Gen Hoshino

Whether you know Gen Hoshino from the viral "Love Dance" set to his song "Koi" used in the TBS drama "The Full-Time Wife Escapist" (2016) in which he plays the lead role, or whether you know him from anime as the voice of Senpai in Masaaki Yuasa's "Night is Short, Walk on Girl" (2017) or the Father in Mamoru Hosoda's "Mirai" (2018), or whether you're really into J-pop and have followed his career since his solo debut in 2010 and listen to his regular radio show "Gen Hoshino's All Night Nippon" on Nippon Broadcasting System, you'll surely agree Gen Hoshino is one of Japan's rising stars.

Currently riding on the well-deserved success of his 5th album "POP VIRUS," the singer-songwriter and musician became only the 5th Japanese solo male artist to blaze through five domes in his subsequent national concert tour which was attended by over 330,000 fans. The Blu-ray and DVD of his Tokyo Dome performance 'DOME TOUR "POP VIRUS" at Tokyo Dome' ranked top on three of Oricon's chart categories for visual works, making him the Japanese male solo artist with the most top ranking works in Oricon history.

Then, on August 30th, Gen Hoshino made headlines here in Japan when he not only announced that his entire music catalog would be available for streaming (see links below), but also announced he would embark on a world tour beginning in November 2019. In a conscious effort to reach out to a global audience, he also launched accounts on Instagram and Weibo, writing in English on his first Instagram post that he is eager to "meet, connect with, and have fun with the people I love and people I haven't met yet."

Kicking off on November 23rd in Shanghai, the "Gen Hoshino POP VIRUS World Tour" will then hit New York, Yokohama and Taipei. Hoshino will be joined as co-headliner in Yokohama Arena and as special guest in New York by Mark Ronson, with whom he collaborated on a critically acclaimed concert last December.

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Gen Hoshino's POP VIRUS

Released on December 19, 2018, Gen Hoshino's 5th album "POP VIRUS" topped both the Billboard and Oricon Album charts and was certified double platinum by the RIAJ one month after its release. Coming three years after his previous album "Yellow Dancer," POP VIRUS' release was highly anticipated in Japan and proved to be a huge commercial success. Within a couple of months, it earned him a Best Album prize at the 33rd Japan Gold Disc Awards, as well as the Best Song prize for the digital release of the single "Idea," which was the theme song for the popular NHK morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi."

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"Pop Virus" featured in "Death Stranding"

In another testament to Gen Hoshino's flourishing artistic career, it was announced at the Tokyo Game Show last weekend that "Pop Virus," the title track of the artist's latest hit album, would be featured in the highly-anticipated PS4 video game "Death Stranding," the first offering from Hideo Kojima's newly-independent Kojima Productions studio.

"Death Stranding" promises to be a genre-defining experience, and with Kojima's "Metal Gear Solid" success behind him, the game will quite likely be a commercial success. Having "Pop Virus" playing during the game will surely bring further international attention to Gen Hoshino's music.

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Gen Hoshino POP VIRUS World Tour Schedule

• Nov. 23: Shanghai, National Exhibition & Convention Center Hong Arena
• Nov. 25: New York, Sony Hall (Special Guest: Mark Ronson)
• Dec. 9: Yokohama, Yokohama Arena "LIVE in JAPAN 2019 Gen Hoshino × MARK RONSON"
• Dec. 10: Yokohama, Yokohama Arena "LIVE in JAPAN 2019 Gen Hoshino × MARK RONSON"
• Dec. 14: Taipei, Legacy MAX

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Streaming Links

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Gen Hoshino Information

• Gen Hoshino Official Site
• Gen Hoshino Official Instagram
• Gen Hoshino Official Weibo
• Gen Hoshino Official Twitter
• Gen Hoshino Official Facebook
• Gen Hoshino Official YouTube Channel