石井明美

Akemi Ishii (Japanese: 石井明美; born 26 August 1965) is a Japanese singer, best known for the song "CHA-CHA-CHA". Born in Tateyama, after graduating from high school, Ishii moved to Tokio, working in a beauty salon in Ginza and in a snack bar in Roppongi, where she was scouted by a talent agent. Put under contract in April 1986, she made her record debut four months later with "CHA-CHA-CHA", a cover of the Italo disco song with the same name by Finzy Contini. The song was chosen as theme song of the TBS drama series Seven Men and Women and became a major success, ranking first on the Oricon Chart and selling over 800,000 copies. The same year, she received the Award for Best New Artist at the Japan Record Awards. In 1990, Ishii had another major hit with "Lambada", a cover of Los Kjarkas' "Llorando se fue". The same year, she got married and retired. She divorced in 1993, and came back to the music business with "あなたらしくいて", the theme song for Nippon Television series Tuesday Suspense Theater. Studio albums Mona Lisa (Sony, 1986) Joy (Sony, 1987) Fanatique (CBS/Sony, 1988) 熱帯夜 / Brazilian Night (CBS/Sony, 1990 ) Colors (Beatsista, 2011) "「男女７人夏物語」主題歌ヒットの大誤算　石井明美さん - 朝日新聞デジタル＆Ｍ". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-01-23. Retrieved 30 October 2025. "美女ざんまい". Shukan Jitsuwa. 1 September 2022. pp. 102-103. "第28回日本レコード大賞". Japan Composer's Association (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 October 2025. "「夜霧のハウスマヌカン」元案にそれだけはイヤ… やや語る再スタートと「ランバダ」では「3キロ痩せた」（2ページ目）". Shūkan Shinchō (in Japanese). 13 March 2025. Retrieved 30 October 2025. "石井明美". CDJournal (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 October 2025. Akemi Ishii discography at Discogs