Biography
Donna Burke is one of the most iconic vocalists in the world of video game and anime, whose multifaceted performances as an actor, lyricist and singer have resonated with fans worldwide. From her unforgettable characters in Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3, to her haunting ballads in Final Fantasy, and her commanding vocals in Metal Gear Solid, she is celebrated for her emotional depth and range.
Donna’s contribution to anime music began with the 2001 theme song "After All," composed by Yoko Kanno for the movie Turn A Gundam. She has voiced the character Raising Heart from the Magical Lyrical Nanoha franchise since 2004 and sung for anime including, Vandread, Haibane-Renmei, and Strange Dawn. Donna’s song "Glassy Sky" from Tokyo Ghoul has been covered by tens of thousands on YouTube, showcasing the widespread impact and popularity of her voice.
Donna’s collaboration with Hideo Kojima on the Metal Gear Solid series began with her singing the theme song "When Heaven Divides" for the 2011 game Peace Walker. In 2014, Donna voiced the iDroid system guidance for Ground Zeroes, chosen by Kojima because her vocal tone could soothe players during intense situations. He was already familiar with her narration on the Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka, a role she has held since 2003. In 2013, the haunting strains of “Sins of the Father" were heard at E3 and game shows worldwide, and finally released in The Phantom Pain in 2015. Donna now tours as the lead vocalist with Metal Gear in Concert, delivering powerful live performances of beloved tracks from the series.
Donna has written lyrics for many games, including The Last Remnant, Elebits, OutRun 2, God Eater, Beatmania, Dance Dance Revolution, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Tales of Legendia, Biohazard 6, and Resident Evil. She arranged vocals and adapted lyrics for five songs on Konami’s Metal Gear Solid Vocal Tracks album and wrote the lyrics for Nobuo Uematsu’s theme song "Choosing Hope" for Final Fantasy XV: Comrades in 2018.
In addition to her singer-songwriter career, Donna Burke is well-known for her voice acting and mo-cap roles as Angela Orosco in the original Silent Hill 2 and Claudia Wolf in Silent Hill 3. These immensely popular horror games have further solidified her status as a multifaceted artist capable of conveying intense emotion.
Having lived in Japan since 1996, Donna has worked with legends in the Japanese game and anime industry, including Yoko Kanno, Hideo Kojima, Nobuo Uematsu, Nobuko Toda, Akihiro Honda, Kevin Penkin, Go Shina, Akira Yamaoka, Ludvig Forssell and Yoko Shimamura.
Legends Donna has worked with...
Lyricist
2021 Cosplay Anthem
2020 Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles "Morning Sky", "Moonless Starry Night"
2018 Final Fantasy 15 XP “Choosing Hope”
2015 Implosion “Way in the Dark”
2013 Resident Evil “At the End of a Long Escape”
2011 Square Enix DISSIDIA012 “Final Fantasy”
2010 The Last Ranker “Born to Survive”
2010 Bandai Games “God Eater”
2010 NHK Little Charo 2 “Sayonara”
2009 Capcom “Bio Hazard Dark Side Chronicles” (Sleeping Beauty)
2009 Capcom “Last Ranker”
2009 Bandai Namco Games God Eater “God and Man”
2008 Square Enix Last Remnant “Journey’s End”
2007 Haibanae Renmei ”Wondering”
2006 Konami Elebits “The Smile Of You”
2004 Konami “Star Gate Heaven”
2003 Square Enix, Final Fantasy, “Crystal Chronicles“, “Moonless Starry Night“, “Morning Sky“
2023 Tournament Arc "Snake Eater", "Rivers in the Desert"
2020 Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Opening and Ending Theme songs
2020 Ganime Jazz "Encore" CD
2019 “Hanging by a Thread” Unofficial MGS movie theme
2018 Ganime Jazz “Game+Anime" CD
2015 Konami MGS The Phantom Pain “Sins of the Father”
2015 Konami MGS Vocal CD, “Quiet’s Theme", “The Best Is Yet To Come", “Love’s Theme", “Can’t Say Goodbye to Yesterday" & “Snake Eater"
2015 Tokyo Ghoul 2 “Glassy Sky” 70 MILLION VIEWS YOUTUBE
2015 Rayark Implosion Theme song “Way in the Dark” NHK Little Charo 2 Sayonara
2010 Konami Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker “When Heaven’s Divide”
2009 Bandai Namco GodEater“God and Man”
2008 Square Enix Last Remnant “Journey’s End”
2003 Square Enix, Final Fantasy, “Crystal Chronicles“, “Moonless Starry Night“, “Morning Sky“
2001 Turn a Gundam“AfterAll”
