In 1982, Mari Iijima belted out Macross tunes to thousands of screaming Japanese teens. Landing the role of Lynn Minmei catapulted a still teenage Iijima into pop idol super stardom and gave her the opportunity to reach a near global audience, even if only for a short time, and even if the Macross phenomenon had to trickle down to the global audience through the Robotech filter. Following this initial, explosive success, though, Iijima saw, over the next fifteen years, seven of her albums hit the top ten in Japan, and her record sales soar past the two million unit mark.

In 2001, Mari Iijima played a forty-five minute solo set for a modest crowd of under a hundred at Los Angeles' Genghis Cohen's. Legends abound about the fallen rock star icon winding up playing ancient tunes at seedy bars for people who remember bygone years. But Mari Iijima experiences something different, a professional duality - still wildly popular (though the years have taken their toll) in Japan and virtually unknown (except by a select hive of Macross fans) in the United States.

"I just did a concert in Japan to promote Right Now. And it was packed, all sold out, and I felt great," Iijima says. "And then I came home and became just nothing."

Mari arrived here permanently twelve years ago when she married an American musician, her recording partner. However, she was never a stranger to LA, most of her 25 albums recorded and engineered in the entertainment capital of the world. Recently divorced, she still lives on the west coast and plugs away at her dream. She's just finished her second English language album, Right Now, a rock-hued follow up to the more ballad-driven No Limit.

Her North American fan base still consists primarily of Macross fans as she struggles to forge her own identity as a singer/songwriter. However, she remains optimistic about the future. One of four finalists for Pop Artist of the Year at the Los Angeles Music Awards and a best-selling female vocalist internationally, Mari definitely sees herself penetrating the US market. It's only a matter of time.

Akadot catches up with her In Venice, California on an overcast, but nevertheless charming, day - Iijima herself beams. She is extremely open about her career, her aspirations and her personal life, which includes musician Jeff Babko.

Having been released in August, how is Right Now doing at the moment?

Mari Iijima: If I don't compare its success with my highest selling albums, I think its maybe doing better than No Limit. It's hard to say because I did two shows, two big shows, right after Right Now came out so a lot of people bought it at my concert. Maybe through the web site sales it's doing slightly under what No Limit did, but overall I think it's doing better.

Who is selling the albums?

MI: I do it all with a little help from Jeff.

So, you're a wholly independent artist with complete control over your operation?

MI: (giggles) Yeah. It's fun, I really like doing it all by myself.

Are you doing any more acting work?

MI: I think I maybe I need to work with some different people to help my career along. I'm just not getting any auditions even though a lot of my actor friends are.

You did "Spyder Games" on MTV. What kind of feedback do you get from that?

MI: It was a small part, but everybody told me that I had the most lines in the one scene I was in. People tell me nice things. But I haven't seen any other auditions out of it.

It's a hard game to play in this town.

MI: But whenever I go into the studio for my music, I feel myself more than when I'm acting. Music is my thing, but sometimes I hate just sitting around in the house creating it. I appreciate the opportunities to do other things as well.