is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician from Yao, Osaka, Japan, who debuted in 2008. On June 1, 2008, Shimizu performed at Central Park in New York City during the annual Japan Day Festival. Shota Shimizu went to a local Christian school in Osaka where he learned how to sing gospel music. He became captivated with soul music, which is how his music career started. He was inspired by Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, and Ray Charles.

Before his debut, in November 2007, Shimizu sang in English on amateur night at the Apollo Theater in New York City. He was called a "one in a million soul singer" by a local newspaper in New York. The second time he performed at the Apollo Theater was on November 19, 2008. He sang the song "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto in Japanese, where he was given a standing ovation from an audience of 1,500 people. He said he sang it because he wanted to show his Japanese pride and demonstrate the beauty of the Japanese language.

Career

Umbrella (2008) Shimizu's first single, titled "Home", was released on February 20, 2008, and he appeared on Music Station two days after the single's release to promote it. "Home" peaked at ranked at number 5 and sold 27,820 units in its first week. After 17 weeks, it had sold 125,735 copies. His second single, , was released on June 4, 2008, in Japan. It ranked at number 4 and sold 22,778 units in its first week. After 12 weeks, it had sold 47,114 copies. Shimizu released his third single "My Treasure" on October 22, 2008. It ranked at number 15 and sold 9,540 units in its first week. After 5 weeks, it had sold 15,365 copies.

He released his debut album titled Umbrella, on November 26, 2008, in Japan. The album ranked at number 2 and sold 56,442 units in its first week. After 8 weeks, it has sold 115,863 copies. In March 2009, Shimizu began his first headlining tour, the "Umbrella Tour 2009". The tickets sold out in one day.

After Umbrella (2009) Shimizu released his fourth single titled "Utsukushii Hibi yo" / "Sayonara wa Itsumo Sobani" on July 15, 2009, in Japan. It debuted at number 14 and sold 8,576 copies in the first week. The track "Kaze no Youni" from this single was inspired by the song "Kaze no Dōkei" from the Chrono Trigger Soundtrack. The single sold a total of 11,144 copies so far.

Collaborations Shimizu worked with Dohzi-T on the single "One Love", which was released on July 18, 2007. He also collaborated with Miliyah Kato on the song "I'm Your Angel" on the album Tribute to Celine Dion, which was released on September 26, 2007. He collaborated on the song "Be With You", a duet with R&B Legend Joe, in 2008. Shimizu collaborated with Miliyah Kato again in 2009 on her "Love Forever" single (which was also released onto Miliyah Kato's album, Ring), which was released on May 13, 2009. "Love Forever" was a hit in Japan, and its ringtone sold over two million downloads. These Japanese singers/songwriters were both twenty years old and loved soul music, but still maintained very different music styles. On September 16, 2009, M-flo released a tribute album named Tribute: Maison de M-Flo and Shimizu covered the song "Let Go". He then released a song, "Loving You", in a compilation album named Beat Connection with Crystal Kay, Seamo, Mummy-D, and Dohzi-T on October 27, 2010.

Discography

Singles CD #TitleRelease dateOricon chartsAlbumWeeklyRankingSalesDebut"Home" 2008 Year-End Singles Chart: 50 RIAJ Certification: Gold20.02.20085128,000Umbrella2nd04.06.2008447,0003rd"My Treasure"22.10.20081515,0004th15.07.20091413,000Journey5th09.12.2009819,0006th"Goodbye"07.07.20101014,000Colors7th20.10.2010129,0008th"You & I"26.11.20111411,0009th"Love"29.06.2011167,000Naturally10th26.10.2011177,00011th21.12.2011196,00012th feat. Oda Kazumasa22.02.2012157,00013thfeat. Nakasone Izumi (HY)12.09.20121110,000MELODY14th"Woman Don't Cry"03.07.2013185,000Encore15th"Dream"29.01.2014285,00016th"Snow Smile"12.11.201426ALL SINGLES BEST17th"I Miss You (Refrain)"21.01.20153118th"Bye×Bye"22.07.2015412,000PROUD19th 28.10.2015325,00020th"Damage"17.02.20162521st"My Boo"05.10.201615FLY22nd"Fire"21.02.20172223rd"Good Life"24.01.201825WHITE24th"Friday"16.05.201816 Digital #TitleRelease DateOricon ChartsAlbumWeekly Ranking日本におけるシングルチャート最高順位： Sales1st"Diggin' On U"10.09.2008 - -Umbrella2nd"Summer Time"04.08.2010100COLORS3rd"Sorry"26.06.2019 -period4th"Breathe Again"21.08.20195th"416"15.04.20206th"Koi Uta" (恋唄)19.05.2021HOPE7th"Baby I Love You So"14.09.2022The First Take Music-"Hanataba no Kawari ni Melody wo" (花束のかわりにメロディーを) - From THE FIRST TAKE21.07.2021 - --"Koi Uta" 恋唄 - From The First Take13.10.2021 - -

Albums Studio albums No. Information Release date Oricon ChartsWeeklyAlbumsChartsSales1st albumUmbrella RIAJ Certification: Gold26.11.20082124,0002nd albumJourney RIAJ Certification: Gold03.03.20101117,0003rd albumColors RIAJ Certification: Gold09.03.2011769,0004th albumNaturally21.03.2012629,0005th albumEncore14.03.20141116,9306th albumProud30.03.20161014,165 7th albumFly28.06.2017118th albumWhite27.06.2018129th albumHope21.07.20211310th albumInsomnia28.06.2023153,357

Cover albums # Information Release date Oricon ChartsWeeklyAlbumsChartsSales1Melody28.11.2012566,000

Best albums # Information Release date Oricon ChartsWeeklyAlbumsChartsSalesThe Best Collaboration Album with Miliyah Kato02.04.2014451,0001All Singles Best25.02.2015915,000 Mini albums # Information Release date Oricon ChartsWeeklyAlbumsChartsSales1Period11.11.2020

Collaborations

Singles Information Release date Oricon Charts AlbumWeeklySingleChartsSalesOne Love Dohzi-T feat. Shota Shimizu18.07.200798ONE MICLove Forever RIAJ Certification: Gold Miliyah Kato x Shota Shimizu13.05.2009590,000THE BEST Double x Shota Shimizu11.11.20091914,000Ballad Collection MellowForever Love Shota Shimizu x Miliyah Kato03.02.2010460,000THE BESTBelieve Kato Miliyah x Shimizu Shota13.07.2011916,000Love Story Kato Miliyah x Shimizu Shota17.04.20131210,000

Participation in Albums Information Release date AlbumI'm Your Angel Miliyah Kato & Shota Shimizu26.09.2007Tribute to Celine DionMidnight Train Lyfe Jennings feat. Shota Shimizu18.06.2008Lyfe ChangeSmile Dohzi-T feat. Shota Shimizu13.05.2009 4 everOne Last Kiss Shun feat. Shota Shimizu10.03.2010Ryuha-R BeginningsStay Ken the 390 feat. Shota Shimizu07.04.2010 NEW ORDERRoll with Me Joe duet with Shimizu Shota28.07.2010 Joe Live from JapanStay Thelma Aoyama feat. Shimizu Shota16.09.2015 Gray Smoke

Other appearances Information Release date AlbumLet Go16.09.2009m-flo Tribute: Maison de m-floHome03.02.2010Ryuha-R Greatest Hits28.10.2020Inspire

References

External links

Shota Shimizu Sony Music Online Japan official website