Chieco formerly modeled for the popular fashion magazine Love Berry. Love Berry announced in April, 2005 that Chieco would be departing from the magazine. Chieco debuted as an actress in the 1999 Fuji Television drama Kyuukyuu♡Chiryoushitsu. She debuted as a singer on March 28th, 2004 with the single be your girl that was used as the ending theme for the anime Elfen Lied. She released her first album, brilliance, on March 16th, 2005.
Chieco is best known for her participation in the musical and live-action adaptions of Sailor Moon. At the age of 12, Kawabe began playing Mizuno Ami/Sailor Mercury in the Sailor Moon musicals. She performed from 2000 to 2002. She later appeared in the live-action adaptation of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon as Osaka Naru.
Before her debut as a solo artist, Chieco and fellow model Oda Mizuho to form 156P and released a CD single titled 15 no Blues.
Chieco's latest single is 桜キッス (Sakura Kiss), which is the theme song to the popular anime Ouran High School Host Club, making the single to be her best selling release yet. After "Sakura Kiss" Kawabe began studying English. Several of her blogs became bilingual, reflecting her progress. She also signed with the cuedrop agency and started her current blog called "CHIECO LABO." After her first blog was moved Kawabe began a separate English progress blog in early 2007. The final post was on December 24, 2007 with the entry announcing her "graduation" and how she would no longer update her English progress blog.
Kawabe's current activities include being a radio host on shows such as Countdown Japan and actively posting in two blogs: one about food called "Kawabe Chieco no Oichi Restaurant," and her blog with her agency "CHIECO LABO." Kawabe also is involved as an instructor at an exercise salon called Studio Body Design, backed by her agency cuedrop. It is unknown whether Kawabe will continue her singing career, though in recent months she posted new modeling images of herself on her blog.
As of February 24, 2009 (her 22nd birthday) she formally began to use the name "Chieko Ochi."
Leave Me Alone
河辺千恵子 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
よく理解らないけど、定めたらキュークツでしょ。
「みんながそうだから」みんなって誰と誰？
世界中見渡せばズレた考えもしたくなる。
さまよう街飛び交う声 馴染めなくて
過去に頼ったまま走り続けてた
ほんとの自分をずっと探してたのかな
Leave me alone
吸えないくらい息を吸えば
重い悩みも細胞の1コに過ぎないね
Leave me alone
恥ずかしいほど涙が出る
残したくないせっかく待ってる明日の為
"何かが違う" 気付いたら
"何ができるか" 目を閉じて
「出来ないに決まってる」やる前に決めていいの？
小さな可能性も見方に出来たら強い
「どうせ関係ない」それって損じゃない？
フタを開けてみれば意外な世界覗けるのに。
過ぎ去ってく繰り返しじゃ味気なくて
見失いかけた自分の存在確かめてみたよ
きっとまだ間に合うはず
Leave me alone
笑えるくらい背伸びしたら
高い未来に手が届くような気がするよ
Leave me alone
恥ずかしいほど涙が出る
残したくないせっかく待ってる明日の為
Leave me alone
吸えないくらい息を吸えば
重い悩みも細胞の1コに過ぎないね
Leave me alone
恥ずかしいほど涙が出る
残したくないせっかく待ってる明日の為
"何かが違う" 気付いたら
"何かできるよ" 顔上げて
In these lyrics, the singer is questioning the standards that society places on young girls. She doesn't understand the criteria for what is considered "not like a girl." She believes that these standards are arbitrary and therefore arbitrary rules can make people uncomfortable with themselves. The singer asks, "Who decides what is 'girly' or not?" She thinks that societal norms are limiting and that they should be questioned. She goes on to describe the confusing world around her, where it's hard to stay grounded in one's own identity. She's felt lost and unsure of herself, and is probably searching for meaning or purpose in her life. She urges people to leave her alone, in order to find herself, and explains that by taking a deep breath, she can put her problems into perspective. She is at a point where she is starting to notice that something is wrong, and has no idea what to do about it. She closes with the optimistic statement, "If something is wrong, we can do something about it."
Line by Line Meaning
「女の子らしくない」それの基準って何？
What defines being 'unladylike' anyways?
よく理解らないけど、定めたらキュークツでしょ。
Even if I don't fully understand, shouldn't imposing such a standard be suffocating?
「みんながそうだから」みんなって誰と誰？
Who exactly makes up this group of 'everyone'?
世界中見渡せばズレた考えもしたくなる。
If you look at the world as a whole, you might start to question some of these norms.
さまよう街飛び交う声 馴染めなくて
Aimlessly wandering through a city with voices I can't seem to connect to.
過去に頼ったまま走り続けてた
Continuing to run forward, relying on my past experiences.
ほんとの自分をずっと探してたのかな
Have I been searching for my true self all along?
Leave me alone
Just leave me be.
吸えないくらい息を吸えば
If I take a deep enough breath that I can't inhale anymore,
重い悩みも細胞の1コに過ぎないね
Even the heaviest of concerns only amount to a single cell in my body.
恥ずかしいほど涙が出る
I cry so much it's embarrassing.
残したくないせっかく待ってる明日の為
But I don't want to leave them behind, for the sake of tomorrow that we've all anticipated for so long.
「何かが違う」気付いたら
If I realize that 'something is off'
「何ができるか」目を閉じて
I'll close my eyes and ask myself 'What can I do?'
「出来ないに決まってる」やる前に決めていいの？
Is it okay to decide on not being able to do something before even giving it a try?
小さな可能性も見方に出来たら強い
It's empowering to be able to see the potential in even the smallest things.
「どうせ関係ない」それって損じゃない？
But if you brush something off as 'irrelevant', aren't you missing out on something?
フタを開けてみれば意外な世界覗けるのに。
If you open your eyes, you might catch a glimpse of an unexpected world.
過ぎ去ってく繰り返しじゃ味気なくて
Repeating the same cycle over and over again gets tiring.
見失いかけた自分の存在確かめてみたよ
So I tried to reaffirm my own existence, which I felt slipping away from me.
きっとまだ間に合うはず
Surely it's never too late.
笑えるくらい背伸びしたら
If I reach up so high I can laugh and feel almost embarrassed,
高い未来に手が届くような気がするよ
I feel like I can reach for an even brighter future.
「何かが違う」気付いたら
If I realize that 'something is off'
「何かできるよ」顔上げて
I'll look up and say to myself, 'I can do something about it.'
Contributed by Evan J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.