Tokyo, Japan

October 8, 1987

Known primarily as a voice actress for a series of massive anime hits in Japan, Aya Hirano carved out a small side career as a singer, as many successful voice actresses have. Though providing voices since 2001 (and performing briefly in an under-15 idol group), Hirano didn't begin singing regularly until 2006, reeling off a series of fairly successful hits in the voices of the characters she portrayed on television. With a string of nine such "character songs", she took the next step -- music not done "by" a character in an anime series, but music simply used for an anime series. With a few breakout hits in 2006 and 2007, Hirano quickly developed 2008's full-length debut, Riot Girl, a collection of particularly light pop which debuted at number six on the Oricon charts and paved the way for future endeavors in the same vein. ~ Adam Greenberg