Mai Kuraki is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter born October 28, 1982 in Funabashi, Chiba.

Growing up, she was heavily influenced by Whitney Houston's vocal style and Michael Jackson's dance moves. While still in her second year of junior high, she submitted a demo tape to Giza Studio and landed a recording contract. Her initial U.S. debut came in 1999 with "Baby I Like" under the stage name Mai K, followed that same year by her first Japanese single, "Love, Day After Tomorrow"—which became a massive hit, moving 1.39 million copies.

The momentum kept building. Her second single "Stay by my side" hit number one and sold over 922,000 copies, cementing her status as a rising star. "Secret of my Heart" proved equally strong, peaking at number two on the Oricon charts and holding there for sixteen weeks with nearly 969,000 copies sold. Her fourth single "Never Gonna Give You Up," featuring Michael Africk, also charted high at number two, though it underperformed slightly compared to her other early releases.

By 2002, Mai was riding a serious commercial wave. "Winter Bells," which served as the opening theme for Detective Conan, shot to number one on the Oricon. Around the same time, she recorded "Feel fine!" as the theme for FT Shiseido's centennial campaign. The single briefly dominated the daily charts before losing out to Ayumi Hamasaki's "Free & Easy" in the weekly rankings.