Eiko Kawashima (川島 栄子), better known as Anri (杏里), is a Japanese singer-songwriter from Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture. In a career spanning more than 40 years, she achieved commercial success and popularity in the city pop music scene during the 1980s.

Biography

Her debut release was 1978's "Oribia o Kikinagara" ("While Listening to Olivia"), written by Amii Ozaki. She achieved commercial success and popularity with her signature classic 1983 release, Timely!!, which spawned the hits "Cat's Eye" and "Kanashimi ga Tomaranai" ("I Can't Stop the Loneliness"). "Cat's Eye" was used as the first opening theme of the eponymous 1983 anime series of the same name and debuted as No. 1 on Countdown Japan. It spent 4 weeks at No. 1 on the Oricon chart. It was one of the first J-pop songs used for an anime theme song. In 2017, she performed the song live at the opening of the touring ice show Fantasy on Ice amongst others. She appeared at the Red and White New Year's Music Special at the end of that same year, performing "Cat's Eye". Other hit songs include: "Summer Candles" and "Dolphin Ring", both of which became standard songs played at Japanese weddings and receptions. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Anri's albums were bestsellers. She has had highly successful tours—one with an attendance of almost 100,000—and toured Hawaii for the first time in 1987. She sang Furusato, a folklore song, during the 1998 Winter Olympics closing ceremonies . In 2002, she began collaborating with jazz fusion guitarist Lee Ritenour, who produced her 2002 LP Smooth Jam – Quiet Storm. With the renewed popularity of city pop, and her songs having been sampled by many new artists of the vaporwave and future funk genres, Anri has enjoyed new success and popularity outside of Japan.

Discography

Studio albums

Cover albums

Self-cover albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Box sets

Singles

Digital singles

Collaboration singles

Videography

Live albums