Shinji Harada (Harada Shinji、原田真二) is a famous
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...
artist 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 ...
, born in
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...
, on December 5, 1958.
After three years of practicing
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
, at the age of fifteen he was ready to play guitar with the band ''Yamaha''.
Harada became a musical sensation in Japan when he released his debut single ''Teens' Blues'' on October 25, 1977 when he was 18 years old. He released two more singles, ''Candy'' in November and ''Shadow Boxer'' in December same year. All three singles ranked within the top 20 in the
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
chart simultaneously, which had never happened before. The debut album ''Feel Happy'' was to become number one in the first week of release in Japan in 1978. A documentary film about him, ''Our Song'', was made in 1978. Harada has been prolific, releasing more than 70 singles from 1977 to 2015.
Harada is just as prolific a songwriter, having written or composed for
Koji Kikkawa,
Junko Yagami,
Anri
, better known as , is a Japanese singer-songwriter from Yamato, Kanagawa, Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture. In a career spanning more than 40 years, she achieved commercial success and popularity in the city pop music scene during the 1980s.
She ...
,
Hiromi Go,
Akina Nakamori
is a Japanese Singing, singer and Actor, actress. She is one of the most popular and List of best-selling music artists in Japan, best-selling music artists in Japan. Akina achieved national recognition after winning the 1981 season of the tal ...
, AND many more artists.
His song '' from the album 'Feel Happy' was covered by
Spitz
A spitz (; , in reference to the pointed muzzle) is a Dog type, type of domestic dog consisting of between 50 and 70 breeds depending on classification. There is no precise definition of 'spitz' but typically most spitz breeds have pricked ears ...
. Spitz's 'Time Travel' was used in the famous 2011 Japanese drama
Boku to Star no 99 Nichi starring Hidetoshi Nishijima and Kim Tae Hee.
Discography
* ''Feel Happy'' (1978)
* ''Natural High'' (1979)
* ''The Best Collection'' (1980)
* ''Entrance'' (1981)
* ''Light Collection'' (1983)
* ''Save Our Soul'' (1983.7.21)
* ''Modern Vision'' (1984)
* ''Magical Healing'' (1985)
* ''Doing Wonders'' (1986)
* ''Urban game'' (1988.11.21)
* ''Absolute Singles'' (1988)
* ''Absolute Mix'' (1988)
* ''Just Urban Night'' (1989)
* ''Kindness'' (1991)
* ''Miracle Love'' (1992.11.21)
* ''Make it a Paradise'' (1993.9.21) COLUMBIA
* ''The World of Shinji Harada'' (1998)
* ''Urban Angels 2004'' (2004.12.5) Shine Records
* ''Harmoney～Bokurano Harmony～(mini album)'' (2005.10.25)
* ''Feel Happy 〜Debut 30th Anniversary〜'' (2007.10.24) FORLIFE
* ''Feel Free'' (2007) Roppongi WAVE
External links
Shinji Harada Official WebsiteGentle Earth: Shinji Harada's non-profit organization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harada, Shinji
1958 births
Japanese pop musicians
Living people
Singers from Hiroshima Prefecture