Chris Hart (musician)

Chris Hart (クリス・ハート, Kurisu Hāto, born August 25, 1984) is an American-born Japanese singer/songwriter/producer who gained popularity as a J-pop artist in Japan.

Chris Hart
Background information
Born (1984-08-25) 25 August 1984
Palo Alto, California, United States
OriginJapan
GenresJ-pop
Occupation(s)Singer/Songwriter/Producer
InstrumentsVocals, Guitar
Years active2003-present
LabelsUniversal Sigma (Universal Music Group) (2013-present)
Associated actsA.P.E., Seiko Matsuda, May J., Gospellers
WebsiteChris Hart Official Twitter

Early life

Hart was born August 25, 1984, in the San Francisco Bay Area to musician parents, who separated when he was 2 years old.[1] He has an older sister and a younger half-brother.[1] Hart developed an interest in Japanese music, language, and culture when he was 12 years old after taking a Japanese class at his school in the Palo Alto Unified School District.[1] He was moved by the kindness of the people he met in Japan the next year during his summer vacation.[1] In college he majored in music and Japanese and took jobs in an airport and with a Japanese cosmetics company to maintain his connection. Upon moving to Japan, he took a job working on vending machines.

Music career

In 2003, Hart was vocalist of a Visual-Kei/JROCK band, NIKITA w/Metallic Beasts.

In 2007 Hart began a solo band called LYV. As LYV, Hart wrote all lyrics and music in Japanese. He released a digital album titled Voyager.

Upon relocating to Japan, Hart performed around Japan independently performing at live houses. events, festivals, on TV programs and at weddings. In 2011, Hart was a part of the vocal unit "Triple Trip" with whom he did a regular radio program on Kawasaki FM. They released one digital single titled "NEW WORLD". Hart is also credited for lyrics of the English version of the Tsukuba Daigaku theme song, "Imagine The Future".

In 2012, a YouTube video Hart made was noticed by executives for the Nippon Television show Nodojiman The World, a reality contest that features non-Japanese singing Japanese songs, and he was invited to compete in the show. He appeared at least twice in 2012. Producer Jeff Miyahara noticed Hart's performance, and asked to produce him.[1]

In 2013 his cover of the Yusaku Kiyama song "Home" reached number 8 in Japanese sales on the Oricon Singles Chart.[2] His album of cover songs, released soon after, reached third, selling over 300,000 copies.[3]

Hart released an original collaboration single, "Yume Ga Samete", with JPOP Legend, Matsuda Seiko for their label, Universal Sigma's 10th anniversary.

Hart and Seiko Matsuda sang "Yume ga Samete" at the 64th annual Kōuhaku Uta Gassen.

On February 26, 2014, Hart released his first original single, "I LOVE YOU", and his first original album Song for You on March 19, 2014. It ranked #7 on the Oricon Weekly Charts.

Hart released his follow-up to "Heart Song", called "Heart Song II", on June 25, 2014. It ranked number 2 on the Oricon Weekly Charts. He later released a Christmas album, Christmas Hearts, on November 12, 2014. The album ranked number 8 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and would be Hart's fourth consecutive album to rank in the top 10. It was later announced that Hart would participate in the 65th annual Kōuhaku Uta Gassen. He sang his cover "Ito" by Miyuki Nakajima.

In 2015, it was announced that Chris Hart would release a single with Gospellers titled "Tsuzuku Michi with Gospellers" and embark on his third nationwide tour. The 47-prefecture hall tour titled "Chris Hart 47 Prefecture Tour 2015-2016~Tsuzuku Michi~ Presented by IBJ", was the first for a non-Japanese artist.

On June 25, 2015, it was announced that Hart had exceeded cumulative album sales of 1 million units. It was also announced that the theme song to the TV Asahi mystery drama Saikyo no Futari would be sung by him. The new original song from Hart, "Anata e", was announced with a single release date of August 26, 2015. It is Hart's third original single.[4]

In 2016, Hart co-wrote the song "Boku wa kokode ikiteiku". The song would be featured on NHK Minna no Uta. He also announced his 47 prefecture tour's final show at Nippon Budokan titled after the single, "Chris Hart Nippon Budokan LIVE 'Boku wa kokodeikiteiku' 47 prefecture tour 2015-2016~tsuzuku michi~ Final". Hart announced his follow up tour, a second 47 prefecture tour titled, "Chris Hart 2nd 47 Prefecture Tour~My Hometown~" lasting from 2016 to 2017. The tour featured local mascots for each show, ending in Tokyo at the Tokyo International Forum Hall A. In total Hart would hold 98 concerts between the two consecutive 47 Prefecture Tours.

On April 6, 2017, Hart announced his naturalization to Japanese citizenship.[5]

On December 5, 2017, he announced on his official blog that he would take an indefinite hiatus in order to continue his study of music and spend time with his family., Hart also released his first compilation album "Kokoro no Uta~Chris Hart BEST~" which featured a collection of his previously released original and cover songs. The album would feature a new recorded cover of Kazumasa Oda's song "Daijoubu" and a new original song "Dreams". The promotional video for "Dreams" featured a dance routine performed by renowned ballet dancer, Shoko Nakamura.

