Takahiro Moriuchi
Takahiro Moriuchi (Japanese: 森内 貴寛, Hepburn: Moriuchi Takahiro, born April 17, 1988, in Tokyo), known professionally as Taka, is a Japanese musician who is the lead vocalist of the Japanese rock band One Ok Rock. Moriuchi is the main lyricist and composer of his band. In 2017, Kerrang! magazine placed him at number 27 on their list of the "50 Greatest Rockstars in the World".[1] He was also listed by Rock Sound magazine as one of "50 Most Influential Figures in Rock".[2]
Takahiro Moriuchi 森内 貴寛 | |
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Taka during Back to the Future Hearts Tour at CFE Arena, Orlando, Florida in 2015 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | 森内 貴寛 (Moriuchi Takahiro) |
Also known as | Taka |
Born | Tokyo, Japan | 17 April 1988
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | |
Instruments | |
Years active | 2003–present |
Labels |
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Associated acts |
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Website | ONE OK ROCK official website |
Prior to this, he was in the boyband NEWS throughout 2003 until he left the group and the agency.[3] He performs in English and Japanese.
Personal life
Moriuchi was born on April 17, 1988, the eldest son of famous Japanese singers Masako Mori and Shinichi Mori.[4] He has two younger brothers named Tomohiro Moriuchi who works on TV Tokyo, and Hiroki Moriuchi who is the lead singer of the band MY FIRST STORY.[5][6]
He attended Keio Elementary School and graduated in March 2001. Then he began attending Keio Middle School in April 2001 and continued his studies at Keio High School in April 2004. In his first year of high school (March 2005), he dropped out to pursue his musical career.[4] A month later, his parents divorced.
In 2005, he changed his last name from Moriuchi (森内) to Morita (森田) due to the divorce of his parents.[7] However, in the June 2012 issue of the magazine, Rockin'On Japan, he stated in an interview that his real name is Takahiro Moriuchi.[8] In 2013, he is shown again in a photo using his last name, Moriuchi, where all ONE OK ROCK band members held a written sign of their real names. The photo was taken by photographer, Rui Hashimoto.[9]
Career
2002–2004: Career beginnings and other musical pursuits
Moriuchi signed with Johnny's Entertainment in 2002 and joined the boy band, NEWS, in 2003. Owing to a sex scandal in which pictures were taken of him in bed with a young lady, he left in 2004 to ostensibly "focus on his studies".[4][7] He was briefly in a band called Chivalry of Music in 2004.[10]
2005–present: ONE OK ROCK
Moriuchi was invited by guitarist Toru Yamashita to join One Ok Rock in 2005.[10] The band released their first independent CD in 2006 and were signed by Amuse, Inc., whom they made their major debut with.
The band did moderately well with music sales until they hit with major success in August 2012 upon the release of "The Beginning", which was the theme song for the live action movie adaption of the manga and anime, Rurouni Kenshin.[11] The band's concerts have been sold out many times with high attendance and constantly adding new tour dates in Japan. ONE OK ROCK has also held concert tours overseas in Asia, U.S., Europe and South America.
In March 2013, Simple Plan announced a new version of their song "Summer Paradise" with Moriuchi for a Japanese-only release [12] They later performed together at the music festival, Punkspring 2013 in Tokyo, Japan.[13]
In November 2013, Moriuchi helped Pay Money to My Pain to sing one of their songs on their tribute album "Gene" after their vocalist, K (Kei Goto), died due to heart failure.[14]
In summer 2014, ONE OK ROCK's newest songs, "Mighty Long Fall" and "Heartache" were featured as theme songs for the live action movie sequels, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno and Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends, respectively.[15]
In February 2015, Moriuchi was featured as a guest vocalist on the track "Dreaming Alone" by Against the Current.
As of July 2015, ONE OK ROCK is signed with the U.S. label, Warner Bros. Records and released an English version of their album, 35xxxv in February 2015.
On September 11, 2016, ONE OK ROCK signed with Fueled by Ramen. Their eighth album, Ambitions, was released on January 11, 2017, for the Japanese version album under the Japanese label A-Sketch and on January 13, 2017 for the English version album under the American label Fueled by Ramen.
In July 2017, Moriuchi was featured on the track "Don't Let Me Go" from Goldfinger's album The Knife as a guest vocalist.[16] On 27 October 2017, he appeared at Linkin Park and Friends – Celebrate Life in Honor of Chester Bennington, performing "Somewhere I Belong" with the remaining members of Linkin Park.[17] On May 12, 2018, he guested on Linkin Park co-vocalist Mike Shinoda's show at Identity Festival in Los Angeles, performing "Waiting for the End / Where'd You Go" mash-up.[18][19]
Influences
His greatest influences are Linkin Park,[20] Good Charlotte, The Used, Red Hot Chili Peppers,[21] Thirty Seconds to Mars,[22] hide, Maroon 5, Adele,[23] Rize,[24] Issues, Sum 41, Green Day and Simple Plan. His favorite artists are X Japan,[21] Bring Me The Horizon, Radwimps,[25] Michael Jackson, Vanessa Carlton,[23] Attack Attack!, Asking Alexandria, Destrage, Coldplay,[26] Nickelback and Avril Lavigne.[27] He has also cited Chester Bennington from Linkin Park and Kellin Quinn from Sleeping With Sirens as his inspirations to switch from pop music to rock music.
