Kyoto born Misono made her debut as a solo artist with the self-penned single VS in March 2006. To mark her coming out as a solo artist, Misono played at the now defunct Tokyo dance club Velfarre -- owned by her record label Avex Trax. The song went Top Five and remains Misono's most successful single to date, spending more than two months on the charts and selling 40,000 copies. VS was also the theme song to the Nintendo DS role-playing game !Tales of the Tempest. Since then Misono has released a string of singles, including the Top 10 hit Lovely Cat's Eye, a spunky guitar pop number that is more representative of her sound than the dance-oriented VS, and her debut album never+land. Like VS, whose video borrowed themes from Snow White, fairy tales inspired many of the songs on never+land.
Citing the likes of Avril Lavigne, Krystal Meyers, the Offspring, and Linkin Park as influences, Misono has turned to a variety of musical collaborators. The 2007 singles Zasetsu Chiten and Jyunin Toiro were produced by Hidekazu Hinata of pop-punk band Straightener, and alternative rockers Go!Go!7188 produce, respectively. 2008's Mugen Kigen was produced by rock band Onsoku Line. In 2007, Misono also starred in the comedy movie #Obachan Chips. ~ David Hickey, Rovi