Kahala Tomomi (華原朋美), born Shimogawara Tomomi (下河原朋美), on August 17, 1974 i… Read Full Bio ↴Kahala Tomomi (華原朋美), born Shimogawara Tomomi (下河原朋美), on August 17, 1974 in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese vocalist, songwriter, model, and actress. Debuting with a Eurodance style with the 1995 single, "keep yourself alive", similar to then-peer Amuro Namie, she is famous for working with Tetsuya Komuro (小室哲哉). Komuro gave her much success in the 1990s with her first two albums, "LOVE BRACE", and "storytelling", both of which sold over a million copies and skyrocketed Kahala to idol status.

She and Komuro became lovers, however, it was not meant to be, as much gossip surrounded the couple in the late 90s, including rumors of drug abuse and hard partying went rampant in Japanese tabloids. In 1999, she released her first non-TK produced album, "One Fine Day". She continued to release music, but she never quite reached the mainstream success she once had. During this period, she also made two adult photobooks (both of which sold quite well) and acted in musicals touring all over Japan.

In 2007, Tomomi was fired from her talent agency, who cited "unreliability" and "health problems" as main factors contributing to her leave. In January 2009, Kahala was hospitalized for tranquilizer abuse. As of 2010, it was unclear whether or not Tomomi will return to the music industry - however, Kahala made her return in 2012 with a much-talked about performance on Japanese television of her classic, "I'm proud". In 2013, she released her first single in seven years, a cover of the Les Misérables standard, "I Dreamed a Dream". It reached 13 on the Oricon charts, marking her first single to hit the top 20 in 9 years.