Michiyo Heike

Biography

Michiyo Heike (平家みちよ, Heike Michiyo; born April 6, 1979) is a former Japanese pop singer-songwriter from Osaka Prefecture and raised in Nabari, Mie. She first become known after her appearance on the Japanese talent show Asayan in the late 1990s, becoming the first member of the future "Hello! Project". Heike currently goes by the simply Michiyo.

Pre-debut

Heike applied for the Asayan Sharam Q-Produced Female Rock Vocalist Audition (ASAYAN シャ乱Qブロデュース 女性ロックヴォーカリスト オーディション, Asayan sharan kyū purodūsu josei rokku vōkarisuto ōdishon) while a junior at Mie Prefectural Nabari Nishi Senior High School. The program, the winner of which would go on to be produced by famous rock band Sharam Q, was held from April through August 1997, on the TV Tokyo network. Out of around 9,900 applicants, Sharam Q chose Heike as the winner. Prior to her debut, Heike secluded herself from the media to train under the direction of Sharam Q vocalist Tsunku. During this two-month training time, Tsunku gave five of the audition runners-ups a chance to form a girl group, which he named Morning Musume. Eventually Tsunku focused on producing this group, and Sharam Q guitarist Hatake took over producing Heike. Her stage name was determined as Michyo Heike (平家みちよ) changing the Kanji characters for her first name into hiragana.

1997: Debut and "Get"

Heike's debut single "Get", composed by Hatake, with lyrics by Tsunku, was released from the WEA Japan label on November 5, 1997. "Get" was her highest-charting single, peaking at number 24 on the Oricon Singles Chart, charting for six weeks. On November 6, her first live performance was held at the Nippon Budokan Hall in front of an audience of ten thousand invited by Asayan. Michiyo Heike and Morning Musume shared a joint fan club, known as "Hello!", later to become known as "Hello! Project". During this time, Heike was the only soloist.

1998: "Sotsugyō —Top of the World—", "Daikirai", Morning Cop "Daite Hold on Me!", and "Dakedo aishi sugite"

In February 1998, she released her 2nd single, "Sotsugyō —Top of the World—", a cover song for The Carpenters' Top of the World. The lyrics of the song were written by Makoto of Sharam Q, and it peaked at number 35 on the Oricon Singles Chart. Michiyo released her first studio album Teenage Dream×Teenage Dream25 March 1998 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Start!4:272スキップ4:593オンナのエボリューション4:374プリペアー4:285ふりむかないで3:466GET4:087ひとりぐらし4:178赤い月3:329卒業 〜TOP OF THE WORLD〜3:0810Teenage Dream (instrumental)1:0711Hey! Hey! Girls Soul5:49 on March 25, 1998, peaking at number 50 on the Oricon Albums Chart. "Daikirai" was released for Michiyo's third single on July 1, 1998. The song was again composed by Hatake, peaking at number 50 on the Oricon Singles Chart. Morning Cop "Daite Hold on Me!" OST was released on September 30, 1998, under the names of Michiyo Heike and Morning Musume, peaking at number 18 on the Oricon Albums Chart. "Dakedo Aishisugite" was Heike's fourth single, released on October 25, 1998, as part the joint OST album Morning Cop "Daite Hold on Me!" It peaked at number 95 on the Oricon Singles Chart.

1999: "Anata no yume ni naritai" and "Scene"

Heike's 5th single "Anata no yume ni naritai" was released on February 10, 1999, peaking at number 70 on the Oricon Singles Chart. She released her 6th single "Scene×scene28 July 1999 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1scene4:012return5:163scene (instrumental)3:58" on July 28, 1999. The song was again composed by Hatake, with lyrics by Michiyo herself, peaking at number 79 on the Oricon Singles Chart.

2000: "One-room natsu no koi monogatari", For Ourself, and "Ai no chikara"

Michiyo released her 7th single "One-room natsu no koi monogatari" on May 17, 2000. The song was her first song produced by Tsunku, peaking at number 26 on the Oricon Singles Chart. "Ai no chikara" was her 8th single released on August 9, 2000. The song was again produced by Tsunku, peaking at number 38 on the Oricon Singles Chart. Heike released her 2nd studio album For Ourself —Single History— on September 13, 2000, peaking at number 23 on the Oricon Singles Chart. In 2000, Heike participated in shuffle unit Kiiro 5.

2001: "Kekkyoku Bye Bye Bye" and "Propose"

Heike released her 9th single "Kekkyoku Bye Bye Bye" on February 7, 2001, peaking at number 45 on the Oricon Singles Chart. She then signed a new recording contract with zetima label after her recording contract with WEA Japan ended. Her 10th single "Propose" was released on November 7, 2001, peaking at number 31 on the Oricon Singles Chart. In 2001, she was part of 7-nin Matsuri.

2002: "Murasaki shikibu"

"Murasaki shikibu", released on June 5, 2001, was her last single as a Hello! Project member, peaking at number 39 on the Oricon Singles Chart. In July 2002, she was a member of Sexy 8. Since Heike's management contract with Up Front Group ended and was not renewed, she "graduated" from Hello! Project in November 2002, five years after her debut.

2004–2021

In 2004, she changed her stage name to Michiyo (みちよ) and began a career as an indies songwriter. Her first indie album, titled Jecica×JECICA3 March 2004 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1JECICA4:322FLY3:013LOVE LINE3:014キレイゴト...5:095Climbing Life4:446untouchable3:427RAINBOW2:438カイト4:229Lovers2:5210MATRICARIA3:30, was entirely self-written and was released on March 3, 2004.
In 2020, she release her digital single “Luminous”
In 2021, she retired and decided to embark on a new path.