Comprised of sisters Sugiyama Yumi (杉山ユミ) and Sugiyama Emi (杉山エミ) (who went by the stage names Rum and Jewels), the duo was a Japanese-American pop and hip-hop duo that made their debut in 2001.

The sisters were both born in Tokyo, Japan, with Emi being the older sister (born December 4, 1976) and Yumi, the little sister (born December 17, 1981), but immigrated to New York with their parents shortly after Yumi was born, but would return to Japan in 1995.

In 2001, they were discovered on a TV audition program in Japan called 浅草橋ヤング洋品店(Asakusabashi Young Western-style Products Store) (known more commonly as its shorthand Asayan) after they sent in a demo to the show. After winning the program, they signed with Avex Japan and debuted with the name Heartsdales, which is an homage to Hartsdales, New York – a suburb of the big city.

The sister’s careers would continue until their disbandment in 2006 when they cited that they wanted to focus on different careers as the reason for their disbandment.

Heartsdales released their final album THE LEGEND Final Live on December 20, 2006, and split after.

As of today, the sisters are living apart from each other, with younger sister Yumi moving back to New York and older sister Emi moving back to Tokyo; Yumi currently owns a design studio while attending school at Parsons The New School for Design, while Yumi is now a mother.