April 27, 2021

Ken Hirai Brings A New Feeling With Upcoming Album!

April 27, 2021/ Ken

Vocalist Ken Hirai announced that he will be releasing a brand new album, あなたになりたかった (Anata ni Naritakatta), May 12. Kicking off Hirai’s 25th year in the Japanese music industry, this will be the latest album release by the artist since THE STILL LIFE back in December 2016 and is his tenth album overall. The album is set to contain a total of 13 songs, including five new ones such as "鬼になりました” (”Oni ni Naru”), which was sound-produced by Seiho; "Polyester Woman", which was composed and arranged by Kenji Masuda; and "Good night", which was composed by Hirai himself. In addition, Seiji Kameda, UTA, Masato Ishinari (a guitarist who has been on stage with Hirai for many years), and Dai Suzuki (a pianist) are also participating in the album. Anata ni Naritakatta will drop with three editions: a CD-only standard edition and two limited editions which will come with a bonus DVD or Blu-ray. What will be included on the DVD/Blu-ray has currently not be announced at the time of reporting.

However, as we look forward to the upcoming release, be sure to check out Hirai’s latest music video for “Precious Junk” along with the pre-order links for Anata ni Naritakatta below!

Standard edition

Limited DVD edition

Limited Blu-ray edition

Anata ni Naritakatta Standard Edition Jacket Cover

Anata ni Naritakatta Limited Edition Jacket Cover

Ken Hirai「Anata ni Naritakatta」

01. ノンフィクション

［Lyrics & Music : Ken Hirai / Sound Produced & Arranged by Seiji Kameda］

02. 怪物さん feat.あいみょん

［Lyrics & Music : Ken Hirai / Sound Produced & Arranged by Tomi Yo］

03. #302　　

［Lyrics & Music : Ken Hirai / Sound Produced & Arranged by Tomi Yo, Masato Ishinari］

04. 1995

［Lyrics : Ken Hirai / Music, Sound Produce & Arrangement : Hidefumi Kenmochi］

05.僕の心をつくってよ

［Lyrics & Music : Ken Hirai / Sound Produced & Arranged by Seiji Kameda］

06. オーソドックス

［Lyrics & Music : Ken Hirai / Sound Produced & Arranged by Tomi Yo］

07. ポリエステルの女

［Lyrics : Ken Hirai / Music & Arrangement : Kenji Masuda］

08. トドカナイカラ

［Lyrics & Music : Ken Hirai / Sound Produced & Arranged by Tomi Yo, Masato Ishinari］

09. いてもたっても

［Lyrics & Music : Ken Hirai / Sound Produced & Arranged by UTA (TinyVoice Production)］

10. 知らないんでしょ？

［Lyrics & Music : Ken Hirai / Sound Produced & Arranged by Seiji Kameda］

11. 鬼になりました

［Lyrics & Music : Ken Hirai / Sound Produced & Arranged by Seiho］

12. half of me

［Lyrics & Music : Ken Hirai / Sound Produced & Arranged by Seiji Kameda］

13. おやすみなさい

［Lyrics & Music : Ken Hirai / Arranged by Masaru Suzuki］

April 13, 2020

Ken Hirai Shows the Monster Among Men With Latest Music Video!

April 13, 2020/ Ken

Vocalist Ken Hirai released the music video for his track “怪物さん feat. Aimyon” (“Kaibutsu-san feat. Aimyon”) on his official YouTube channel. As the title implies, featured vocalist Aimyon appears very heavily throughout the video. Hirai wrote the song thinking that no one else could bring this song to life besides Aimyon, a direction pulled off very successfully as she synergizes very well with his vocal style. This track is a must listen for fans of both artists. The video is artistically directed by famed videographer Yusuke Tanaka and brought the theme of “What if Dharma fell from the heavens and had to show the expression of love between a man and woman?”

The track is currently available digitally across music streaming platforms in Japan only, but check out the music video in question below!

December 05, 2019

Ken Hirai brings brand new single!

December 05, 2019/ Luna

Long-time Japanese staple and singer-songwriter Ken Hirai is dropping a new single December 4 titled “#302”. This will be Hirai’s 46th physical single and it is featured as the theme song to Japanese TV series Marigold in 4 Minutes.

“#302” will come in two editions, a CD + DVD limited edition and a CD-only regular edition. The CD + DVD edition will feature music videos for “#302” and “Ite mo Tatte mo” and two songs while the CD-only regular edition will come with three tracks. Pre-order your copy at the below links while checking out the track listing and music video for “#302”!

CD + DVD Limited edition

CD only regular edition

Ken Hirai ”#302”

CD only regular edition Track List: