is a Japanese singer, actor and lyricist. He was also the main vocalist of Japanese male idol group

Kanjani Eight is a five-member Japanese boy band from Japan's Kansai region. They are managed by the multimedia talent agency Johnny & Associates and signed to Infinity Records. The group was formed in 2002 and made their CD debut in 2004 as "Johnny's modern ...

,Arashi y Kanjani8, los favoritos de jpop masculino 2010
/ref> which debuted with modern

enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ''ryūkōka'' music, p ...

, before he left the group in 2018. His first solo album ''Nisai'' was released in October 2019. Shibutani was already a singer in his own right before the group's debut, immensely popular among

Johnny's Jr. is a Japanese talent agency, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which trains and promotes groups of male entertainers known as . History 1962–1989 In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys. In its early days, Kitagawa's agency rent ...

fans as the top Kansai Jr. of his time.

Career

Shibutani entered

Johnny & Associates is a Japanese talent agency, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which trains and promotes groups of male entertainers known as . History 1962–1989 In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys. In its early days, Kitagawa's agency rente ...

in 1996 on his birthday, September 22 (along with future fellow Kanjani Eight member Ryūhei Maruyama) after passing an audition. He did not hear from the agency until December 1996, when he was called to a second audition for a

KinKi Kids is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. KinKi Kids was formed in 1993 and officially debuted on July 21, 1997. With more than 30 million physical copies sold, they are one of ...

concert. It was there where he first met two other future fellow members

You Yokoyama is a Japanese idol, singer, actor, scriptwriter, radio host and lyricist. Yokoyama is also a member of Kanjani Eight, which is under the management of Johnny & Associates. His image color in the group is black. Career Yokoyama entered Johnny ...

and

Shingo Murakami is a Japanese singer, presenter, variety ''tarento'' and actor. He is the keyboardist of the Japanese male idol group Kanjani Eight. Early life When he was in junior high school his classmate was a fan of V6. He was recommended to "receive an ...

. Shibutani's ability to sing was acknowledged during the recording of an original Kansai Jr. song "Boys in the West Side", theme song for ''Kanjani Knights'', a Kansai Jr. show that ran in 1998. He was a regular on the show together with Yokoyama and Murakami. The trio went on to appear on many Jr shows together, becoming close co-workers and dubbing themselves "3baka" ("the 3 idiots"). Together with

Ryo Nishikido is a Japanese singer and actor. He was formerly under the management of Johnny & Associates as a member of Japanese boy bands Kanjani Eight and News. His first solo album was released in December 2019. Biography Ryo Nishikido was born in Hyogo ...

, they were dubbed the four top Kansai Jrs. This meant increased exposure, with opportunities to appear in many Jr shows in Tokyo as well. Shibutani's big break was an outstanding solo performance on

Music Station is a Japanese music television program. Broadcasting live weekly on TV Asahi since October 24, 1986, it currently airs from 9PM-10PM on Fridays. The program is also colloquially known as , , and . The show is currently syndicated throughout th ...

which would see him move to live in Tokyo, followed shortly by Yokoyama and Murakami. At Tokyo, he received many singing jobs and the 3baka became a fixture in the Tokyo Jr TV programs; They went on to star in their own TV series, IkeIkeIkemen, and were regulars on

Koichi Domoto is a Japanese idol, singer, actor, singer-songwriter, composer, lyricist, television personality, Voice acting in Japan, voice actor. Along with Tsuyoshi Domoto (with whom he has no blood-relation), he is a member of the duo KinKi Kids, who holds ...

's show ''Pikaichi''. Around 2000 to 2001, work offers from the agency diminished greatly for the Kansai Jrs. Out of work in Tokyo, they moved back to Osaka, and found part-time jobs to supplement their salaries. In 2002, Johnny Kitagawa had the Kansai Jrs put on an old play previously performed by their seniors,

SMAP SMAP was a Japanese boy band, composed of Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori. The group was created in 1988 by music producer Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Johnny & Associates, originally as a six-pi ...

