Marlene (Japanese singer)

Marlene (マリーン, Marīn, born 4 January 1960) is a Filipina jazz vocalist[1] from Manila, Philippines mainly active in Japan. Her real name has been cited as Marlene dela Peña[2] or Marlene Pena Lim. Marlene moved to Japan in the late 1970s and released her first single through EMI Japan in 1979 before signing a contract with CBS Sony in 1981, recording albums twice a year. In 1983 two of her albums appeared on the Oricon charts. Deja Vu reached #8, while Magic (sometimes listed as It's Magic in English) reached #5, each enjoying sales of over 150,000 records.[3]

In the United States, Marlene is known for her work with Seawind, with whom she recorded her second album Summer Nights in Los Angeles in 1982.[4] and her album Stay With Me which reached No. 28 in the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart in the 90’s.[5] Her sixth album, Looking for Love,[6][7] was also recorded in Los Angeles in 1984.[8] With the Mal Waldron/Billy Holiday composition Left alone recorded on the soundtrack of the Haruki Kadokawa movie Kyabare (Cabaret) she scored a hit in Japan in 1986. She has recorded 31 albums in total so far and is the highest paid Pinay jazz artist in Japan.[9] In 2016 she teamed up with Jiro Yoshida, Makoto Kuriya and released the album Cubic Magic under the group name Threesome,[10] followed by the album Whatever! in 2017. Marlene was the subject of Mundo ni Juan sa Japan, a television film documentary in 2015.[11]

She has appeared in two Japanese films — Nantonaku (2007) and Karanukan (2017), where she played the character "Yukie".[12]