# Aoi Teshima

Aoi Teshima (手嶌葵, Teshima Aoi, born June 21, 1987) is a Japanese singer and voice actress from Kasuga, Fukuoka. She is known for singing and acting in several Goro Miyazaki movies including Tales from Earthsea and From Up on Poppy Hill.

## Early life

Aoi Teshima was born on June 21, 1987, in Kasuga, Fukuoka, Japan. From an early age, she was influenced by her parents' liking for classic musical films, such as The Wizard of Oz, The Secret Garden, The Little Prince, and Breakfast at Tiffany's. Of that, Teshima has attributed the song, Moon River, along with the music of Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday as the basis for her love for Jazz music, and as major influences on her musical style. In junior high school, Teshima found herself moved by Bette Midler's 1979 song, The Rose, her amateur cover of which became the trigger of her debut as a singer.

## Career

After graduating junior high, Teshima enrolled at the C&S Music School in Fukuoka, to acquire the qualifications of high school and junior college while simultaneously developing her singing abilities. There, she began a music career as an amateur in 2003. In 2003 and 2004, she participated in the musical event DIVA, held in Fukuoka, as part of the Yamaha Music-sponsored Teen's Music Festival.
In March 2005, she performed at the Japan-Korea Slow Music World event in South Korea, where her performance was favourably received amongst the audience, attracting the attention of anime director Gorō Miyazaki. The Studio Ghibli music producer, Toshio Suzuki, was reportedly very impressed when he listened to her demo version of “The Rose” at the recommendation of Miyazaki.
On June 7, 2006, the release of “Theru's Song (テルーの唄, 'Terū no Uta')” became her major debut. The song was the theme of the Gorō Miyazaki directed film, Tales from Earthsea, in which she also voices the character Theru. This song debuted at #5 on the Oricon charts, with the number of CD shipments numbering at about 300,000, along with music downloads recorded at about 650,000 downloads, which was the largest for the theme song of the Studio Ghibli series at the time.
She was featured singing two songs in the Nintendo Wii game, Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon, called “Light (光, 'Hikari')” and “Warmth of the Moon (月のぬくもり, 'Tsuki no Nukumori')”. In 2011, she once again collaborated with Gorō Miyazaki on his second feature, From up on Poppy Hill (2011), singing “Summer of Goodbye”, the main theme of the movie and other songs in the film, as well as voicing the character Yuko.
On September 30, 2012, she was presented with the Citizens Cultural Award of Kasuga City.
On February 10, 2016, she released the first single from her 10th album, Ren'dez-vous, titled “Letter to Tomorrow (明日への手紙, Asu e no Tegami)”. This song was used in the Japanese drama Love That Makes You Cry, and charted at top on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart.

## Personal life

Teshima has described herself to be 'stubborn and strong-willed', and added that she is also camera-shy.

## Discography
### Original albums

| Title | Album Information | Oricon albums charts | Sales |
| Gedo Senki Kashū (ゲド戦記歌集) Tales from Earthsea Song Collection | Released: July 12, 2006 Label: Yamaha (YCCW-10028) Formats: Compact disc, digital download, rental CD | 20 | 55,000 |
| Haru no Kashū (春の歌集, Spring song collection) | Released: February 7, 2007 Label: Yamaha (YCCW-10028) Formats: Compact disc, digital download, rental CD | 38 | 14,000 |
| Niji no Kashū (虹の歌集, Rainbow song collection) | Released: July 23, 2008 Label: Yamaha (YCCW-10049) Formats: Compact disc, digital download, rental CD | 78 | 5,900 |
| Kokurikozaka kara Kashū (コクリコ坂から歌集) From up on Poppy Hill song collection | Released: July 6, 2011 Label: Yamaha (YCCW-10156) Formats: Compact disc, digital download, rental CD | 33 | 24,000 |
| Ren'dez-vous | Released: July 23, 2014 Label: Victor Entertainment (VICL-64074) | 125 | |

