Kaori Asada (浅田 香織, Asada Kaori, born 16 April 1973 in Kyoto, Japan), known by her stage name, Bonnie Pink (ボニー・ピンク, Bonī Pinku), is a Japanese singer / songwriter. She lived in New York during 1998 and speaks English (many of her songs are entirely in English). She writes and composes all her songs, and plays guitar and piano. Kaori Asada has said that the name Bonnie Pink is random and that she thought the words were cute together. There is no special meaning behind the name, she chose it because it was easy to remember.
Bonnie Pink was quite famous in her early years during the 90s and the early 2000s, but she slowly drifted out of popularity. However, in 2006 her hit single "A Perfect Sky" went to the top of the charts and brought her back into the J-Pop spotlight and her latest albums have become very popular and major successes for the singer.
History
Bonnie Pink debuted in 1995 with her single, "Orenji", under her real name, Asada Kaori. Her first album, Blue Jam, was released that same year under the Pony Canyon record label. She described it as a "mixture of bitter honey, blues music, momentary silence, irresistible madness, teardrops, sourgrapes, hopeful bombs, big big love, and a few green apples" in the jacket. It introduced her unique style of music that has been defined as an off-beat mix between jazz, blues, pop, and rock. The next year she met Tore Johansson, Swedish producer for The Cardigans, who became her good friend and produced much of her work. The song "It's Gonna Rain!" was the fifth ending of the anime Rurouni Kenshin. She wrote her third album, Evil & Flowers (1998), while in isolation in the Swedish countryside. She hoped to find inspiration there, but became depressed. She put her feelings of frustration into the songs.
Bonnie Pink's latest album Thinking Out Loud was released on July 25, 2007. It is her first album to be sold in both CD and CD+DVD formats. First press of both editions come with an access ticket containing the AD/Password to reserve tickets for her tour, Bonnie Pink Tour 2007 "Thinking Out Loud" Final at Nippon Budokan on a special designated website. The CD pre-orders made the album #1 on the Amazon.com Japan Top Sellers. The album debuted at #4 on the Oricon Daily Charts and #5 on the weekly charts selling approximately 53,605 copies. As of September 5, 2007, her album has sold approximately 90,000 copies. It is expected to pass the 100,000 mark, which means it will reach "Gold" status from the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Bonnie Pink was on her 'Thinking Outloud Tour' from late 2007 to early 2008.
The English version of Bonnie Pink's single "Ring a Bell" is only available through digital download. "Ring a Bell" was used as the theme song for the American release of the Xbox 360 game Tales of Vesperia. The single was released in Japan and America on iTunes to celebrate Bonnie Pink's 35th birthday. Its Japanese counterpart, "Kane wo Narashite" was released on August 6, 2008. Bonnie Pink's thirtieth single entitled "Joy / Happy Ending" is to be released on April 8, 2009, according to her official website.
