Stephanie (singer, born August 1987)
 | This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (February 2014) |
Stephanie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Stephanie Nonoshita Topalian August 5, 1987 |
| Citizenship |
|
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Pop |
| Labels | SME Records |
| Associated acts | Genealogy |
Stephanie Nonoshita Topalian [A] (born August 5, 1987), known simply as Stephanie (ステファニー, Sutefanī), is an American singer and actress of Armenian and Japanese descent who is signed with SME Records Japan, which is a part of Sony Music. She released two albums; her self titled debut in 2008 and Colors of my Voice in 2009. She has won the Japanese Music Awards in 2007. A number of her songs have been featured in several Japanese films. She had roles in a few Japanese films, notably Pride and Tokyo Tribe. In 2014, she was included in the Armenian super group project Genealogy to represent Armenia in the 2015 version of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Face the Shadow".
Early life and education[]
She was born to a Japanese mother and an Armenian father in Los Angeles, California. Although she is residing in Japan, she has a strong commitment to her Armenian background and is very attached to her grandparents. Her paternal grandmother Koharik Mikaelian Topalian was born in Lebanon and her paternal grandfather Jean Pierre Topalian was born in France, both of Armenian descent.[citation needed]
Stephanie graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University Law School. She is bilingual and speaks English and Japanese.[citation needed]
Career[]
She began singing at a young age. At age 13, she moved to Japan with her family. At 14, Stephanie sent an audio demo tape of her singing to various music productions,[1] and received a response from a Japanese music producer Joe Rinoie. Rinoie was impressed with her singing, and at the age of 19 Stephanie made her major debut in Japan from SME Records (Sony).[1] She achieved the "Best New Artist Award" at the prestigious 49th Japan Record Awards in 2007 and afterwards released two albums.[citation needed]
Her debut single "Kimiga Iru Kagiri" and the follow-up single "Because of You" became the ending themes of the anime Kiss Dum.[citation needed] Her fifth single, “Changin", was also featured as the last ending theme of the anime D.Gray-man. In early 2008, her single "Friends" became the second ending theme for the anime Gundam 00. The song appeared in the Top 10 of Japanese Oricon charts.[citation needed]
As an actress Stephanie debuted in the film Pride in 2009, based on Yukari Ichijo's shōjo comic.[citation needed] She portrayed the protagonist Shio Asami and took part in the film's theme song, "Pride ~A Part of Me~" that featured SRM. Aside from Pride, Stephanie also starred in 2009 in the short film It's All Good which was fully scripted in English. She was cast in 2014 to be in Tokyo Tribe and a short film.[citation needed]
Eurovision[]
In February 2015 she was announced as a member of the music group Genealogy (made up of singers from Armenia and the Armenian diaspora) that represented Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. Stephanie Topalian represents the Asian continent in the formation whereas the Ethiopian Vahe Tilbian represents Africa, the American Tamar Kaprelian the American continent, the French Essaï Altounian the European continent and the Australian Mary-Jean O'Doherty Basmadjian Oceania and Inga Arshakyan Armenia. The super group sang "Face the Shadow", the Armenian entry to the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria. She became an Armenian citizen along with the other foreign members of Genealogy on 28 April 2015 after being given Armenian passports by President Serzh Sargsyan.[2]
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
| Title | Album details | Peak positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon [3] | |||||||||||
| Stephanie (ステファニー) |
|
25 | |||||||||
| Colors of My Voice |
|
102 | |||||||||
| "—" denotes items which did not chart, or were released before the creation of a chart. | |||||||||||
Singles[]
As a lead artist[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon [3] |
JPN Hot 100 [B] | ||||||||||
| "Kimi ga Iru Kagiri" (君がいる限り, "As Long as I Have You") | 2007 | 36 | — | Stephanie | |||||||
| "Because of You" | 50 | — | |||||||||
