Japanese singer-songwriter and actor Kōji Kikkawa was born on August 18, 1965, in the town of Fuchu, Hiroshima. In addition to his music work, he has also starred in over 20 films and TV shows. He kicked off his music career in 1984 with the single "Monica," which was later turned into a hit by Cantopop singer Leslie Cheung. This success was followed by other notable singles such as "Sayonara wa Hachigatsu no Lullaby," "La Vie en Rose," as well as by the chart-topping hits "You Gotta Chance ~Dance de Natsu wo Hakumete~" and "New Face That Seems to Be Hated." In 1988, he teamed up with Boøwy's Tomoyasu Hotei and formed the rock duo Complex, which released two studio albums before splitting up in 1990. Following Complex's disbandment, Kōji Kikkawa resumed his solo endeavors with the hit singles "Setsunasa O Korosenai" (1992), "Kiss Ni Utarete Nemuritai" (1993), and "Boy's Life" (1995), all of which cracked the Top 10 of the Oricon Singles Chart. Despite the tepid reception of the albums Pandora (2002), Jellyfish & Chips (2003), and Tarzan (2007) in the early to mid-aughts, the Japanese pop singer returned to the Top 10 of the domestic charts with LPs such as Double-edged Sword (2009), Samurai Rock (2013), Wild Lips (2016), and Over the 9 (2022), his first album to enter the Oricon Top 5 after 1996's BEAT∞SPEED.
