Japanese singer-songwriter Mari Iijima was born on May 18, 1963 in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki. She recorded a demo tape in the early 1980s, which found its way to JVC Victor, resulting in a record deal. She was also picked to play the role of Lynn Minmay in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, propelling her to stardom after the series became a giant hit. In 1983, she released her debut album Rosé, composed entirely of songs written and performed by her. It debuted at number 10 on the charts, kicking off an illustrious music career. This was followed by albums such as Blanche (1984) and Coquettish Blue (1987). In 1989, Mari Iijima moved to Los Angeles to expand her music career. She appeared as a guest singer on Van Dyke Parks' 1989 album Tokyo Rose. The 1990s saw a string of releases such as Love Season (1994) and Europe (1997). Her 1999 album No Limit was her first English-language release, leading to a nomination for Best Pop Artist at the Los Angeles Music Awards the following year. Her song "Unspoken Love," from the 2004 album Wonderful People, won the Best Asian Song award at the Just Plain Folks Awards in 2006. She continued her voice-over career, reprising her role as Lynn Minmay for the English-language release of Macross. Mari Iijima has had several notable releases in the 2010s and beyond, such as Sharp As a Knife, As Sweet As Strawberries (2014) and Being Myself (2022). In 2023, she released the career-spanning compilation All Time Best Album.
