is a Japanese singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and writer.

Career

Music

From its formation in 2000 until its disbandment in 2015, Hoshino led the

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

band Sakerock, where he played

marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...

and guitar. They released over ten albums. As a solo artist, he debuted with his first album '' Baka no Uta'' on June 23, 2010. His first physical single, " Kudaranai no Naka ni" was released on March 2, 2011, and peaked at number 17 on the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard Single (music), singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track down ...

. The subsequent singles – "Film", "Yume no Soto e", "Shiranai" (2012), and " Gag" (2013) – all charted in the top 10. His second album, ''

Episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a serial (radio and television), series intended for radio, television or Streaming media, streaming consumption. Etymology The noun ''episode'' is ...

'', released on September 28, 2011, peaked at number five. Hoshino's third album, ''

Stranger A stranger is a person who is unknown or unfamiliar to another person or group. Because of this unknown status or unfamiliarity, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity and character can be ascertained. Different classes of ...

'', followed on May 1, 2013. It peaked at number two on the

Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon A ...

and was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pro ...

(RIAJ). Since 2011, Hoshino has co-hosted the

Ustream IBM Watson Media (formerly Ustream and IBM Cloud Video) is an American virtual events platform company which is a division of IBM. Prior to the IBM acquisition, it had more than 180 employees across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Budapest office ...

program with Ichirō Yamaguchi of

Sakanaction are a Japanese rock band from Sapporo, Hokkaido. Their music is a fusion of alternative rock, electronic, pop, and new wave styles. The band consists of five members: Ichiro Yamaguchi, Motoharu Iwadera, Ami Kusakari, Emi Okazaki, and Keiichi ...

. In 2014, the program officially changed its name to ''Yoru no Television''. Hoshino's fourth album, ''

Yellow Dancer ''Yellow Dancer'' () is the fourth studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter and musician Gen Hoshino, released by Speedstar Records on December 2, 2015. Development Background Japanese singer-songwriter and musician Gen Hoshino emerged as ...

'', was released on December 2, 2015, in Japan through Speedstar Records; it debuted atop both Oricon and ''

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine '' Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence fr ...

''s album charts. ''Yellow Dancer'' was certified platinum by the RIAJ that same month for surpassing 250,000 physical shipments, and became one of the few albums to receive a gold certification for digital downloads. On February 18, 2018, Hoshino uploaded a music video for his song "Doraemon", which was written in tribute to the Japanese franchise of the same name. The song was used as the theme of the 38th ''Doraemon'' movie, ''Nobita's Treasure Island'', and has been used as the opening theme of the ''Doraemon'' anime from October 5, 2019, to November 2, 2024. '' Pop Virus'', Hoshino's fifth album, was released on December 17. It spent four consecutive weeks atop the Oricon Album Chart and was certified double platinum by the RIAJ that same month. The album's commercial performance, within just a few months of its release, earned Hoshino a Best Album prize at the 33rd Japan Gold Disc Awards in 2019, as well as a Best Song prize for the digital success of the single "Idea", which was used as a theme for ''

Asadora , colloquially known as , is a serialized, 15 minutes per episode, Japanese television drama program series broadcast in the mornings by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. The first such series aired in 1961 with the black-and-white , starring Ta ...

''. In March 2019, Hoshino also became the first artist to win four trophies at the Space Shower Music Awards. On August 30, all of Hoshino's music was made available on streaming services. In April 2022, Hoshino's song "

Comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

" was used as the ending theme of the season one anime adaptation of ''

Spy × Family ''Spy × Family'' (stylized as ''SPY×FAMILY'' and pronounced "spy family") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo. The story follows Loid Forger, an enigmatic spy who has to "build a family" to execute a missio ...

''. The following July, he released the single " I Wanna Be Your Ghost", as the main theme for the film ''Yokaipedia'' (2022). It debuted at number one on Oricon's weekly Digital Singles Chart. On December 27, 2023, Hoshino released the double A-side single "

Why Why may refer to: * Causality, a consequential relationship between two events * Reason (argument), a premise in support of an argument, for what reason or purpose * Grounding (metaphysics), a topic in metaphysics regarding how things exist in v ...

" / "

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

" (光の跡／生命体). It features the song "Why", used in the end credits of the movie '' Spy × Family Code: White''. Gen Hoshino Hikkoshi Daimyou 4

Acting

Hoshino's movie debut, Lee Sang-il's '' 69'', was an

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

of the Ryū Murakami novel of the same name. He previously acted in various television dramas and

stage play A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging ...

s. In 2012, he debuted as a voice actor, voicing Buddha in the

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

(OVA)

Hikaru Nakamura Christopher Hikaru Nakamuramanga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

'' Saint Young Men'', and also provided a theme song called "Gag" for its 2013 theatrical version, where he reprised his role. In 2013, he played the lead character in Masahide Ichii's alongside Kaho, and starred in the

Sion Sono is a Japanese filmmaker, author, and poet. Best known on the Film festival, festival circuit for the film ''Love Exposure'' (2008), he has been called "the most subversive filmmaker working in Japanese cinema today", a "Stakhanovite movement, ...

film ''

Why Don't You Play in Hell? is a 2013 Japanese film directed, written and scored by Sion Sono. The movie is an action film based on a screenplay written by Sono fifteen years earlier. North American distributor Drafthouse Films announced its acquisition before it made it ...

