Hironobu Kageyama

is a Japanese musician, singer and composer. He is best known for his work on anime, video game and tokusatsu soundtracks. Kageyama first rose to prominence as a teenager in the 1970s as lead singer of the rock band Lazy. Following their breakup in 1981, Kageyama began a solo career. He struggled until finding major success in the mid-1980s, when he started singing theme songs for anime and tokusatsu television shows. The music to such programs is called anison in Japan, and Kageyama became immensely popular, earning the nickname . Kageyama's best known works include the title tracks for Dengeki Sentai Changeman and Hikari Sentai Maskman, "Saint Shinwa ~Soldier Dream~" for Saint Seiya, and "Cha-La Head-Cha-La" for Dragon Ball Z. Lazy reunited in 1997, and Kageyama briefly worked with Masaaki Endoh as the duo Metal Brothers before they formed the anison supergroup JAM Project in 2000 with several other vocalists. Career While still a high school student in Osaka, Kageyama formed the rock band Lazy with classmates Akira Takasaki and Shunji Inoue at age 16. The group appeared on Asahi Broascasting, where they were discovered by Hiroshi Kamayatsu. The group moved to Tokyo and released five albums with Kageyama as their vocalist before breaking up in 1981. That year, Kageyama released his first solo album on the Tokuma record label. He would later describe the period after leaving Lazy as the hardest of his career, "I just couldn't find a good groove, and the crowd numbers at my gigs started to dwindle." For several years, he continued to work part-time at construction sites in order to support his family while continuing to play the music he loved. He signed with Nippon Columbia in 1985. The director of Columbia recommended him to Toei as the singer of the opening theme to Dengeki Sentai Changeman. With his background in a rock band, Kageyama said the director revitalized his career by choosing him to sing that song as he wanted a rock singer who could sing the upbeat themes that were being written for anime in increasing numbers in the 1980s. The song, performed under the pseudonym "KAGE", led Kageyama to pivot to a career in anison. In 1988, he performed "Saint Shinwa ~Soldier Dream~" as the theme to Saint Seiya. The following year he was selected to sing the opening theme of Dragon Ball Z, "Cha-La Head-Cha-La".