She is a singer-songwriter, who is completely bilingual in English and Japanese because she was raised in Japan but moved to Hawaii at the age of fifteen where she graduated from Iolani School. From there, she moved on to George Washington University where she graduated with majors in politics and music.
She originally released an indie album in the United States in 2000, called These Words, which received much critical acclaim. In 2002, she composed two tracks for Let It Fall by Dianne Eclar, a teenage pop singer from the Philippines. In 2005, in Japan, she released an indie mini-album under Virgo Music entitled One, which alerted 植松伸夫 (Nobuo Uematsu) to her music. Angela Aki is now signed under Sony Music Associated Records Inc. . In 2005 she was announced as the singer of the FINAL FANTASY XII theme song, "Kiss Me Good-Bye".
On March 9, 2007, she revealed in her official blog that she is married to a music director who has been supporting her before her debut. She also revealed that while she was in Washington D.C., she had married once before but the marriage ended in a divorce.
She is good friends with JPOP star 伊藤由奈. Both singers attended the same Japanese language school.
Angela Aki is the daughter of Kiyoshi Aki, the owner/co-founder of AEON Institute of Language Education. This is one of the "Big Four" Eikaiwa (English conversation) schools in Japan.
In May 2006, Angela signed with Tofu Records in order to release English singles and albums. Her first release with Tofu was releasing Kiss Me Good-Bye as a digital single in the USA with a slightly altered track list. Later that month she performed the FINAL FANTASY XII theme song, "Kiss Me Good-Bye" at the premiere PLAY! A Video Game Symphony concert in Chicago on May 27, 2006. With orchestral backup, she played piano and sang the English lyrics, which she had written herself. She also performed her own version of "Eyes On Me," the theme song of FINAL FANTASY VIII with only the piano and her voice.
On Aki's blog, dated March 9, 2007, she announced her marriage to Japanese music producer, Hide Sanjougi. She also mentioned that it will be the second marriage for her. Her first marriage was to engineer, producer, and artist Tony Alany who coproduced her first album in Vienna, VA.
On November 29, 2013, Aki announced on her blog that she would be taking an indefinite hiatus beginning in the fall of 2014, stopping her music activities in Japan in order to attend school in the United States and study music. The subsequent TAPESTRY OF SONGS -THE BEST OF ANGELA AKI compilation and "アンジェラ・アキ Concert Tour 2014 TAPESTRY OF SONGS -THE BEST OF ANGELA AKI" tour are her final respective events prior to this hiatus.
Final Destination
Angela Aki Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
憂鬱な顔でハンドル握ってドライブしている
勝つ事ばかりに集中しすぎて
戦う意味すら忘れてしまった
忘れていたの
叶えたい夢があって目的地へ走っている
努力をハイオク満タンで
目指している my final destination
Final destination
仕事の都合で離れて暮らす
(so far away)
二人の間に忍び込む不安に負けてたまるか！
あなたのそばにいたくて長距離を走っている
夜の高速 星のトンネルくぐればたどり着く
あなたの腕の中が my final destination
Driving forward to my final destination
No matter how far or how long,
whether it’s right or wrong
I belong in your arms
あなたのそばにいたくて長距離を走っている
叶えたい夢があって目的地へ走っている
才能だけじゃタンクは足りない
努力をハイオク満タンで
目指している
あなたのそばにいたくて長距離を走り続ける
夜の高速 星のトンネルくぐればたどり着く
あなたの腕の中が my final destination
The lyrics tell a story of a person driving alone with a sad expression on their face on a cloudy day. They had become too focused on winning, forgetting the meaning of the battle. But they had a dream to reach their final destination and were driving with a full tank of effort, not just talent. The distance between them and their loved one was far, but this person would not let their anxiety win as they drove through the tunnel of stars on the night highway with the hope of reaching their loved one's arms. The final destination was not just a physical place but the person's ultimate goal in life.
The first verse creates imagery of the character driving with a sad face on a cloudy day. The use of the sky setting creates a sense of melancholy in the listener. The lyrics suggest that the character may have lost their way, focusing only on winning and forgetting the meaning of the battle. However, they have a dream, and that dream is their goal, their final destination. The second verse describes the long-distance journey, with the character driving all night, braving the tunnel of stars with the hope of being reunited with their loved one. The chorus reiterates their strong desire to be with their loved one, as it is their final destination.
Line by Line Meaning
曇ってる空に似合うほどの 憂鬱な顔でハンドル握ってドライブしている
Driving with a gloomy face that matches the cloudy sky
勝つ事ばかりに集中しすぎて 戦う意味すら忘れてしまった 忘れていたの
Too focused on winning that I forgot the meaning of fighting
叶えたい夢があって目的地へ走っている 才能だけじゃタンクは足りない 努力をハイオク満タンで 目指している my final destination Final destination
Running towards the destination where my dream comes true, fueled by both talent and hard work, aiming for my final destination
仕事の都合で離れて暮らす (so far away) 二人の間に忍び込む不安に負けてたまるか！
Living apart due to work (so far away), but refusing to let anxiety creep into our relationship
あなたのそばにいたくて長距離を走っている 夜の高速 星のトンネルくぐればたどり着く あなたの腕の中が my final destination Driving forward to my final destination No matter how far or how long, whether it’s right or wrong I belong in your arms
Driving a long distance just to be by your side, knowing that I'll reach my final destination in your loving embrace, believing that is where I belong no matter what
あなたのそばにいたくて長距離を走っている 叶えたい夢があって目的地へ走っている 才能だけじゃタンクは足りない 努力をハイオク満タンで 目指している あなたのそばにいたくて長距離を走り続ける 夜の高速 星のトンネルくぐればたどり着く あなたの腕の中が my final destination
Driving a long distance to be with you, driven by both my dream and my determination to be my best self, fueled by hard work and passion, continuing on this path towards my final destination in your loving arms
Contributed by Dominic K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.