Fujii Kaze (藤井 風) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician under Universal Sigma. Raised in Satosho, Okayama in Japan, he began uploading covers to YouTube since the age of 12. He released his first studio album, Help Ever Hurt Never in 2020, which reached number one on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart and number two on the Oricon Albums Chart.
Fujii Kaze | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | (1997-06-14) June 14, 1997 (age 25)[1] Satoshō, Okayama, Japan[1] |
Origin | Japan |
Genres |
|
Occupation(s) |
|
Instrument(s) |
|
Years active | 2019–present |
Labels |
|
Website | 藤井 風 OFFICIAL SITE |
Kaze Fujii was born in 1997 in Satosho in Okayama, Japan, and has one older brother and two older sisters. As a child, he listened to all kinds of music such as jazz, classical music, pop, and enka. Starting at 12 years old, Fujii uploaded various piano and vocal cover videos on his personal YouTube channel, amassing more than 30 million views.[2] During his high school years, he suspended uploading to focus on his musical studies; he returned to YouTube after he graduated. In early 2019, he moved to Tokyo.[3]
Fujii released his debut single, "何なんw (WTF lol)" on November 18, 2019, and his second single, "もうええわ (Mo-Eh-Wa)" on December 24. Each single was re-released digitally with its own extended play, with each EP including cover songs that can only be downloaded on Apple Music.
In January 2020, he was named as one of Spotify's "Early Noise 2020" Top 10 Breaking Artists.[4]
One-man live performances in the form of Nan-Nan Show 2020 were scheduled for April 4 and 26 at Zepp Namba and Zepp Tokyo respectively, but were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
Fujii released his first studio album Help Ever Hurt Never on May 20, 2020, and reached number one on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart. He also announced his first national hall tour, which consists of 12 performances in 11 cities from December 25, 2020, to January 31, 2021.[6]
In August 2020, he became the first Japanese to be a YouTube's Artist on the Rise.
Immediately after Fujii Kaze "Nan-Nan Show 2020" Help Ever Hurt Never at Nippon Budokan, Fujii released two new singles: "Hedemo Ne-Yo" and "Seishun Sick" on October 30.[7] Each single was released digitally with its own extended play and selection of cover songs.
In March 2021, "Tabiji" became his first theme song for a Japanese TV drama series Nizi Village Clinic (にじいろカルテ).
In April 2021, "Kirari" was released and is used in a TV ad for Honda Vezel (HR-V). The song led to an explosion of his popularity internationally, debuting at number one on the Billboard Japan Download Songs chart.
in August 2021, Fujii was named one of the most exciting musicians around the world by GQ.
On December 31, 2021, Fujii performed on the prestigious year-end music program, NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen.
On January 14, 2022, Fujii released the EP Kirari Remixes (Asia Edition).
Fujii released his second studio album, Love All Serve All, on March 23, 2022.
Since July 2022, Fujii was brought to the attention of a global audience thanks to one of his songs, "Shinunoga E-Wa", going viral on TikTok. This song was released as part of his debut album Help Ever Hurt Never back in 2020.
