JAY'ED

Overview

JAY'ED (Jade Goto, born 16 September 1981) is a New Zealand-born Japanese R&B singer-songwriter raised in Minoh, Osaka. Born to a Japanese father and a New Zealand mother of Samoan and Māori descent, he is best known for the duet "Ashita ga Kuru Nara" with JUJU, which sold over 140,000 copies.

Career

Early years and indie debut

JAY'ED lived in New Zealand until age 10, then moved to Osaka. He began his music career at 17 on the Osaka club circuit. His first break came in 2002 as a featured artist on a Sphere of Influence album track. In 2005 he debuted as an indie artist with the single "Why?", followed by the mini-album Gift: Just Let Me Know, which sold over 20,000 copies.

Major debut and breakthrough

On 21 May 2008 he made his major-label debut on Toy's Factory with the single "Superwoman". His biggest success came in 2009 with "Ashita ga Kuru Nara", a duet with JUJU used as the theme song for the film April Bride, which reached No. 2 on the Oricon chart. He also collaborated with Infinity 16 and Waka-danna of Shōnan no Kaze on "Tsutaetai Koto ga Konna Aru Noni"; though modest in physical sales and airplay, it topped the RIAJ digital tracks chart for three weeks. Together with the weeks of "Ashita ga Kuru Nara", this gave him six weeks at No. 1, a record until Kana Nishino surpassed it in mid-2010. His sixth single, "Everybody", was chosen as the KDDI au commercial song and became his first top-20 solo single. The video release LIVE MUSICATION -TOUR 2009 "MUSICATION" & JOURNEY TO NZ- (31 March 2010) peaked at No. 188 on Oricon's weekly chart.

2010s and beyond

Since 2011 he has regularly held a live series called "Juke Box Lounge". In April 2016 he joined LDH, introduced by his friend ATSUSHI. On radio, he hosted That's my JAM!! on TOKYO FM (January 2017 – March 2018) and has appeared on ABC Radio's Masuda Saori, JAY'ED & Leola no Onbaz since October 2020. In 2025 he appeared in the music video for COLOR's "It's Brand New".

Personal

His uncles by marriage include the second Katsura Zakoba and Katsura Jakujaku, and Mai Sekiguchi is his cousin.

Musical style

Rooted in J-R&B, his music also draws on J-pop and J-rap. Shaped by Osaka's club scene, he is known for his live sensibility and for his many collaborations with other artists.