Kazumasa Oda

Kazumasa Oda, born September 20, 1947 and previously the frontman of Japanese folk-rock powerhouse Off Course, launched his solo recording career in 1985. Among the hit singles that followed was “Love Story wa Totsuzen Ni” (“Love Stories Are Sudden”), the theme song for the 1991 TV drama Tokyo Love Story; the track became a multi-million seller and ranks as the eighth best-selling single in Japanese history. His long-playing releases proved equally successful, beginning with the 1986 debut K. Oda and continuing with additional titles across subsequent decades. By 2016 the catalog comprised nine original studio albums, two cover albums, and five compilations, among them the 2002 collection Jiko Best (“Personal Best”), which moved more than two million units. Four of the studio albums reached number one, with 1992’s Sometime Somewhere achieving the highest sales. Strong chart performance extended into the 2010s: the 2014 studio set Oda Biyori (“Oda Weather”) peaked at number three, while the 2016 compilation Ano Hi Ano Toki (“That Day, That Time”) topped the chart.