Ki-Yo (清貴, Kiyotaka, born on November 22, 1982) is a Japanese pop singer.[1] Since his debut, Ki-Yo has worked as a singer, composer, lyricist and ambassador of Miyagi Prefecture. He's known as one of the few openly LGBT musicians in Japan.[citation needed]
In 2000, Ki-Yo sent a demo to EMI Music Japan when he visited Tokyo to see a concert by Mariah Carey, and was signed by the label for his debut. On October 22, 2000, his first single "No No No" was released.[2] It was a success, charting No. 45 on the Oricon single weekly chart.[3]
On April 18, 2001, "The Only One", his most commercially successful single to date, was released as a third single. It was used in a romantic drama, "Pure Soul ~Kimi ga boku wo wasuretemo~". Eventually, this single charted on the Oricon single yearly chart at No. 82[4] and Oricon single weekly chart at No. 12[5] with selling over 400,000 copies. He subsequently appeared in the Japanese music TV show Music Station twice.[6]
In 2004, he sang a backing vocal part in "Shiawase ni narou"（幸せになろう）, a song by Japanese popular singer Hiromi Iwasaki.
This song was included in her 25th album, "Happiness" and it peaked at No. 99 on Oricon Weekly Album Chart.[7]
On December 8, 2004, he released an EP "Stop On By", which includes a cover of a Japanese popular children's song "Tenohira wo Taiyou ni", whose lyrics were written by Takashi Yanase, a Japanese cartoonist best known for Anpanman.
In 2006, he released "Ocean Blue" as an eighth single. It had been two years since he had released his last EP "Stop On By". The song did not enter any charts. This was the last single he released from major record companies to date.
2010–present: working in America and going back to Japan
In 2011, The Harlem Japanese Gospel Choir was invited to Annual Keepers of the Dream Award Ceremony as a guest choir. their musical talent was praised by Stevie Wonder.[citation needed]
In 2015, he wrote a song called "Anata ni Smile" (あなたにスマイル:)) for a Japanese top singer, Misia.[9]
This song was included in her album, "Love Bebop", which was released on January 6, 2015 and this album charted at No. 4 on Oricon Daily Album Chart.[10]
Also, this song was used in a TV commercial of a Japanese famous drink manufacturer, Kirin beverage.[11]
On December 27, 2015, he performed on a live event, "Sing Mariah" with Japanese female singer Mao Denda. Her first album "Eternal Voice" has sold over 50,000 copies so far.[12]
In May 2016, he announced that he left his management team "Rhythmedia".
On June 30, 2016, he started crowdfunding to release his fourth studio album Anata ga Itekureta kara (あなたがいてくれたから).
