Matsushita Yuya is a Japanese pop and R&B singer, actor, dancer, and rapper from Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan. He began his solo music career in 2008 under Epic Records Japan (エピックレコードジャパン) and made his acting debut in the 2009 film Kanashii Boyfriend (悲しいボーイフレンド). From 2015 to 2020, he was a member of the music group X4.

Inspired by his grandparents’ interest in enka, Matsushita developed an early passion for singing. At age 12, after seeing the group w-inds. perform on "Kohaku Uta Gassen" (紅白歌合戦), he aspired to become a singer and dancer. He began searching for training opportunities and later studied abroad in New York while in his third year of junior high school. After graduation, he chose not to attend high school in order to focus on music.

He was discovered by producer Nakamura Jin (中村仁) and signed with Epic Records Japan in January 2008. His debut single, "foolish foolish," was released on November 26 of that year.

At the end of 2014, it was announced that Matsushita would suspend activities under his birth name and, beginning March 2015, perform as YUYA in the group X4. X4 disbanded in March 2020. Following the expiration of his contract with Teichiku Entertainment (株式会社テイチクエンタテインメント) and departure from talent agency CALESS International (有限会社キャレスインターナショナル) in April 2020, he resumed solo activities under the stage name YOUYA in October, releasing the single “Ghost” in November.

In March 2022, Matsushita founded his own agency, Mars Art. In August 2023, he signed with the major talent agency Amuse (アミューズ). In 2024, he resumed using his real name, Matsushita Yuya, for music activities, with YOUYA continuing as his English stage name.

His past music label affiliations include Epic Records Japan (2008–2012), Japanese Dream Records (since 2013), XVISION (2015–2020), J.E.T. MUSIC (since 2020), and Imperial Records (インペリアルレコード, since 2020). His agency affiliations have included CALESS Co. Ltd. (until 2020), Produce NOTE Inc. (株式会社プロデュースNOTE, 2020–2022), Mars Art (2022–2023), and Amuse (since 2023).

(Source: kisskh) Edit Biography