Ken Hirai

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Ken Hirai
平井 堅
Ken Hirai, as pictured on the cover of his latest single.
Ken Hirai, as pictured on the cover of his latest single.
Background information
Born January 17, 1972 (1972-01-17) (age 35)
Japanese flag Higashiōsaka, Osaka, Japan
Origin Japanese flag Nabari, Mie, Japan
Genre(s) Japanese Pop, R&B
Occupation(s) Singer, Songwriter, Record Producer
Instrument(s) Piano
Years active 1995-present
Label(s) DefSTAR Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan
Website Ken Hirai.net

Ken Hirai (平井 堅 Hirai Ken?, born on January 17, 1972) is a Japanese R&B and pop singer. His soulful voice and unconventional looks won him fans following his debut in 1992. Since his debut, Hirai has worked as a model, actor, composer, lyricist, singer, spokesperson.

During his career, Hirai has sold a total of 13 million copies of his albums and singles. His Oricon achievements include a #1 Yearly 2004 (for a single) and one #1 Yearly 2006 (for an album)

Contents

Born January 17, 1972 in Higashiosaka, Osaka prefecture, Ken Hirai grew up in Nabari, Mie Prefecture.

He began his music career back in 1993 when he signed with Sony Music following an audition in Yokohama the previous year while he was a student. His debut single "Precious Junk" and album were recorded the following year and released in 1995. The first single, used as the theme to a TV drama, immediately garnered Hirai attention and his second single, "Kataho zutsu no earphone"「片方ずつのイヤホン」also used for a drama, further capitalized on his unique sound. Hirai's debut album, "un-balanced", went on sale the same year and was followed by a second, "Stare At", in December of the following year.

Taking things more slowly, Hirai used the next four years to consolidate his style and take time out - he only released one single each in 1997 and '98 and didn't produce any new music during 1999. Fans had to wait until 2000 for a third album from Hirai, "The Changing Same", and it was the first single, "Rakuen"(楽園, lit. Paradise), that established him as a major player in the domestic charts and overseas. He was the first Japanese artist to take the classic test of a true R&B performer - playing at the Apollo Theater in New York, where he got a warm reception. Capitalizing on a strong fan base in Asia, Hirai appeared at the MTV Music Summit in Taiwan in August 2000. Hirai was voted "Best New Japanese Act" in a pop poll organized by the RTHK radio station in Hong Kong.

2001 saw Hirai's single, "Kiss of Life", used as the theme for the popular "Love Revolution" TV drama series. His fourth album "Gaining Through Losing" (which went to sell 1.5 million all over Asia, including Japan), and a national tour of the same name, built on his solid reputation. Hirai's 1st remix album, "Kh remixed-up 1" was released in November, 2001. Through the album, the artist showed a new part of himself to the audience, which appealed to club-goers and DJs for the first time.

Hirai had already shown that he had the urge to perform abroad, so his live appearance on the Music Fair show in March 2002 with producer/singer Babyface from an LA studio was very much part of the plan. In the summer, recognition like winning the Best Male Artist at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards Japan and appearing in the official FIFA World Cup concert with Chemistry and Lauryn Hill seemed like they were just par for the course.

Already an established star, Hirai went one step further when he released a cover of "Ōkina Furudokei"「大きな古時計」(My Grandfather's Clock) in 2002. A popular nursery rhyme, it was expected to be a minor success, but went on to become one of the biggest hits of the year.

In 2003, Ken performed for MTV Unplugged Live in New York, as the 1st Japanese male solo vocalist. He was also interviewed by CNN "The Music Room", which was televised in 210 countries, and watched by 230 million viewers. His 5th album "Life is...", which contains "Strawberry Sex", "Ring", and his super-hit single "Okina Furudokei", was released on January 22, 2003.

In December 10, 2003, the conceptual album, "Ken's Bar", was released. In the album, Hirai selected his favorite songs and covered in his own style. The music was primarily jazz oriented, but covers of many blues numbers were present as well.

