Masatoshi Ono (小野 正利, Ono Masatoshi; born January 29, 1967 in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan), also known as Sho, is a Japanese rock/heavy metal singer-songwriter and vocal coach. Ono got his start in the 1980s as vocalist of the heavy metal band Fort Bragg. In 1992, he released his first solo single, "Pure ni Nare", on Sony Records. It was not until his third single, "You're the Only...", that he began to receive notable attention. The single helped Ono win the "Rookie of the Year" award at the 34th Japan Record Awards and an invitation to that year's Kōhaku Uta Gassen. In 2018, readers and professional musicians voted him the tenth best vocalist in the history of hard rock and heavy metal in We Rock magazine's "Metal General Election". In 2009, Ono became the vocalist of the power metal band Galneryus. His first single in eight years, "Departure!", was used as the opening theme song for the 2011 Hunter × Hunter anime. "Departure! -Second Version-" was used as the series' second opening theme, with Galneryus' "Hunting for Your Dream" as the second ending theme. Ono sings "Fight It Out!!", the opening theme song for the international versions of the final arc of Dragon Ball Kai. In 2010 he established his own vocal school "Bese".
Bands
- Galneryus - current member
Credited On
- Galneryus - Live in the Moment of the Resurrection - Galneryus, released December 8, 2010 (
VPBQ-19069). Vocal, Vocals. Credited as “SHO”. - Galneryus - VETELGYUS - Galneryus, released September 24, 2014 (
VPCC-80669). Additional Chorus, Band [Galneryus], Vocal, Vocals. Credited as “SHO”. - Galneryus - THE SENSE OF OUR LIVES - Galneryus, released September 9, 2016 (
VPXQ-79008). Band [Galneryus], Vocal, Vocals. Credited as “SHO”.
Biography
Translated from the ja.wikipedia article 小野正利 (CC BY-SA 4.0), revision 109482780.
Personal Life
The first record Ono bought, when he was in the sixth grade of elementary school, was by Finger 5. In junior high school, he listened to CHAGE and ASKA and learned acoustic guitar from a friend, playing songs by artists such as Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi. He has said that he was shocked when he first heard LOUDNESS in high school. At university, he began listening to Western hard rock and heavy metal, naming David Coverdale, Ronnie James Dio, and Klaus Meine of Scorpions among his favorite vocalists. He has also stated that he was influenced by THE ALFEE and BLIZARD.
His high vocal range attracted attention during junior high school, leading him to begin band activities. After performing in Japanese music cover bands, he mainly performed at live music venues from high school onward, and played in the hard rock band FORT BRAGG during university.
He graduated from Senshu University Matsudo High School and withdrew from the Faculty of Law at Senshu University. While at university, he aspired to become a social studies teacher.
Since his debut, he has been said to possess a four-octave vocal range, although the range he actually uses in songs is almost three octaves. He drew attention for his clear, soaring high-tone voice, which was comparable to that of overseas hard rock and heavy metal singers.
In recent years, he has developed a singing style that does not focus solely on high notes, also making use of his middle and lower ranges. Using a mixed voice that does not reveal his vocal break, he has performed across a wide range of genres, from hard rock and heavy metal to ballads. He also became a regular performer on Nippon Television's Monomane Battle (ものまねバトル), where he performed impersonations that made use of his distinctive high tone voice.
In 2009, he joined the metal band GALNERYUS, returning as a hard rock and heavy metal vocalist.
Since 2010, alongside his own singing career, he has also trained younger performers as chief instructor at Vocal School Bisse. Chisato Nakata, Amina Nakatani, Miku Tanabe, and Mayumi Uchida of AKB48, whom he has coached as a vocal trainer, have mentioned Ono by name on their blogs and elsewhere, and refer to him as “Ono-sensei”.
He has also appeared as a vocal trainer on TV Asahi's Onegai! Ranking (お願い!ランキング), providing singing instruction to Kenji Murakami of the comedy duo Fruit Punch, and on Nippon Television's Charaoke 18-ban (キャラオケ18番).
Episodes
In his private life, Ono had been a smoker since the age of 20 and was a devoted tobacco user. In a 2017 interview, he stated, as his personal view, that “smoking does not affect the voice.” However, perhaps because of his image as a high-tone vocalist, people assumed that he did not smoke. He once recounted the difficulty he experienced when a hotel room booked for him for an event was non-smoking, leaving him unable to smoke throughout the night. He has since quit smoking.
His opportunity to debut as a singer came while he was working part-time washing dishes at a drinking establishment in Roppongi. The president of the company told him, “I hear you are in a band; sing something,” and after he occasionally sang there, the president of the music agency Sweet Basil invited him, saying, “Why not work with us?”
