Aiko Yanai, who goes by just her first name, is a J-pop singer-songwriter from Osaka who started out as a radio DJ and released her debut EP Astral Box in 1997. Her 1999 single "Hanabi" was a hit and she released her first album, Chiisana Marui Kojitsu, that year. Sakura No Ki No Shita (2000) topped the Japan albums chart and the track "Boyfriend"(2000) went to number two on the Japan singles chart. Follow-up albums Natsufuku (2001), Aki, Soba Ni Iru Yo (2002), Akatsuki No Love Letter (2003), Yume No Naka No Massugu Na Michi (2005) and Kanojo (2006) also were chart-toppers. Albums after that include Baby (2010), Awa no Yo na Ai datta (2014), May Dream (2016) and Shimetta Natsu no Hajimari (2018). Her 16th original album Zanshinzansho (2014) includes the title songs of singles such as Aishisouai (2014) the theme song for the movie Detective Conan: The Million Dollar Five-Point Star the single "When Stars Fall Down" released in November 2023, and "Itsuka Aetara" (2023) the theme song for the TV anime "Afterschool Insomnia".
