MIO

MIQ (三玖, Miku, born October 3, 1955), previously known as MIO, is a Japanese pop singer and vocal trainer from Minato, Tokyo. She is known for her performances on the soundtracks of various anime, notably the theme songs of Sunrise's Aura Battler Dunbine and Heavy Metal L-Gaim. The throaty, soulful timbre of her voice was uncharacteristic of Japanese vocalists of the 1980s (although it has become more commonplace today). MIQ has listed Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, and Chaka Khan as influences on her vocal style. Her vocal delivery was a major reason she was signed to a contract with King Records. She is also fairly fluent in English as is evident by her English renditions of "Dunbine Tobu" and "Time for L-Gaim" and noted by fellow anime theme singer Ichirou Mizuki at ANIME JAPAN FES IN HK 2007 in Hong Kong.