Kana Nishino (西野 カナ Nishino Kana, born March 18, 1989) is a Japanese singer and songwriter signed with SME Records' Newcome Inc. She debuted on February 20, 2008, with the single "I". CNN said that she was the favorite singer of teenage girls in Shibuya, Tokyo, signalling Sony's jump on the bandwagon effect started by Avex. Kana competed in the 61st Kohaku Uta Gassen, which took place on December 31, 2010, with "Best Friend." On February 9, 2011, the single "Distance" was released. She also collaborated with Wise on the single "By your side" which was released on March 16, 2011. Two months later on May 18, 2011 her new single 'Esperanza' was released. In spring of 2012, Nishino's cute looks have her in the magazines "CUTiE" "JELLY", "JJ", "Popteen", "Ray", and "ViVi" (in alphabetical order). In September 2012, Nishino released her 4th album called Love Place. It was released in two versions: a limited CD+DVD edition and a regular CD-only edition. The song "Be Strong" was used to promote the album. The album was later re-released in Taiwan in a big package version including a unique 2013-year desk calendar. The album won the Best Prize in the "Grand prix record Nippon! Shining 54th"original album "Love Place"