Kazuya Yoshii

Kazuya Yoshii (吉井和哉, Yoshii Kazuya, born October 8, 1966 in Tokyo)[1] is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band The Yellow Monkey. 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.

Kazuya Yoshii
Yoshii at the 2017 Tokyo International Film Festival
Background information
Also known asYoshii Lovinson, Lovin, Robin
Born (1966-10-08) October 8, 1966
Kita, Tokyo, Japan
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer-songwriter
  • record producer
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • bass guitar
  • drums
  • keyboards
  • piano
Years active1986–present
Labels
Websitewww.yoshiikazuya.com/pc/

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.[2]

The Yellow Monkey went on to have three consecutive number one albums and 17 top ten singles. With 10 million records sold,[3] including 6.2 million singles,[4] they were ranked number 81 on HMV Japan's list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts.[2] The Yellow Monkey went on an indefinite hiatus in January 2001, before officially announcing their disbandment on July 7, 2004.[5]

Yoshii made his solo debut under the name "Yoshii Lovinson" in 2003 with the single "Tali".[6] He took the stage name from Mark Levinson Audio Systems.[7]

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.[8]

Yoshii released his first live album Dragon Head Miracle on April 30, 2008.[9] His January 2009 single "Biru Mania" included a cover of "Kuchibiru Motion", which Yoshii wrote for the duo PUFFY two years earlier. The single was followed by his fifth album Volt on March 18.[10]

The single "Love & Peace" was released on February 16, 2011, and a cover of "Betsujin" was contributed to the Reichi Nakaido tribute album OK!!! C'mon Chabo!!! which was released days later.[11] 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.[12]

He covered the song "Razor Sharp・Kireru Yatsu" for the 2012 Kiyoshiro Imawano tribute album King of Songwriter ~Songs of Kiyoshiro Covers~.[13] His 2012 single "Tenbyō no Shikumi" was used as the theme song of the film Key of Life.[14]

In 2014, it was announced that Yoshii would transfer record labels to Triad/Nippon Columbia. He contributed a cover of "Be My Last" for the Hikaru Utada tribute album Utada Hikaru no Uta at the end of the year.[15] 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.[16]

His song "Chōzetsu☆Dynamic!", which he composed with lyrics by Yukinojo Mori, is the opening theme song of the Dragon Ball Super anime. It was released as a single on October 7, 2015, with a B-side cover of "Romantic Ageru yo" that features his former Yellow Monkey bandmate Hideaki Kikuchi on guitar.[17] The Yellow Monkey reunited in 2016 and began an arena tour in May.[18]

In 2021, Yoshii formed the record label Utanova Music and signed a partnership deal with A-Sketch.[19]

Personal life

Kazuya Yoshii married his first wife in 1992. They had three daughters and one son before getting divorced in 2008.[1] On June 26, 2015, it was announced that Yoshii married tarento Kaori Manabe 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.[20] He first met Manabe, who is fourteen years his junior and has been a fan of Yellow Monkey since middle school, in autumn 2011.[1]

Discography
See also: The Yellow Monkey discography

Studio albums
  • At the Black Hole (February 11, 2004), Oricon Albums Chart Peak Position: No. 3
  • White Room (March 9, 2005) No. 4[21]
  • 39108 (October 4, 2006) No. 2[22]
  • Hummingbird in Forest of Space (September 5, 2007) No. 8[22]
  • Volt (March 18, 2009) No. 7[22]
  • The Apples (April 13, 2011) No. 1[22]
  • After the Apples (November 16, 2011, mini album) No. 3[22]
  • Starlight (March 18, 2015) No. 2[22]

Singles
  • "Tali" (October 1, 2003), Oricon Singles Chart Peak Position: No. 2
  • "Sweet Candy Rain" (January 9, 2004) No. 2
  • "Tobuyouni" (トブヨウニ, July 28, 2004) No. 8
  • "Call Me" (January 13, 2005) No. 2
  • "Beautiful" (January 25, 2006) No. 9[23]
  • "Winner" (May 23, 2007) No. 5[23]
  • "Shine and Eternity" (July 25, 2007) No. 6[23]
  • "Shredder" (シュレッダー, August 22, 2007) No. 9[23]
  • "Bakka" (バッカ, December 19, 2007) No. 4[23]
  • "Biru Mania" (ビルマニア, January 28, 2009) No. 4[23]
  • "Love & Peace" (February 16, 2011) No. 5[23]
  • "Tenbyō no Shikumi" (点描のしくみ, August 29, 2012) No. 15[23]
  • "Clear" (クリア, January 28, 2015) No. 6[23]
  • "Chōzetsu☆Dynamic!" (超絶☆ダイナミック!, October 7, 2015) No. 13[23]

