Nakashima had dreamed of becoming a singer since she was a child. She decided not to attend high school or college, and pursued her dream in a musical career. She was chosen out of three thousand girls as the heroine of the 2001 fall season drama, 傷だらけのラブソング (Kizudarake no Love Song, Scarred Love Song) from Fuji TV Station. In November, she made her sensational debut under Sony Music Associated Records with the song STARS, which was also the theme song of the drama. STARS is Nakashima's best-selling single to date, with sales nearing 470 000 copies since its release in November of 2001.
Her second single, CRESCENT MOON, was limited to only 100 000 copies. Amazingly, it sold out on the first day of its release.
In March of 2002, she released her third single ONE SURVIVE and her first video compilation DVD, FILM LOTUS. In May her fourth single HELPLESS RAIN. In August her fifth single, WILL, was released, tying up sales of over 200 000 copies. She released her first album, TRUE, in August of 2002. TRUE peaked at #1 on the Oricon 200 Album Chart in Japan, and has sold 1,174,000 copies since its release.
In 2003, she released five singles, 愛してる (Aishiteru, I Love You), Love Addict, 接吻 (Seppun, Kiss), FIND THE WAY and 雪の華 (Yuki no Hana, Flowers of Snow), a mini-album, RESISTANCE, and a full-length album, LOVE. LOVE went on to sell over 1.5 million copies, surpassing the sales of her debut.
During the next two years, Nakashima released another five singles: SEVEN, 火の鳥 (Hi no Tori, Phoenix), LEGEND, 桜色舞うころ (Sakura Iro Mau Koro, When the Colors of Cherry Blossoms Flutter), and ひとり (Hitori, Alone). She also released another mini-album, 朧月夜～祈り (Oborodzukiyo～Inori, A Misty, Moon-lit Night ～ Prayer), and her third full-length album, MUSIC. Her compilation album BEST, which was released in December 2005, surpassed the 1.2 million sales mark, and is the second best-selling album in Mika's career after LOVE.
Nakashima was chosen to play one pf the main roles in the live-action movie NANA in 2005, and also sang its theme song, GLAMOROUS SKY under the name NANA starring MIKA NAKASHIMA.
In December of 2006, Nakashima released 一色 (Hito Iro, A Single Color) for the NANA 2 movie under the name NANA starring MIKA NAKASHIMA, as well as a NANA album titled THE END, which marked the conclusion of her association with NANA.
Nakashima released another five singles, CRY NO MORE, ALL HANDS TOGETHER, MY SUGAR CAT, 見えない星 (Mienai Hoshi, A Star that Can't Be Seen), and 素直なまま (Sunao Mama, Gentle Ways). that led up to the release of her fourth album in 2007, YES.
During the last part of 2007 and during 2008, Nakashima released five singles, LIFE, 永遠の詩 (Eien no Uta, Song of Eternity), SAKURA ～花霞～ (SAKURA ～Hanagasumi～, SAKURA ～Mist of Flowers～, I DON'T KNOW, which was a collaboration with the comedy group 森三中 and released under the artist name MICA 3 CHU (pronounced Mika San Chū), and ORION. She then released her fifth album in November of 2008, entitled VOICE.
In the current era, which began in March of 2009 with the release of the compilation album NO MORE RULES., Nakashima has released two singles entitled Over Load and CANDY GIRL. The single 流れ星 (Nagare Boshi, Shooting Star) will be released on November 4th, and the single ALWAYS will be released in January of 2010.
Nakashima is known to make cover versions of English songs, such as AMAZING GRACE, THE ROSE, WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD and YOU'D BE SO NICE TO COME HOME TO.
Apart from singing and sometimes modeling, Nakashima has been involved in several commercial campaigns, including KANEBO Cosmetics 「KATE」, Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd. 「BODA」「GALBO」「FRAN」, SONY 「Hi-MD Walkman」, and ROHTO 「ROHTO Zi:φ」.
