Maki Goto

Maki Goto (後藤真希 Gotō Maki?, born September 23, 1985) is a Japanese singer, lyricist, and former actress. Born and raised in Edogawa, Tokyo, Goto began her musical career in 1999 when she joined Morning Musume as the only third generation member. Her first single with the group, “Love Machine”, topped the Oricon singles charts and sold over a million copies. Goto was the lead vocalist of the group up until her graduation from the group in 2002. While still a member of Morning Musume, Goto released her debut solo single, “Ai no Bakayarō”, in 2001, which topped the Oricon charts. In 2003 she released her debut album, Makking Gold 1, which debuted at number four on the Oricon album charts. In 2007, at her G-Emotion II: How to Use Sexy concert, Goto announced that she was graduating from Hello! Project. In 2008, Goto signed with Avex Group sub-label Rhythm Zone and returned to the music scene at A-nation ’08. In 2009, under the stage name Sweet Black feat. Maki Goto, she released her debut mini-album Sweet Black. Goto transferred to Avex Trax in 2010 and released her second mini-album, One, which marked her official comeback as a singer. Goto released her second mini album, “One”, on July 28, 2010. This album and on she had begun to use her actual name rather than her “Sweet Black” stage name. As promotion for this release, Goto appeared on several Television shows. One particular show, Kinyoubi no Suma tachi e, aired a 2-hour special on her life and included interviews with Goto as well as a performance of one of her new songs, 華詩-hanauta-, written for her mother. This episode reached 19.3% ratings for the show, making it the most watched program of the day. She released her Third Mini album “LOVE” on May 5, 2011. On June 22, 2011, Maki announced on her official website that she will take an indefinite hiatus from the beginning of 2012. While she is currently on hiatus, she had appeared in several magazines. On March 10, 2012, Maki joined Dream Morning Musume and former band mates Aya Ishiguro and Nozomi Tsuji as special guests. Unlike Ishiguro and Tsuji, her presence was not announced and thus a surprise. She had performed a medley of Petitmoni songs as well as as The Peace. Mari Yaguchi, her former bandmate, calls her “the Kumi Koda of Hello! Project”