Shihori
Shihori (しほり), born Shihori Nakane (中根 しほり, Nakane Shihori), is a Japanese singer-songwriter, composer and lyricist. She sang the song "Heavy Waves" composed by Nico Bellisario, which was used as the main theme for the second collaboration between JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean and Path to Nowhere.
She has written and composed over one hundred songs for other artists, many of which have charted on Oricon's Top Rankings. Her compositions have been performed by numerous Japanese artists, including Nana Mizuki and Momoiro Clover Z.[2]
Biography
Early Life
Shihori Nakane was born on September 4, 1980[3], in Nagoya, Japan. She was born with a congenital hearing loss in her left ear but possesses perfect pitch in her right ear.[2] During a childhood picnic, Shihori, who had Asperger's and often felt isolated, sang acappella at the request of others on the bus. The unexpected attention she received was the first time she felt noticed by others, and she describes it as a formative experience.[4]
Shihori began composing music at the age of seven with the aspiration of becoming a singer.[2] She believed she could not fit into Japanese culture or get along with other Japanese children. Her mother told her that she would do much better in the United States, and moving there became Shihori's dream.[5]
Career in Japan
At 21, Shihori moved to Tokyo to pursue a music career, initially working as a studio vocalist. She gained early recognition through commercial work, notably singing the theme for the Zexy wedding magazine commercial. She also performed for various other campaigns and projects, including Xylish Crystal commercials and the Beatmania video game series.[2]
In 2003, she appeared as the lead role, Kana, in the indie film Kana, directed by Tetsuo Suzuki, for which she also performed the theme song. In 2007, she played Reiko in the online film Cradle: Nemurenu Yoru no Komoriuta, directed by Hiroki Hayashi, and was responsible for writing, composing, and singing its theme song.[2]
She began considering work in anime music around 2006, influenced by the success of the The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya anime series and the overall growth of the anime industry.[4]
Shihori made her major debut in 2007 under the name Sena (瀬名) with the ending theme of the TV anime Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula, which reached No. 5 on the Oricon Daily Chart.[2] In 2008, her lyrics were selected by composer Yoko Kanno for the series Macross Frontier.[4] In 2010, she officially adopted the stage name Shihori for all professional activities.[2]
Throughout her career, Shihori participated in a number of international events. In 2010, she performed and sang the theme song at OTAKON 2010 in Baltimore, USA. Two years later, she was invited to the Santa Fe JIN Japan Festival 2012 in Santa Fe, where she delivered a special piano and vocal performance. In 2015, she appeared at the Japan Festival in Vietnam.[2]
Moving to the United States
In late 2015, Shihori came to the conclusion that she had reached her potential in Japan,[5] and decided to move to the United States, dubbing it her "Public American Dream Project" (公開アメリカンドリームプロジェクト). She first traveled alone to New York in February 2016. After working towards it for nearly two years, she received an artist visa at the end of 2017 and officially moved to New York in January 2018.[2] She struggled with culture shock, comparing her acclimatization period to being in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber from Dragon Ball. In Japan, she had struggled with reading context cues due to her Asperger's and found American culture to be the exact opposite—demanding openness about one's feelings—which stressed her.[5]
In September 2016, she collaborated with Kohei Tanaka (the composer of the first and the fourth JoJo opening theme) to release the extended play Mugen Hoteishiki, titled Formula Infinity in English.[6][2] Shihori noticed that Americans, unlike Japanese, largely no longer purchase physical copies of music, so she began releasing her songs on digital platforms.[5] In the following years, she released multiple singles and EPs, including two albums, Shihorism and Mutation. Some time before 2024, and the release of her song "Lunar Flower," she moved to Los Angeles.[5]
Collaboration with Nico Bellisario
In 2022, Shihori collaborated with an Italian composer and YouTuber Nico Bellisario on the single "Holy Steel," a fan-made song imagined as the opening theme for Steel Ball Run, the seventh part of the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, which had not yet been adapted into an anime at the time. Despite the unusual concept, Shihori agreed to the collaboration after being impressed by the quality of Bellisario's demo. The song became a major success, reaching over 4.8 million views on YouTube and more than 2.3 million plays on Spotify within a year, making it her most-streamed original release.[7] She performed the song live at many conventions throughout the US.[8][7]
Following the success of "Holy Steel," Shihori and Bellisario released a second song, "GO BEYOND !", a fan-made opening theme for JoJolion, the eighth part of JoJo. Within a month of its release, the song neared one million views on YouTube.[7]
They also collaborated on a non-JoJo-related project, working together on "CHAINBREAKERS," a song for Sincerity of Thought, an indie visual novel by a Ukrainian game studio Triple Smart Studio Games.[9]
In 2025, they collaborated on another fan-made opening theme for JoJo, "Make it Rain," this time inspired by the ninth part, The JOJOLands. Later that year, they also released the English version of "Holy Steel".
"Heavy Waves"
On December 26, 2024, a trailer for the second collaboration between JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean and Path to Nowhere was released,[10] featuring the song "Heavy Waves" in the background. The song was later used as the main theme of the collaboration. Nico Bellisario confirmed on January 24, 2025, that he wrote and composed the song, and that Shihori was the vocalist.[11]
JoJo Discography
|
# |
Cover | Album / Single Name | Artist | Use | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Heavy Waves | Nico Bellisario, Shihori | Path to Nowhere × JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean | December 26, 2024 |
Fan Works
|
# |
Cover | Album / Single Name | Artist | Use | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Steel Ball Run OP: Holy Steel | Nico Bellisario, Shihori | Fanmade Steel Ball Run Theme Song | February 11, 2022 |
| 2 | 
|
JoJolion OP: GO BEYOND ! | Nico Bellisario, Shihori | Fanmade JoJolion Theme Song | December 9, 2022 |
| 3 | 
|
The JOJOLANDS OP: Make It Rain | Nico Bellisario, Shihori | Fanmade The JOJOLands Theme Song | March 21, 2025 |
| 4 | .jpg)
|
Steel Ball Run OP: Holy Steel - English Version | Nico Bellisario, Shihori | Fanmade Steel Ball Run Theme Song | April 11, 2025 |
Videos
References
- ↑ @shihori94 (February 18, 2011), "本名は中根しほりさんです。", Twitter.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 Shihori Official Website, Profile
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 @shihori94 (September 4, 2023), "では誕生日当日、ですが私の勘違いから始まって🇯🇵時間と合わせて3日も大騒ぎしちゃってすみません", Twitter.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Interview with SHIHORI", JaME, February 20, 2020.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Shihori Interview - Lunar Flower
- ↑ しほり×田中公平「無限方程式」CM / Shihori x Kohei Tanaka Mugen Hotei shiki / Formula Infinity short MV, YouTube
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "渡米５年目の総括、2023年開始！", note, January 11, 2023.
- ↑ Holy Steel - Live performance - JoJo Steel Ball Run, YouTube
- ↑ CHAINBREAKERS 『チェーンブレーカー』Original MV アニメ, YouTube
- ↑ Vish (December 20, 2024), "Path to Nowhere Adds Jotaro, Ermes, Anasui, and JoJo-Themed Attires", JoJo's Bizarre Encyclopedia.
- ↑ @nicobenico (January 24, 2025), "New JOJO song “Heavy Waves”!", Twitter.
