Yohio
Yohio | |
---|---|
![]() Yohio (2018) | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Kevin Johio Lucas Rehn Eires |
Also known as | YOHIO (ヨヒオ) |
Born | Sundsvall, Sweden | 12 July 1995
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, piano, bass |
Years active | 2010–present |
Labels | Keios Entertainment (CEO) |
Kevin Johio Lucas Rehn Eires (born 12 July 1995), known professionally as Yohio (stylized as YOHIO), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. He is best known for his performances as Yohio, wearing a lolita dress in previous years, with an androgynous appearance on stage.[1][2][3][4] He is a former member of the Swedish rock band Seremedy, which disbanded in April 2013.[5][6][7] Yohio has participated in Melodifestivalen both in 2013 and 2014, making it to the final on both occasions. He is one of the co-founders and current CEO of Keios Entertainment.
Family and early life
[edit]Yohio was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on 12 July 1995 and is the son of Tommy Rehn of the Swedish heavy metal band Corroded, and Johanna Eires.[1] Shortly after, his family moved to Sundsvall, where he grew up. When he was six years old he started learning to play the piano, and later learned the guitar at age eleven. He wrote his first song when he was six years old.
He is the grandson of Jan-Eric Rehn, who was a guitarist in 1960s band The Panthers[8] and the nephew of Chris Rehn of Swedish post-grunge/pop rock band Takida. Chris and Tommy Rehn were also both in the band Angtoria. Yohio speaks Japanese, after becoming interested in Japanese culture and visual kei at a young age, and also spending time in Japan on his several trips to the country performing his music.[9]
Career in Sweden
[edit]Yohio and his band Seremedy gained some recognition in Sweden starting in 2011. The band consisted of lead vocalist SEIKE, YOHIO on lead guitar, Ray on guitar, JENZiiH on bass and LINDER on drums.[10] The band released their first EP Seasons Will Change in 2011[11] and their first album Welcome to our Madness on 25 July 2012.[12] The band then broke up and made a one time return for a last live show and EP Re:Madness on 20 September 2014.[13]
Yohio received special attention for wearing a dress when performing.[14] In 2012 Yohio released his first English song as a solo performer, "Our Story".[15] Yohio has made four music videos – for "Sky Limit", "Our Story", "Heartbreak Hotel" (his entry for Melodifestivalen 2013) and "Revolution".[16]
In 2013, it was announced that Yohio was lending his voice to a Vocaloid voicebank within the PowerFX range that contains both an English and Japanese vocal.[17] He provided the voicebank for YOHIOloid.
Melodifestivalen 2013
[edit]Yohio was one of the contestants in the 2013 edition of Melodifestivalen, the Swedish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 to be held in Malmö. His song was "Heartbreak Hotel",[18] which he wrote along with Johan Fransson, Tobias Lundgren, Tim Larsson and Henrik Göranson.[18] On 2 February, Yohio was qualified for the contest's finals. Soon after, on 9 March, he came second place with Robin Stjernberg leading him as the final winner with 166 points. Yohio earned 133 points with his successful song; Heartbreak Hotel.[19][20][21] Yohio was the Swedish spokesperson and announcer of the Swedish voting result at the 2013 Eurovision final in Malmö.[22]
Melodifestivalen 2014
[edit]Yohio took part in the first heat of Melodifestivalen 2014 at the Malmö Arena with the song "To the End", performing first. Yohio was announced as the first act to go directly to the final at the Friends Arena on 8 March.[23] In the final, he came in sixth place.
