Ken Hirai

Overview

Ken Hirai (平井 堅, born January 17, 1972) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, born in Osaka Prefecture and raised in Nabari, Mie. Working in J-pop and J-R&B, he has also been active as a model, actor, composer, lyricist and brand ambassador. As of January 2024 he has released forty-seven singles and eleven studio albums. According to Oricon, his single "Hitomi o Tojite" (Close Your Eyes) was the best-selling single in Japan in 2004, and his compilation "Ken Hirai 10th Anniversary Complete Single Collection '95-'05 Utabaka" was the best-selling album of 2006.

Career

Early years and the 1990s

After graduating from Mie Prefectural Ueno High School, Hirai moved to Tokyo and, while studying commerce at Yokohama City University, performed at live houses in Yokohama and Shinjuku. He won the Sony Music Entertainment Audition '93, signed with Sony in 1993 and debuted in 1995 with the single "Precious Junk", a tie-in for the Fuji TV drama "Ōsama no Restaurant", which peaked at only No. 50 on Oricon. Hits did not follow, and for a time single shipments fell below 10,000 copies. He released the albums "un-balanced" (1995) and "Stare At" (1996), issued only one single each in 1997 and 1998, and released no new music in 1999. In May 1998 he launched "Ken's Bar", a concept live show in which he plays a bar master, serving covers and talk; it became his lifework and has been held every year since.

2000–2003

In 2000, with his contract reportedly riding on the result, his eighth single "Rakuen" (Paradise) became a major hit. A TV commercial featuring fellow Kenon agency artist Makiko Esumi, made at Hirai's request and first broadcast late at night in Hokkaido and Fukuoka, triggered a flood of inquiries and went national. The song also made him known abroad, and he was voted "Best New Japanese Act" in a poll by Hong Kong's RTHK. He released the album "The Changing Same" that year. In 2001 he won the 30th Best Dresser Award (entertainment category) and released "Gaining Through Losing" and his first remix album, "Kh Re-mixed Up 1" (November 28, 2001). In 2002 he won Best Male Video at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards Japan and appeared at the official FIFA World Cup 2002 concert with Chemistry and Lauryn Hill. His cover of "Ōki na Furudokei" ("My Grandfather's Clock") that year became one of the year's biggest hits. In 2003 he became the first Japanese male solo vocalist to perform on MTV Unplugged in New York and was interviewed by CNN's The Music Room. His fifth album "Life Is..." came out on January 22, 2003, followed in December by the jazz- and blues-oriented cover album "Ken's Bar".

2004–2009

Hirai's album "Sentimentalovers" (November 2004) included "Hitomi o Tojite", the biggest-selling single of its year. His 2005 single "Pop Star" reached No. 1 on Oricon, and its video, in which he played seven different characters and animals, became an instant hit. The 10th anniversary best album "Utabaka" (November 23, 2005) passed one million copies, his fourth million-selling album and a record for a male solo artist; he also performed at Tokyo Dome in December 2005 and published his first photo book, "Utabaka Ichidai", in a limited run of 100,000. In 2007 he released "Elegy", "Kimi no Suki na Toko" and "Fake Star". His first double A-side, "Canvas/Kimi wa Suteki", followed on February 20, 2008, then his seventh album "Fakin' Pop" on March 12 and "Itsuka Hanareru Hi ga Kite mo" on April 23. "Canvas", written and composed by Hirai and arranged by Keichi Tomita, was an ending theme for Fuji TV's "Hachimitsu to Clover". In 2009 he released "Ken's Bar II" (May 27), which included covers of Ayumi Hamasaki, Keisuke Kuwata and Ne-Yo, and toured under the same name, then issued "Candy" (September) and "Boku wa Kimi ni Koi wo Suru" (October).

2010–2014

Hirai released "Sing Forever" on October 13, 2010, followed by "Aishiteru" and the 15th anniversary compilation "Ura Utabaka". In May 2011 came "Itoshiki Hibi yo", written for the hit drama JIN, and on June 8 his ninth studio album "Japanese Singer". He released "Kokuhaku" in 2012 and "Kikyōgaoka" in 2013. In 2014 he put out "Ken's Bar III" and the collaboration single "Grotesque" with Namie Amuro, followed in December by "Soredemo Shitai / Onnaji Sabishisa".

2015–present

After "Kimi no Kodō wa Kimi ni Shika Narasenai" (2015), "Plus One / Time" and "Mahō tte Itte ii ka na?" (2016), Hirai released his tenth studio album "The Still Life" on July 6, 2016. In 2017 he issued "Boku no Kokoro o Tsukutte yo", "Nonfiction" and the best-of "Utabaka 2". Singles continued with "Shiranain desho?" and "Todokanai Kara" (August 2018), "half of me" (November 2018), "Itemo Tattemo" (May 2019), "#302" (2019), "Kaibutsu-san" (March 2020) and "1995" (May 2021). His eleventh studio album, "Anata ni Naritakatta" (I Wanted to Be You), released in 2021 to mark his 25th anniversary, reflects a desire to explore ego loss in his art. In May 2025 "Ken Hirai 10th Anniversary Tour Final at Saitama Super Arena" was released.

Awards

Between 2001 and 2006 he won multiple Japan Gold Disc Awards, including Rock & Pop Album of the Year and Song of the Year, and repeatedly took Best Male Video at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan for works such as "Hitomi o Tojite" and "Pop Star". He also received the 40th Golden Arrow Award (music, 2002), J-WAVE's Best Male Artist award (2008), Best Pop Artist at the Space Shower Music Awards (2017) and Video of the Year for "Nonfiction" (2018).

Musical style

Hirai is a J-pop singer-songwriter known for emotive ballads and pop with R&B colouring, and he often writes and composes his own songs. His "Ken's Bar" series reimagines favourite Japanese and Western songs, primarily with jazz and blues leanings. A devoted admirer of Keisuke Kuwata and Southern All Stars, he formed a Southern cover band as a student and covered their material on the Ken's Bar albums. His distinctive vocal phrasing is a hallmark, and in 2018 he wrote and composed "Kawaisō da yo ne" for JUJU.