Takahiro Moriuchi

Takahiro Moriuchi
貴寛 森内

Taka, One Ok Rock, during Back to the Future Hearts Tour with All Time Low, Sleeping with Sirens and Neck Deep, CFE Arena, Orlando, Florida, October 9, 2015.
Background information
Birth name 森内貴寛 (Moriuchi Takahiro)
Also known as Taka
Born (1988-04-17) April 17, 1988 (28)
Tokyo, Japan
Genres
Occupation(s)
Instruments
Years active 2003–present
Labels A-Sketch
Associated acts
Website One Ok Rock official website

Takahiro Moriuchi (森内 貴寛 Moriuchi Takahiro) (born April 17, 1988 in Tokyo), better known as his stage name Taka, is a vocalist in the Japanese rock group One Ok Rock. Prior to this, he was in the boyband NEWS throughout 2003 until he left the group together with the agency.[1]

Personal life

Moriuchi was born on April 17, 1988, son of famous Japanese singers Masako Mori and Shinichi Mori. He has a younger brother named Hiroki who is the lead singer of the band MY FIRST STORY.

In 2005, he changed his last name from Moriuchi (森内) to Morita (森田) due to the divorce of his parents.[2] However, in the June 2012 issue of the magazine, ROCKIN'ON JAPAN, he stated in an interview that his real name is Takahiro Moriuchi.[3] 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.[4]

Career

2002-2004: Career beginnings and other musical pursuits

Taka signed with Johnny's Entertainment in 2002 and joined the boy band, NEWS, in 2003. He left in 2004 to "focus on his studies".[2] He was briefly in a band called Chivalry of Music in 2004.

2005-present: One Ok Rock

Main article: One Ok Rock

Taka was invited by guitarist/leader, Toru Yamashita, to join the Japanese rock band, One Ok Rock in 2005. 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. 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 Taka for a Japanese-only release [5] They later performed together at the music festival, Punkspring 2013 in Tokyo, Japan.[6]

In November 2013, Taka 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.[7]

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.

Taka during an autograph session at Lucky Strike Live, October 22, 2015

In February 2015, Taka 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 plans to release an all English version of their album, 35xxxv in the fall.

Influences

His greatest influences are Linkin Park, Good Charlotte, Issues, and Simple Plan. 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.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/336858/?t
  2. 1 2 "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.
  3. ↑ http://ro69.jp/product/magazine/detail/66810
  4. ↑ https://twitter.com/RuiHashimoto/status/386110982382039040?lang=en
  5. ↑ http://www.simpleplan.com/news/summer-paradise-ft-taka-one-ok-rock-339521
  6. ↑ http://www.punkspring.com/13/lineup/tokyo/
  7. ↑ http://www.jpopasia.com/news/pay-money-to-my-pain-unveiled-lyrics-pv-rain::15091.html

External links

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