Fujii's music has been described as "fresh yet familiar", with clear influence stemming from the western music he grew up with. His vocals are "reminiscent of Japan’s kayōkyoku pop standards", making his music also distinctly Japanese.[8]
Title | Album details | Peak positions | Sales | Certifications | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
JPN [9] |
JPN Hot [10] | ||||
Help Ever Hurt Never |
Track listing
|
2 | 1 |
| |
Love All Serve All |
Track listing
|
1 | 1 |
|
|
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. |
Title | Album details | Peak positions | Sales (JPN) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPN [9] |
JPN Hot [10] | |||
Nan-Nan (何なんw) |
Track listing
|
— | — | — |
Mo-Eh-Wa (もうええわ) |
Track listing
|
— | 10[17] | — |
Hedemo Ne-Yo (へでもねーよ) |
Track listing
|
— | — | 5,430[18] |
Seishun Sick (青春病) |
Track listing
|
— | — | 4,559[19] |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
JPN [lower-alpha 1][20] |
JPN Hot [21] | ||||
"Nan-Nan" (何なんw) | 2019 | — | 99 |
|
Help Ever Hurt Never |
"Mo-Eh-Wa" (もうええわ) | — | — | |||
"Yasashisa" (優しさ) | 2020 | — | 34 |
| |
"Cause It's Endless" (キリがないから) | — | 86 | |||
"Hedemo Ne-Yo" (へでもねーよ) | — | — | Love All Serve All | ||
"Seishun Sick" (青春病) | — | 68 | |||
"Tabiji" (旅路) | 2021 | 15 | 10 |
| |
"Kirari" (きらり) | 5 | 2 | |||
"Ignite" (燃えよ) | — | 19 | |||
"Matsuri" (まつり) | 2022 | 24 | 10 | ||
"Damn" | — | 42 | |||
"Grace" | — | 4 | Non-album single | ||
"—" denotes singles that did not chart. |
Notes
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
JPN Hot [21] |
SGP [26] |
VIE [27] |
WW [28] | |||
"Shinunoga E-Wa" (死ぬのがいいわ) | 2022 | 33 | 8 | 39 | 118 | Help Ever Hurt Never |
Year | Date | Song | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | January 23 | "何なんw" (Nan-Nan) | Chris Rudz | Also known as "WTF" / "WTF lol" |
February 20 | "もうええわ" (I'm Over It) | Spikey John (スパイキージョン) | ||
April 16 | "優しさ" (Yasashisa) | Kento Yamada (山田健人) | ||
May 14 | "キリがないから" (Cause It's Endless) | |||
September 4 | "帰ろう" (Go Home) | Kodama Yuichi (児玉裕一) | ||
December 4 | "へでもねーよ" (Hedemo Ne-Yo) | Kento Yamada (山田健人) | ||
December 11 | "青春病" (Seishun Sick) | Tomokazu Yamada (山田智和) | ||
2021 | March 10 | "旅路" (Tabiji) | Kento Yamada (山田健人) | |
May 21 | "きらり" (Kirari) | Spikey John (スパイキージョン) | ||
October 24 | "燃えよ" (Mo-Eh-Yo) | Kazuaki Seki (関和亮) | Music video shot on Google Pixel 6[29][30] | |
2022 | March 20 | "まつり" (Matsuri) | MESS | |
September 30 | "damn" | Kento Yamada (山田健人) | ||
October 10 | "grace" | QQQ |
Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee(s) / Work(s) | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
CD Shop Awards | 2021 | Blue Prize | Help Ever Hurt Never | Won | |
China Block Award | Won | ||||
2022 | Best Live Video Works | Nan-Nan Show 2020 | Won | [31] | |
MEXT Awards | 2022 | Art Encouragement Prize for New Artist | Fujii Kaze | Won | [32][33] |
Mnet Asian Music Awards | 2020 | Best New Asian Artist Japan | Won | [34] | |
MTV Video Music Awards Japan | 2020 | Best R&B Video | "Nan-Nan" | Won | |
2022 | Best Visual Effects | "damn" | Won | ||
Music Pen Club Awards | 2021 | Best New Artist (Popular Music) | Fujii Kaze | Won | |
Space Shower Music Awards | 2021 | Best Breakthrough Artist | Won | ||
Best Conceptual Video | "Seishun-Sick" | Won | |||
2022 | Best Solo Artist | Fujii Kaze | Won | ||
Best Conceptual Live | Won | ||||
People's Choice | Won |
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Mnet Asian Music Awards for Best New Asian Artist | |
---|---|
2008 | ![]() |
2010 | ![]() |
2011 | ![]() |
2012 |
|
2017 | ![]() |
2018 |
|
2019 |
|
2020 |
|
2021 |
|
Authority control ![]() |
|
---|