is a Japanese singer-songwriter. He debuted under the major label

BMG Japan Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music com ...

in 2006 with the single .

Early life and career

Hata is the youngest of three brothers. He moved to Yokohama when he was 2. He began playing the guitar at age 3, after his eldest brother received a cheap guitar from a friend. In junior high school, he began writing songs, and after entering high school started working fully as a musician. In 1999, he performed at his first big concert at the F.A.D Yokohama live house, after a referral by one of his friends. In 2004, he released an independent EP, . In 2006 he was signed to Augusta Records after catching the attention of one of the staff members. He was the opening act of Augusta Camp 2006 in July. He debuted with the single . His 2008 single , was his first top 20 hit, reaching No. 15 on

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 ...

charts. "Kimi, Meguru, Boku" was used as the opening theme for the anime series ''

Itazura na Kiss is a Japanese '' shōjo'' manga series written and illustrated by Kaoru Tada. ''Itazura na Kiss'' was first serialized and published in 1990 by Shueisha through ''Bessatsu Margaret'' magazine. It became successful very quickly and beca ...

''. Since then, he has had six top 20 singles and two top 10 albums. In 2010, his song "Tōmei Datta Sekai" premiered as the opening for the seventh season of '' Naruto: Shippuden''. In 2012 he sang the song "Altair" under the name "Motohiro Hata meets Sakamichi no Apollon" for the ending of the anime ''

Kids on the Slope is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuki Kodama. It was serialized in the manga magazine '' Monthly Flowers'' from 2007 to 2012, and was published as ten ''tankōbon'' volumes (collected editions) by Shogakukan. The serie ...

'', which premiered on 12 April 2012. The song "Goodbye Isaac" was the fourth ending track to the anime '' Space Brothers''. In 2013, his cover of "Rain" by Senri Oe was featured as the ED for ''

The Garden of Words is a 2013 Japanese anime drama film written, directed and edited by Makoto Shinkai, animated by CoMix Wave Films and distributed by Toho. It stars Miyu Irino and Kana Hanazawa, and features music by Daisuke Kashiwa instead of Tenmon, who ha ...

'' by

Makoto Shinkai , known as , is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, author, and manga artist. Shinkai began his career as a video game animator with Nihon Falcom in 1996, and gained recognition as a filmmaker with the release of the original video animation (OVA) ' ...

. In 2014, "Himawari no Yakusoku" (ひまわりの約束 ''Promise of Sunflower'') was used as the theme song for the 3D-animated movie Stand by Me Doraemon (''STAND BY ME ドラえもん'').

Influences

Hata cited Western artists such as

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...

, and

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

among his musical influences.

Discography

*''Contrast'' (2007) *''Alright'' (2008) *''Documentary'' (2010) *''Signed Pop'' (2013) *''Ao no Kokei'' (2015) * Copernicus (2019)

Awards and nominations

, - , 2014 , Motohiro Hata , Artist of the Year , , - , 2011 , ''Documentary'' , Sub Grand Prix , , - , 2014 , ''Evergreen'' , Planning Award , , - , 2008 , Motohiro Hata ,

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

, , - , 2009 , "Forever Song" ,

Best Male Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video was one of four original general awards that have been handed out every year since the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, though, the award was briefly renamed Male Artist of the Year, and ...

, , - , 2016 , "Sumire" ,

, , - , 2018 , , Best Male Artist ,

References

External links

Hata Official Site

Sony Music Label Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hata, Motohiro Living people Japanese pop musicians Japanese songwriters Japanese-language singers 1980 births People from Miyazaki Prefecture Musicians from Miyazaki Prefecture Hosei University alumni 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese male singers