Information AboutPuffy Amiyumi |
or Puffy AmiYumi is a Japanese pop/rock duo. The group continues to go by the moniker of PUFFY in Japan, but due to legal naming conflicts with Sean Combs , they have adopted the name Puffy AmiYumi outside of Japan. Ami Onuki , whose nickname is "Jane", and Yumi Yoshimura , nicknamed "Sue", were scouted by two different talent agencies and put together in 1995, and soon Puffy-mania would begin. Puffy-mania refers to the craze for all things related to Puffy, from key-chains to CDs. Puffy-Mania reached its peak in 1998 – 1999 , following the release of their ''Jet'' CD and the Jet tour. Their first release " Asia No Junshin " sold a million records and their success has continued with several more full-length releases (totaling 14 million sales in Japan). HISTORY A talent search brings Puffy together In 1995, Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura separately learned of talent searches underway in Tokyo. Ami sent a demo to Sony; Yumi auditioned for a management company.Pool, Josh. "Puffy Ami Yumi - Splurge" . IGN.com, September 11, 2006. Accessed December 7, 2006. When paired together, their voices blended well and they had a close rapport. Producer and American pop musician Andy Sturmer christened them "Puffy", for which they dubbed him "the godfather of Puffy". Their debut single, "Asia no Junshin", launched Puffy-mania. Asked if they were surprised by the attention after its success, Yumi told an interviewer "... everything that was put together for that song all came together and made it happen, but we didn't expect it. It was luck."Whelski, Tina. "Feature: Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi" . ''WOMANROCK'', August/September 2005. Accessed December 7, 2006. They hosted their own weekly TV show, '' Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Puffy '', with guests such as Lenny Kravitz , Sylvester Stallone , Harrison Ford , and rock band Garbage . Puffy comes to the United States Puffy made their first US appearance as part of Music Japan's "An Evening with Japan's All-Stars" showcase at the 2000 South By Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas .Amith, Dennis A. "Prepare for the Puffy Invasion" . nt2009 Entertainment, March 2001. Accessed December 7, 2006. After their performance at SXSW, attorneys for Sean "Puffy" Combs sent the band a cease and desist letter asking them to change their name. After changing their name in the US to Puffy AmiYumi, they told ''Entertainment Weekly''Bruner, Rob. "Sayonara, Puffy" . ''Entertainment Weekly'', April 3, 2001. Accessed December 7, 2006.: After ''Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Puffy'' ended production in 2002, Puffy focused on performing in the United States. Several of their previous Japanese albums were released for the US market and they recorded theme songs for the Animated Series '' Teen Titans '' and SD Gundam Force . They have also done a cover version with Cyndi Lauper of her hit ''Girls Just Wanna Have Fun''. They came back to the US in 2006 for their Splurge Tour. With their return, the Internet Radio station KGRL featured Puffy as their Flower-Powered Artist for August of 2006 .KGRL "August Flower-powered Artist @ KGRL.fm" . KGRL, August 2006. Accessed August, 2006. The feature includes an exclusive interview and a CD Review of Splurge. Animated series On November 19 , 2004 , an animated series featuring the girls, '' Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi '', premiered on the United States' Cartoon Network . Although they are voiced by American actresses, the real Ami and Yumi star in short live-action segments taped in Japan. The show also features some of Puffy's music. Cartoon Network's Japan service started airing episodes of the series (in English with Japanese subtitles) in 2005 . In October of that year, TV Tokyo began airing a Japanese-dubbed version of the series, which eventually also went to CN Japan on January 8 , 2006 . Puffy AmiYumi made an appearance and performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2005 where they were also represented by their own ''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'' float. Cartoon Network Unveils ''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'' Float For the 79th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade® . Time Warner press release, October 31, 2005. Accessed December 7, 2006. On , 2006, then toured the East Coast of the United States with the PuffyAmiYumi Tour '06 Splurge! Splurge! Splurge! from July 8 to July 19 , 2006, coinciding with the premiere of their new television show, '' Hi Hi PUFFY Bu ''. MUSICAL STYLE Their music has been largely a collaboration between producer Tamio Okuda , American singer-songwriter Andy Sturmer , and Ami and Yumi themselves. Ami and Yumi's vocals are likened to U.S. vocal sister group The Roches . They often sing whole songs together with harmonies and their sound borrows heavily from The Beatles and other artists such as ABBA , The Who and Carpenters . Both Ami and Yumi themselves have openly admitted that their music is hard to put into just one genre because of the many different influences. Influences It has been noted that many of Puffy's songs are heavily influenced by a wide range of artists: ABBA , The Beatles , The Blue Hearts , The Cardigans , ELO , The Supremes , Elvis Costello , Ramones , Stereolab , The Buggles , The Who , and even Black Sabbath . DISCOGRAPHY See Also: Puffy AmiYumi discography TELEVISION WORK
TOURS See Also: Puffy AmiYumi tours REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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