Stephanie Topalian - Friends

Stephanie was born in August 5, 1987 to a Japanese mother, and an Armenian father in Los Angeles, California. Her parents met in her mother's hometown Yamaguchi Japan, and later relocated to The United States to have her and her younger brother. Her parents later get remarried as she moved to Japan with her mother to pursue her musical career. Stephanie still has a great relationship with both of her parents.
Her Armenian grandparents Jean Pierre Topalian, and Koharik Mikaelian Topalian, met in Beirut Lebanon, and later relocated to the United States. Their final destination and place of dwell was in the state of Wisconsin. 

Although Stephanie is residing in Japan she has a strong commitment to her Armenian background and is very attached to her grandparents. She heard many stories about the Armenian Genocide which had changed a lot of destinies, including her grandparent's. Listening to those stories lead to the enhancement of her consciousness on the issue. Despite being far from the homeland, Stephanie is true to her Armenian roots and is a keen learner of the culture and history. 

Stephanie started singing at the young age of 13. She sent an audio demo tape of her singing to various Japanese music productions, and received a response from a Japanese music producer Joe Rinoie. Rinoie was impressed with her singing, and at the age of 19, Stephanie made her major debut in Japan from SME Records(SONY).  She achieved the “Best New Artist Award” at the prestigious 49th “Japan Record Awards” in 2007. She then released two albums. 

Stephanie's songs were widely featured in the Japanese “Anime” scene. Her 1st and 2nd single, "Kimiga Iru Kagiri" and "Because of you" consecutively became the ending themes of the Anime “Kiss Dum”. Her 5th single "Changin", was also featured as the last ending theme of the Anime “D.Gray-man”. In early 2008, her single "Friends" became the second ending theme for the Anime TV series “Gundam 00”. The song fell into the top 10 of Japanese Oricon charts.

Stephanie also debuted as an actress in the film Pride in 2009, based on Yukari Ichijo's shōjo comic. She portrayed the protagonist Shio Asami, and also took part in the film's theme song, "Pride ~A Part of Me~ feat. SRM". Aside from “Pride”, Stephanie also starred in “Tokyo Tribe”(2014) and a short film, “It's All Good”(2009) which was fully scripted in English. 
Stephanie is inspired by a wide variety of genres and artists. Her favorite artists are Michael Jackson and Queen. She really enjoys both Armenian and Japanese food. Her hobby is taking long walks.
