Imase

About

Singer and songwriter renowned for becoming the first J-Pop artist to reach Korea's Melon Top 100 chart with his self-produced single "Night Dancer." The viral self-released songs "n1ght" and "Nostalgia" also helped him earn a fanbase of over 1.6 million followers that he boasts to his imase119 TikTok account. In 2021, he made his official debut through a major record label with the songs "Have a Nice Day" and "Touhikou," the latter of which became a #1 hit on the TikTok Hot Song Weekly Ranking on Billboard Japan.

Before Fame

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was inspired by musical artists he observed creating songs on TikTok. Although he had no musical experience whatsoever, at the age of 20, he decided to watch video tutorials and practice every day until he could create songs of his own. He released his first viral song on social media just 1 year later.

Trivia

He's an enthusiast of literature that makes use of a limited number of syllables like tanka and haiku. He found inspiration in the patterns and cadence of such works and often incorporated similar themes into his songs.

Family Life

He was inspired by the music his parents would play during car rides when he was a child including songs from the band Omega Tribe. His parents own a business in his hometown of Gifu, which he initially intended on taking over as a career until he discovered success making music.

Associated With

In a 2023 interview with Goethe Magazine, he listed Justin Bieber, Ruel, The Weeknd, Kwon Hyuk, and Gen Hoshino as some of his favorite musical artists.