Kazuya Yoshii is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band The Yellow Monkey. When they went on hiatus in 2001, before officially disbanding three years later, Yoshii started a solo career in 2003 under the name Yoshii Lovinson. He switched back to his old name in 2006 and The Yellow Monkey reformed in 2016.
Career
Yoshii's first band was Urgh Police, which he joined in 1986 as bass guitarist under the stage name "Robin". After releasing a demo, an EP and one album, they disbanded. In 1988, Yoshii switched to guitar and formed a new group that included Youichi Hirose and Eiji Kikuchi, where he used the nickname "Lovin". When their vocalist left, Yoshii took over that position and recruited Eiji's brother Hideaki as guitarist. The Yellow Monkey had what is regarded as their first concert on December 28, 1989 at Shibuya La Mama. The Yellow Monkey went on to have three consecutive number one albums and 17 top ten singles. With 10 million records sold, including 6.2 million singles, they were ranked number 81 on HMV Japan's list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts. The Yellow Monkey went on an indefinite hiatus in January 2001, before officially announcing their disbandment on July 7, 2004. Yoshii made his solo debut under the name "Yoshii Lovinson" in 2003 with the single "Tali". He took the stage name from Mark Levinson Audio Systems. He dropped the Yoshii Lovinson name in 2006 and began using his old name with the single "Beautiful". His album 39108 was released on October 4, with the title derived from his age of 39 years old at the time and his October 8 birthday. Yoshii released his first live albumDragon Head Miracle on April 30, 2008. His January 2009 single "Biru Mania" included a cover of "Kuchibiru Motion", which Yoshii wrote for the duo PUFFY two years earlier. The single was followed by his fifth album Volt on March 18. The single "Love & Peace" was released on February 16, 2011 and a cover of "Betsujin" was contributed to the Reichi Nakaido tribute album OK!!! C'mon Chabo!!! which was released days later. His sixth album The Apples was released on April 13, 2011 and followed by his first mini album After the Apples just seven months later. He covered the song "Razor Sharp・Kireru Yatsu" for the 2012 Kiyoshiro Imawano tribute album King of Songwriter ~Songs of Kiyoshiro Covers~. His 2012 single "Tenbyō no Shikumi" was used as the theme song of the film Key of Life. In 2014, it was announced that Yoshii would transfer record labels to Triad/Nippon Columbia. He contributed a cover of "Be My Last" for the Hikaru Utada tribute album Utada Hikaru no Uta at the end of the year. The January 2015 single "Clear" was his first official release on Triad, which was the debut label of The Yellow Monkey, although his first cover album Yoshii Funk Jr. ~Korega Genten!!~ was released by Nippon Columbia two months earlier. His song "Chōzetsu☆Dynamic!", which he composed with lyrics by Yukinojo Mori, is the opening theme song of the Dragon Ball Super anime. It was released as a single on October 7, 2015, with a B-side cover of "Romantic Ageru yo" that features his former Yellow Monkey bandmate Hideaki Kikuchi on guitar. The Yellow Monkey reformed in 2016 for an arena tour that began in May.
Personal life
Kazuya Yoshii married his first wife around 1988 when The Yellow Monkey was formed. They had three daughters and one son before getting divorced. On June 26, 2015, it was announced that Yoshii married tarentoKaori Manabe who was pregnant with his child and due to give birth in the fall. Their marriage certificate was submitted in September and Kaori gave birth on October 20, 2015. He first met Manabe, who is fourteen years his junior and has been a fan of Yellow Monkey since middle school, in autumn 2011.
