Sandii

One of Japan's most successful pop singers, Sandii has increasingly focused on the musical traditions of Hawaii. As the lead singer of Japanese pop group Sandii and the Sunsetz in the 1980s, she drew worldwide attention for her emotional vocals, hook-laden lyricism, and energetic blend of champur-style dangdut dance music, reggae, and Japanese pop. A tour of Australia in 1983 was followed by an American tour as the opening act for Midnight Oil and Spy vs. Spy the following year. Since the band's farewell concert at Tokyo's Ink Stick Suzue Factory, on Christmas Eve 1990, she's continued to draw critical acclaim for her solo peformances. Sandii's earliest claim to stardom came when she worked as a disc jockey for NHK-Radio in 1974. Her first success as a songwriter came two years later when she won the Grand Prix at the World Popular Song Festival. Shortly after releasing an album, Eating Pleasure, with Hosono Haroumi in late 1980, she performed her first show with Sandii and the Sunsetz, opening a show for the Yellow Magic Orchestra at Budokan Arena in Tokyo. The band's performance at the Japan Aid concert at Jingu Stadium in Tokyo was broadcast globally. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide