In June 2003, the 19-year-old Kamisato Yū and the 21-year-old Yoshida Yasuhide, more commonly known as Yu and Yasu respectively, started a musical unit together. They started with outdoor performances in Carnival park, a park situated in the town of Chatan on one of the many islands of the Okinawa islands group, which is known for its tropical climate.
They didn't have their own songs then; they simply brought along two microphones and a mini-disc player, performing in karaoke style to their own favorite songs. They continued performing in this manner, regardless of whether the rain was pouring down or they were almost collapsing from the heat. Their efforts paid off and they gradually became used to singing in front of an audience. They became more and more noticed and recorded their own song Let’s Try, which they released on the local independent label, Chatan Records.
In February 2004, they released a mini-album called Street Breeze on the same label, which was then distributed nationwide In April. They gained more attention and clinched a deal with the major label Pony Canyon, on which they released their first major maxi-single in July.
The maxi-single No More Cry, which was released in February 2005, was used as the theme song for the drama "Gokusen." It became a huge success and gave the group the big breakthrough that they had been dreaming of. The single ranked second on the Oricon charts and over 400,000 copies have been sold so far.
Shortly after, they released their first album called ONENESS, which was released in a normal version and a version just for Okinawa. The album did very well and is their most popular release to date.
The duo continued in the same fashion and they have released a large number of singles as well as four albums so far. In 2008, they released a best-of album simply called BEST OF D-51 which compiled their most popular songs to date. The year 2010 has brought the release of the single Familia. Just like many other D-51 songs that have been used as TV series themes or for commercials, the title track of Familia was used as the ending theme to the anime series "Katekyo Hitman Reborn!" At the end of 2010, D-51 released their fifth album, STAR.
So far, the duo's career seems to be going very well and we're curious to see what this talented pair will bring in the future!
