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Biography
Rebecca Eri Rabone (レベッカ・英里・レイボーン, Rebekka Eri Reibōn, born 6 March 1984), better known mononymously as Becky (ベッキー, Bekkī), is a Japanese tarento, currently signed to Sun Music Productions. Since 2009, she has recorded music under the stage name Becky♪♯.
History
Becky was born in Kanagawa Prefecture to a Japanese mother and an English father, Simon Rabone. She has one younger sister, dancer Jessica "JJ" Rabone. Until at least 2011, Becky held dual citizenship status in both Japan and the United Kingdom. Although The Japan Times previously erroneously reported her full name as "Rebecca Eri Ray Vaughan", Australian airline Jetstar Airways, having used her in advertisements and promotions aimed towards Japanese audiences, gives her full name as being "Rebecca-Eri Rabone", this surname matching that used by her father and sister; the error arises from the fact that 'Rabone' and 'Ray Vaughan' would be spelled the same way in Japanese.She debuted as a regular on the popular children's show Oha-Suta in 1999 reading out the English names of various Pokémon characters in a section of the show called Pokémon: The World. She became a popular mascot of the show, and eventually started landing spots on various Japanese variety shows. On television, she has also appeared in numerous commercials and has lent her voice to the characters of many anime shorts and movies.
She graduated from Tokyo's Asia University with a degree in business administration on 15 March 2006.
In January 2016, Becky's reputation as Japan's most popular female personality took a negative hit after Japanese tabloid Shukan Bunshun revealed that she had an affair with musician Enon Kawatani who at the time was married. Following the scandal, Kawatani announced that he officially divorced his wife. In order to appease the public backlash and as a condition for her comeback to show business in Japan, Becky tried to officially apologize to Kawatani's wife. However, having no direct channel to her, Becky contacted the Shukan Bunshun’s editorial department instead. Shukan Bunshun published the full contents of Becky’s letter at the end of April 2016. The letter acknowledges her affair but also implies that she has not seen Kawatani since the scandal broke and that she no longer has feelings for him. As a result of her apologies, Becky was to make her comeback with an appearance on TBS. In her first appearance back on TV, she appeared on "Full Chorus - Music is Full Chorus” on the cable channel BS Skyperfect TV.
On 13 February 2019, Becky announced that she had gotten married to Yomiuri Giants coach Yasuyuki Kataoka.
Discography
In addition to her work as an actress and model, Becky has also had several musical releases. Beginning in late 2009, Becky began recording under the name "Becky♪♯" (ベッキー♪♯, Bekkī), and her first single under EMI Music Japan debuted in the top 10 of the Oricon's Daily and Weekly Charts.
Albums
| Title | Release date |
|---|---|
| Kokoro no Hoshi (心の星) | 24 February 2010 (2010-02-24) |
| Kaze to Melody (風とメロディー, Kaze to Merodī) | 13 July 2011 (2011-07-13) |
Singles
| Stage name | Title | Release date | Notes | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Becky | "Sora Tobu Pokémon Kids" ( そらとぶポケモンキッズ, Sora Tobu Pokémon Kizzu) | 17 July 1999 (1999-07-17) | N/A | |
| "Densetsu no Stafy" ( 伝説のスタフィー, Densetsu no Sutafī) | 4 September 2002 (2002-09-04) | Densetsu no Stafy theme | ||
| "Sarara" ( さらら) | 4 December 2002 (2002-12-04) | |||
| "Horiken Size II" ( ホリケンサイズII, Horiken Saizu II) | 12 March 2003 (2003-03-12) | |||
| "Hello! Thank You!" ( ハロー！サンキュー！, Harō! Sankyū!) | 29 April 2005 (2005-04-29) | Pokémon The Park theme | ||
| "Himawari" ( 向日葵) | 22 February 2006 (2006-02-22) | |||
| Becky♪♯ | "Kokoro Komete" ( 心こめて) | 2 December 2009 (2009-12-02) | B-side serves as Crayon Shin-chan theme | Kokoro no Hoshi |
| "Suki Dakara" ( 好きだから) | 3 February 2010 (2010-02-03) | |||
| "Emerald" ( エメラルド, Emerarudo) | 20 July 2010 (2010-07-20) | How to Train Your Dragon Japanese theme | Kaze to Melody | |
| "Fuyusora no Love Song" ( 冬空のLove Song) | 1 December 2010 (2010-12-01) | Happy Music theme | ||
| Goocky (グッキー, Gukkī) | "Good Lucky!!!!!" | 2 March 2011 (2011-03-02) | Universal Studios Japan 10th anniversary theme, Collaboration with Greeeen | |
| Becky♪♯ | "Kaze no Shirabe" ( 風のしらべ) | 15 June 2011 (2011-06-15) | Universal Studios Japan 10th anniversary summer TV commercial song | |
| "Yaruki Switch" ( ヤルキスイッチ, Yaruki Suitchi) | 27 June 2012 (2012-06-27) | Onegai! Ranking July ending theme | TBA | |
| "My Friend ~Arigato~" (MY FRIEND ～ありがとう～, MY FRIEND ~Arigatō~) | 12 December 2012 (2012-12-12) | B-side used for "Vis" advertisement campaign |
Other appearances
- Act4 (8 December 2004)
- Features the songs "Himawari", "Deco Boco", and "Chocorate" off of her single "Himawari"
- Tribute to Avril Lavigne: Master's Collection (25 October 2006)
- Track 10: "Sk8er Boi"
- Yesterday Once More: Tribute to the Carpenters
- Track 6: "Sing"