Yojiro Noda

Yojiro Noda (野田洋次郎, Noda Yōjirō, born July 5, 1985), is a Japanese singer, songwriter and record producer. Noda is the vocalist, songwriter and guitarist of the rock band Radwimps, and also began a solo project, Illion, in 2012.

Biography

Early life, Radwimps

Noda was born in Tokyo, Japan to a businessman father and piano teacher mother. From the ages of 6 to 9 years old, Noda lived overseas in the United States. He first became interested in the guitar in junior high school, after hearing Oasis. He tried to learn how to play the chords with a guitar his family owned.

While studying his first year of high school at Tōin Gakuen in Yokohama, he joined a band in 2001. He joined after being asked by a friend to be the band's vocalist. The band was named Radwimps, and Noda became the band's vocalist, guitarist, and sole songwriter. They released their debut independent album, Radwimps, in 2003, and the band made their major debut under Toshiba EMI in 2005. In 2006, the band became widely popular in Japan, with their fourth album Radwimps 4: Okazu no Gohan being certified platinum.