, is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and actor. Noda is the

lead vocalist The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

of the

Japanese rock , sometimes abbreviated to , is rock music from Japan. Influenced by American and British rock of the 1960s, the first rock bands in Japan performed what is called Group Sounds, with lyrics almost exclusively in English. Folk rock band Happy End ...

band

Radwimps is a Japanese rock band who debuted independently in 2003 and signed with Toshiba EMI in 2005. The band's name, Radwimps, was formed from two English slang terms, " rad" and "wimp". According to the band, the coined word had several meanings, i ...

and also began a solo project, Illion, in 2012.

Life and career

Early life, Radwimps

Noda was born in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, to a businessman father and piano teacher mother. From the ages of six to ten, Noda lived overseas in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He first became interested in the guitar in junior high school, after hearing

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

. He tried to learn how to play the chords with a guitar his family owned. While studying his first year of high school at Tōin Gakuen in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, he joined a band in 2001. He joined after being asked by a friend to be the band's vocalist. The band was named

, and Noda became the band's vocalist, guitarist, and sole songwriter. They released their debut independent album, ''

'', in 2003, and the band made their major debut under

Toshiba EMI , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. Whe ...

in 2005. In 2006, the band became widely popular in Japan, with their fourth album '' Radwimps 4: Okazu no Gohan'' being certified platinum. In 2008, Noda produced a song for another artist for the first time. He wrote and produced the song "Labrador" for Japanese singer Chara, which was used as the leading promotional track for her album ''

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

''. In 2015, Noda wrote the song for Hanaregumi's sixth studio album ''What Are You Looking For''.

Solo career

Noda's solo project, Illion, was first announced in November 2012. He began the solo career in order to perform overseas, which is a goal his band, Radwimps, did not share. His debut album, ''Ubu'', was released in Japan and Europe, first on February 25, 2013, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The album was promoted with two singles, "Brain Drain" in January 2013, which received a 24-hour exclusive live music video, and "Maharoba," which was released in February 2013. Noda first performed live as Illion at the O2

Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on March 17, 2013. He also performed at the Indra Musikclub in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on March 19. He planned to perform at the Tokyo Rocks rock festival in

on May 12, however the event was cancelled. In 2015, Noda made his debut as an actor in the film ''

Pieta in the Toilet is a 2015 Japanese youth drama film directed by Daishi Matsunaga. It was released in Japan on June 6, 2015. Cast * Yojiro Noda as Hiro Sonoda * Hana Sugisaki is a Japanese actress who was previously signed to Stardust Promotion. Her former st ...

'', which he starred in as the lead character Hiroshi. Radwimps also performed the theme song for the film, entitled . In May, Noda debuted as an author with ''Rarirure-ron'', a book of essays written while RADWIMPS were on their Grand Prix 2014 Jikkyō Namachūkei tour of Japan, as well as his decision to star in ''Pieta in the Toilet''. In 2016, Noda resumed his Illion solo project with a series of live concerts in July. This began with a performance at the

Fuji Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it the largest outdoor music event in Japan. ...

, followed by two solo billed concerts in Tokyo and Osaka, billed as his Illion Japan Tour 2016. In 2019, Noda composed the theme song ''気まぐれ雲'' for the movie ''Day and Night''.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Production discography

Filmography

Bibliography

* (2015),

Bungeishunjū is a Japanese publishing company known for its leading monthly magazine ''Bungeishunjū''. The company was founded by Kan Kikuchi in 1923. It grants the annual Akutagawa Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan, as well as th ...

Notes

References

External links

Official website
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Noda, Yojiro 1985 births English-language singers from Japan Japanese essayists Japanese expatriates in the United States Japanese male actors Japanese rock guitarists Japanese male rock singers Living people Singers from Tokyo Universal Music Japan artists Warner Music Japan artists 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century guitarists 21st-century Japanese male singers