''. In 2016, Hoshino starred in TBS's '' The Full-Time Wife Escapist''. With

Yui Aragaki is a Japanese actress, model, singer and occasional radio show host. She has been selected several times as the most desired girlfriend and the most desired female celebrity face in Oricon's yearly survey. Early life She was born on June 11, 19 ...

as his co-star, he portrayed a salaryman named Hiramasa Tsuzaki. The drama achieved steadily rising ratings, with a real-time viewership peak rating of 20.8% on the final episode, and an overall rating of 14.5%. Hoshino's performance earned him several Best Supporting Actor awards. He also provided the theme song for the drama, titled " Koi". Gen Hoshino created the parody character "Akira Nise" (ニセ明, ''Nise Akira'', literally ''Fake Akira'') as a tribute to

Akira Fuse is a Japanese singer and actor. He debuted in 1965 with the single . Career His greatest hits are and . He currently makes consistent appearances on television, performs occasional seasonal tours, hosts a late night talk show, and is involved ...

. In 2017, Hoshino lent his voice to the main character of award-winning animated film '' Night Is Short, Walk On Girl''. He also became the voice of the Father in Mamoru Hosoda's '' Mirai'', which was released into theaters in Japan on July 20, 2018. On April 30, 2018, it was announced that Hoshino will star in ''Samurai Shifters'', the film adaptation of Akihiro Dobashi's historical novel ''Hikkoshi Daimyo Sanzenri'', set to premier on August 30, 2019. In the movie, he plays a bookworm samurai called Harunosuke Katagiri, who receives the mission to help a daimyo move. It will be Hoshino's first lead role in a live-action movie since ''Blindly in Love'' in 2013. '' Idaten'', NHK's 2019 Taiga drama, chosen for the theme to encourage the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Hoshino portrayed Kazushige Hirasawa, who delivered the persuasive speech that helped determine the venue for the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games.

Personal life

On December 22, 2012, Hoshino was diagnosed with a

subarachnoid hemorrhage Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space—the area between the arachnoid (brain), arachnoid membrane and the pia mater surrounding the human brain, brain. Symptoms may include a thunderclap headache, severe heada ...

and underwent surgery. He officially returned to public life on February 28, 2013, with his appearance at the Tokyo

J-Wave J-Wave is an commercial radio station based in Tokyo, Japan, broadcasting on 81.3 FM from the Tokyo Skytree to the Tokyo area. J-Wave airs mostly music, including J-pop, C-pop, and Western music, covering a wide range of formats. The station i ...

Awards. In 2021, Hoshino married actress

, his co-star in the television series '' The Full-Time Wife Escapist''.

Discography

Studio albums *'' Baka no Uta'' (2010) *''

'' (2011) *''

'' (2013) *''

'' (2015) *'' Pop Virus'' (2018) *'' Gen'' (2025)

Filmography

Film

Television

Television drama

Variety shows

TV commercials

* NTT DOCOMO, "ZeniCrazy Ver1.0" (February 2019) * NTT DOCOMO, "ZeniCrazy Ver2.0" (March 2019) * Nintendo, "Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary" (September 2020)

Original video animation

* '' Onna no Sono no Hoshi'' (2022), Hoshi

Concerts and tours

;Headlining tours *Baka no Uta Hatsubai Kinen no Live (2010) *Hoshino Gen no Aisatsu Mawari Tour (2010) *Hoshino Gen no Betsu Episode: Heya (2011) *Episode Hatsubai Kinen Tour: Episode 2 Ikou (2012) *Hoshino Gen One-Man no Aki (2012) *Hoshino Gen no Fukkatsu Live Tour (2014) *Hoshino Gen Live Tour 2016: Yellow Voyage (2016) *Hoshino Gen Live Tour 2017: Continues (2017) *Hoshino Gen Dome Tour 2019: Pop Virus (2019) ;Concerts *Live in Japan 2018 Gen Hoshino &

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website

Official YouTube channel
at Speedstar Records * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoshino, Gen 1981 births Living people Japanese male actors Japanese male pop singers Japanese male singer-songwriters Singers from Saitama Prefecture 21st-century Japanese male singers Amuse Inc. artists Juzo Itami Award winners