| 氷川 きよし (Kiyoshi Hikawa) |
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|---|---|
| Birth name | 山田 清志 Kiyoshi Yamada |
| Born | September 6, 1977 Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan |
| Genres | Enka, Kayōkyoku, Pop |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Columbia Music Entertainment (2000–present) |
| Website | Official Site (Japanese) |
Kiyoshi Hikawa (氷川 きよし Hikawa Kiyoshi) is a Japanese enka singer who was born on September 6, 1977 in Minami-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.[1] His real name is Kiyoshi Yamada (山田 清志 Yamada Kiyoshi)[1] and he is known as "The Prince of Enka" due to his young age and popularity. When he is marketing non-enka music, he goes by KIYOSHI, using capitalized letters of the roman alphabet, instead of kanji and hiragana.
His record company is Columbia Music Entertainment, and his agency is Nagara Productions. He was given his stage name by Takeshi Kitano,[1] who initially supported his career. Today, Hikawa makes frequent appearances on NHK Kayō Concert (ＮＨＫ歌謡コンサート), as well as NHK's Kōhaku Uta Gassen.
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As a high school student, Hikawa was a member of the school's performing arts club (芸能部 geinō-bu) and trained to be a singer. It is unusual for a young person in his 20s to take up the style of enka professionally, as most enka fans prefer their performers to be much older. Hikawa decided to become an enka singer when he found that his singing of traditional songs had an effect on the residents of the nursing homes he visited. After graduation from high school in 1995, Hikawa travelled to Tokyo, where he became an apprentice under the supervision of Hideo Mizumori. He served under Mizumori for three years.
In 2000, Hikawa made his professional debut with his single "Hakone Hachiri no Hanjirō."[2]
Hikawa released single "Hatsukoi Ressha" on February 9, 2005. It became his first number-one single on the Japanese Oricon weekly single charts. In 2006, he won the grand prix award by his song "Ikken" at the 48th Japan Record Awards. On February 4, 2009, he released single "Rōkyōku Ichidai", which became his second number-one single on the Oricon weekly charts. On May 20, 2009, he released album Enka Meikyoku Collection 10: Rōkyōku Ichidai, which debuted at No. 2 on the Oricon weekly album charts only behind Eminem's album Relapse. He released his second single of the year, "Tokimeki no Rumba", on August 19, 2009. The single debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon weekly charts with the first week sales of about 68,000 copies, making him the first solo enka singer to make three number-one singles in Oricon history.[3] He released album Enka Meikyoku Collection 11: Tokimeki no Rumba on November 11, 2009.
Hikawa is popular with young and old people alike. Although enka is in a downward trend in Japan, Hikawa is responsible for popularizing enka amongst the 20s demographic, who traditionally do not listen to it. Hikawa usually dresses in trendy casual clothes, sometimes appearing in the more traditional kimono normally worn by enka singers.
Hikawa has traveled around the world, including to the United States. In 2003, he was the guest of honor at Hawaii's week-long Aloha Festival, where he participated in a parade with various Japan-based hula halau, and ended the week with a concert.
| Preceded by Amika Hattan |
Japan Record Award for Best New Artist 2000 |
Succeeded by w-inds. |