and

, called ''Another''. This marked a revival of Kansai Jr activities but Kitagawa's strategy this time was to localize the Kansai Jrs' activities and keep them based in Kansai. Shibutani returned to the stage. He also appeared on TV regularly, on ''J3Kansai''. In 2003, Johnny Kitagawa formed Kanjani Eight using the top Kansai Jrs. He decided to have Shibutani sing enka and debut Kanjani Eight with him as lead singer. In August 2004, the group released its first single, Naniwa Iroha Bushi, an

song infused with rap. The single made it to No. 8 on the Oricon singles chart despite its Kansai-limited release. This was followed by a nationwide release the following month that shot Naniwa to the top of the chart. Shibutani and his fellow members learned about their official debut through the newspapers. Kanjani Eight's songs encompass a wide range of styles besides

and pop; rap,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

rock-and-roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, dance,

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, and

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

are among the other styles featured. In addition, Shibutani is also the main vocalist for Kanjani Eight subgroups, SanKyoudai, an acoustic music group, and SubaruBand, a rock band. He also plays several instruments, the guitar, harmonica and

shamisen The , also known as the or (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usual ...

. As a Jr., Shibutani wrote several original songs in collaboration with the guitarist of Jr. band FIVE, Nakaegawa Rikiya, who composed the melodies. These songs were performed by Shibutani with FIVE. Subaru also collaborates with Kanjani8 band member, Shota Yasuda. The two write the songs for their band, SubaruBand (ONE, High Position, DownUp). He regularly writes the lyrics for his concert solos as well.

Discography

Singles

*Kioku / Kokoro Odoreba (February 11, 2015)

Albums

*Uta (February 10, 2016) (cover album) *Nisai (October 9, 2019)

DVDs

*"Kioku ~ Shibutani Subaru / 1562" (September 16, 2015) *"Shibutani Subaru LIVE TOUR 2016 Uta" (September 21, 2016)

Solo concerts

*''Shibutani Subaru with Ohkura-Band'' (August 29, 2006 – September 17, 2006) *''Five Flat Flowers'' (September 4–7, 2008 in Osaka, September 23, 2008 – October 6, 2008 in Tokyo) *''Shibutani Subaru LIVE TOUR 2015 (January 18 – February 25, 2015, in Osaka, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Niigata, Sendai, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Kagawa, Tokyo) *''Shibutani Subaru LIVE TOUR 2016 (February 18 – March 27, 2016, in Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Tokyo)

Filmography

Drama

*1999: ''Shichinin no Samurai J ke no Hanran'' *1999: ''Kowai Nichiyōbi'' *1999: ''Abunai Hōkago'' *2001: ''Worst Dates in History'' *2001: ''Platonic Sex'' *2006: ''Double'' *2008: ''Arigatō, Okan'' *2012: '' Papa wa Idol''

Movie

*2010: '' 8uppers'' *2012: ''

Eight Ranger is a 2012 Japanese film directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi starring the members of Japanese boy band Kanjani Eight. Cast *You Yokoyama *Subaru Shibutani *Shingo Murakami *Ryuhei Maruyama *Shota Yasuda *Ryo Nishikido *Tadayoshi Okura *Hiroshi Tachi * ...

'' *2014: ''

Eight Ranger 2 is a 2014 Japanese action comedy film directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi and the second film in the Kanjani Sentai Eightranger film series, following ''Eight Ranger'' (2012). It will be released on 26 July 2014. Cast *You Yokoyama *Subaru Shibutan ...

'' *2015: ''

La La La at Rock Bottom is a 2015 Japanese music youth drama film directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita. It was released on February 14, 2015. Cast *Subaru Shibutani * Fumi Nikaidō Reception The film has grossed at the Japanese box office. Awards *Fantasia International F ...

Stage

*1997: ''Kyo To Kyo'' *1998: ''Mask'' *1998: ''Kyo To Kyo'' *2000: ''Millennium Shock'' *2002: ''Another'' *2003: ''Dōton Boys'' *2004: ''Summer Storm'' *2005: ''Never Gonna Dance'' *2005: ''Hey! Say! Dream Boy'' *2005: ''Magical Summer'' *2005: ''Dream Boys'' *2006: ''Another's Another'' *2006: ''Dream Boys'' *2009: ''Dream Boys''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shibutani, Subaru Japanese male actors Japanese idols Living people Kanjani Eight members 1981 births People from Ibaraki, Osaka Musicians from Osaka Prefecture