Yu Takahashi
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese singer-songwriter. He debuted on a major label in 2010, with his singles "Subarashiki Nichijō" and "Honto no Kimochi".
, in the Tōhoku region
of Japan. He started to learn the electric guitar
in his final year of middle school, and in high school became the vocalist of a hardcore
copy band for two years, performing such songs as Hide with Spread Beaver
's "Pink Spider
". During high school, he bought a cheap acoustic guitar
, and began writing songs. His band broke up due to the members going their separate ways, and Takahashi moved to Sapporo for university. He performed in a band in Sapporo as well, however, due to the band breaking up (one of the members' love life took priority) Takahashi decided to become a solo musician.
In February 2002, Takahashi released his debut album, the self-produced Sepia, of which only 200 copies were produced. Over the next five years, Takahashi performed concerts and released albums based in Sapporo, such as in January 2004, when he performed street lives five times per week. In May 2007, he released his second album, Mugon no Bōryoku, limited to 500 copies. The album was relatively popular in Sapporo, charting at number 1 for three weeks at the Sapporo Stellar Place HMV
's in-store independent releases charts. This lead him to hold his first solo concert, to 200 people at the Sapporo Colony. In September 2007, Takahashi began performing monthly live concerts titled , in which he would rent a CD shop and only allow 30 people to come inside for the concert.
Takahashi moved to Tokyo in January 2008, to further his music career there. He performed many different concerts, and released a third self-released album, Agura, which was sold only at concert venues. He was scouted by Amuse, an artist management firm especially known for their management of musicians, and came to the notice of Michihiko Yanai, creator of Tower Records
' No Music, No Life and Kaze to Rock campaigns. This led to Takahashi releasing his first independent single, the Tower Records exclusive "Kodomo no Uta" in May 2009, followed by his first wide-release album in July, the extended play Bokura no Heisei Rock 'n' Roll, which was produced by Yanai. The extended play reached number 262 on Oricon
's national album charts.
A year later, Takahashi made his major label debut under Warner
, with the single "Subarashiki Nichijō". The song received heavy radio play, causing it to reach number 5 on Billboard
s Japan Hot 100
chart, despite only reaching number 57 on Oricon's physical single sales chart. His second single, "Honto no Kimochi", was used as the theme song for the Takeru Satoh
and Atsuko Maeda (AKB48
) starring drama Q10, giving Takahashi his first top 30 single and his first performance on music show Music Station
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese singer-songwriter. He debuted on a major label in 2010, with his singles "Subarashiki Nichijō" and "Honto no Kimochi".
Biography
Takahashi grew up in Yokote, AkitaYokote, Akita
is a city located in Akita in the Tōhoku region of Japan.As of October 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 96,955, with a household number of 34,314 and the density of 140 persons per km²...
, in the Tōhoku region
Tohoku region
The is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures : Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata....
of Japan. He started to learn the electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
in his final year of middle school, and in high school became the vocalist of a hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
copy band for two years, performing such songs as Hide with Spread Beaver
Hide (musician)
, better known by his stage name hide , was a popular Japanese musician. He was primarily known for his work as lead guitarist of the heavy metal band X Japan from 1987 to 1997...
's "Pink Spider
Pink Spider
is the ninth single by hide, the second to bear the hide with Spread Beaver name, released on May 13, 1998, eleven days after Hideto "hide" Matsumoto's death. The single debuted at number 1 on the Japanese Oricon weekly charts with sales over 513,000 copies in the initial week of the release...
". During high school, he bought a cheap acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, and began writing songs. His band broke up due to the members going their separate ways, and Takahashi moved to Sapporo for university. He performed in a band in Sapporo as well, however, due to the band breaking up (one of the members' love life took priority) Takahashi decided to become a solo musician.
In February 2002, Takahashi released his debut album, the self-produced Sepia, of which only 200 copies were produced. Over the next five years, Takahashi performed concerts and released albums based in Sapporo, such as in January 2004, when he performed street lives five times per week. In May 2007, he released his second album, Mugon no Bōryoku, limited to 500 copies. The album was relatively popular in Sapporo, charting at number 1 for three weeks at the Sapporo Stellar Place HMV
HMV Group
HMV is a British global entertainment retail chain and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company also operates in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index...
's in-store independent releases charts. This lead him to hold his first solo concert, to 200 people at the Sapporo Colony. In September 2007, Takahashi began performing monthly live concerts titled , in which he would rent a CD shop and only allow 30 people to come inside for the concert.
Takahashi moved to Tokyo in January 2008, to further his music career there. He performed many different concerts, and released a third self-released album, Agura, which was sold only at concert venues. He was scouted by Amuse, an artist management firm especially known for their management of musicians, and came to the notice of Michihiko Yanai, creator of Tower Records
Tower Records
Tower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....
' No Music, No Life and Kaze to Rock campaigns. This led to Takahashi releasing his first independent single, the Tower Records exclusive "Kodomo no Uta" in May 2009, followed by his first wide-release album in July, the extended play Bokura no Heisei Rock 'n' Roll, which was produced by Yanai. The extended play reached number 262 on Oricon
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. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
's national album charts.
A year later, Takahashi made his major label debut under Warner
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
, with the single "Subarashiki Nichijō". The song received heavy radio play, causing it to reach number 5 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Japan Hot 100
Japan Hot 100
The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com ....
chart, despite only reaching number 57 on Oricon's physical single sales chart. His second single, "Honto no Kimochi", was used as the theme song for the Takeru Satoh
Takeru Satoh
is a Japanese actor. His debut role was as the lead in Kamen Rider Den-O, and is known for his subsequent roles in the dramatizations of Q10 and Ryōmaden.- Career :...
and Atsuko Maeda (AKB48
AKB48
AKB48 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto.The group has achieved enormous popularity in Japan. Its ten latest consecutive singles topped the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart...
) starring drama Q10, giving Takahashi his first top 30 single and his first performance on music show Music Station
Music Station
is a Japanese music television program. It began broadcasting on October 24, 1986 and continues to be broadcast weekly in High-definition from 8PM-9PM on tv asahi...
.
Albums
| Year | Album information | Chart positions |
Total sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Sepia
|
— | — |
| 2007 |
|
— | — |
| 2008 |
|
— | — |
| 2011 |
|
8 | 33,000 |
Extended play
| Year | Album information | Chart positions |
Total sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 |
|
242 | 1,700 |
Singles
| Release | Title | Notes | Chart positions | Oricon sales |
Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oricon 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. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... singles charts |
Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
RIAJ digital tracks RIAJ Digital Track Chart The is chart ranks the best selling digital singles in Japan, provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan since April 2009. The chart measures cellphone downloads .... |
|||||
| 2009 | align="left"| | Independent, Tower Records exclusive | — | — | — | — | Bokura no Heisei Rock 'n' Roll |
| 2010 | align="left"| | 57 | 5 | 74 | 4,700 | Real Time Singer Songwriter | |
| align="left"| | 24 | 10 | 12 | 9,400 | |||
| 2011 | align="left"| | 15 | 4 | 44 84 |
14,000 | ||
| align="left"| | Digital single | — | 59 | — | — | ||
| align="left"| | 20 | 9 | — | 7,800 | TBA | ||
| align="left"| | 14 | 3 | 57 | 7,800 | |||
| 2012 | align="left"| | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | ||