SPEED Biography

25 July 2004

[1st Edition: July 2000]
[2nd Edition: October 2004]
[3rd Edition: December 2006]
[4th Edition: August 2010]
[5th Edition: January 2024]

Introduction
SPEED is the legendary J-pop girl group of the 1990s; SPEED is also one of the most iconic and successful female dance and vocal group in J-pop history.

SPEED consists of Arakaki Hitoe, Uehara Takako, Imai Eriko and Shimabukuro Hiroko. Hiroko and Eriko are the main vocalists, while Takako and Hitoe focus on dance and chorus (background vocal). Hitoe serve as the leader of the group.

Pre-Debut
Upon graduating from the reputable Okinawa Act Dance School (alma mater of J-pop Diva Amuro Namie), the girls moved from their hometown in Okinawa to Tokyo on 17 October 1995 to pursue their dreams. They first appeared in popular karaoke music variety "THE夜もヒッパレ" (The Night Hit Parade) on 11 November 1995, and became regulars of the show. The girls would confirmed SPEED as their group name in the same show on 13 January 1996, officially marking the beginning of their career as an artist.

Debut
Working under established producer Ijichi Hiromasa, SPEED started recording their debut single "Body & Soul" on 29 April 1996, and at the same time practised the choreography for the Promotional Video (PV), which was filmed at San Francisco and Los Angeles in July 1996. SPEED officially debut on 5 August 1996 with their first single "Body & Soul". The soulful euro-pop number was an instant hit, securing the 18th position of oricon single ranking for that week and eventually peaked at the 4th spot with over 800,000 copies sold.

Rising popularity
The success of "Body & Soul" was followed by their 2nd single "STEADY" released on 18 November 1996 hitting No.2 on oricon and sold over 1,500,000 copies. With only 2 singles released, SPEED quickly became the hottest girl group at that time, and was awarded best new artist for the year in various J-pop award ceremonies. SPEED also started their regular radio show "ハイ! SPEEDで行こう!" (Hi! SPEED Let's Go!) on 13 October 1996. On 26 March 1997, SPEED released their 3rd single "Go! Go! Heaven", which is their first single to land on the top spot of the oricon weekly chart. Their fan club "SPEED SPIRITS" was formed in the same month. Shot in Los Angeles on 5 January 1997, SPEED self-titled first photobook was release on 25 April 197.

First album "Starting Over"
SPEED's first album "Starting Over" was released on 21 May 1997. The euro-pop, hip hop, funk and R&B oriented album was highly accredited, claiming the top spot of oricon on the first week and remains at that position for the next 4 consecutive weeks, selling over 2,500,000 copies. SPEED first live "Starting Over from ODAIBA" held on 30 July 1997 and 31 July 1997 was a huge success will all 20,000 tickets sold out at the moment of release. SPEED performed 3 previously unreleased songs, including their upcoming 4th single "Wake Me Up!" and the c/w song "熱帯夜" during the premium live. "熱帯夜" (Tropical Night; a meteorological term defined by the Japan Meteorological Agency for night with minimum temperature is above 25°C) became an unexpected hit and holds the record as the only b-side song to have a PV.

String of million-selling hits
After an eventful summer, SPEED's 5th single "White Love" was released on 15 October 1997. This classic winter tune was the song that brings their career to new heights. The winter ballad debuted on the #1 spot of oricon selling over 2,000,000 and was awarded outstanding single for the year in "第39回日本レコード大賞" (39th Japan Record Awards). SPEED outstanding performance throughout 1997 entitled them to perform as the opening act of the annual "第48回紅白歌合戦" (48th Kohaku Uta Gassen), performing "White Love". SPEED were awarded numerous awards at various award ceremonies at the end of 1997.

The huge success of "White Love" was followed with the release of "my graduation" on 18 February 1998. "my graduation" was SPEED second best-selling single, taking the #1 spot on the first week of release and sold a total of 1,750,000 copies. The song was specially written by their producer Ijichi Hiromasa to commemorate Takako graduation from high school. With 2 of the greatest hits for the year included in it ("White Love" and "my graduation"), SPEED 2nd album "RISE" was released with very high anticipation. Without disappointment, the album hit the number 1 spot on the first week and sold over 3,000,000 copies. Besides becoming SPEED best selling original album and one of the best selling album of 1998, "RISE" is also dubbed as one of the most classic album in J-pop history. "RISE" feature a distinctive blend of retro hip-hop with Y2K vibes in anticipation of the new millennium.

ANDROMEDIA
After acclaiming much success in the field of music, SPEED crossover to star their 1st movie "アンドロメディア" (ANDROMEDIA). Decision on filming the movie was made on 12 January 1998 and actual filming started on 23 March 1998 to capture the beauty of the sakura bloom. The movie started with how Mai's (Hiroko) father created Ai (also played by Hiroko), the virtual version of Mai after her death in a car accident. It was followed by the encounter of Ai with Mai's boyfriend You and Mai's friends Yoko (Eriko), Rika (Takako) and Nao (Hitoe). The love story was spiced up with some crime actions and was well received with more than 800, 000 views when screened on 11 July 1998. Directed by Takashi Miike, "アンドロメディア", eventually became a cult classic. Hiroko was praised for her virtual character Ai that requires her to act alone against a blue background. SPEED 7th single "ALIVE", the theme song for "アンドロメディア" landed on the top spot on its first week with a total sale of 1, 320, 000 copies. Filmed in June which is the transition of spring to summer, the PV for "ALIVE" was credited as one of the most beautiful video by SPEED. "ALIVE" was also included in the soundtrack of "アンドロメディア" in various variations together with a special remix of their hit "Luv Vibration" from the first album.

"TOUR 1998 RISE" in 4 domes
Shortly after the screening of "アンドロメディア", SPEED embark on their first live tour "TOUR 1998 RISE" on 18 July 1998, stopping at 13 locations with 23 shows performed. The most spectacular of all would be their performances at the 4 great domes in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka and Nagoya. SPEED was the youngest artist in J-pop history to stand on the stage of all 4 domes, which are the 4 largest indoor live venue in Japan.

On 18 October 1998, SPEED released their 8th single "ALL MY TRUE LOVE" which was for the first time released in 12cm maxi format. It is also the first time that members performed solo. Known simply only as hiro, Hiroko performed a black music oriented medium tempo R&B "見つめていたい" (Can't take my eyes off you) in minor melody. Eriko formed her own solo unit 'Eriko with Crunch' with 3 dancers and 1 DJ, performing the rock-influenced hard eurobeat piece "冷たくしないで" (Don't be cold to me). Both solo works surprised fans as they are very different from any songs performed by SPEED and leads to very high anticipation on the solo works by Takako and Hitoe, as both members only sang chorus in SPEED song, thus fans are very eager to hear their voices. The anticipation went even higher with rumours that Takako's solo "コケティッシュDreamin'" (Coquettish Dreamin') and the solo of Hitoe will be included in SPEED upcoming maxi single "Winter Emotion", which was scheduled to be released in December 1998. However "Winter Emotion" and the solos were never released.

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