DISREIGN
[edit]Yohio formed a new band that consists of Valentin on guitar, Tias on drums and former Seremedy bandmate, JENZiiH on bass. They released their first single and PV Until The Fade on 8 May 2015 and released the single worldwide on 5 August 2015. The PV was directed by Die/may band member Riotcolor. This marked Yohio's return to a band and his return to singing in Japanese since Shiraha in 2015. Since then, DISREIGN has released multiple EPs and singles, with their most recent being "VEXED" on 27 May 2020.[24][25]
Career in Japan
[edit]In April 2012, Yohio released his first EP "Reach the Sky" in Japan,[26] which placed 82nd on Oricon.[27] His song "SKY☆LiMiT" ranked first on the 2nd week in May 2012 of Rekochoku weekly ranking.[28] His first full album, Break the Border was released in June 2013, three months after the Swedish release. It entered the Oricon weekly charts on one occasion, at position 285.[27]
In 2023, Yohio began releasing singles for an upcoming Japanese album, beginning with "初恋のWHITE ROSE".[29]
Producing career
[edit]Yohio has mixed a song for former Seremedy bandmate Seike's band Die/May single The Return, making this their first time working together since the break up of Seremedy (before the reunion in 2014)[30] Yohio also wrote the lyrics to the song "I'm Sorry" tweeting "Writing some R&B right now for another artist. Not my territory at all, but very interesting to create. Love how you can play with vocals!" The song was sung by Oskar Bruzell.[31]
Acting career and television appearances
[edit]In 2015, Yohio acted in the critically acclaimed mystery series Jordskott as the character "Linus". In the same year, the Dröse & Norberg theatrical company produced "Snövit the Musical", a modern-day musical adaptation of the classic fairy tale, in which Yohio played the role of the prince.[32] The show ran again in 2022, with Yohio returning to the spotlight.[33]
He also appeared in 2022 on the second season of Masked Singer Sverige, making it to 4th place.[34]
Tours
[edit]Celebrating the release of his debut English album Break the Border, Yohio made a tour of Europe in 2013. The final took place in Stockholm, with Gackt joining him onstage for a duet of the song they wrote together.[35]
In June of 2024, Yohio accompanied Kamijo on his European tour "The Anthem" as a guitarist. The tour finished on June 16th in London.[36]
Discography
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certification | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SWE [37] | |||||||||
Break the Border |
|
1 |
| ||||||
Break the Border Platinum Edition |
|
1 |
| ||||||
Together We Stand Alone |
|
1 | |||||||
Snöängelns rike |
|
18 | |||||||
A Pretty Picture in a Most Disturbing Way[38] |
|
||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
EPs
[edit]Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certification | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
JPN | |||||||||
Reach the Sky |
|
82 | |||||||
"—" denotes recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Singles
[edit]Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SWE [37] | |||||||||
"Sky☆Limit" | 2012 | — | Reach the Sky | ||||||
"Heartbreak Hotel" | 2013 | 8 |
|
Break the Border | |||||
"Revolution" | — | ||||||||
"To the End" | 2014 | 38 |
|
Together We Stand Alone | |||||
"夏の終わりの約束" | 2017 | — | TBA | ||||||
"Tick Tack" | 2018 | — | A Pretty Picture in a Most Disturbing Way | ||||||
"Merry Go Round" | 2018 | — | A Pretty Picture in a Most Disturbing Way | ||||||
"My Nocturnal Serenade" | 2019 | — | A Pretty Picture in a Most Disturbing Way | ||||||
"defeating a devil a day" | 2019 | — | A Pretty Picture in a Most Disturbing Way | ||||||
"Daydreams" | 2020 | — | A Pretty Picture in a Most Disturbing Way | ||||||
"Undo" | 2020 | — | A Pretty Picture in a Most Disturbing Way | ||||||
"初恋のWHITE ROSE" | 2023 | — | TBA | ||||||
"naive" | 2023 | — | TBA | ||||||
"Destiny" | 2023 | — | — | ||||||
"記憶の迷路-Maze of Memories-" | 2024 | — | TBA | ||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
DVDs
[edit]Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certification | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SWE [37] | |||||||||
BREAK THE BORDER TOUR FINAL |
|