Collaborations
Year | Title | Album | Album artist | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | "Let Life Be" | ALLY & DIAZ | ALLY & DIAZ | Featuring Taka (ONE OK ROCK) & サイプレス上野 (Cypress Ueno)[28] |
2013 | "Summer Paradise" | Get Your Heart On! (Japan Tour Edition) | Simple Plan | Featuring Taka (ONE OK ROCK).[29] |
"Voice" | gene | Pay Money to My Pain | P.T.P feat. Taka from ONE OK ROCK.
As tribute to Kei Goto (also known as K), vocalist of Pay Money To My Pain who died in the morning of December 30, 2012 due to acute heart failure. | |
2014 | "Bottle Rocket" | First Words | GROWN KIDS | Featuring Taka (ONE OK ROCK) & Megan Joy.[30] |
2015 | "Dreaming Alone" | GRAVITY | Against the Current | Featuring Taka (ONE OK ROCK).[31] |
"Primavera" | 5.....GO | F.T. Island | Moriuchi as a co-composer for both songs. | |
"My Birthday" | ||||
2016 | "By My Side" | バイ・マイ・サイ
(By My Side) |
Yojiro Noda (RADWIMPS) | Featuring Taka (ONE OK ROCK).
A charity single for the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. |
"insane dream" | daydream | Aimer | Taka as a producer, co-writer, and composer. He sings the chorus.[32] | |
"Higher Ground" | Taka as a composer. | |||
"closer" | Taka as a producer, co-writer and composer. | |||
"Falling Alone" | ||||
"Stars in the rain" | Taka as a composer.[33][34] | |||
"War" | 13 Voices (Japanese edition)[35] | Sum 41 | Featuring Taka (ONE OK ROCK). | |
2017 | "Yung & Dum" | Headspace (Japanese edition)[36] | Issues | |
"Don't Let Me Go" | The Knife[37][38] | Goldfinger | ||
2018 | "Ikijibiki" | Anti Anti Generation[39] | Radwimps | |
2019 | "I Want a Billion" | Untitled[40] | Kohh | |
"Action" | Don Broco | Featuring Taka (ONE OK ROCK), Tyler Carter (Issues), Caleb Shomo (Beartooth), and Tilian Pearson (Dance Gavin Dance).[41] | ||
"Lights Down Low" (re-recorded) |
Non-album single | MAX | Featuring Taka (ONE OK ROCK).[42] |
Appearances on music videos
Year | Title | Artist | Role(s) | Notes | Music video | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Actor | Singer | |||||
2013 | "Summer Paradise" | Simple Plan | Yes | Yes | Japanese edition | |
2014 | "Bottle Rocket" | GROWN KIDS | Yes | Yes | ||
2015 | "Dreaming Alone" | Against the Current | Yes | Yes | ||
2017 | "Boys" | Charli XCX | Yes | No | Features 75 celebrity cameos in total | |
2019 | "I Want a Billion" | Kohh | Yes | Yes | 360-degree video | |
2020 | "Baseball Bat" | SiM | Yes | No | Features 25 bands in total | |
"Mōichido" (もう一度 Once More) |
Re: Project | Yes | Yes | Also features Aimer, Ayaka, Daichi Miura, Kenta of Wanima, Mao Abe, Shota Shimizu, and Takahiro Nishijima of AAA |
See also
References
- "50 Greatest Rockstars in the World Right Now | #27 Takahiro Moriuchi". Kerrang!. February 15, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
- "Meet Your Rock Sound 50". Rock Sound. June 20, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
- "News | Oricon News". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- "KAT-TUN田口が脱退とジャニーズ退社を報告。ジャニーズ退社後の芸能人". Livedoor (in Japanese). November 26, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
- "兄弟でも敬語!?ワンオクTakaら育てた森昌子、子育て本発売へ". Sanspo (in Japanese). February 1, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
- "岡田家以外もこんなに!「一家まるごと芸能人」ファミリー". @nifty (in Japanese). August 16, 2017. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
- "森進一長男Takaがメジャーデビュー". Daily Sports Online (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. March 10, 2007. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- "ROCKIN'ON JAPAN 2012年6月号". Ro69.jp. 2012-04-28. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- "橋本塁(サウシュー&STINGRAY) on Twitter: "宮古カウンターアクションで、ONE OK ROCK、木札作戦に参加だう!皆様も大船渡や石巻で是非ご協力をば!*\(^o^)/* 写真は木札作戦遂行したワンオク!*\(^o^)/* #サウシュー "". Twitter. 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- "As Global Domination Beckons, Taka Suggest The Rest of The World is Catching Up with His Band Being "The Best"". Kerrang!. January 11, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
- Loo, Egan (May 29, 2012). "Live-Action Rurouni Kenshin's Theme Performed by ONE OK ROCK". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
