ナマイキ (Namaiki)SPEED (JPN)

SPEED (JPN)

SPEED is a four piece Japanese girl group consisting of Hiroko Shimabukuro (島袋寛子), Eriko Imai (今井絵理子), Takako Uehara (上原多香子), and Hitoe Arakaki (新垣仁絵) with the single “Body & Soul” in 1996 with the main vocalists being Hiroko and Eriko; the youngest members at the time were only 13 years of age.

The group would go on to win the Japan Gold Disc Awards such as New Artist of the Year, Pop Album of the Year, and Song of the Year. However, by 2000, the group decided to disband, much to the dismay of loyal fans, but did get together numerous times – twice to release music, and many other times for charity. During their disbandment, the members embarked on solo careers, most notably Hiroko.

On August 20, 2008, the group announced that they would be reuniting permanently, and made their major comeback on November 12, 2008, with the single “あしたの空”, which translates roughly as “Tomorrow’s Sky”.