Kiyoshi Hikawa

History

After graduating from high school in 1995, Hikawa moved to Tokyo and became an apprentice under Hideo Mizumori for three years. He debuted professionally in 2000 with the single 'Hakone Hachiri no Hanjirō.' His 2005 single 'Hatsukoi Ressha' became his first number-one on the Oricon weekly singles chart. In 2006, he won the Grand Prix at the 48th Japan Record Awards for 'Ikken.'

The single 'Rōkyōku Ichidai' (2009) was his second number-one on Oricon. That year's album 'Enka Meikyoku Collection 10: Rōkyōku Ichidai' debuted at No. 2 behind Eminem's 'Relapse.' His single 'Tokimeki no Rumba' (August 2009) debuted at No. 1 with first-week sales of about 68,000 copies, making him the first solo enka singer to achieve three number-one singles on Oricon. The album 'Enka Meikyoku Collection 11: Tokimeki no Rumba' followed in November 2009.

At Jump Festa 2017, it was announced he would sing his first anime theme song, Dragon Ball Super's second opening, 'Genkai Toppa x Survivor,' composed by Takafumi Iwasaki with lyrics by Yukinojo Mori. On January 21, 2022, he announced a temporary suspension of singer activities from December 31, 2022.

Characteristics

Hikawa appeals to both young and older audiences, helping to popularize enka among listeners in their 20s. He often wears trendy casual clothes but also appears in traditional kimono. Since 2019, he has adopted both masculine and feminine fashion, coming out as 'genderless' in 2020. That year, he performed on Kōhaku without being assigned to either the Red or White team.