Ken Hirai

Ken Hirai rose to prominence across Japan and East Asia on the strength of his assured falsetto, striking appearance, and deep-rooted preference for classic R&B and soul, which he fused with jazz, funk, and hip-hop. His recordings have moved nearly 14 million units worldwide.

He launched his professional career in 1993 while still a student by winning an audition at Sony, which resulted in a recording contract. The two 1995 singles that followed, “Precious Junk” and “Katahou Zutsu No Earphone,” both appeared in television dramas, yet his first two albums, Un-Balanced (1995) and Stare At (1996), posted only modest sales. Consequently he maintained a low profile, releasing just two singles between 1997 and 1999.

A decisive resurgence came in 2000 with the album The Changing Same, which sold 1.26 million copies; its single “Rakuen” added another 500,000 units. These achievements led to appearances at the MTV Summer Summit in Taiwan and, as the first Japanese performer, at New York’s Apollo Theater.

In 2001 the single “Kiss of Life” was featured in the hit series Love Revolution, and the album Gaining Through Losing ultimately sold 1.5 million copies across Asia. Hirai simultaneously reached club audiences with the remix collection KH Re-mixed Up 1. Between 2002 and 2003 he extended his international profile through a Los Angeles collaboration with Babyface (who wrote “Missin’ You: It Will Break My Heart” for him), the Japanese-language cover “Ooki Na Furudokei” of “My Grandfather’s Clock,” which sold 772,000 copies, a performance with Lauryn Hill at the FIFA World Cup concert, and an MTV Unplugged set recorded in New York in 2003.

Three further studio projects arrived in quick succession: Life Is… and the covers album Ken’s Bar in 2003, followed by Sentimental Lovers in 2004. The latter moved 1.66 million units and contained the single “Hitomi Wo Tojite,” which topped the Japanese yearly singles chart.

An extended hiatus followed, limited to two singles issued in 2005 and 2006, although the November 2005 compilation Utabaka sold 2.1 million copies and became the best-selling album of 2006. Hirai resumed activity in 2007; the singles “Elegy” and “Kimi No Suki Na Toko” each sold approximately 100,000 copies despite lower chart peaks.

In 2008 he issued his first double A-side single, Canvas/Kimi Wa Su.te.ki, with “Canvas” appearing in the live-action adaptation of the manga Honey and Clover. Later that year came Fakin’ Pop, his first album in four years, which reached number two and sold 330,000 copies.