INTRODUCTION TO KH!

Most people would have mistaken that Hirai Ken had mixed blood, well he did look like anything but typical Japanese singer. Ken made his debut back in 1993 as a j-pop starter featuring distinct R&B flavor, as well as other j-pop singers in the late 90's.

As a student in 1992, Hirai took part in an audition with Sony Music in Yokohama with other 7,500 participants. He got through eventually and signed with the label the next year and in 1995 he released his debut single Precious Junk. This and his second single, Video Jam, were both used as theme songs for TV dramas (known as dorama). His first national tour for his first album, Un-balanced followed at the end of the year. He recorded his second album, Stare At. The album was considered acclaim in 1996, then he decided to put himself out of the shelf for a while.

Ken released three singles in the next three years with just a few public performances, as Hirai worked on developing his style and image. He made his debut comeback in 2000 with his completely new look that he's been working on the last years with his third album The Changing Same featuring the hit single Rakuen. The single got considerable FM airplay and firmly established his reputation at home and abroad. He was the first Japanese artist to take the classic test of a true R&B performer - playing at the Apollo Theater in New York, where he got a warm reception. Building on his popularity in Asia, he appeared at the MTV Music Summit in Taiwan later in the summer and went to Hong Kong to receive the Best New Japanese Act award from RTHK radio.

His single Kiss of Life was released in 2001 and used as the theme for the popular Love Revolution TV drama series. His fourth album Gaining Through Losing and a national tour of the same name built on his solid reputation. He had already shown that he had the urge to perform abroad, so his live appearance on the Music Fair show in March 2002 with producer/singer Babyface from an LA studio was very much part of the plan.

In the summer, things like winning the Best Male Artist at the inaugral MTV Music Video Awards Japan and appearing in the official FIFA World Cup concert with Chemistry and Lauryn Hill seemed like they were just par for the course.