Shouta Aoi

Shouta Aoi (蒼井 翔太), is a Japanese singer and actor.

In 2004, he competed in the Yamaha Teens' Music Festival under the name "Noboru Yanagawa" and won the Grand Prix for the Tokai, Ibaraki region.

Initially, when he first auditioned, he had mistakenly believed it was an amateur karaoke competition.

He was a finalist at the national competition, along with Ataru Nakamura, where he performed "1000 no Kotoba" by KODA-kumi">KODA Kumi.

Under the stage name Showta (stylized as "SHOWTA."), he debuted as a singer with the song "Negaiboshi" in 2006 and released his first studio album, Eve, in 2008.

Aoi debuted under the name Showta with the single "Negaiboshi" on July 26, 2006, under King Records, which charted at #119 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.

On November 22, 2006, he released his second single, "Trans-winter (Fuyu no Mukōgawa)", which served as the theme song to the live-action television adaptation of the manga Damens Walker.

His third single, "Hito Shizuku", a mid-tempo ballad, was released on April 4, 2007.

His fourth single, "Kimi ni, Kaze ga Fukimasu You ni" was released on July 27, 2007, as the ending theme song to Ichiteru.

For his fifth single, he released a cover of Yoshie Kashiwabara's 1983 song "Haru na no ni" on January 23, 2008.

Aoi released his first studio album, Eve, on March 5, 2008, which charted at #115 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart.

His sixth single, "Hikaru no Gen-chan", was released on April 23, 2008, for NHK's Minna no Uta segments during the months of April and May.

In 2009, he left his agency and briefly released music independently under the pseudonym Noboru Ryugaki (柳ヶ木 昇).

After making his acting debut as Saki Hanajima in the Fruits Basket musical in 2009, Aoi has been involved in multiple musical theatre productions, including Sakuya Shiomi in Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade.

In 2009, Aoi contributed the song "Ekubo" to the movie soundtrack of ''Kanna-san Daiseiko Desu!

the Movie'', which was released as a promotional digital single.

He made his first acting appearance as Saki Hanajima in the Fruits Basket stage play adaptation.

In 2010, Aoi left King Records, citing his desire to become a voice actor and theme song performer.

He began releasing music and performing independently under the name Noboru Ryugaki.

He was a featured artist in the song "Oji-sama to Cheek" on Kenzo Saeki and Boogie the Mach Motors' collaboration album, 21-Seiki-san sings Harlmens.

During this time, he also performed in independent musical theatre and stage productions.

In 2011, he began voice acting and gained media attention after voicing Ai Mikaze from Uta no Prince-sama.

Since then, he has been recognized for roles such as Hideaki Tojo from Ace of Diamond, Monet Tsukushi in the Magic-kyun! Renaissance series, Rui Minazuki from the Tsukiuta series, Louis Kisaragi from King of Prism series, and Licht von Glanzreich from The Royal Tutor.

Aoi signed onto S Inc. in 2011 for voice acting and debuted under the name Shouta Aoi, making his first appearance as Kanshiki in the game Black Robinia.

He performed "Ai no Sasameki Goto" as the first song released under his new stage name, which served as the theme song to the drama CD series Sangokushi Lovers.

In October, he voiced Ryunosuke Matsushita in the anime Kimi to Boku and also performed the songs "Sora", "Tomorrow" and "Over" for the show's soundtrack.

In 2012, Aoi was cast as Ai Mikaze in the Uta no Prince-sama media franchise, where he performed and sang several songs for the character in the game and anime soundtracks.

In 2013, Aoi relaunched his singing career under his new stage name with the extended play Blue Bird, followed by the release of "Virginal" in 2014.

After gaining recognition from the success of his role, Aoi released his first extended play, Blue Bird, on January 13, 2013, which contained theme songs he performed for Broccoli drama CDs.

On January 15, 2014, Aoi released his first single, "Virginal", under his stage name, as the ending theme song to Break Out, which was then followed by his first concert, Shouta Aoi 1st Live: Virginal.

In 2015, he released his first studio album, Unlimited.

Since the relaunch of his music career, his music is produced by Elements Garden.

Throughout his career, Aoi has been given titles such as "Archangel" and was praised for his "angelic" singing voice.

He is known for his soft, high-pitched voice and androgynous appearance, allowing him to play female parts as well.

Aoi was born in Fukui Prefecture, Japan.

He has one older sister.

From elementary to high school, he played tennis and won many trophies.

As a child, he watched a lot of anime and played video games, citing his interest in voice acting through Akira Ishida's portrayal of Fish Eye from Sailor Moon SuperS.

In school, he was bullied for his high-pitched, feminine voice.

He credits his friends from junior high school for helping him regain his confidence after they complimented his performance of "So Into You" by KODA-kumi">KODA Kumi during a karaoke outing.