NOA

Overview

NOA (Noa Kazama, born March 13, 2000, in Tokyo) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, dancer and actor signed to Amuse and Universal Music. A trilingual artist fluent in Japanese, English and Korean, he debuted in 2020 with "Lights Up." His 2023 debut album, NO.A, reached No. 2 on both Oricon and Billboard Japan. His official fan club is called NOANA, and his genres are J-R&B and J-pop.

Career

Early life and training

Inspired by High School Musical, Noa became interested in entertainment and began composing in elementary school. He fell in love with BIGBANG's music at age 11. In 2012, at 12, he moved to South Korea because of his mother's job, was scouted by a hairstylist, and became the first Japanese trainee at YG Entertainment, spending roughly six to seven years there. He became fluent in Korean and English. After seeing ONE OK ROCK perform in Seoul, he decided to share the music of his country with the world and returned to Japan in 2018.

2019-2021

Noa joined Amuse in April 2019 and debuted on January 10, 2020 with the digital single "Lights Up," released in Japanese and Korean versions and co-produced with Millennium, a former YG trainee and friend since age 12. His second single, "Taxi" (June 12, 2020), featuring tofubeats, passed one million YouTube plays and hit No. 1 on Spotify's Viral Chart in Thailand. "Too Young," a collaboration with Twopee Southside, followed on March 5, 2021, and he held his first online concert on his 21st birthday, March 13. His major debut came with three consecutive monthly releases from August 2021: "Let Go" (feat. Jeon Woong of AB6IX), "Don't Waste My Time" and "Highway."

2022

Noa released "True Colors" on March 4 for a Liese campaign, "It Ain't Over" (produced by KM-Markit) on April 3, and "Paradise" (produced by tofubeats) on September 9. He made his acting debut as Takumi Kurushima in the TBS drama I Will Be Your Bloom (October 2022) and joined the show's in-universe boy band 8LOOM, whose first single, "Come Again," came out on September 21. He also appeared at SUMMER SONIC 2022.

2023

His first album, NO.A (February 22), led by "Purple Sky," peaked at No. 2 on Oricon and Billboard Japan. He followed it with "BURN" (May), "superglue (feat. NOA)" (August) and "between" (October). A Space Shower TV documentary aired in April, he served as monthly entertainment presenter on Fuji TV's Mezamashi TV in October, and his first photo book, Youth, was published on September 22. He also performed at MTV VMAJ 2023 -THE LIVE-.

2024

Noa released "YBOM (You've Been On my Mind)" in March, "COLORS" in May, and the album Primary Colors on May 29. He appeared on THE MUSIC DAY 2024, WATERBOMB TOKYO 2024 and SUMMER SONIC 2024 in Tokyo and Osaka. Later releases included "Red Light" (September), "SOLO (feat. NOA, Novel Core)" and "YBOM (Korean ver.)" (November) and "Christmas Lights" (December), and he played Billboard Live in Osaka and Yokohama in December. Since October he has hosted the JFN radio show NOA's ASIAN TREND.

2025 and beyond

He released "Seasons" (March), "Merry Go Round" and "alright (NOA Remix)" (July) and "Just Say It" (September) in 2025. He appeared in the film My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 (March 28) as Eita Sasaki and in the TBS drama Hatsukoi DOGs from July as Yutaro Natsuki. He performed at SUMMER SONIC BANGKOK 2025 and held the Billboard Live 2025 "The Gift" shows in Yokohama, Osaka and Tokyo in December. In 2026 he landed his first leading role as Chiaki Hojo in the MBS drama Salvation, Swallowed by the Nest (from February 13).

Musical style

Rooted in J-R&B and J-pop, Noa is recognized for his singing and songwriting, polished dance performances and strong stage presence. He cites Justin Bieber and Chris Brown as influences and is a longtime BIGBANG fan. His trilingual output and collaborations with artists such as tofubeats are defining traits, and he has also endorsed brands including Marc Jacobs and Crocs and served as a brand ambassador for Liese.