Japanese singer and actress Crystal Kay started out singing jingles for TV commercials at age 6, and she was just 13 when she released her debut single, “Eternal Memories.”
∙ Kay’s breakthrough third album, 2002’s Almost Seventeen, rose to No. 2 on the Japanese charts, where it remained for more than a year.
∙ Her collaboration with Japanese hip-hop collective m-flo on the singles “I Like It” and “REEEWIND!” became her first Top 10 hits.
∙ In 2003, Crystal Kay, her debut compilation of English-language songs, was her first album released outside Japan.
∙ “Together,” which she recorded with producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson, Boyz II Men), was the theme song for the 2006 Japanese Winter Olympics coverage.
∙ Kay was nominated for Best Actress at the 2020 Yomiuri Theater Awards for her role as Leading Player in a Japanese version of Pippin.