| "Winter Gold" | 80 | — | |||||||||
| "Friends" (フレンズ, Furenzu) | 2008 | 8 | 7 |
| |||||||
| "Changin’" (featuring ) | 50 | —[C] | Colors of My Voice | ||||||||
| "Pride (A Part of Me)" (featuring SRM) | 2009 | 82 | 63 | ||||||||
| "Future" | 155 | — | |||||||||
| "Towa ni" (永遠に, "Forever") | 2012 | — | — | Non-album singles | |||||||
| "Sakura Zaka" (桜坂, "Cherry Blossom Hill") | — | — | |||||||||
| "Precious Love" | — | — | |||||||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart, or were released before the creation of the Billboard Japan Hot 100 in 2008. | |||||||||||
As a featured artist[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICE [9] | |||||||||||
| "Face the Shadow" (among Genealogy) |
2015 | 47 | Non-album singles | ||||||||
| "The Otherside"[10][11] (Tamar Kaprelian featuring Elhaida Dani, Elina Born, Maria-Elena Kyriakou & Stephanie Topalian) |
— | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart. | |||||||||||
Promotional singles[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPN Hot 100 [B] | |||
| "Beyond Myself" | 2008 | 76 | Stephanie |
Guest appearances[]
| Title | Year | Other artists | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Twister (Kingdom Mix)" | 2012 | Yoko Shimomura | Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance Original Soundtrack |
| "Someday (Kingdom Mix)" | |||
| "Jump Over Yourself (Papapayapa)" | 2013 | Takeharu Ishimoto | Subarashiki Kono Sekai Crossover: Tribute |
| "Calling (Kingdom Mix) (Live Ver.)" | Takeharu Ishimoto, The Death March | ||
| "CHASE" | 2021 | Takeharu Ishimoto | Neo: The World Ends with You Original Soundtrack |
| "Rockin' Rockin'" | |||
| "SCRAMBLE" | |||
| "DIVIDE" | |||
| "Jump Over Yourself" | |||
| "LAST CALL" | |||
| "LITTLE THINGS" |
Notes[]
- ^ Armenian: Ստեֆանի Թոփալյան; Western Armenian: Սթեֆանի Թօփալեան
- ^ Jump up to: a b Sources for chart positions are as follows: "Friends",[4] "Beyond Myself",[5] "Pride (A Part of Me)".[6]
- ^ "Changin'" did not enter the Billboard Japan Hot 100, but peaked at number 48 on the physical Top Single Sales chart.[8]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Shegrikyan, Zaven (March 24, 2015). "Exclusive interview with Stephanie Topalian!". ESC Bubble. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (28 April 2015). "Eurovision Armenia: Genealogy meet the president of Armenia". Esctoday. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "ステファニーの作品" [LISA Products]. Oricon. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
- ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). February 6, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
- ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). March 12, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
- ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). January 21, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
- ^ "有料音楽配信認定 月次認定作品" (in Japanese). RIAJ. July 20, 2017. 2017年6月. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
- ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). July 31, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
- ^ "Netlistinn viku 21, 2015". Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ Wiwibloggs: Tamar Kaprelian releases ESC collaboration "The Otherside"
- ^ iTunes: "The Otherside"
Further reading[]
 | This article has an unclear citation style. (March 2017) |
External links[]
- Official website archive
- Stephanie on SoundCloud
- 1987 births
- Living people
- Singers from Tokyo
- Armenian female singers
- American emigrants to Japan
- American musicians of Armenian descent
- American musicians of Japanese descent
- Armenian pop singers
- Armenian people of American descent
- Citizens of Armenia through descent
- Aoyama Gakuin University alumni
- Japanese female pop singers
- Japanese-language singers
- Singers from Los Angeles
- Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists
- 21st-century American women singers
- Anime musicians
- Singers with a five-octave vocal range
- Japanese people of Armenian descent
- 21st-century American singers
- 21st-century Armenian singers
- 21st-century Japanese singers
- 21st-century American actresses
- 21st-century Armenian actresses
- 21st-century Japanese actresses
- Armenian people of Japanese descent
- Genealogy (band) members
- American women musicians of Japanese descent