Sowelu, born
Aki Harada (原田亜希,
harada aki?), is a
J-pop singer. She was born on
November 6,
1982 in
Tokyo to a
Japanese father and a half-
Irish half-Japanese mother. Her career started in
2002 with the release of her first single
Beautiful Dreamer, a soft love ballad which did very well in the charts, and was later featured on the
Relaxin’ with Japanese Lovers compilation album. Her first single was modestly successful, and it wasn't until the release of her album
Geofu in the summer of
2003 that she gained recognition.
Geofu did exceptionally well in the charts, scoring a number 4 position with more than 300,000 copies sold. Her first single after
Geofu, "Rainbow" was used as the theme song for the Japanese drama
Netsuretsuteki Chukahanten, and the other A-side song on that single, "breath ~Omoi no Youryou~" was used for the national promotion campaign of JFN Radio. She performs under
Sony Music Japan's
DEFStar records label.