Pile

, better known by her stage name Pile, is a Japanese singer, actress and voice actress from Tokyo. Her first roles were minor parts in TV series and films during 2006. She debuted as a singer after she was selected in a 2006 Japan-wide audition and she made her voice acting debut in the Love Live! School Idol Project series in 2010. Musical career In 2006, Hori was chosen from a total of 700 applicants in the Japan-wide Asian Dolls Audition. She later wrote that she wanted to be seen as "warm and enveloping, an artist who can be loved by everyone", so she chose her stage name Pile after the pile towels are made from. In October 2007, she debuted as a singer with the indie single "Your is All..."; this song was the opening theme for the third season of the drama TV series Ikari Oyaji Ai no Sekki Youtaikyoku. In 2008, two of her songs were included in Dancemania albums, including "Flower", which was included in Hime Trance Best. Following several Love Live! releases reaching the top of the Oricon charts, Pile and her co-stars have had more success with their own music releases. (Pile's second solo character album, Love Live! Solo Live! from μ's Scarlet Princess, reached #31 on the Oricon Albums Chart.) She and Love Live! co-star Aina Kusuda (the voice of Nozomi Tōjō) formed a duo, Please&Secret, in 2013. They have released two singles and an album, as well as a photo book entitled Girl Meets Girl. In June 2014, she and another Love Live! voice actress Riho Iida (the voice of Rin Hoshizora) formed the duo 4to6 (the name referring to the time between the end of classes and returning home in Japanese schools), and their first single was released in August 2014. In 2014, Pile released her first single for the Victor Entertainment label, "Densetsu no FLARE", which was used as an ending theme for the anime series Tenkai Knights. Her first album for a major label, Jewel Vox, was released on the Tower Records label in March 2015. Her second single for a major label, "Kimi ga Kureta KISEKI", served as the ending theme to the anime series Duel Masters VSR. Pile made an appearance at the Cosplay Mania anime convention in Manila, Philippines in October 2015. Her single "Dream Trigger" served as the opening theme to the second season of the anime series World Trigger. She embarked on an Asian tour in 2017, with stops in Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur. She released a compilation album titled The Best of Pile on 16 August 2018.