### Cover albums

Teshima's cover albums are sung in English.
| Title | Album Information | Oricon albums charts | Sales |
| The Rose: I Love Cinemas | Western film theme songs Released: March 5, 2008 Label: Yamaha (YCCW-10044) Formats: Compact disc, digital download, rental CD | 48 | 15,000 |
| La Vie en rose: I Love Cinemas | Western film theme songs Released: October 7, 2009 Label: Yamaha (YCCW-10102) Formats: Compact disc, digital download, rental CD | 65 | 6,000 |
| Christmas Songs | Western Christmas songs Released: November 24, 2010 Label: Yamaha (YCCW-10119) Formats: Compact disc, digital download, rental CD | 127 | 3,900 |
| Miss Aoi – Bonjour, Paris! | Paris-themed songs Released: December 12, 2012 Label: Rendezvous (RDV-0008) | | |
| Cheek to Cheek~I Love Cinemas~ | Western film theme songs Released: December 19, 2018 Label: Victor Entertainment (VIZL-1503/VICL-65075) | | |

### Compilation albums

| Year | Album Information | Oricon albums charts | Sales |
| Collection Blue | Released: November 9, 2011 Label: Yamaha (YCCW-10162) Formats: Compact disc, digital download, rental CD | | |

### Singles

| Release | Title | Notes | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Oricon sales | Album |
| Release | Title | Notes | Oricon singles charts | Billboard Japan Hot 100* | RIAJ digital tracks* | Oricon sales | Album |
| 2006 | "Therru no Uta" (テルーの唄, Terū no Uta, "Therru's Song") | Gold certification for cellphone downloads | 5 | — | — | 228,000 | Ged Senki Kashū |
| 2007 | "Kishi o Hanareru Hi" (岸を離れる日, "The Day I Push Off from the Shore") | Digital release | — | — | — | — | Haru no Kashū |
| 2007 | "Kiseki no Hoshi" (奇跡の星, "Miracle Star") | | 32 | — | — | 4,000 | Niji no Kashū |
| 2008 | "Kazoku no Fūkei (CM Version)" (家族の風景 (CMバージョン), "Family Scene") | Digital release | — | — | — | — | Niji no Kashū |
| 2008 | "Niji" (虹, "Rainbow") | | 110 | — | — | 2,900 | Niji no Kashū |
| 2008 | "Can't Help Falling in Love" | Elvis Presley cover, digital release | — | — | — | — | Collection Blue |
| 2008 | "Hikari/Tsuki no Nukumori" (光/月のぬくもり, "Light/Warmth of the Moon") | Digital release | — | — | — | — | Collection Blue |
| 2009 | "Tsurezure Yōbi" (徒然曜日, "Boring, Regular Day") | Digital re-release | — | — | — | — | Haru no Kashū |
| 2009 | "La Vie en rose" | Édith Piaf cover, digital release | — | — | — | — | La Vie en rose |
| 2009 | "Kono Michi" (この道, "This Road") | Digital release | — | — | — | — | Collection Blue |
| 2010 | "Ima o Ikite" (いまを生きて, "Live for Today") | Digital release | — | — | — | — | Collection Blue |
| 2010 | "Because" (Yoko Kanno x Aoi Teshima) | Digital release | — | — | — | — | Collection Blue |
| 2010 | "Ryūsei" (流星, "Meteor") | Digital release | — | — | — | — | Collection Blue |
| 2011 | "Sayonara no Natsu (Kokurikozaka kara)" (さよならの夏～コクリコ坂から～, "Summer of Farewells (From Up on Poppy Hill)") | | 22 | 13 | 11 | 27,000 | Kokurikozaka kara Kashū |
| 2016 | "Asu e no Tegami" (明日への手紙, "Letter for Tomorrow") | | 16 | 1 | 1 | | |
| 2021 | "Tadaima" (ただいま, "I'm home") | | | | | | |
| *Japan Hot 100 established February 2008, RIAJ Digital Track Chart established April 2009. ||||||||