is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band
The Yellow Monkey
The Yellow Monkey, sometimes abbreviated as , is a Japanese rock band originally active from 1988 to 2001, before officially disbanding in 2004. They announced their reformation in 2016.
The band's name was derived from the ethnic slur that J ...
. When they went on hiatus in 2001, before officially disbanding three years later, Yoshii started a solo career in 2003 under the name Yoshii Lovinson. He switched back to his old name in 2006 and The Yellow Monkey reformed in 2016.
Career
Yoshii's first band was Urgh Police, which he joined in 1986 as bass guitarist under the stage name "Robin". After releasing a demo, an EP and one album, they disbanded. In 1988, Yoshii switched to guitar and formed a new group that included Youichi Hirose and Eiji Kikuchi, where he used the nickname "Lovin". When their vocalist left, Yoshii took over that position and recruited Eiji's brother
Hideaki as guitarist. The Yellow Monkey had what is regarded as their first concert on December 28, 1989 at Shibuya La Mama.
The Yellow Monkey went on to have three consecutive number one albums and 17 top ten singles. With 10 million records sold,
including 6.2 million singles, they were ranked number 81 on
HMV Japan
Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom.
The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...
's list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts.
The Yellow Monkey went on an indefinite hiatus in January 2001, before officially announcing their disbandment on July 7, 2004.
Yoshii made his solo debut under the name "Yoshii Lovinson" in 2003 with the single "Tali". He took the stage name from
Mark Levinson Audio Systems
Mark Levinson is an American high-end audio equipment brand established in 1972 by eponymous founder Mark Levinson, and based in Stamford, Connecticut. It is owned by Harman International Industries, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics.
Histor ...
.
He dropped the Yoshii Lovinson name in 2006 and began using his old name with the single "Beautiful". His album ''39108'' was released on October 4, with the title derived from his age of 39 years old at the time and his October 8 birthday.
Yoshii released his first live album ''Dragon Head Miracle'' on April 30, 2008. His January 2009 single "Biru Mania" included a cover of "
Kuchibiru Motion", which Yoshii wrote for the duo
PUFFY
Puffy can refer to:
* Puffy, stage name of Sean Combs (born 1969), American rapper and entrepreneur
* Puffy, nickname of Mike Bordin (born 1962), American drummer for the rock band Faith No More
* Puffy, nickname of Jeff Dubay (born 1968), Minneso ...
two years earlier. The single was followed by his fifth album ''Volt'' on March 18.
The single "Love & Peace" was released on February 16, 2011 and a cover of "Betsujin" was contributed to the
Reichi Nakaido
, known professionally as and nicknamed Chabo, is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as one of the guitarists and vocalists of the influential rock band RC Succession. Nakaido was voted the third greatest Japanese guitar ...
tribute album ''OK!!! C'mon Chabo!!!'' which was released days later. His sixth album ''The Apples'' was released on April 13, 2011 and followed by his first mini album ''After the Apples'' just seven months later.
He covered the song "Razor Sharp・Kireru Yatsu" for the 2012
Kiyoshiro Imawano
, born , was a Japanese rock musician, lyricist, composer, musical producer, and actor from Tokyo, Japan. He was dubbed "Japan's King of Rock". He formed and led the influential rock band RC Succession. He wrote many anti-nuclear songs followin ...
tribute album ''King of Songwriter ~Songs of Kiyoshiro Covers~''. His 2012 single "Tenbyō no Shikumi" was used as the theme song of the film ''
Key of Life
is a 2012 Japanese comedy film directed by Kenji Uchida. The film opened in Japan on September 15, 2012. The movie's theme song was written and performed by Kazuya Yoshii. The movie was remade in Korean in 2016 as ''Luck Key''.
Plot synopsis
The ...
''.
In 2014, it was announced that Yoshii would transfer record labels to Triad/
Nippon Columbia
, often pronounced ''Korombia'', operating internationally as , is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK C ...
