Meg; born October 3, 1980),Biography. universal-music.co.jp) stylised in all caps, is a Japanese recording artist, record producer, model and fashion designer from Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. She is signed with Starchild Records, a division of King Records. Between 2003 and 2013 she created over a dozen albums and two dozen singles. She started a fashion brand called "Cheryl" in 2004, and both a cosmetic brand, "baw," and a restaurant, café Maison de Ruban, in 2014.
Biography Meg made her singing debut in July 2002 with the song "傘としずく (Kasa To Shizuku)", which she produced herself and arranged by CMJK. The single was an indie single released under Burger Inn Records.
She made her transition to a major label, Warner Music Japan, with the single "Scanty Blues", which was composed by Yasuyuki Okamura. During production Meg and Okamura disagreed on the arrangement of the song, which caused him to stop working on it, and Meg recruited techno producer Ubar Tmar to finish the song as she wanted it. The finished "Scanty Blues" took on an acid techno-influenced, house-like sound, while Okamura's own rock arrangement of the song was included as the B-side. Nevertheless, her next single was a cover of Okamura's song "Ikenai Koto Kai".
In 2003, Warner Music commissioned Third Ear Recordings to produce a remix album for Meg, "mgrmx", which featured artists such as Theo Parrish and Christ.; this album became Meg's first work to be released outside of Japan as it also received an LP release in Europe.
In the summer of 2004, Meg started a new fashion brand called "Cheryl", which followed on from the work she did on her previous brand, "mgcloset". Items by Cheryl were stocked in Klein-Mart Tokyo, a store launched and directed by Meg specifically for the purpose of selling Cheryl designs, but which also stocked homewares, accessories, and vintage and imported fashion.
In January 2006, she changed the official capitalization of her stage name from "meg" to "MEG". In the same year, Cheryl was rebranded as "Carolina Glaser by Cheryl", introducing men's designs. She opened another storefront to sell the new brand, the Carolina Glaser Boutique.
Her third studio album, Aquaberry, reached number 1 on the pop albums chart on the Japanese upon its release and managed to sell higher than her previous album Dithyrambos. The album did not produce any singles.MEG Official Discography Page On Official Website. Megweb.jp. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
Meg began working with producer Yasutaka Nakata in 2007 and released her ninth single, "Amai Zeitaku", in May 2007, switching to the electropop genre. She has since worked with other producers, including the new rave English band Hadouken! for her 14th single, "Freak", and the Shanghai Restoration Project for a mini album titled Journey.Oricon Style "Freak" Information. Oricon.co.jp (February 22, 1999). Retrieved October 14, 2013.
Meg's 2008 album Step became her best-selling album in her career, peaking at number 8 in the Oricon chart, selling 29,048 units, making it the second technopop album to reach the Oricon Top Ten since Perfume's Game, which debuted at number one.
Her sixth studio album, Beautiful, was released on May 27, 2009, and also has reached the Oricon Top Ten.Oricon Style "Beautiful" Detail. Oricon.co.jp (February 22, 1999). Retrieved October 14, 2013. Her seventh full studio album, Maverick, was released on June 23, 2010, once again featuring production and songwriting work by Yasutaka Nakata.
In July 2010, Meg wrote in her blog informing fans that she would be leaving Universal Music Japan and travelling to Paris for a break. She would release the single "Passport/Paris" and a compilation album titled Best Flight with her label before going on indefinite hiatus.News on Meg's Hiatus. Tokyograph.com (July 30, 2010). Retrieved October 14, 2013. On a May 2012 interview with Natalie.mu, Meg revealed that some of the reasons of her going on hiatus was the quick production of Yasutaka Nakata on her album Maverick, completing the album for just three weeks, and that she realized that she did not take much time on the lyrical content of the songs and added that the album is leaning towards more "pop" than club music, in which she considered a "fast pace" on the album's production.ナタリー – [Power Push] MEG「LA JAPONAISE」インタビュー (1/3). Natalie.mu. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
In 2011, she returned to Warner Music, under the management of the newly launched Unborde Records label. Starting June 20, 2011 Meg began releasing digital singles only available in the French iTunes Store. Her fourth digital single, "Rouge No Dengon", was originally supposed to be released on September 26, 2011, but due to issues getting it onto the iTunes France Store, it was delayed and released on September 27 instead.
