Double

Stage Name:Double
Birth name :平澤貴子
Born:March 14, 1975
Origin:Niigata, Japan
Genres:R&B
Years active :1998-Present
Labels:For Life Music Entertainment

Double (stylized as DOUBLE) is the stage name for Japanese R&B singer Takako Hirasawa (平澤貴子, Hirasawa Takako) (born March 14, 1975). Double used to be the name for the two member R&B group consiting of Takako and her sister Sachiko. After the death of her sister in May 1999, Takako started her solo career adopting Double as her stage name.Double has been titled as the "Queen of R&B" and is considered to be a pioneer for being the first artist to bring American-style R&B to Japan and laying the path for artists such as, Ai, Namie Amuro and Kumi Koda

Early life and musical interest

Double was born in Niigata, Japan. After her older sister came back from a trip to America, Double and her older sister, Sachiko Hirasawa (平澤幸子, Hirasawa Sachiko) decided to enter the music business as R&B artists.Double originally thought her career would be in the beauty industry as a makeup artist or hairdresser, if she did not pursue a career as a singer.
Music career
On February 4, 1998, Double made her debut as a duo, with sister Sachiko Hirasawa. They released the single, "For Me", which debuted on the Oricon at #89.They released three more singles, "Desire", "Bed" (both 1998) and "Shake" (1999). "Shake" was the duo's first and last highest charting single, peaking at #21 on the Oricon chart as "Desire" failed to chart on the Oricon and "Bed" reach the same position as their debut single.Before the release of their debut album Crystal, Sachiko died from a brain hemorrhage. In June, Crystal was released and made its debut on the Oricon at #2.

After the death of her sister, Double went on a hiatus and returned to the music industry in June 2000. Retaining the stage name, Double released her first solo single, "U", which came in at #29 on the charts.She released one more single, Angel, before releasing her eponymous debut solo album, Double, which peaked #13 on the Oricon album chart.Double later release an English version of the album, Double (Eng Ver.), which debuted at #30 on the Oricon.

To commemorate her tenth anniversary, Double released her first greatest hits album, 10 Years Best We R&B, which debuted at #2 on the charts.Double also released her first collaboration album, The Best Collaborations, which like her previous album debuted at #2 on the charts selling 63,413 in its first week.The album featured a new song, "Black Diamond", with the "Queen of Hip-Pop" Namie Amuro.