Female singer GILLE (26) released her debut album "I AM GILLE." on July 18th and it took the 7th spot on the July 30th Oricon weekly ranking by selling 18,000 copies in it's first week of sales. This is a big achievement for GILLE. Her two singles released last year under her previous stage-name of "TASHA gee" did not even make it in the TOP 200 list. "I AM GILLE." comprises completely of English songs, some of which are covers of popular Japanese tracks such as AKB48�s �"Flying Get" and Kimura Kaela�s "BUTTERFLY".

GILLE�s identity was first concealed so that audiences could listen to her voice without prior prejudice towards her nationality or looks. Her English covers of Japanese numbers were released on YouTube and garnered much attention from viewers. Her original YouTube rendition of "Flying Get" accumulated close to 3 million views (as of July 24th).

AKB48 producer Akimoto Yasushi complimented her on her "diamond voice" and agreed readily that GILLE be the official cover singer for AKB related tracks. On July 16th before her album release, GILLE finally revealed herself to the press and introduced herself as a Japanese singer from Miyazaki.

In this album, GILLE covers other popular Japanese songs such as AKB48�s "Ponytail To Shushu", Fukuyama Masaharu�s "Hatsukoi", Saito Kazuyoshi�s "Yasashiku Naritai". Also included are tracks such as "Grenade" by Bruno Mars and "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele for a total of 13 numbers.






Source: Oricon and�Daily Sports Online

Image: GILLE official website