1 | |||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Shohreh Zare/TT Spektra. "Yohio bakom klänningen – Kultur & Nöje" (in Swedish). Gp.se. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ "Yohio bakom klänningen". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 16 November 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ "Svenska tonåringen YOHIO gör succé i Japan" (in Swedish). MyNewsdesk. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ "'A guy wearing a dress is not a sexual thing': Yohio". The Local. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ "Yohio is a Swedish Boy Singer that Looks like a Doll". The Suite World. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ Mikael Tjernström. "Seremedy-gitarrist släpper soloalbum – Kultur & Nöje" (in Swedish). Dagbladet.se. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ "Tweet by @Seremedy". Twitter. 15 April 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ Anna-Karin Saad. "Hen har minglat med The Who – ST Grattar" (in Swedish). St.nu. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ Erik Gripenholm (28 August 2012). "Det konstigaste är att jag är svensk". Dagens Nyheter. DN.SE. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ "Seremedy". Facebook. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Seremedy Seasons Will Change (EP)- Spirit of Metal Webzine (en)". Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Seremedy Welcome to Our Madness (CD Album)- Spirit of Metal Webzine (en)". Spirit-of-metal.com. 25 July 2012. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Seremedy Re:Madness (EP)- Spirit of Metal Webzine (en)". Spirit-of-metal.com. 20 September 2014. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ Löf, Anders (4 April 2011). "De kallar oss konstiga bögar". Aftonbladet. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ "Yohio – japansk popstjärna från Sundsvall". Sveriges Radio. 17 October 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ "Kolla in Japansuccén Yohios nya musikvideo! | Musikvideor | Musik | Nöjesbladet | Webbtv | Aftonbladet". Aftonbladet.se. 29 October 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ^ "Twitter / YOHIO_Seremedy: I will become a new bilingual". Twitter.com. 18 February 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ^ a b "Yohio – Heartbreak Hotel". SVT.se. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ Melodifestivalen, SVT. "Winner and finalists of Melodifestivalen" Archived 26 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine, SVT, full list of the scores.
- ^ "YOHIO och David Lindgren är i final i Melodifestivalen". SVT. 2 February 2013. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- ^ Emma Petersson (9 March 2013). "Robin Stjernberg är vinnaren av Melodifestivalen 2013". SVT. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ Mirja Bokholm (22 April 2013). "YOHIO presenterar de svenska rösterna i Eurovision Song Contest". SVT.se. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ "n: De gick vidare". Aftonbladet. 1 February 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
- ^ "Disreign". Facebook. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Disreign – Until The Fade (Official Pv)". YouTube. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Poplight | Främsta låtarna 2012: YOHIO – SKYLiMIT | Poplight". Poplight.zitiz.se. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ a b "「ブレイク・ザ・ボーダー」 YOHIO│オリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". Oricon.co.jp. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ^ "「SKY☆LiMiT」着うた®&着うたフル® 週間ランキングで同時1位獲得!!(5/2-5/8)". Universal Music Japan. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ "Die/May – The Return (Official Pv)". YouTube. 4 May 2014. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Oskar Bruzell – I'm Sorry (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)". YouTube. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Snövit blir en lekfull musikal med Nanne och Yohio". www.aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). 31 October 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ "YOHIO tillbaka i rollen som prinsen i Snövit". Mynewsdesk (in Swedish). 24 November 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ "Sjöjungfrun avslöjad som YOHIO - snart spelar han prinsen i "Snövit the musical"". Mynewsdesk (in Swedish). 13 May 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ "June 6th to 16th | KAMIJO Europa Tour 2024". Rose Croix (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Steffen Hung. "Discography Yohio". swedishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=299882947737857 [user-generated source]
External links
[edit]Media related to Yohio at Wikimedia Commons
- https://www.keios.co/yohio
- 1995 births
- 21st-century Swedish male singers
- 21st-century Swedish singers
- English-language singers from Sweden
- Living people
- Singers from Stockholm
- People from Sundsvall
- Swedish pop singers
- Vocaloid voice providers
- Male-to-female cross-dressers
- Melodifestivalen contestants of 2014
- Melodifestivalen contestants of 2013