Back Puffy AmiYumi German Puffy AmiYumi Spanish Puffy AmiYumi Finnish Puffy AmiYumi French פאפי (צמד מוזיקלי) HE Puffy AmiYumi Hungarian Puffy AmiYumi Italian PUFFY Japanese PUFFY (음악 그룹) Korean Puffy AmiYumi Polish
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Puffy AmiYumi | |
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 Yoshimura (left) and Ōnuki (right) performing as PUFFY at the 2009 Japan Expo in Paris | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | PUFFY |
| Origin | Tōkyō |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | |
| Members | Ōnuki Ami Yoshimura Yumi |
| Website | Official web-site |
Puffy (sometimes stylized in all-caps), also known as Puffy AmiYumi in the US, are a Japanese pop rock duo formed in Tōkyō in 1995, consisting of singers Ōnuki Ami (born '73/9/18) and Yoshimura Yumi (born '75/1/30). In the United States, they adopted the name Puffy AmiYumi to avoid legal naming conflicts with Sean Combs, who also performed under the name Puffy. The duo sings in Japanese as well as in English and in Mandarin Chinese.
Both Ami and Yumi were scouted by Sony-affiliated talent agencies and put together in the mid-1990s. Most of their work was produced or co-written by Okuda Tamio and Andy Sturmer, formerly of the bands Unicorn and Jellyfish, respectively.[1][2]
The duo's first single, Asia no Junshin (1996), sold one million records. They gained mainstream success in Japan in 1998 following the release of their album, Jet and continued with several more full-length releases (totaling 15 million sales in Japan).[3]
In 2004, an animated series featuring animated versions of themselves, Hi! Hi! Puffy AmiYumi, premiered on the US's Cartoon Network. Although their characters were voiced by different voice actresses, the singers portrayed themselves for short live-action segments taped in Japan.
- ^ Segal, David (July 22, 2002). "Puffy: Pop With A Japanese Accent". Washington Post.
- ^ Weller, Jam (August 26, 2005). "Japanese Beatles". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Smith, Dennis A. "J!-Ent 50-page Special Feature: Puffy AmiYumi 15th Year Anniversary featuring interviews from 2000-2010" (PDF). NT 2099. Retrieved December 5, 2010.