Ken Hirai stands out from the rest of the J-Pop pack - literally, since he's 183 cm tall (6 feet). But what really makes Hirai special is his utterly unique falsetto, which is ethereal without being wimpy. Hirai was born in Osaka, Japan on January 17, 1972, and began his musical career in 1993 when he signed with Sony following an audition held by that record label in Yokohama in 1992. Since his debut, Hirai has worked as a model, actor, composer, lyricist, singer, spokesperson. For a long time he'd been captivated by the sound of American soul music; he says his favorite artist is the late American soul singer Donny Hathaway. Hirai made his debut with the single "Precious Junk" in 1995. Hirai's debut album, "un-balanced", went on sale the same year and was followed by a second, "Stare At", in December of the following year. Fans had to wait until 2000 for a third album from Hirai, "THE CHANGING SAME", and it was the first single, "Rakuen" (楽園, lit. Paradise), that established him as a major player in the domestic charts and overseas. Like several other mainstream J-pop artists, Hirai has attracted a loyal following in Asia outside of Japan. In the summer of 2000 he performed in Taipei before a crowd of 30,000 and sold more than 60,000 copies of his album "Gaining Through Losing" in Taiwan. 2001 saw Hirai's single, "KISS OF LIFE", used as the theme for the popular "Love Revolution" TV drama series. His fourth album "Gaining Through Losing" (which went to sell 1.5 million all over Asia, including Japan), and a national tour of the same name, built on his solid reputation. Hirai's 1st remix album, "Kh re-mixed up 1" was released in November, 2001. In 2002 Hirai scored a massive hit with "Okina Furudokei", a Japanese version of the old American song, "My Grandfather's Clock". Hirai's U.S. appearances have been confined to getting up on stage during amateur night at New York's Apollo Theatre. In 2003, Ken performed for MTV Unplugged Live in New York, as the 1st Japanese male solo vocalist. The same year saw Hirai record a fine version of "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" for a Stevie Wonder tribute album. His 5th album "LIFE is...", which contains "Strawberry Sex", "Ring", and his super-hit single "Ooki na Furudokei", was released on January 22, 2003. In December 10, 2003, the conceptual album, "Ken's Bar", was released. In the album, Hirai selected his favorite songs and covered in his own style. Hirai had the top-selling single in Japan in 2004, "Hitomi wo Tojite (With My Eyes Closed)", which was the theme song of the movie Sekai no Chushin de Ai wo Sakebu. And the album "SENTIMENTALovers" was made public. In 2005, he released his best album, "10th Anniversary Complete Single Collection '95-'05", it also got a nickname, "singing fool (Utabaka - 歌バカ)". Ken's 2005 single, "POP STAR", was one of his career's biggest hits. It was featured on the very successful video game Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! 2 made by iNiS. In 2007, Hirai released 2 singles. The first of these was "Elegy", followed by "Kimi no Suki na Toko". "Elegy" is considered by Hirai's fan community to be his finest single, and it was a major radio success in Japan. In August 2007, Hirai released his 27th single, entitled "fake star". Hirai released his 28th and 1st double A side single titled "Canvas / Kimi wa Su.te.ki♡ (You're Won.der.ful)" in 2008, followed by his highly anticipating 7th studio album "FAKIN' POP". Hirai released his 29th single "Itsuka Hanareru Hi ga Kite mo (いつか離れる日が来ても; If Some Day a Day Comes Where I'm Separated from You)" on 23rd April 2008 . The song is a recut single from FAKIN' POP.
Discography
