Konomi Suzuki

Suzuki was born in Osaka, Japan on November 5, 1996, as the youngest of three children. She began aspiring to become a singer at a young age, taking dance lessons with the encouragement of her mother, and participating in singing competitions by the age of six.[1][2] After being inspired in high school by the character Sheryl Nome from the anime series Macross Frontier, she decided that she wanted to become an anison singer.[3] She applied for the Animax All-Japan Anisong Grand Prix in 2010 but failed to qualify.[2]

Suzuki started her musical career after winning the Animax All-Japan Anisong Grand Prix in 2011.[4] Her first single "Choir Jail" was released on April 25, 2012; the title track was used as the opening theme to the 2012 anime television series Dusk Maiden of Amnesia.[5] She also made a voice acting cameo during the series' fifth episode.[6] "Choir Jail" peaked at number 34 on the Oricon weekly charts and charted for nine weeks.[7] Her second single, "Days of Dash", was released on November 21, 2012; the title track was used as the first ending theme to the anime television series The Pet Girl of Sakurasou.[8] She made her first appearance at Animelo Summer Live in August 2012,[9] and at Animax Musix in November 2012.[10] Her third single "Yume no Tsuzuki" (夢の続き) was released on February 27, 2013; the title track was used as the second opening theme to The Pet Girl of Sakurasou.[11] Her fourth single, "Watashi ga Motenai no wa dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!/Tears Breaker" (私がモテないのはどう考えてもお前らが悪い!/TEARS BREAKER), a collaboration with the band Kiba of Akiba, was released on August 28, 2013; the first title track was used as the opening theme to the 2013 anime television series No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!,[12] while the second title track was used in an animated promotional video for the trading card game Ange Vierge.[13] Her fifth single "Avenge World/Sekai wa Kizu o Dakishimeru" (AVENGE WORLD／世界は疵を抱きしめる) was released on November 27, 2013; the first title track was used as the opening theme to the anime television series Freezing Vibration, and the second title track was used as the series' ending theme.[14]

Suzuki released her first album 17 in February 2014.[15] Her sixth single "This Game" was released on May 21, 2014; the title track was used as the opening theme to No Game No Life.[16] Her seventh single "Ginsen no Kaze" (銀閃の風) was released on November 19, 2014; the song was used as the opening theme to Lord Marksman and Vanadis.[17] Her eighth single "Absolute Soul" was released on February 18, 2015; the song was used as the opening theme to Absolute Duo.[17] She released her second album 18: Colorful Gift in March 2015,[18] and a mini-album titled 18: More in October 2015.[19] She transferred to the talent agency Amuleto in January 2016.[2] Her ninth single "Beat Your Heart" was released on January 27, 2016; the song was used as the opening theme to BBK/BRNK.[20] Her tenth single "Redo" was released on May 11, 2016; the song was used as the first opening theme to Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World.[21] Her eleventh single "Love is My Rail" was released on August 3, 2016; the song was used as the opening theme to anime adaptation of Ange Vierge.[22]

Her twelfth single "Chaos Syndrome" was released on February 22, 2017; the song was used as the ending theme to Chaos;Child.[23] Suzuki made an appearance at Anime Festival Asia in Singapore in November 2016.[24] During a birthday live held at Makuhari Messe on November 5, 2016, it was announced that she will make her voice acting debut as the heroine of the anime series Lost Song, a new anime project produced by Mages.[25][26]