Hart performed his last one man show at NHK Hall on April 13, 2018. There he performed the duet song "Fanfare" with singer Murakami Keisuke. The song was co-written by Hart, Murakami and songwriter Paul Ballard.

In 2018, Chris Hart's original song "I LOVE YOU" would shoot up the charts to reach #13 for the 2018 Oricon Karaoke Ranking. Singer, FUKI, would release the first official cover of Hart's song. Various artists would go on to cover the song.

In 2019, Hart began a new project with songwriter Paul Ballard, called A.P.E. They would co-write the music for the song "For One's Smile feat Chris Hart" for the artist, Ai Kawashima. Hart would also provide vocals for the song. As A.P.E, they are credited for the arrangement of artist May J.'s cover of Chris Hart's original song "I LOVE YOU", for her album "Heisei Love Song Covers".

A.P.E. is credited for the score and sound design of the Canadian film "Viaticum" directed by, and starring Lara Daans. The film won a Gold Award for Best Sound Design with the Mindfield Film Festival - Albuquerque (November 2019).

Personal life

Chris Hart grew up in Palo Alto, California and attended Gunn High School.[6] He married in 2012 and has three children. Hart became a Japanese citizen in 2017.[7] In accordance with Japanese nationality law, Hart relinquished American citizenship.[8]

Discography
Albums
  • Heart Song - June 5, 2013 (Oricon Ranking: #3)
  • Heart Song -Special Edition- - September 4, 2013
  • Song for You - March 19, 2014 (Oricon Ranking: #7)
  • Heart Song II - June 25, 2014 (Oricon Ranking: #2)
  • Christmas Hearts - November 12, 2014 (Oricon Ranking: #8)
  • Heart Song III - June 3, 2015 (Oricon Ranking: #3)
  • Kokorono Uta -Chris Hart Best- - October 4, 2017
Singles
  • "home" - May 1, 2013 (Oricon Ranking: #13)[9]
  • "Yume ga Samete" (夢がさめて, "Waking From a Dream") - October 30, 2013 (Oricon Ranking: #14)
  • "I LOVE YOU" - February 26, 2014 (Oricon Ranking: #30)
  • Mamoritai ~magic of a touch~ (Oricon Ranking: N/A)
  • Tsuzuku Michi with Gospellers - April 15, 2015 (Oricon Ranking: # 21)

Awards and certifications
55th Annual Japan Record Awards
  • Best Promoted Work: Chris Hart - Heart Song
  • Best Promoted Work: Seiko Matsuda & Chris Hart - Yume Ga Samete
28th Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards[10]
  • New Artist of the Year (Japanese Domestic): Chris Hart
  • 5 Best New Artists (Japanese Domestic)
RIAJ Certifications
  • Chris Hart - Heart Song (Platinum Certification)
  • Chris Hart - Heart Song II (Gold Certification)
  • Chris Hart - Heart Song III (Gold Certification)
  • Chris Hart - Mamoritai~Magic of a Touch~ (Digital Gold Certification)
  • Chris Hart - Home (Digital Gold Certification)
  • Chris Hart - Ito (Digital Gold Certification)
  • Chris Hart - I LOVE YOU (Digital Gold Certification)
Oricon Weekly Charts

-Longest Consistent Top 10 Ranking for a Non-Japanese Male Solo Artist. (5 straight weeks in Top 10 as of 7/30/14)

Other

- 1 Million+ Cumulative Album Sales

Songwriting/Composition
  • Mindfield Film Festival • Albuquerque (November 2019) - Best Sound Design Gold Award: A.P.E. (Viaticum)

References
  1. "Chris Hart". Universal Music. Archived from the original on 2013-12-21. Retrieved 2014-01-02., English translation here Archived August 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Chris Hart Makes Triumphal Return to US and Announces Debut in Japan". Barks. May 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  3. Azusa Uchikura (September 3, 2013). "Big in Japan: American Chris Hart finds J-pop home". Associated press.
  4. "元警察官クリス・ハート、新ドラマ「最強のふたり～京都府警 特別捜査班～」と運命的なコラボ決定！ドラマ予告動画". navicon.jp. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  5. "応援してくれる皆様へ". Archived from the original on 2017-04-07. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  6. Kenrick, Chris. "Former student, now pop star in Japan, recounts story". www.paloaltoonline.com. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  7. INC, SANKEI DIGITAL (2017-04-07). "歌手のクリス・ハートさんが日本国籍を取得 「日本へ力になれるように頑張る」と抱負". 産経ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  8. "Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen To Expatriate, as Required by Section 6039G". Federal Register. 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  9. "クリス・ハートのシングル売上ランキング". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  10. https://www.golddisc.jp/award/28/index.html
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