Zard first debuted in 1991 with the single "Good-bye My Loneliness." As a new band in the growing J-music scene, the new single fared well and peaked at #9 on the Oricon singles charts. Since then, the band enjoyed considerable fame in the 90s, with many of their songs featured in anime including Detective Conan, Slam Dunk, and Dragon Ball GT.
Zard, whose name is taken from the word "Blizzard," originally consisted of five members. However, by the end of 1992 the band had whittled down to Sakai Izumi only. She kept the name of the band even though Zard was now her own solo project, and has done all of the singing and songwriting for it since then.
Little is known about Zard, since Sakai refuses to make public appearances, and insistently stays away from TV music shows. Furthermore, Zard has only done one concert tour, which occurred in 2004...13 years after the band’s debut! Even though Zard had been around for a long time, its fame had not died, and nearly every single concert sold out.
Update: On May 27, 2007 Izumi Sakai died due to a brain contusion after falling three meters off the landing of a staircase at Keio University Hospital. Sakai had been attending the hospital to treat her cerival cancer. She was 40 years old at the time of her death, and it hasn't been ruled out whether the incident was an accident or suicide. Many documentaries about her life and career have been released on Japanese music shows in her honor.
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