Superfly (band)
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Superfly (band)

Superfly is a Japanese rock act that debuted on April 4, 2007. Formerly a duo, the act now consists solely of lyricist and vocalist Shiho Ochi with former guitarist Kōichi Tabo still credited as the group's composer and part-time lyricist. Superfly's first two studio albums were certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan, and their first four consecutive albums (the third being classified as a "single" by the group) all debuted at the top of the Oricon Weekly Album Charts, a first for a female recording artist in Japan in over seven years.

Shiho Ochi (越智 志帆, Ochi Shiho) met Kōichi Tabo (多保 孝一, Tabo Kōichi) in 2003 while they were students at Matsuyama University. They were both members of a music circle that covered songs by Finger 5 and the Rolling Stones. In 2004, the group formed the blues band "Superfly", naming themselves after Curtis Mayfield's song "Superfly". The group split up in 2005, with only Ochi and Tabo remaining when they went to Tokyo to seek out a label.

After a battle between recording labels, the duo debuted on Warner Music Group with their 2007 single "Hello Hello". This was followed by their Shibuya, Tokyo, Apple Store performance and the subsequent EP Live from Tokyo. On November 8, 2007, a few months after their second single "Manifesto" was released, Kōichi Tabo announced on their website that he stopped appearing on the stage to concentrate on composing the songs. Besides being active behind the scenes as Superfly's composer & arranger, Tabo has also written music for artists such as Charice Pempengco, Mai Fukui, Yuna Ito, Maaya Sakamoto, BECCA, Saki Fukuda, and Asia Engineer. Later that month on November 28, 2007, Superfly released a single in collaboration with the Australian band Jet, titled "I Spy I Spy".

Superfly's debut album Superfly was released on May 14, 2008, topping the Japanese Oricon weekly album charts for two weeks. The release of the album was also celebrated with a free concert at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. Following its release, Ochi, who has a great admiration for Janis Joplin, was given the chance to travel to San Francisco in 2008 where she travelled through Haight-Ashbury and met up with Sam Andrew of Big Brother and the Holding Company as part of a documentary titled Following the Steps of Janis on Music On! TV. Ochi also counts Carole King, Maria Muldaur, and the Rolling Stones as some of her other favorite artists. In June and July, Superfly did a national tour titled the Rock'N'Roll Show 2008 Tour

In 2009, the asteroid 91907 Shiho was named after Ochi since it was discovered at the Kuma Kogen Astronomical Observatory in Ehime Prefecture, her home prefecture. April also saw the release of the Rock'N'Roll Show 2008 DVD set from the band's 2008 tour stop at the NHK Hall.

During the 2009 Heroes of Woodstock Tour for the tour's stop in Bethel, New York, the site of the original Woodstock Festival, Ochi joined Big Brother and the Holding Company on stage and performed "Down on Me" and "Piece of My Heart" as a follow-up to the previous documentary. The third single from Box Emotions, "Alright!!", was used as the opening theme to the Japanese television drama, Boss, starring Yuki Amami, which began airing on April 16, 2009, as well as its second season which aired in 2011.

Superfly's second studio album, Box Emotions, was released on September 2, 2009, which she celebrated by holding a free live show at the Roppongi Hills arena, which hosted 4000 people. Box Emotions debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon weekly charts, with the first week sales of around 214,000 copies. For the Japanese iTunes Store Rewind of 2009, Box Emotions was the album of the year. Superfly went on tour from October through December to support the album in the "Superfly Box Emotions 2009 Tour".

Ochi has also teamed up with fashion designer Manami Kobayashi for the A.I.C (Another Important Culture) brand to create a line of Woodstock and hippie subculture themed clothing called "Cosmic Market".

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