Japanese singer Hiromi Kanda was born in Nagasaki and raised there and in Osaka; she started singing at the age of three. At 19, she was signed to a Japanese record label and released an album, but then focused on writing lyrics instead of performing. Later, she returned to singing by performing pre-rock standards from the Great American Songbook, resulting in the album Hiromi in Love, featuring compositions by Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Rodger & Hart, among others, which was released by Music Gate on March 16, 2010. ~ William Ruhlmann