From the time of his debut, including after the success of the single “You're the Only…” and after his appearance on Kōhaku Uta Gassen, he lived in a 20-year-old apartment building in a single six-tatami-mat room. Ono had no particular attachment to housing, but people at his agency told him, “You need to move for appearances’ sake.” He then moved into a one-bedroom, living room and dining room condominium with rent of approximately 180,000 yen, which the company had found for him. However, once he began living in the condominium, he became particular about curtains and furniture, with the result that he quickly ran out of money and was unable to save.
Biography
1980s
He was active as the vocalist of the independent hard rock band FORT BRAGG (フォート・ブラッグ).
1989
As a member of FORT BRAGG, he competed on Heisei Meibutsu TV: Yuji Miyake's Ikasu Band Tengoku. Although the band did not advance, Ono received the Best Vocalist Award.
1992
He made his major-label solo debut through Sony Records with “Pure ni Nare”.
He won the monthly grand prix for two consecutive months on NACK5's JAPANESE DREAM.
His third single, “You're the Only…”, was used as the theme song for the Fuji TV drama Kimi no Tame ni Dekiru Koto and became a million seller. That same year, he received awards including the Best New Artist Award at the 34th Japan Record Awards, the Best New Artist Award at the Japan Cable Awards, and the New Artist Award at the 30th Golden Arrow Awards, and also appeared on Kōhaku Uta Gassen.
Late 1990s
He also demonstrated his singing as a heavy metal vocalist, including through participation in albums by Shikidja and Naoto Shibata.
1999
He released “Feeling”, a duet with Yoko Oginome.
2001
He performed the theme song for the Nitroplus-produced PC game Vjedogonia. He subsequently continued to participate in the company's works, including Demonbane, Hanachirasu, and Full Metal Daemon Muramasa.
2005
He released an image song CD for Kamen Rider Hibiki.
2006
He established the vocal school MOVE.
2007
In August, he expanded his activities beyond music, making his first stage appearance in the play IMAGINE 9.11. In December of the same year, he starred in Amadeus Japan.
2009
On May 30, following the departure of YAMA-B from the heavy metal band GALNERYUS, he participated in PURE ROCK JAPAN LIVE 2009 as a substitute vocalist.
In September, he officially joined GALNERYUS as its vocalist.
2010
He opened Vocal School Bisse, the successor to Vocal School MOVE.
2011
In November, he released The Voice -Stand Proud!-, a cover album primarily featuring Western hard rock and heavy metal songs.
He performed the opening theme for the anime adaptation of the manga HUNTER × HUNTER, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump, and released “Departure!” as a maxi single in December.
2012
In May, he published his first book, A Book for Producing High Tones Beyond Your Limits, through Rittor Music.
2013
On January 26, he held a public-recording birthday concert named TAKE ONE, a name he devised himself. It was released as a live album through his official shop on August 7.
2014
He released “KNOCK ON YOUR GATE!”, the opening theme for the anime Cardfight!! Vanguard Legion Mate.
2017
In December, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his debut, he released VS, a cover album of classic Western songs.
2019
He released the live DVD Now and…, containing live footage from Go with the flow, his anniversary birthday concert marking the 25th anniversary of his debut and his 50th birthday. Its bonus footage included “You're the Only…Chapel ver.” from Masatoshi Ono Christmas Live and making-of footage for a new song. It also included a CD of the new song “Now and Forever”, for which he wrote the lyrics, as well as making-of footage.
2020
He opened an official YouTube channel. In addition to performing his own songs, he has undertaken a variety of projects, including lesson and seminar videos for the vocal school he runs, “Utatte Mita” videos, and “Hanseikai” sessions.
2023
On September 13, he released THE TIES OF AFFECTION, his first original album in approximately 19 years.
NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen Appearances
Performance order is shown as “performance order/number of performers.”
Credited Together
Names credited on every one of the same releases.
- On 3 releases: Junichi Satou, Keisuke Murakami, Kentaro Tanaka, LOGGIA, Mariko Aoki, Masatoshi Ono, SHIBUYA TELEVISION, Syu, TAKA, Vap, Yorimasa Hisatake, YUHKI and Yutaka Kawase.
Galneryus - Live in the Moment of the Resurrection, Galneryus - VETELGYUS and Galneryus - THE SENSE OF OUR LIVES
Often Credited With
Credited on 2 or more of the same releases, most shared first.
All 32
Sources
- Wikidata entity Q6782748.
- en.wikipedia, Masatoshi Ono (revision 1347496069), CC BY-SA 4.0.
- ja.wikipedia, 小野正利 (revision 109482780), CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photograph: Galneryus Sho.jpg on Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, by Kevin Tudeau.
