Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

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Kiriko Takemura (竹村桐子), born January 29, 1993 in Tanashi, Tokyo, professionally known as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is a Japanese singer, model, and blogger. Her public image is associated with Japan's kawaii and decora culture, centered in the famous Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo. Pamyu Pamyu's music is produced by Yasutaka Nakata of electronic music duo CAPSULE. Though most of her success as a recording artist has been in Asia, she has gained popularity in the west in part due to viral internet videos. Media outlets have referred to Pamyu Pamyu as "Harajuku's Pop Princess", and she has been photographed for magazines such as Dazed & Confused. In 2013, she signed a distribution deal with Sire Records to release her material in the United States.

Despite being raised in a traditional strict household and her very critical mother, Takemura started as a fashion blogger and then began her professional career as a model for Harajuku fashion magazines such as Kera! and Zipper. She would find her stage name after a friend called her "Kyari" for embracing Western culture and looking like a foreign girl. The name stuck, but eventually Pamyu Pamyu was added on because it sounded cute. Takemura would eventually meet Yasutaka Nakata at his club event. Nakata took interest in her because of her involvement in the fashion industry and encouraged her to debut as a singer.

Career

Her first promo single, Pon Pon Pon was an immediate success, leading to it being reported on by MTV and The Huffington Post. She released her debut album, moshi moshi Harajuku, in August 2011. A week later she released an autobiography about her rise to fame titled, Oh! My God!! Harajuku Girl.

Her debut full-length album, Pamyu Pamyu Revolution, was released in May 2012. She toured around Japan in 2012, and went on to tour worldwide on the 100% KPP World Tour that began in February 2013.

She received a great deal of media attention from Asian and Western outlets alike, with many reviewers highly praising her music and exciting aesthetic. Significant music publications like MTV, The Fader, and Stereogum wrote such articles. She was also interviewed by several news channels such as the Swedish Svenska Dagbladet, the French Le Petit Journal, and The Wall Street Journal.

Pamyu Pamyu's second studio album, Nanda Collection was released in June 2013. Several months later she announced a second world tour. She would continue to receive much attention from the worldwide press and positive reviews from music publications. She would release her third studio album, Pika Pika Fantajin in July 2014. She held a nation-wide arena hall tour.

In January 2015, the Hollywood Reporter mentioned her as one of the major recent sellers for Warner Music Group alongside world stars such as Coldplay and Ed Sheeran. In May 2016, a compilation album, KPP Best was released, with a third world tour following closely after. She remained greatly involved in other endeavors, such as fashion and art exhibitions.

In 2017 Pamyu Pamyu would perform 6 more international concerts, after which she stated in an interview with Billboard Japan that her style had evolved, but hoped to maintain the basic 'kawaii' style her music and style was known for. In September 2018 she released her first studio album in four years: Japamyu

Pamyu Pamyu has mentioned that she's into anime and manga. She called Crayon Shin-chan her favorite anime and has also mentioned she's a Vocaloid fan.