Shouta Aoi

Shouta Aoi
蒼井 翔太
Aoi at T-Spook 2016 on October 30, 2016
Born	(1987-08-11) August 11, 1987 (age 37) Fukui Prefecture, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Other names	Noboru Yanagawa (柳川 昇) (2004) Showta (2006-2009) Noboru Ryugaki (柳ヶ木 昇) (2009-2010)
Occupations	Singer actor
Years active	2006–present
Height	174 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Musical career
Genres	J-pop anison
Labels	King Records[1] (2006-2009, 2016-present) B-Green (2011-2016)
Musical artist
Website	www.shouta-aoi.jp

Shouta Aoi (蒼井 翔太, Aoi Shōta, born August 11, 1987), is a Japanese singer and actor. Under the stage name Showta (stylized as "SHOWTA."), he debuted as a singer with the song "Negaiboshi" in 2006 and released his first studio album, Eve, in 2008. In 2009, he left his agency and briefly released music independently under the pseudonym Noboru Ryugaki (柳ヶ木 昇).

After making his acting debut as Saki Hanajima in the Fruits Basket musical in 2009, Aoi has been involved in multiple musical theatre productions, including Sakuya Shiomi in Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade. In 2011, he began voice acting and gained media attention after voicing Ai Mikaze from Uta no Prince-sama. Since then, he has been recognized for roles such as Hideaki Tojo from Ace of Diamond, Monet Tsukushi in the Magic-kyun! Renaissance series, Rui Minazuki from the Tsukiuta series, Louis Kisaragi from King of Prism series, and Licht von Glanzreich from The Royal Tutor.

In 2013, Aoi relaunched his singing career under his new stage name with the extended play Blue Bird, followed by the release of "Virginal" in 2014. In 2015, he released his first studio album, Unlimited. Since the relaunch of his music career, his music is produced by Elements Garden.

Throughout his career, Aoi has been given titles such as "Archangel" and was praised for his "angelic" singing voice. He is known for his soft, high-pitched voice and androgynous appearance, allowing him to play female parts as well.