In May 2004, "SentimentaLovers" was made public. The album spawned 4 singles, with "Hitomi wo Tojite"「瞳をとじて」(Close my eyes) being the most successful, also becoming the highest-selling single of that year.

Ken's 2005 single, Pop Star, was one of his career's biggest hits, spawning multiple imitations and reaching No. 1 on the Oricon Charts. The video for the song, which featured Ken playing 5 different characters and animals, became an instant household hit. It features heavily on YouTube rotation. A cover of the song was featured on the rhythm game Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 for the Nintendo DS.

In 2007, Hirai released 2 singles. Both singles peaked at #5 on the Oricon charts and also sold around 100,000 copies. The first of these was "Aika", followed by "Kimi no Suki na Toko". "Aika" is considered by Hirai's fan community to be his finest single, and it was a major radio success in Japan. In August 2007, Hirai released his newest single, entitled "fake star", along with a music video that was considered a huge departure for the star due to its' risque subject matter.


Some of Hirai's musical influences are Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, amongst others. His musical style is most similar to American neo-soul Artist Maxwell, and he is currently comparable to Robin Thicke, Justin Timberlake and D'Angelo.

  1. "Precious Junk" (lyrics Ken Hirai, music Ken Hirai/Shun Yamashita) (May 13, 1995) #50, 9 weeks, sold 49,000 copies
  2. "Kataho Zutsu no Earphone" (片方ずつのイヤフォン? An earphone by one) (lyrics Ken Hirai, music Ken Hirai/Shun Yamashita) (June 21, 1995)
  3. "Yokogao" (横顔? Profile) (lyrics & music Ken Hirai) (November 22, 1995)
  4. "Doshaburi" (ドシャブリ? Downpour) (lyrics & music Ken Hirai) (August 21, 1996)
  5. "Stay With Me" (lyrics Ken Hirai, music Joe Rinoie) (November 1, 1996)
  6. "Heat Up" (lyrics & music Ken Hirai) (July 21, 1997)
  7. "Love Love Love" (lyrics & music Ken Hirai) (May 30, 1998)
  8. "Rakuen" (楽園? Paradise) (lyrics Makoto Atozi music Masahito Nakano) (January 19, 2000) #7, 28 weeks, sold over 590,000 copies
  9. "why" (lyrics Ken Hirai music Ken Matsubara) (May 10, 2000) #8, 10 weeks
  10. "Love or Lust" (lyrics Ken Hirai music Ken Hirai/Ken Matsubara) (October 18, 2000) #6, 14 weeks, sold over 300,000 copies
  11. "even if" (lyrics & music Ken Hirai) (December 6, 2000) #3, 8 weeks, sold over 334,000 copies
  12. "Miracles" (lyrics & music Ken Hirai) (February 15, 2001) #4, 10 weeks, sold over 220,000 copies
  13. "Kiss of Life" (lyrics Ken Hirai music Ken Hirai/Masahito Nakano) (May 16, 2001) #2, 11 weeks, sold over 531,000 copies
  14. "Missin' you ~It will break my heart~" (lyrics Ken Hirai music Babyface) (January 30, 2002) #4, 6 weeks
  15. "Strawberry Sex" (lyrics Ken Hirai/Taku Tada music Ken Hirai/Masahito Nakano) (May 22, 2002) #13, 5 weeks, sold 40,000 copies
  16. "Ookina Furudokei" (大きな古時計?) Cover version of "My Grandfather's Clock" ) (lyrics & music Henry Clay Work Japanese lyrics Kogo Hotomi) (August 28, 2002) #1, 34 weeks, sold over 772,000 copies
  17. "Ring" (lyrics & music Ken Hirai) (November 7, 2002) #1, 15 weeks, sold over 320,000 copies
  18. "Life is ... ~another story~" (lyrics & music Ken Hirai) (May 8, 2003) #3, 18 weeks, sold 191,000 copies
  19. "style" (lyrics Ken Hirai music Yasuhiro Minami) (July 30, 2003) #12, 7 weeks, sold 44,000 copies
  20. "Hitomi wo Tojite" (瞳をとじて? Close my eyes) (lyrics & music Ken Hirai) (April 28, 2004) #2, 58 weeks, sold approximately 900,000 copies
  21. "Kimi wa Tomodachi" (キミはともだち? You're my friend) (lyrics & music Ken Hirai) (May 29, 2004) #5, 22 weeks, sold 160,999 copies
  22. "Omoi ga Kasanaru Sonomae ni" (思いがかさなるその前に…? Before the memories pile up) (lyrics & music Ken Hirai) (October 6, 2004) #1, 16 weeks, sold over 277,000 copies
  23. "Pop Star" (lyrics & music Ken Hirai) (October 26, 2005) #1, 17 weeks, sold over 244,000 copies
  24. "Bye my melody" (バイマイメロディー?) (June 14, 2006) #2, 9 weeks, sold over 81,000 copies
  25. "Aika (Elegy)" (哀歌 (エレジー)?) (January 17, 2007), #5, 16 weeks, sold over 118,000 copies
  26. "Kimi no Sukina Toko" (君のすきなとこ?) (February 28, 2007) #5, 11 weeks, sold over 102,000 copies
  27. "fake star" (September 12, 2007)