Official Website: www.mikanakashima.com
LIFE
中島美嘉 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
誰もが知らない振りしてた
もうすべて終わってしまえばいいと思ってた
ああ 降り止まない雨の中
何も言わず そっと君が差しのべた
その手が「勇気」と知ったよ
ぼくたちは息を切らして向かう
ずっと長い間生きてきた気がするけれど
まだ届かなくて
ねえ もしも痛みがこの胸の奥に満ちていても
綺麗なものを「きれい」と言えたらいいのに
きみは他の誰かじゃなくきみのままで
迷いつづけた記憶を大事に両手で抱きしめ
目の前に広がる世界に
意味のないものはひとつもなくて
今駆け抜ける日々 ぼくたちは想い出すだろう
いつの日にかきっと
心開き 命は歌う
Oh Life Oh Life
生きるために 生きていくの
For Life
果てしなく遠い明日へ
ぼくたちは息を切らして向かう
ずっと長い間生きてきた気がするけれど
まだ届かなくて
目の前に広がる世界に
意味のないものはひとつもなくて
今駆け抜ける日々 ぼくたちは想い出すだろう
いつの日にかきっと
果てしなく遠い明日へ
ぼくたちは息を切らして向かう
白い光の中 輝きに満ちた朝が
きっと 待ってるから
The song LIFE by Nakashima Mika is about the journey of life and the struggles and challenges we face on this journey. The beginning of the song mentions that despite realizing that something may be wrong, people still try to pretend that everything is okay. The singer of the song had believed that everything would be okay if it all just ended. However, someone showed her compassion in the midst of a never-ending storm. This person gave her the courage to keep going.
The song talks about a distant tomorrow and the long journey that we must take to get there. The singer feels as though she has been living for a long time but has yet to reach her destination. She wishes that even if she had pain in her heart, she could still appreciate the beauty of life. The song then goes on to encourage the listener to embrace who they are and to hold onto their memories, no matter how painful or confusing they may be. The song concludes by stating that in the endless distance of tomorrow, the singer and her listeners will continue to journey towards the bright and shining morning that awaits them.
Line by Line Meaning
そう 気付いてたのに
I realized it, but I pretended not to know.
誰もが知らない振りしてた
I acted as if no one knew about it.
もうすべて終わってしまえばいいと思ってた
I thought it would be better if everything just ended.
ああ 降り止まない雨の中
Oh, in the never-ending rain,
何も言わず そっと君が差しのべた
You silently reached out to me without saying anything.
その手が「勇気」と知ったよ
I knew that hand was offering me courage.
果てしなく遠い明日へ
Toward the endlessly faraway tomorrow,
ぼくたちは息を切らして向かう
We're running out of breath as we head there.
ずっと長い間生きてきた気がするけれど
It feels like we've been living for a long time already,
まだ届かなくて
But we still haven't arrived.
ねえ もしも痛みがこの胸の奥に満ちていても
Hey, even if the pain fills up my chest,
綺麗なものを「きれい」と言えたらいいのに
I wish I could call beautiful things 'beautiful'.
きみは他の誰かじゃなくきみのままで
You're not someone else, but still uniquely yourself,
迷いつづけた記憶を大事に両手で抱きしめ
Holding precious the memories of when we kept wandering.
目の前に広がる世界に
In the world spreading before us,
意味のないものはひとつもなくて
There isn't a single meaningless thing.
今駆け抜ける日々 ぼくたちは想い出すだろう
We'll surely remember these days we're running through right now,
いつの日にかきっと
Someday for sure.
心開き 命は歌う
With an open heart, life sings.
Oh Life Oh Life
Oh life, oh life.
生きるために 生きていくの
Living to keep on living.
For Life
For life.
白い光の中 輝きに満ちた朝が
In the white light, the morning filled with radiance
きっと 待ってるから
Surely awaits us.
Contributed by Chase G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.