Ki Yo

Early life

In 1982, Ki-Yo was born in Sendai, Miyagi.

Ki-Yo was musically influenced by Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Akiko Yano, Elton John, Billy Joel, Noriyuki Makihara, Whitney Houston.

2000–2006: Debut and big success in Japan

In 2000, Ki-Yo sent a demo to EMI Music Japan when he visited Tokyo to see a concert by Mariah Carey. He was recognized for his talent and got chance to make his debut. On October 22, 2000, his first single "No No No" was released. It was a success, charting No. 45 on the Oricon single weekly chart.

On April 18, 2001, "The Only One", which is his biggest hit, was released as a third single. It was used in a romantic drama, "Pure Soul ~Kimi ga boku wo wasuretemo~" and gained a big attention. Finally, this single charted on the Oricon single yearly chart at No. 82 and Oricon single weekly chart at No. 12 with selling over 400,000 copies. After big success of this song, he appeared in a Japanese most popular music TV show, Music Station twice. This show has been hosted to a lot of world-famous musicians, including Mariah Carey, Pharrell Williams, Justin Bieber, U2, Destiny's Child, Taylor Swift, Babymetal, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Lady Gaga, Big Bang, Hikaru Utada, Backstreet Boys, AKB48, Arashi, Katy Perry and Linkin Park.

His debut album I'll be there was released on July 25, 2001. It charted No. 7 on the Oricon album weekly chart.

In 2004, he sang a backing vocal part in "Shiawase ni narou"（幸せになろう）, a song by Japanese popular singer Hiromi Iwasaki. This song was included in her 25th album, "Happiness" and it peaked at No. 99 on Oricon Weekly Album Chart.

In December 8, 2004, he released an EP "Stop On By", which includes a cover of a Japanese popular children's song "Tenohira wo Taiyou ni", whose lyrics were written by Takashi Yanase, which is a famous Japanese cartoonist famous for Anpanman.

In 2006, he released "Ocean Blue" as an 8th single. It had been two years since he had released his last EP "Stop On By". Due to the lack of the promotion, this song couldn't enter any charts. This is the last single he's released from major record companies at this time.

2010–present: Working in America and going back to Japan

In 2010, he moved to New York City and started to working there. He participated in McDonald's Gospelfest, Gospel Night at Apollo Theater and a play called "Black Nativity" in Broadway.

In 2011, he was invited to Annual Keeper's of the Dream Award Ceremony as a guest choir. His musical talent was praised by Stevie Wonder.

He was played at a lot of musical venues like The Bitter End, Canal Room and Whiskey A Go Go ever.

On November 19, 2014, he covered "Let It Go" in the Japanese popular music competition program "The Karaoke Battle".

In 2015, he wrote a song called "Anata ni Smile :)"（あなたにスマイル:)）for a Japanese top singer, Misia. This song was included in her album, "Love Bebop", which was released in January 6, 2015 and this album charted at No. 4 on Oricon Daily Album Chart. Also, this song was used in a TV commercial of a Japanese famous drink manufacturer, Kirin beverage.

On December 27, 2015, he embarked on a premium live "Sing Mariah" with Japanese female singer Mao Denda. Her 1st album "Eternal Voice" has sold over 50,000 copies so far. In May, 2016, he announced that he left his management team "Rhythmedia".

On June 30, 2016, he started crowdfunding to release his fourth studio album "Anata ga Itekureta kara"（あなたがいてくれたから）.

Personal life

Ki-Yo is openly gay. He came out in TOKYO RAINBOW PRIDE 2015.

He takes part in "OUT IN JAPAN", a LGBT project by Singaporean photographer Leslie Kee.

DVDs