Leah Dizon (リア・ディゾン, Ria Dizon?) (born September 24, 1986) is an American-born gaijin tarento, singer, and gravure idol in Japan.[2] Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, she moved to Tokyo, Japan in 2006 to pursue an entertainment career and made her recording debut on Victor Entertainment later that same year.
1986–2004: Childhood and youth
Dizon at an Oxnard, California car show in 2005.
Leah Donna Dizon was born in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 24, 1986. Her mother is of French descent and her father is half Chinese and half Filipino. Her parents work as casino dealers.[3][4] Dizon is the fourth of six children: she has two older brothers, an older sister, and two younger brothers. In an interview, she explains that she grew up listening to rock and R&B music and trained in dance.[5] Dizon has said that her mother was "very strict and monitored [Dizon's] spending habits". When she was 14 years old, she worked at a clothing store and eventually saved enough money to
travel to Japan alone for a trip.[6]
She attended the private Las Vegas Academy Of Performing Arts for her freshman and sophomore years but graduated from the public Eldorado High School in 2004, where she became active in theater.[7] At the age of 18, Dizon relocated to Los Angeles, California and attended college as a film major for her freshman year.[5]
[edit] 2005–2007: Destiny Line, early work, and career debut
While living in Los Angeles, Dizon worked as a promotional model for local car shows. Eventually, her photographs were posted online. It was reported that there were 2 million Google hits within an entire year, with the majority of the viewers being located in China and Japan. Much of the attention received was attributed to her unique looks;[8] she was asked by many Japanese fans—who had seen her photographs—to work in their country, which eventually prompted her to submit several demo tapes and dance videos to Victor Entertainment. An agent offered and signed her to a recording contact.[9]
In March 2006, Dizon moved to Tokyo and began Japanese lessons alongside voice training. She released her first photobook, Petite Amie (which means "girlfriend" in French), in October 2006—Petite Amie was ranked as the third best-selling photobook of 2006 and 2007.[10][11] A few pictorials for various magazines followed.[11][12]
Dizon made her musical debut under Victor Entertainment on February 14, 2007 with the single "Softly".[13] This was followed by "Koi Shiyō" (恋しよう♪?), and "L・O・V・E U".[14] which also peaked at #7 on the Oricon Weekly Chart. The title track is described as a "grooving, up-tempo dance song" and the single features 2 B-sides: "Could you be that one?" and "Aishiteru～ Love Story" (アイシテル～ Love Story?).[15] Koi Shiyō was used in a Lotte TV ad, while "Could you be that one?" was featured in a
PlayStation 3 Ninja Gaiden Sigma TV ad, with Dizon starring in both commercials. In September 2007, Dizon released her debut album, Destiny Line, under Victor Entertainment. The CD+DVD Edition contains 14 tracks, 10 of which she penned herself on the single PVs alongside a special album PV "Again and Again". The CD Only Edition contains the digitally-released remix of "Koi Shiyō", called "Koi Shiyō♪ (Yasutaka Nakata-Capsule Mix)".
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