Music Corner Week 112: Subaru Shibutani
/Subaru Shibutani is an amazing singer who first came to notoriety in 1996 when he joined Johnny & Associates as a member of their boy group Kanjani Eight. Originally, Shibutani had auditioned for Kinki Kids alongside Ryuhei Maruyama, who would also go on to be a member of Kanjani Eight. Shibutani was called to a second audition for Kinki Kids. At that audition, he also met You Yokoyama and Shingo Murakami; who would go on to be members of Kanjani Eight as well.
In the song “Boys in the West Side” Shibutani got acknowledged for his singing talent. “Boys in the West Side” was used as the theme song for Kanjani Knight, a Kansai Jr. show that ran in 1998. Shibutani was a regular on the show with Yokoyama and Murakami, which started a close relationship. The three would go on to appear in many Jr shows together. It even went as far as the three dubbing themselves “3baka,” which means three idiots. Then the 3baka together with Ryo Nishikido, who would also go on to be a member of Kanji Eight, were dubbed the four top Kansi Jrs. This meant that the four were able to greatly increase their exposure.
Shibuatani got his big break when he had an outstanding performance on Musi Station, which allowed him to move to Tokyo. Yokoyama and Murakami followed closely behind. Once in Tokyo, the 3baka received many singing jobs and became a fixture in Tokyo Jr TV programs. The 3baka even went on to star in their own TV series, Ikelkelkemen, and were regulars on Koichi Domoto’s show Pikaichi. This was short-lived, as work offers began to dry up and around 2001. The 3baka moved back to Osaka and found part-time jobs to help supplement their income. In 2002 the head of Johnny & Associates Johnny Kitagawa had the Kansai Jrs put on an old play previously performed by their seniors, SMAP and Kinki Kids, which was called Another. This marked a return to activities for the Kansi Jr, but Kitagawa wanted to keep them as a local group, which would mean they would stay in Kansai. Shibutani not only returned to the stage but also got a gig on a TV program called J3Kansai.
In 2003 Kitagawa formed Kanjani Eight using the top Kansai Jrs. He decided to have Shibutani sing in enka and debut Kanjani Eight with him as the lead. Kanjani Eight’s songs would go on to encompass a wide range of styles besides enka, including pop, rap, jazz, funk, rock-and-roll, and blues among others. Shibutani also picked up how to play the guitar, harmonica, and shamisen. Shibutani stayed with Kanjani Eight until 2018, when he announced that he would be leaving the group to pursue his own goals by studying music abroad. Shibutani didn’t wait long to release his first solo album Nisai which came out the following year. Since leaving the group, Shibutani has released three albums. His latest album is 2021, which came out in September of 2021.
Shibutani’s vocals are amazing and show off his years of experience. I like that he frequently uses the harmonica in his music, which gives it a distinct feel. His song “Sing” does a great job showing off his vocal range and skill. He does a really good job of shaking it up with a wide variety of song styles. “Ike” on his 2021 is a fun song to listen to and is one of my favorite tracks he does.
Subaru Shibutani keeps all his latest information on his official website and his staff Twitter stays up to date on all his latest news as well. Lastly, be sure to check out his song “Sing” in the video below.