. He contributed a cover of "
Be My Last
"Be My Last" is Hikaru Utada's 14th Japanese single, released on September 28, 2005. It was used for the 2005 film ''Spring Snow'', an adaptation of the 1966 Yukio Mishima novel of the same name.
The cover art was taken in Prague, Czech Republic ...
" for the
Hikaru Utada
, who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. By 2010, Utada had become one of the most influential, and best-selling, musical artists in Japan.
Born in the United States to Japanese parent ...
tribute album ''Utada Hikaru no Uta'' at the end of the year. The January 2015 single "Clear" was his first official release on Triad, which was the debut label of The Yellow Monkey, although his first cover album ''Yoshii Funk Jr. ~Korega Genten!!~'' was released by Nippon Columbia two months earlier.
His song "
Chōzetsu☆Dynamic!", which he composed with lyrics by
Yukinojo Mori
, better known by his stage name , is a Japanese lyricist, composer and poet who is affiliated with Amuse, Inc. He has written over 2,000 songs for numerous artists such as Kyosuke Himuro, Takuro Yoshida and Junichi Inagaki and theme songs for ...
, is the opening theme song of the ''
Dragon Ball Super
is a Japanese manga series written by Akira Toriyama and illustrated by Toyotarou. A sequel to Toriyama's original ''Dragon Ball'' manga, it follows the adventures of Goku and friends during the ten-year timeskip after the defeat of Maj ...
'' anime. It was released as a single on October 7, 2015, with a B-side cover of "
Romantic Ageru yo
is the opening theme song of the ''Dragon Ball'' anime series and is the 1st single by singer Hiroki Takahashi. Originally released on vinyl and cassette on March 1, 1986, it was re-released on 8 cm cd on March 21, 1998. It is coupled with ...
" that features his former Yellow Monkey bandmate
Hideaki Kikuchi
is a Japanese musician. Born in Hino, Tokyo, he was raised in Hachiōji. He is best known as lead guitarist of the rock band The Yellow Monkey.
Career
Hideaki "Emma" Kikuchi graduated from Nihon University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Depart ...
on guitar. The Yellow Monkey reunited in 2016 and began an arena tour in May.
In 2021, Yoshii formed the record label Utanova Music and signed a partnership deal with
A-Sketch
is a Japanese entertainment company that provides artist management services. The artists include idols, musicians, and so on.
Amuse produces TV and radio programs, commercial films, and movies. Other interests are in publication, music software ...
.
Personal life
Kazuya Yoshii married his first wife in 1992 at the first time as the yellow monkey debut. They had three daughters and one son before getting divorced in 2008.
On June 26, 2015, it was announced that Yoshii married
tarento
Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in America were described as "tal ...
Kaori Manabe
is a Japanese talent, gravure idol and actress. She was born on May 31, 1980 in Ehime Prefecture, Japan.
Personal life
On June 26, 2015, it was announced that Manabe married rock musician Kazuya Yoshii and was pregnant with his child and due t ...
who was pregnant with his child and due to give birth in the fall. Their marriage certificate was submitted in September and Kaori gave birth on October 20, 2015. He first met Manabe, who is fourteen years his junior and has been a fan of Yellow Monkey since middle school, in autumn 2011.
Discography
;Albums
* ''At the Black Hole'' (February 11, 2004),
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
Albums Chart Peak Position: No. 3
* ''White Room'' (March 9, 2005) No. 4
* ''39108'' (October 4, 2006) No. 2
* ''Hummingbird in Forest of Space'' (September 5, 2007) No. 8
* ''Volt'' (March 18, 2009) No. 7
* ''The Apples'' (April 13, 2011) No. 1
* ''After the Apples'' (November 16, 2011, mini album) No. 3
* ''Starlight'' (March 18, 2015) No. 2
;Singles
* "Tali" (October 1, 2003), Oricon Singles Chart Peak Position: No. 2
* "Sweet Candy Rain" (January 9, 2004) No. 2
* No. 8
* "Call Me" (January 13, 2005) No. 2
* "Beautiful" (January 25, 2006) No. 9
* "Winner" (May 23, 2007) No. 5
* "Shine and Eternity" (July 25, 2007) No. 6
* No. 9
* No. 4
* No. 4
* "Love & Peace" (February 16, 2011) No. 5
* No. 15
* No. 6
* No. 13
;Other albums
* ''Dragon Head Miracle'' (April 30, 2008, live album) No. 12
* ''At the Sweet Basil'' (December 18, 2013, live album) No. 9
* ''18'' (January 23, 2013, compilation album) No. 4
* No. 4
* ''SuperNoVacation'' (May 27, 2015, compilation album) No. 17
* No. 12
;Other work
* ''All Apologies'' (2006): cover of "
Polly
Polly is a given name, most often feminine, which originated as a variant of Molly (a diminutive of Mary). Polly may also be a short form of names such as Polina, Polona, Paula or Paulina.
People named or nicknamed Polly
Female
*Caresse Crosby ...
" for the
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
tribute album
*
PUFFY
Puffy can refer to:
* Puffy, stage name of Sean Combs (born 1969), American rapper and entrepreneur
* Puffy, nickname of Mike Bordin (born 1962), American drummer for the rock band Faith No More
* Puffy, nickname of Jeff Dubay (born 1968), Minneso ...
- "
Oriental Diamond/Kuchibiru Motion" (2007): wrote and composed "Kuchibiru Motion"
* ''Unicorn Tribute'' (2007): cover of "Ataeru Otoko" for the
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.
In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...
tribute album
* ''Love Love Love'' (2009): cover of "
Help!
''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their Help! (film), film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles "Help! ( ...
" for
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
tribute album
* ''OK!!! C'mon Chabo!!!'' (2011): cover of "Betsujin"
*
Tamio Okuda
is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and producer. He started his career in 1986 as a member of the band Unicorn. After Unicorn broke up, Okuda moved on to a solo career in 1994 with the single "Ai no Tame ni". He has written and composed many song ...
- "Kobushi wo Ten ni Tsukiagero" (2012): chorus
* ''King of Songwriter ~Songs of Kiyoshiro Covers~'' (2012): cover of "Razor Sharp・Kireru Yatsu"
* ''Utada Hikaru no Uta'' (2014): cover of "
Be My Last
"Be My Last" is Hikaru Utada's 14th Japanese single, released on September 28, 2005. It was used for the 2005 film ''Spring Snow'', an adaptation of the 1966 Yukio Mishima novel of the same name.
The cover art was taken in Prague, Czech Republic ...
"
* ''T. Rex Tribute ~Sitting Next To You~'' (2017): cover of "
The Prettiest Star
"The Prettiest Star" is a song by English musician David Bowie, originally released on 6 March 1970 through Mercury Records as the follow-up single to "Space Oddity". A love song for his soon-to-be wife Angie, it was recorded in January ...
" for the
T. Rex tribute album
*
Tomoyasu Hotei
, also known simply as Hotei ( ), is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and actor. With a career spanning more than 35 years, Hotei claims record sales of over 40 million copies and has collaborated with acclaimed a ...
- "Dangerous" (2020): featured on the song from the album ''Soul to Soul''
;With Urgh Police
* ''Demo'' (1985)
* ''Crazy Rock 'n' Roller'' (1986)
* ''Urgh'' (1987)
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshii, Kazuya
1966 births
Living people
Japanese male singer-songwriters
Japanese male rock singers
Japanese rock guitarists
Japanese record producers
Singers from Tokyo
Nippon Columbia artists
20th-century Japanese guitarists
21st-century Japanese guitarists
Japanese multi-instrumentalists
20th-century Japanese male singers
20th-century Japanese singers
21st-century Japanese male singers
21st-century Japanese singers