is a Japanese singer-songwriter.

Early life and family

Ozaki was born on 24 July 1989 in Tokyo, Japan, to Japanese singer songwriter

Yutaka Ozaki was a Japanese singer-songwriter. His hit debut single "Jūgo no Yoru" and debut album ''Jūnanasai no Chizu'' were released in 1983. He died in 1992 at the age of 26. Biography Early life Ozaki was born at Japan Self-Defense Forces Central ...

and Shigemi Ozaki. After his father, who was known as a legendary rock musician, died of

pulmonary edema Pulmonary edema (British English: oedema), also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive fluid accumulation in the tissue or air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. This leads to impaired gas exchange, most often leading to shortness ...

at the age of 26, Ozaki and his mother moved to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, United States.

Career

2004–2015: Pre-debut period

In March 2004, Ozaki covered his father's song as a duo named Crouching Boys, with Tomi Yo. The song was included on a

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

to Yutaka Ozaki, ''"Blue" A Tribute to Yutaka Ozaki'', which reached number one in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Ozaki graduated from

American School in Japan The American School in Japan (ASIJ; ) is an international private day school located in the city of Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan. The school consists of an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school, all located on the Chōfu campus. There ...

in June 2008 and attended

Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally established as a school for Rangaku, Western studies in 1858 in Edo. It was granted university status in 1920, becomi ...

Faculty of Environment and Information Studies Faculty or faculties may refer to: Academia * Faculty (academic staff), professors, researchers, and teachers of a given university or college (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a large department of a university by field of study (us ...

in 2008. He worked as a radio DJ on

InterFM InterFM (JODW-FM 89.7 MHz Tokyo, 76.5 MHz Yokohama) is a Japanese commercial radio station on the FM band, transmitting in the Greater Tokyo area (including Narita International Airport), and owned and operated by . Since September 2020, ...

, hosting the show ''Concerned Generation''. In July 2012, Ozaki first played in public at

Fuji Rock Festival is an annual music festival, rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash (Music promoters), Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it th ...

2012. His second show on InterFM, titled ''Between The Lines'' started in April 2013.

2016–present: ''Let Freedom Ring'' and ''Seize the Day''

After the graduation from graduate school, Ozaki launched his music career. In July 2016, he appeared on the television music show ''Ongaku no Hi'', and played his father's song "I Love You" and his first original song, "Hajimari no Machi". In September 2016, Ozaki embarked his first live concert as a solo singer, entitled ''Billboard Classics Hiroya Ozaki Premium Concert: Hajimari no Machi'', at Yomiuri Otemachi Hall. Ozaki's debut single "Hajimari no Machi" was released in September 2016, through

Toy's Factory is a Japanese record label founded in the late 1980s as a subsidiary of the entertainment company VAP, based in Japan. On May 30, 1990, it was established as an independent company. It is an associate member of the Recording Industry Assoc ...

. The song peaked at number fifty on the

Billboard Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and Hanshin Contents Link since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thursday ...

chart. His first

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

Let Freedom Ring ''Let Freedom Ring'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jackie McLean, recorded in 1962 and released on the Blue Note label.

'' was released in March 2017 to a commercial success, reaching number twenty-one in Japan. Ozaki embarked on the tour entitled ''Let Freedom Ring Tour 2017'' in support of the extended play. In September 2017, "Glory Days" was released as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from Ozaki's second extended play. The song served as the theme song to the Japanese animated movie '' Psalm of Planets Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution''. The song successfully reached number thirty-eight on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart and topped on the

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Japan. His second extended play ''Seize the Day'' was released in October 2017 and peaked number thirteen in Japan. To promote the extended play, Ozaki embarked his second tour, ''Seize the Day Tour 2017'' from October 2017, at

NHK Osaka Hall NHK Hall is a part of the NHK Osaka, located in Otemae, Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. Its address is 4-1-20, Chūō-ku, Osaka, 540-8501. This facility has a capacity of 1,417 seats. See also *NHK Hall The NHK Hall is a concert hall located at the ...

. His first

unplugged Unplugged may refer to: *Acoustic music, music not produced through electronic means * "Unplugged" (B.A.P song), 2014 * "Unplugged" (''Modern Family''), a 2010 episode of ''Modern Family'' Albums and EPs * ''Unplugged'' (5'nizza album), 2002 * '' ...

concert tour, ''One Man Stand 2017'' started in December 2017. Ozaki released a single, "Hurry Up!", with

Sky-Hi is a Japanese rapper, singer, actor, dancer, and a member of the J-pop group AAA. He is the rapper of the group and also writes rap lyrics for the band. He is also a member of the hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a ...

and Kerenmi, in April 2018. He embarked his fourth concert tour entitled ''Beyond All Borders 2018'' in May 2018. In September 2018, Ozaki announced that he would release a new single, . The song serves as the theme song to the Japanese television

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series '' Sōten no Ken: Re:Genesis''.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

Promotional singles

As a featured artist

Notes

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozaki, Hiroya 1989 births Japanese male pop singers Japanese male singer-songwriters Living people Toy's Factory artists Singers from Tokyo 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese male singers Keio University alumni