Kazuya Yoshii

Overview

Kazuya Yoshii (吉井和哉, born October 8, 1966) is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band THE YELLOW MONKEY. Born in Kita, Tokyo and raised in Shizuoka, he began a solo career in 2003 under the name Yoshii Lovinson after the band went on hiatus, returned to his own name in 2006, and rejoined the reunited THE YELLOW MONKEY in 2016. His 2015 single "Chōzetsu☆Dynamic!" served as the opening theme of the anime Dragon Ball Super.

Career

Early years and THE YELLOW MONKEY

After junior high school, Yoshii skipped high school and worked in restaurants while pursuing music. In 1986 he joined Urgh Police as bassist, where he was nicknamed "Robin"; the band, which called itself the "Mötley Crüe of Shizuoka," released a demo, an EP and one album before disbanding. In 1988 he formed THE YELLOW MONKEY, using the nickname "Lovin," switching to guitar after recruiting bassist Yoichi Hirose and eventually becoming permanent frontman. He handled vocals, guitar, lyrics, composition and production, and the band made its major debut in 1992 and played what is regarded as its first concert on December 28, 1989 at Shibuya La Mama. THE YELLOW MONKEY achieved three consecutive number one albums and 17 top ten singles, selling 10 million records including 6.2 million singles. They went on indefinite hiatus in January 2001 and officially disbanded on July 7, 2004.

Solo career (2001–2010s)

In October 2001 Yoshii appeared at Dream Power John Lennon Super Live 2001. He debuted solo on October 1, 2003 as "Yoshii Lovinson" (a name taken from Mark Levinson Audio Systems) with the single "Tali" on Toshiba EMI, followed by his first album At the Black Hole on February 11, 2004. On December 26, 2004 he made a surprise appearance at the Tokyo Dome event "Mekarauroko 15" to perform "JAM." His first solo tour, "AT the WHITE ROOM," began in 2005.

With the single "Beautiful" in January 2006 he reverted to his own name. The album 39108 followed on October 4, 2006, its title derived from his age of 39 and his October 8 birthday. He left his management company BOWINMAN MUSIC in January 2007, and his song "Winner" became the theme of the film Goal II: Living the Dream. In December 2007 he published his first autobiography. His first live album Dragon Head Miracle arrived on April 30, 2008, and his fifth album Volt on March 18, 2009.

He headlined day two of JAPAN JAM 2010. "Love & Peace" was released in February 2011, and his sixth album The Apples, delayed from March 30 to April 13 by the Great East Japan Earthquake, reached No. 1; seven tour dates were cancelled. In November 2011 he formed the unit masa-yume with Dachou Club and released the mini album After the Apples. In 2012 his single "Tenbyō no Shikumi" was the theme of the film Key of Life.

In 2014 he moved to Triad/Nippon Columbia, the label that had been the debut home of THE YELLOW MONKEY, and released his first cover album Yoshii Funk Jr. Korega Genten!! on November 19. The January 2015 single "Clear" was his first official Triad release, followed by the albums Starlight (March) and Supernovacation (May), the Dragon Ball Super opener "Chōzetsu☆Dynamic!" (October 7, lyrics by Yukinojo Mori) and the album Yojī Kazubone Uragiri no Machi (December). THE YELLOW MONKEY reunited in January 2016 and began an arena tour in May.

2018 to present

He released SOUNDTRACK Beginning & The End in June 2018. In 2019 he appeared in a commercial for Sapporo Beer's REAL DRY, his first TV commercial. In 2021 he founded the label Utanova Music with a partnership deal with A-Sketch and released the singles "Mirai no Uta" and "○ ka ×."

At the end of 2021 he was diagnosed with a throat polyp and cancelled his tour in January 2022. After surgery in February, further polyps were removed six months later and in October, and tests at a university hospital in November revealed early stage laryngeal cancer. He was treated and considered cancer free by early 2023. He released the album 20 in September 2023, publicly disclosed his illness on October 11, and announced the cancellation of THE YELLOW MONKEY's December 28 Nippon Budokan show. On April 27, 2024, he returned to the stage after two years and three months at the band's Tokyo Dome concert "SUPER BIG EGG 2024 'SHINE ON'." In October 2025 he released the single "Amai Toiki wo Furuwasete." The documentary film Mirai no Uta, shot over three years from 2022 and following his illness and life story, had its world premiere on October 27, 2025 in the Nippon Cinema Now section of the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival and opened on December 5.

Musical style

Yoshii names Showa-era kayōkyoku as his roots and Hideki Saijo as the spark that drew him to music; hearing classmates play Cheap Trick and KISS led him to guitar. He cites David Bowie as a huge influence, saying he formed THE YELLOW MONKEY to become Bowie. He directed the music videos for "Love Communication" and "JAM," the latter written with thoughts of his daughter. An audio enthusiast, he once considered quitting music after comparing his work with classic records. He has also written for PUFFY, KinKi Kids, BiSH and Tomoyasu Hotei.

Personal life

Yoshii married in 1992 and had three daughters and a son before divorcing. In 2015 he married tarento Kaori Manabe, and their child was born in October 2015. His hobby is bass fishing.