After quietly releasing a couple of singles under a stage name in 2005, Osaka songstress Aya Kamiki joined the successful Giza studio, quickly catapulting herself into the forefront of the J-Pop world with a particularly strong voice, used as accentuation throughout her first singles, "Communication Break" and "Pierrot." Based in punk but also incorporating elements of R&B and straightforward pop, Kamiki gained popularity for eschewing the standard sugary vocals of the average J-Pop singer, as well as the ballads and love songs of the upcoming J-Urban movements. Instead, she positioned herself as a powerful, independent woman, using a basic backing band to reinforce the musical identity of a rocker. With her first full-length album, Secret Code, in 2006 Kamiki quickly found her way to the number five slot on the Oricon charts. 2008's Are You Happy Now? similarly debuted in the Top 10. ~ Adam Greenberg, Rovi