Information:
Erika is actually the name that well known actress Sawajiri Erika uses as a singer/songwriter. Though her musical debut as Erika occurred in 2007, her true musical debut was in 2006 under the name "Amane Kaoru". Amane Kaoru was the name of the character that she played in the smash hit TV drama "taiyou no uta", for which the song was written.

Erika entered a modeling audition just after graduating from elementary school, and became a part of an idol unit called Angel Eyes. With this group, she modeled in several different popular adolescent fashion magazines.

Around 2002, Erika would start appearing in films and became a regular on a few different TV shows. Her modeling career would also go more into the direction of a gravure idol (models who pose primarily in bikinis, leotards, and various other forms of provocative clothing. They never pose nude or are seen doing anything sexually explicit in photos).

Her real big break would come around 2003 though, when she was casted in the drama "Hotman", which starred famous TV drama actor Sorimachi Takashi. From then on, she would appear in various dramas. Her most notable roles are probably those which she played in "taiyou no uta" and "1 litre no namida" ("1 Litre of Tears").

In 2007, controversy would begin to surround Sawajiri. She showed up to the premiere of the movie "Closed Note" (In which she starred) seeming quite visibly upset. She appeared to have a bad attitude, as she answered all press conference questions in a very short and impolite way. The Japanese press made a very big deal of it all. Not even one week later, she would issue an apology on her website. She would also make an apology on TV Asahi's morning news show "Super Morning", as well as give an exclusive interview.

Sawajiri did not have much activity in 2008, since she and her boyfriend (Takashiro Tsuyoshi, a well known DJ, writer, and film maker) went to London for several months. She would return to Japan in late March, using mostly English in the airport. Apparently she had studied quite a bit in her time in London. She also stated that she planned on returning to London later in the year.