  1. un-balanced, July 7, 1995 – #57; over 18,000 sold
  2. Stare At, December 1, 1996
  3. The Changing Same, June 21, 2000 – #1; over 913,000 copies sold
  4. gaining through losing, July 4, 2001 – #2; over 1,068,000 copies sold
  5. Life is..., January 22, 2003 – #1 over 806,000 copies sold
  6. SentimentaLovers, November 24, 2004 – #1; over 1,661,000 copies sold

  • Kh re-mixed up 1 (Remixes), November 28, 2001 – #6; over 186,000 copies sold
  • Ken's Bar (Cover album), December 10, 2003 – #2; over 491,000 copies sold

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • Hirai once participated in a music session with Babyface, who admired Hirai's singing ability. He said, "I think that Hirai can be popular in the world if he releases CDs in English".[citation needed]
  • At the end of 2003, Hirai was invited by Stevie Wonder to join his Japanese show, where he co-performed "You Are the Sunshine of My Life".
  • Hirai's 20th single "Hitomi wo Tojite," the theme song of the Japanese movie "Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World", peaked at No. 2 in Japan's Oricon chart in 2004, but got No. 1 in annual sales for the year 2004. Incidentally, he also sang a cover version of Eagles hit "Desperado" as the single's B-side.
  • 2channel, a Japanese internet forum, made a parody of Hirai's song "Pop Star", titled "Vip Star", in which internet slang of 2channel and the name of the administrator of the website, Hiroyuki, appear.
  • When Yo Hitoto's songs are slowed down to 80% of their original speed (or as long as the song's pitch is lowered to 80% of the original), her voice sounds uncannily like that of Hirai's.
  • The "バイ" part of the name of Hirai's 24th single "バイマイメロディー" is the double meaning of "by" and "bye".
  • During a trip to Hong Kong, in an interview, he stated that he admires director Wong Kar-wai.[citation needed]
  • The name, 平井 堅 (Hirai Ken), literally means a strong well of peace, or Hard Level-well.[citation needed]
  • The 10th Anniversary Complete Single Collection '95-'05 “歌バカ” ("Utabaka") becomes the #1 best-selling album of 2006.[citation needed]
  • Hirai's 23rd single, "Pop Star," is a song in Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2, the sequel to the Nintendo DS rhythm game, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan. It is also the ending song for the dorama Kikenna Aneki.
  • During his debut (1995) with "Precious Junk" until now (2007) with "Kimi No Suki Na Toko", Ken Hirai has sold over 13,956,000 copies (albums + singles) around Japan and has 9 #1 Singles. Ken Hirai is officially the #56 Highest Selling Japanese Artist All Time.[citation needed]
  • Ken Hirai also made two appearances in the Crayon Shin Chan manga (as a time genie and as a villain in a Lord of the Rings spoof).[citation needed]

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