Their genre is usually defined as J-Pop/J-Rock (more specifically it can be categorised as Shibuya-kei). They often sing whole songs together with harmonies and their sound borrows heavily from the Beatles and other artists such as ABBA, The Who and Carpenters. Ami and Yumi's vocals are likened to U.S. Their music has been largely a collaboration between producer Tamio Okuda (奥田民生), American singer-songwriter Andy Sturmer, formerly of the band Jellyfish (who is referred to as the "godfather" of PUFFY, for naming the band), and Ami and Yumi themselves. They hosted their own weekly TV show, "Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Puffy", with guests such as Lenny Kravitz, Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, and rock band Garbage. Their first release "Asia no Junshin" ("True Asia") sold a million records and their success continued with several more full-length releases (totalling 14 million sales in Japan). PUFFY-Mania reached its peak in 1998 to 1999, following the release of the Jet-CD and the Jet-Tour. It began in 1996 and continues to this day. PUFFY-Mania is a term that was used by the Japanese media to refer to the craze for all things related to PUFFY, from key-chains, to CDs.
Read Full Bio PUFFY (パフィー) or Puffy AmiYumi as they are known in the United States, is a pop/rock duo from Tokyo, Japan.Īmi Onuki (大貫亜美), whose nickname is "Jane", and Yumi Yoshimura (吉村由美), nicknamed "Sue", were scouted by two different talent agencies and put together in 1995, and soon PUFFY-Mania would begin.
PUFFY (パフィー) or Puffy AmiYumi as they are known in the United States, is a pop/rock duo from Tokyo, Japan.Īmi Onuki (大貫亜美), whose nickname is "Jane", and Yumi Yoshimura (吉村由美), nicknamed "Sue", were scouted by two different talent agencies and put together in 1995, and soon PUFFY-Mania would begin.