Suzuki released her third album Lead on March 8, 2017,[27] and her thirteenth single "Blow Out" was released on May 24, 2017; the title track was used as the opening theme to the 2017 anime television series Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor.[28] She made an appearance at Anime Expo in Los Angeles in July 2017,[17] and at Germany's AnimagiC anime convention in August 2017.[29] Her song "There is a Reason" was used as the theme song for anime film No Game No Life Zero; the song was included on the album "No Song No Life" on July 12, 2017.[30] She appeared at Anime Festival Asia Indonesia in August 2017,[31] Cosplay Mania in the Philippines in October 2017,[32] and Anime Festival Asia Singapore in November 2017.[33] She released a compilation album titled Life of Dash on December 20, 2017.[34] Her fourteenth single "Utaeba Soko ni Kimi ga Iru Kara" (歌えばそこに君がいるから, If I Sing, You Will Be There), which was released on May 23, 2018, was used as the opening theme to Lost Song.[35] She returned to AnimagiC during the event's 2018 iteration.[36] She also appeared at Asia Comic Con in Bangkok,[37] and at Penang Anime Matsuri in Malaysia.[38] Her fifteenth single "Ao no Kanata" (蒼の彼方, Beyond the Blue) was released on October 24, 2018; the title song was used as the ending theme to the anime series Between the Sky and Sea[39] and features Suzuki playing guitar.[40] She performed at New York's Anime NYC event in November 2018, and at Ressaca Friends in São Paulo, Brazil in December 2018.[41][42] Her song "Anubis" was used in the video game Robotics;Notes DaSH.[43] Her sixteenth single "Shinri no Kagami, Ken no Yō ni" (真理の鏡、剣乃ように, Mirror of Truth, Like a Sword) was released on May 8, 2019;[44] the title track is used as the ending theme to the anime series YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World.[45] She made an appearance at SMASH! in Sydney, Australia in July 2019.[46][47] She went on an Asian tour in the second half of 2019, with performances in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.[48] She released her fourth album Shake Up! on November 6, 2019.[49][50]

In January 2020, Suzuki's management announced that she had transferred to the talent agency Double Digital, a newly formed subsidiary of internet company CyberAgent.[51] She released her seventeenth single "Theater of Life" on July 29, 2020; the song is used as the opening theme to the anime series Deca-Dence.[52] She released her eighteenth single "Realize" on August 26, 2020; the title song is used as the opening theme to the second season of Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World.[upper-alpha 1][53] Her nineteenth single "Maioritekita Yuki" (舞い降りてきた雪) was released on September 2, 2020;[54] the title song is used as the ending theme of the anime series Mr Love: Queen's Choice.[55] In October 2020, Suzuki announced she will go on a hiatus in December 2020 for vocal cord surgery.[56]

In an interview with Anime News Network, Suzuki listed One Direction and Avril Lavigne as among her favorite Western artists, and considers the character Sheryl Nome (voiced by May'n) from Macross Frontier as her inspiration for entering the anison industry. She described how, although she was already determined to become a singer, the voice of Sheryl, which Suzuki describes as "really special, crystal clear, yet powerful enough", gave her chills and influenced her to perform music for anime. She described how excited she was performing in front of crowds shortly after her debut. She describes the song "Love Is My Rail" as the song which encouraged her to continue pursuing her dream of being a singer.[3]

In an interview with Real Sound, Suzuki related her experiences working on her single "Redo". She describes the title song as difficult but fun and exciting to sing live. Having watched Re:Zero, she thought about the series' world view and the character Subaru, and sang the song to fit that worldview. She wanted to put "50% of the anime's worldview" and "50% her own feelings" into the song. She describes the single's coupling song "Moebius" as stemming from a policy where she was not to lie to anyone, and how she reflected on that four years after her debut. She mentioned how the song represents that she wants to establish a relationship of trust with her fans.[2] In an interview with Eplus, she mentions that the name of her 20th birthday live, "Cheers", is meant to convey a message of "thank you" to the people who had supported her career up to that point.[57]

In an interview with Diga Online, Suzuki described the production of her album Lead and single "Blow Out". She described how difficult life was as a high school student while she was focusing on her music career. Following her graduation from high school and entering university, she felt that she had made many sacrifices for her career. The title of the album came from the idea that she had become a new person after her concert during her 20th birthday, as she wanted to "lead everyone" through her songs. The song "My Shining Ray" was written to represent a big star that would that would lead people; she also described her experience singing the song as feeling like she was spreading wings. While singing the song "Redo" for Re:Zero, she considered it fun to sing as it "was completely different from herself". She describes "Blow Out" as a song about blowing away negative feelings.[58]

In her Anime NYC 2018 interview with Arama! Japan, Suzuki stated that as she grows older, "I’m able to express my feelings more freely and show my true self without holding back. I’ve always had fun performing live, but the ability to fully be myself on stage has allowed me to enjoy my live shows even more."[40]

• Official blog (in Japanese)
• Official website (in Japanese)
• Official agency profile (in Japanese)
• Konomi Suzuki at Anime News Network's encyclopedia