyo Rose. After releasing her first independent (and first English language) album, No Limit, she was nominated for the 2000 Los Angeles Music Awards' Best Pop Artist for the album and she was in the final four for the award.
She won the best Asian song for her track Unspoken Love from the album Wonderful People at the Just Plain Folks Awards in 2006 and performed as a guest performer.
In 2006, she reprised her role as Lynn Minmay in ADV Films' English-language release of Macross. which made her the second Japanese voice actor to reprise her role in an English anime dub.
Iijima released her twenty-first studio album, called Echo, in August 2009. The title was taken from the nymph character Echo that appears in Echo and Narcissus. The album's theme is unrequited love.