Yumi Matsutoya (松任谷 由実 ,Matsutōya Yumi?, born January 19, 1954), nicknamed "Yuming" (ユーミン ,Yūmin?), is an influential Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. She is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice, and live performances, and is an important figure in Japanese popular music.[1] Her recording career has been commercially successful with more than 42 million records sold.[2] In 1990, her album The Gates of Heaven became the first album to be certified "2x million" by the RIAJ