- "Summer Paradise Ft. Taka From One OK Rock - Simple Plan Latest news". Simpleplan.com. 2013-03-20. Archived from the original on 2013-03-29. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- "LINEUP - Tokyo - PUNKSPRING 2013". Punkspring.com. 2013-03-31. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- "Pay money To my Pain Unveiled Lyrics PV Rain". JpopAsia.com. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- Komatsu, Mikikazu (July 23, 2014). "Video: "Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno" Theme Song PV by ONE OK ROCK". Crunchyroll. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
- Wilce, Tamsyn (April 21, 2017). "Hear Taka from ONE OK ROCK's Guest Vocals for the New Goldfinger Album". Rock Sound. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
- Appleford, Steve (October 28, 2017). "Watch Linkin Park's Powerful, Star-Studded Concert Honoring Chester Bennington". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
- Buchanan, Brett (May 13, 2018). "Linkin Park Members Reunite to Perform "Castle of Glass"". Alternative Nation. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- Childers, Chad (May 14, 2018). "Mike Shinoda Revisits Demo Version of 'In the End' at 2018 Weenie Roast Concert". Loudwire. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- "ONE OK ROCK's Taka: "We Never Give up"". Rock Sound. July 28, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
- Anthony Al-Jamie (October 16, 2014). "ONE OK ROCK". tokyojournal. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- "Interview: One OK Rock, 13.12.2015 – Live Music Hall (Köln)". Archived from the original on 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- "TAKA(ONE OK ROCK)が100年後に残したい音楽:897Selectors#54". KKBOX (in Japanese). January 27, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- "ONE OK ROCK explains why Japan will always need rock bands - JUICE Singapore". YouTube. January 24, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- "Walkin' Talkin' ー徒然ダイアローグー". FM802 (in Japanese). January 2, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- "ONE OK ROCK 激ロック インタビュー". Geki Rock (in Japanese). October 4, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- "Interview with ONE OK ROCK @ VANS WARPED TOUR (Toronto, ON)". VKH Press. July 25, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- "[フル] ALLY & DIAZ 「Let Life Be with Taka & サイプレス上野」". YouTube. 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- "Simple Plan - SUMMER PARADISE feat. Taka from ONE OK ROCK". YouTube. 2013-05-06. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- "Grown Kids - Bottle Rocket Feat. Taka & Megan Joy [Official Video". YouTube. 2014-08-15. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- ""Dreaming Alone" - Against The Current feat. Taka from ONE OK ROCK (Official Music Video)". YouTube. 2015-03-15. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- "Aimer - Insane Dream". YouTube. 2016-07-11. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- "Aimer、ワンオクTaka提供「Stars in the rain」MV公開 - 音楽ナタリー". Natalie.mu. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- "Aimer 『Stars in the rain』※Taka(ONE OK ROCK)楽曲提供". YouTube. 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- "SUM 41「13 Voices (Japanese Version)」を Apple Music で". iTunes.
- "Issues「Headspace (Japanese Version)」を Apple Music で". iTunes.
- "Instagram post by Taka • Jul 22, 2017 at 2:52am UTC". Instagram.
- "Instagram post by John Feldmann • Mar 28, 2017 at 7:06am UTC". Instagram.
- "RADWIMPS、ONE OK ROCKのTakaをゲストに迎えた新曲「IKIJIBIKI feat.Taka」を本日11/27『SCHOOL OF LOCK!』にて初フルオンエア". Billboard Japan. 2018-11-27. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
- ""I Want a Billion" feat. Taka (ONE OK ROCK) MV released! KOHH's new album be released today 2/1!". Gekirock (in Japanese). 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
- Shoemaker, Whitney (2019-09-06). "Don Broco recruit Issues, Beartooth, ONE OK ROCK, DGD for new track". Alternative Press. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- Jamieson, Brii (2019-09-27). "ONE OK ROCK Frontman Taka Moriuchi Features on a Reimagined MAX Track". Rock Sound. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Takahiro Moriuchi. |
- Official Taka Instagram
- Official ONE OK ROCK website (in English)
- Official ONE OK ROCK YouTube
- An Interview with Taka from ONE OK ROCK at jame-world