Other albums
  • Dragon Head Miracle (April 30, 2008, live album) No. 12[22]
  • At the Sweet Basil (December 18, 2013, live album) No. 9[22]
  • 18 (January 23, 2013, compilation album) No. 4[22]
  • Yoshii Funk Jr. ~Korega Genten!!~ (ヨシー・ファンクJr. 〜此レガ原点!!〜, November 19, 2014, cover album) No. 4[22]
  • SuperNoVacation (May 27, 2015, compilation album) No. 17[22]
  • Yozzy Kazborn ~Ura Setsu Rino Machi~ (ヨジー・カズボーン～裏切リノ街～, December 9, 2015, cover album) No. 12[22]
  • Soundtrack ~Beginning & The End~ (June 13, 2018, live album) No. 7[22]
  • 20 (September 13, 2023, compilation album) No. 8[22]

Other work
  • All Apologies (2006): cover of "Polly" for the Nirvana tribute album
  • PUFFY - "Oriental Diamond/Kuchibiru Motion" (2007): wrote and composed "Kuchibiru Motion"
  • Unicorn Tribute (2007): cover of "Ataeru Otoko" for the Unicorn tribute album
  • Love Love Love (2009): cover of "Help!" for The Beatles tribute album
  • OK!!! C'mon Chabo!!! (2011): cover of "Betsujin"
  • Tamio Okuda - "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"
  • T. Rex Tribute ~Sitting Next To You~ (2017): cover of "The Prettiest Star" for the T. Rex tribute album
  • Tomoyasu Hotei - "Dangerous" (2020): featured on the song from the album Soul to Soul
  • Bish - "Bye-Bye Show" (2023): wrote and produced the song

With Urgh Police
  • Demo (1985)
  • Crazy Rock 'n' Roller (1986)
  • Urgh (1987)

References
  1. "吉井和哉はバツ１ ４人の子の父、新しい命授かり再婚決意". Sponichi (in Japanese). June 26, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  2. "Top 100 Japanese pops Artists - No.81". HMV Group (in Japanese). Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  3. "THE YELLOW MONKEY、15年ぶりに集結。5月から全国アリーナツアー開催". Barks.jp (in Japanese). January 8, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  4. "THE YELLOW MONKEY、解散以来初の４人のコメントを公開". Barks.jp (in Japanese). December 18, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  5. "THE YELLOW MONKEYの解散発表でファンの反応は？". Barks.jp (in Japanese). August 3, 2004. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  6. "YOSHII LOVINSON、デビュー・シングルの先行試聴日、迫る！". Barks.jp (in Japanese). August 8, 2003. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  7. "吉井和哉「18」インタビュー". Natalie (in Japanese). Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  8. "吉井和哉、アルバムに先駆け最新PVを公開！". Barks.jp (in Japanese). September 29, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  9. "吉井和哉、iTunes Storeのみのスペシャル特典". Barks.jp (in Japanese). April 30, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  10. "吉井和哉、感電注意！のニュー・アルバム". Barks.jp (in Japanese). January 13, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  11. "吉井和哉、3/30にアルバム発売＆ソロ最長ツアー発表". Barks.jp (in Japanese). January 12, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  12. "吉井和哉、初のミニ・アルバム『After The Apples』11/16発売決定". Barks.jp (in Japanese). September 8, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  13. "忌野清志郎カヴァー集、参加全アーティストと曲順発表". Barks.jp (in Japanese). March 29, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  14. "吉井和哉、8/19発売新曲が映画『鍵泥棒のメソッド』主題歌に". Barks.jp (in Japanese). June 13, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  15. "吉井和哉、日本コロムビアへ移籍で18年ぶりTRIADレーベルに復帰＆シングル発売決定も". Barks.jp (in Japanese). November 18, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  16. "『宇多田ヒカルのうた』全貌明らかに。井上陽水、椎名林檎、浜崎あゆみ、吉井和哉ら参加アーティストコメント". Barks.jp (in Japanese). December 3, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  17. "吉井和哉、元イエモンEMMAがギターを弾く「ロマンティックあげるよ」カヴァーがback numberのANNで初解禁". Barks.jp (in Japanese). September 18, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  18. "イエモン、"サル年"に15年ぶり復活 5月からアリーナツアー20公演". Oricon (in Japanese). January 8, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  19. "吉井和哉、新曲「〇か×」配信リリース 「どっちも選べず△の人生を送っている男の歌なのかも」". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). November 19, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  20. ""真打ち"眞鍋かをり出産 おめでたラッシュでママタレ枠争奪戦". Sponichi (in Japanese). October 21, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  21. "YOSHII LOVINSONが改名!? 全国ツアーも決定". Oricon (in Japanese). October 11, 2005. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  22. "吉井和哉のアルバム売り上げランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  23. "吉井和哉のシングル売り上げランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved September 20, 2015.
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