Soushi Sakiyama

Overview

Soushi Sakiyama (崎山蒼志) is a Japanese singer-songwriter born on August 31, 2002, in Shizuoka Prefecture. Signed to Sony Music Artists, he works across J-pop and anime music. He rose to national attention in 2018 through an online TV program, made his major debut in 2021, and has written theme songs for numerous dramas, films and anime, including an ending theme for Jujutsu Kaisen.

Career

At age four, Sakiyama saw a music video of the GazettE with his mother and was deeply struck by it. From age four until his third year of junior high school he attended a local guitar school, Sakura Guitar Classroom. At a camp in third grade he took a songwriting course and reportedly wrote a full-length song that very night, astonishing the instructors. He began composing seriously in sixth grade and played guitar and sang in KIDS A, a three-piece band formed within the school.

He began performing in 2015, mainly through street performances and live events. That year he took part in several auditions and festival screenings with KIDS' A. In 2016 he won the Judges' Special Prize at Oto and Oto Music Battle vol.3, the solo-division Grand Prix at K-mix's The Audition vol.8, and the U-15 Grand Prix at the first YAMAHA MUSIC BASH. In 2017 he was a finalist in the SONY x Teichiku x JOYSOUND Major Debut Kimi-Uta Audition.

In 2018 he won the third Grand Prix of the high school folk song GP on AbemaTV's Hinura ga Yuku, and also took the Grand Prix at the grand champion final. Footage from the show spread on social media, with musicians such as Shigeru Kishida and Enon Kawatani praising him, and his profile grew rapidly. In 2019 he received the Tokai Block Prize at the 11th CD Shop Awards.

In March 2019 he wrote "Awa mitaku Kagayaite" as the theme song for the drama Heisei Monogatari. In January 2020 he starred in the TOKYO MX drama Sweets Kutte Nani ga Warui! as his acting debut and also performed its theme "Tou to Umi." In December 2020 he wrote "Tadaima to Ieba" for Eliza Ikeda's directorial debut film Natsu, Itaru Koro.

He made his major debut on January 27, 2021, with the album find fuse in youth. In March he wrote "Gyakkou" for the drama Kakegurui Twin and graduated from high school. In July he wrote "Uso ja nai" as the theme for the anime My Hero Academia, and released a single on September 8. In October he wrote "Kasokeki" for the film Kasoke-ki Sankayou and co-composed "Furai" with Yoshiki Mizuno as the theme for the drama Kao dake Sensei.

His second album, Face To Time Case, arrived on February 2, 2022, preceded by "Helix" (January 19) and "Kokuhaku" with Huwie Ishizaki (January 26). He released the digital singles "I Don't Wanna Dance In This Squall" on July 6 and "Oboete ita no ni" on November 9. In July 2023 he supplied "Tomoshibi" as the ending theme of the TV anime Jujutsu Kaisen: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death arc, released on CD on July 19, followed by his third full album, i 触れる SAD UFO, on August 9. His tours have included "Kuni to Mure," "Narabu Odoritachi" (2019), "find fuse in you(th)" (2021), "Face To Time Case" (2022) and "Ningen Ryoko 2022."

In January 2025 he published his first essay collection, Futo, Shinsekai to Tsunagatte (Shinchosha). From around October 2025 he fell ill and cancelled some live performances, and on November 27 announced he would scale back his activities for the time being.

Musical Style

Sakiyama is a self-penning singer-songwriter who has combined guitar playing and composition since childhood. He mainly plays OVATION guitars, including a custom-shop Adamas and the Celebrity Elite CE44, and uses a 1973 Gibson SG Special for electric work. Drawn to the appeal of nylon-string guitars, he also acquired an OVATION electro-classical model.