KI-YO a.k.a Kiyotaka

about

Ki-yo a.k.a Kiyotaka is more than a musician; having started playing piano at the age of five, his passion fueled his interest in music throughout his life. Born and bred in Sendai, Japan, he acquired many talents including singing, songwriting, arranging, and producing. The limit to his ability is the limit to his desire, as he has mastered piano and keyboard, learned guitar for composing, and has picked up some cello for fun and inspiration. Ki-yo was strongly influenced by a variety of music from different styles and various eras, like the classical music of Frederic Chopin and Maurice Ravel; the jazz music of Nina Simone, Bill Evans, Nat King Cole, and Diana Krall; the soul music of Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, and Luther Vandross; the gospel music of Smokie Norful and Kim Burrell; and the pop music of Billy Joel, Elton John, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston. Ki-yo was discovered when, at the age of 16, he sent a demo tape, which included songs that he had produced himself, to producer Hideya Nakazaki. Then at 17 he released his first single “No No No”. As soon as it was heard, it was put in heavy rotation (known as Power Play in Japan) on 17 radio stations in Japan, a record for new artists. His third single “The Only One” has sold over 350,000 copies and his album “I’ll Be There” was number 7 in the charts its first week out. A special promotional concert for that album was attended by more than 6,000 fans. That same year, he received the “ALL JAPAN RE

top songs

albums

#1

similar artists