In 2000, Misia released her sophomore album, Love Is the Message, which earned her another Japan Gold Disc Award and Japan Record Award.

Misia came to prominence following the release of her debut album, Mother Father Brother Sister (1998), which became the seventh best-selling Japanese debut album of all time, earning her two Japan Gold Disc Awards and one Japan Record Award. She was signed to BMG Japan in 1997, after auditioning for record producer Haruo Yoda. There, she continued her secondary education and briefly attended Seinan Gakuin University before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. Born in Nagasaki, Misia moved to Fukuoka at the age of 14 to pursue a recording career. Misaki Itō, commonly known as Misia ( ミーシャ, Mīsha, born July 7, 1978) and stylized as MISIA, is a Japanese singer and songwriter.