Nao Yoshioka
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Nao Yoshioka | |
|---|---|
 Yoshioka performing live at Blue Note Tokyo 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Labels | Sweet Soul Records |
| Website | www |
Nao Yoshioka (born March 2, 1988) is a soul singer and songwriter from Osaka, Japan, now based in Tokyo.
Yoshioka was born in Osaka, Japan on 2 March 1988. Her father studied painting and eventually became an interior designer. Her mother was an illustrator before becoming a dress designer.
Yoshioka's parents encouraged her and her two older sisters to explore creative pursuits. Yoshioka attended an arts high school and studied painting and sculpture, eventually joining a band as a vocalist. Yoshioka entered a debut recording competition sponsored by a music vocational school and won. She then worked with a vocal trainer and learned more about blues and soul music.
After problems at school and coping with her parents' divorce, Yoshioka struggled to concentrate on her musical ambitions.[1] She eventually dropped out of high school and moved to New York City to pursue a career as a singer.[2]
Early career and debut album
Yoshioka broke into the soul scene while spending two and a half years in New York City beginning in 2009. In 2011 she reached the Top Dog Round at the Apollo Theater Season Final and the final stage of the McDonald's Gospelfest.[citation needed]
She came to wider notice in 2012 when she was discovered by Naoki Yamanouchi, Sweet Soul Records' CEO, who released her single "Make the Change." Her debut album The Light, released 13 November 2013,[3] included a number of original songs, a duet with Brian Owens on a cover of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," and covers of "At Last," "A Change is Gonna Come," and "His Eye is on the Sparrow."[4] The album was an international effort, recorded in the U.S., the Netherlands, and Japan, with songwriting, arranging, and production collaborations from Owens, Dani Elliott, ORLY, the Netherlands' Shirma Rouse, and Hiroyuki Matsuda.