Two singles, "Kiss or Bite" and "Save", were announced in April 2013 and marked Meg's first dual single release. They were released together in a special package and as separate releases on June 5, 2013. The tracks from the two singles were created with a unified narrative involving a love story with post-apocalyptic and horror themes. The release was also accompanied by a set of seven trading cards and a browser game called "Meg the World." The browser game was designed with a pixel art style evocative of fourth generation video games and featured chiptune versions of songs from the two singles, while dialogue in the game elaborated upon the themes found in the songs' lyrics.MEG＆MEG ZOMBIES、ゲームで新作の世界観チラ見せ. Natalie.mu. Retrieved January 19, 2014. These themes would later be used on the following studio album, Continue, which was released on December 4, 2013.MEG師走に新アルバム＆RPG「MEG THE WORLD」続編も. Natalie.mu. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
Since 2014, she focused on business by her own cosmetic brand "baw", and also the café Maison de Ruban, a café she opened inspired by her time spent in London.. Both businesses have now closed.
Discography
Albums YearTitleGenreLabelOriconalbumchartsSalesProducer 2003MgrmxElectronic dance—— 300Kouichi TsutayaRoom GirlPopDream Machine87 4,000Yasuyuki Okamura, CMJK, Nobuhiko Kashihara, Meg 2006Dithyrambos PopShampoo Nine291 800 Meg 2007 AquaberryIndie electronic AZ Tribe, Rainbow139 2,000 Nakamura Hiroshi Beam J-pop/electropopUniversal J24 29,000Nakata Yasutaka 2008 Step J-pop/electropop8 29,000 2009 Beautiful J-pop/electropop10 18,000Journey Indie electronic38 6,000Shanghai Restoration Project2010 Maverick J-pop/electropop20 8,000 Nakata Yasutaka Best Flight J-pop/electropop/ electronica/pop-rock22 7,000 Nakata Yasutaka, Hadouken!, Shanghai Restoration Project, Zentarou Watanabe2012 La JaponaiseMEG Concept Album "LA JAPONAISE". Cdjapan.co.jp (April 25, 2012). Retrieved October 14, 2013. PopStarchild, King60 2,000 Nakata Yasutaka, Shanghai Restoration Project, The Telephones, various Wear I AmMEG reveals new album wtitle, "WEAR I AM". Natalie.mu. Retrieved October 14, 2013. Pop36 3,000 Nakata Yasutaka, taku (M-Flo), Yasuyuki Okamura, various 2013 Continue Pop80—TeddyLoid, Masaru Yokoyama, Tomoki Hasegawa, various
Singles Year Title Peak(Oricon) Peak(Billboard) Sales Album 2001 — — — Room Girl 2002 — — — 84 — 4,000 2003 156 — 700 "Groove Tube" 131 — 1,400 2004 "Stereo04" — — —Dithyrambos 2006 "Rockstar" 1 — — — "Dawn" 1 — — — 2007 1 183 — 600Beam "OK" 43 — 8,000 2008 "Magic" 42 — 4,000Step "Heart" 26 62 6,000 "Precious" 17 49 8,000 Beautiful 2009 "Freak" 21 — 5,000 Best Flight2010 "Secret Adventure" 44 — 2,400Maverick "Passport/Paris" 75 — 1,600 Best Flight 2012 "Trap" 34 — 3,000 Wear I Am2013 "Kiss or Bite" 72 — —Continue "Save" 73 — —
Digital singles "Discothèque / Banana no Namida" (June 20, 2011) "Ma Mélissa (covered from Les Minikeums)" (July 25, 2011) "Believe" (August 29, 2011) "Rouge no Dengon" (September 27, 2011) "Still Love Her (Ushinawareta Fuukei)" (October 31, 2011) "Tough Boy" (November 28, 2011)
Other appearances Year Song Artist Album 2008 Ukawanimation! N/A Suneohair Birthday "Wish You Smile" Sound Around Sweet Music 2009 "Lyricist" Towa Tei Big Fun Ryukyudisko, iLL Pleasure, ∀ "When You Wish Upon a Star" Meg × Q;indivi House☆Disney 2012 Ram Rider Audio Galaxy: Ram Rider vs Stars!!!2020 "Stay with Me"Ram RiderN/A
References
External links
Official website Meg on WMG/unBORDE Meg on Universal Music website Official blog