Quick Facts
Sagittarius
Biography
Bird, stylized as bird (born December 9, 1975 as Yuki Kitayama (北山有紀)), is a Japanese singer.
History
Kitayama graduated from the Notre Dame Academy, a girls-only high school in the Kansai region. She then attended Kansai University and graduated with a degree in sociology. While she was in university, she was a member of the school's light music club.
After graduating, she spent a year in New York City. Returning to Osaka in the late 1990s, she started her singing career by singing at various jazz clubs. After achieving fame in the locality, she was discovered by record producer Shinichi Osawa, better known as Mondo Grosso.
In 1998, Kitayama was featured in Zeebra's Mirai e no Kagi (Osawa's Realized Mix) released in the mini-album The Rhyme Animal Remix EP.1. She came up with the alias bird around this time, because her head resembled a bird's nest during her debut.Moreover, she expressed that she wanted her music to echo the song of small birds.
On March 20, 1999, she released her first single Souls on Osawa's label RealEyes. In July of the same year, bird released her first eponymously titled album on the Sony Music Japan label, which sold over 700,000 copies and won her the award of Japan Gold Record for Newcomers.
After RealEyes became independent from Sony Records, bird was able to become the lyricist and producer for her own music.
She is married to illustrator Jun Miura.
Discography
Singles
| Release Date | Title | Chart Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | March 20, 1999 | SOULS | 44 |
| 2nd | June 30, 1999 | BEATS | 27 |
| 3rd | August 25, 1999 | 君の音が聴こえる場所へ | 76 |
| 4th | October 6, 1999 | 空の瞳 | 14 |
| 5th | December 1, 1999 | 満ちてゆく唇 | 70 |
| 6th | January 21, 2000 | SOULS （Peach Bossa Mix） | |
| 7th | April 1, 2000 | GAME | 25 |
| May 1, 2000 | LIFE MONDO GROSSO feat bird | ||
| 8th | September 27, 2000 | オアシス | 24 |
| 9th | November 22, 2000 | マインドトラベル | 73 |
| 10th | January 31, 2001 | マーメイド3000 | 82 |
| 11th | 7 March 2001 | 桜 | |
| 12th | August 22, 2001 | flow | 42 |
| 13th | December 5, 2001 | ZERO | 73 |
| 14th | February 6, 2002 | 私的パートナー | 80 |
| 15th | April 24, 2002 | 散歩しよう | |
| 16th | August 21, 2002 | フラッシュ | |
| 17th | September 10, 2003 | チャンス | 144 |
| 18th | July 22, 2004 | ハイビスカス | 155 |
| 19th | September 1, 2004 | 髪をほどいて | |
| 20th | August 24, 2005 | 童神 | 140 |
| June 28, 2006 | ファーストブレス | ||
| 21st | October 4, 2006 | SPARKLES | 199 |
| 29 November 2006 | 君が笑う方へ Taiji All Stars feat bird | ||
| 22nd | July 11, 2007 | BATUCADA | 44 |
| 23rd | July 23, 2008 | サマーヌード／ダンシング・シスター | |
| March 13, 2010 | Soul Shine Baker Brothers feat bird |
Albums
| Release Day | Title | Chart Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | July 23, 1999 | bird | 8 |
| November 10, 1999 | bird －LIMITED SILVER EDITION | 8 | |
| 2nd | November 22, 2000 | MINDTRAVEL | 5 |
| 3rd | March 6, 2002 | 極上ハイブリッド | 11 |
| 4th | October 8, 2003 | DOUBLE CHANCE | 22 |
| 5th | September 23, 2004 | vacation | 46 |
| 6th | October 4, 2006 | BREATH | 50 |
| 7th | May 25, 2011 | NEW BASIC | |
| 8th | March 20, 2013 | Home | |
| 9th | September 25, 2013 | 9 | |
| 10th | November 4, 2015 | Lush |
Other albums
| Release Date | Title | Chart Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live | May 23, 2001 | LIVE! tour 2000+1 | 21 |
| Best Of | September 28, 2005 | bird's nest | 27 |
| Cover Album | November 28, 2007 | BIRDSONG EP -cover BEATS for the party- | 66 |
| Cover Album | August 6, 2008 | MY LOVE | 69 |
| Best Of | September 24, 2008 | Free Soul Collection | 246 |
| Best Of | April 29, 2009 | covers | |
| Best Of | March 20, 2013 | bird's nest 2013 |
VHS・DVD
| Release Date | Title |
|---|---|
| VHS、DVD March 23, 2000 | tour 1999 live! |
| VHS、DVD May 23, 2001 | bird tour 2000＋1 live |
| VHS、DVD September 19, 2001 | bird clips! #1 |
| DVD October 9, 2005 | bird LIVE! '04-'05 |
