Kaf (singer)

KAF is a Japanese Singer and Virtual YouTuber affiliated with Kamitsubaki Studio. She created her YouTube channel in October 2018 at the age of 14 where she uploads cover song videos alongside her own original music and short monologues. Her original videos frequently portray her 3D modeled character in real life settings, while cover songs feature original illustrations coupled with the song lyrics. In addition to her activities on YouTube, KAF has also held several performances in Japan since her debut, with stage shows that incorporate live music elements and a supporting band with her virtual avatar appearing as the main performer.
She is also a member of the virtual Idol group V.W.P -Virtual Witch Phenomenon- alongside other members of Kamitsubaki Studio's sub-label, Phenomenon Record. She is also the voice model for CeVIO AI Song's voicebank named KAFU, released in July of 2021.
==Biography==
When KAF was in elementary school she was influenced by Sana, a singer who worked with HoneyWorks, and began posting songs online herself... Around 2017, when she was 13 years old, her contributions to a music app caught the attention of Japanese producer Piedpiper, who was initially unable to contact her for some time due to both her location and age. After finally connecting, their first recording session together surprised the managers and engineers who were present
The KAF YouTube channel was launched on October 16, 2018, with her first video (a short clip of her humming future original song "Chicks") being uploaded on October 18. On December 6 of the same year her first original song and music video, "Intertwined", was uploaded to the channel followed by "Heart & Trick" on December 28. "Intertwined" ranked #3 in J-POP and #9 overall on the iTunes Top Songs charts in Japan. In December of She would then appear as the last performer of the first part in the Count0 virtual music event on New Year's Eve to perform "Intertwined", which would lead to a sizable increase in her following. 
In January 2019 she released 2 new songs, "The Witch" on January 9 and "Just forget about it" on January 31. On February 1, 2019 she announced she would be temporarily pausing activities to focus on her high school entrance exams. She resumed her activities on March 22, releasing the ballad song "Chicks". In April she would perform at Niconico Net Chokaigi as a part of their VTuber Special Stage. On May 15th, 2019 Kaf would release her first EP, Love & Flower followed just a few days later by a Campfire crowdfunding campaign to raise money for her first one-man live. The campaign would go on to raise more than 40 million yen from over 4000 backers, far surpassing the 5 million yen goal. The concert, titled Incomprehensible, was held on August 1st at LIQUIDROOM Ebisu with live viewing also being available at several movie theaters and karaoke stores throughout Japan. In June she provided the song "Before The Night Falls" as the theme for the movie Hot Gimmick: Girl Meets Boy.
Kaf's first full-length album, Observation, was released on September 11, 2019. The album was released in 2 formats, designated α and β with their own original artowork and bonus items in special packaging, a trend which would continue for her following albums. A remix album titled Observation γ was released in December featuring remixes by other members of Kamitsubaki Studio and several guest remixers.
In February 2020 she was to hold the Incomprehensible (Re) live show at Zepp DiverCity Tokyo, only to be canceled due to Covid-19. The performance was rescheduled for March 23rd and adjusted to take place in an empty venue while livestreamed on 4 platforms including Niconico Live and YouTube Live for a fee. On March 14th she released a video debuting a new outfit and hairstyle to represent a new period in her career. In April of 2020 she provided the third ending theme of the TV anime series Black Clover, titled "Answer". That same month she participated in the ZONe Energy IMMERSIVE SONG PROJECT with the song "Abnormal". Both songs would later be released on her 2nd EP and 2nd album. In July she would collaborate with Japanese mobile phone operator NTT Docomo to release the song "Confused Telepathy" as part of an exhibition to promote their 5G services. Also in July, the final episode of the anime series Japan Sinks:2020 aired featuring her song "Landscape" as the ending theme.
On July 22, 2020 her 2nd EP, titled Flower & Answer, was released. The title for this EP was decided in consultation with her producer, Iori Kanzaki, with the hope that the listener would be able to feel the "answer" in the various meanings of the songs. Kaf stated that during the recording of Flower & Answer she could feel her personal growth as a result of starting voice training noting that she felt her voice had changed and that she better grasps how to control the tone and resonance of her voice. On September 23, 2020 she would release a collaboration song with Kizuna AI titled "Transient". Her second full-length album, Magic, was released on November 25, 2020 with a remix album to follow in December 2021.
Kaf's 3rd one-man live show, titled Incompresensible 2 Q2, was held on March 13, 2021 at the virtual venue PANDORA. This concert was broadcasted for free on YouTube Live, and during the show the group V.W.P -Virtual Witch Phenomenon- was announced with Kaf as a member. In May of 2021 she provided the theme song for the anime film Pompo: The Cinéphile, titled "For Example". In July the CeVIO AI voicebank, KAFU, was released using Kaf as the voice model. On October 18, 2021, Kaf celebrated her third anniversary, and to commemorate the event she began the Suite project on October 27th of the same year. The project would feature 15 songs created in collaboration with major label artists from the Japanese music industry, released over the course of the next few years.
On March 26, 2022 a special one-man live was held to commemorate her high school graduation. On the same day she announced the start of her first radio program Panpa ka KAFi R (ぱんぱかカフぃR), which broadcasts on InterFM. In April she performed during the 2nd day of VTuber Fes Japan 2022. On August 24, 2022 Kaf held her 3rd one-man live concert, Incomprehensible Third (Crazy), at the Nippon Budokan marking the first time a VTuber had performed at the venue. In September 2022 she created a membership focused YouTube channel where she hosts short livestreamed content and interacts with her fans, called "observers". From October through December of 2022 she hosted the television program "Virtual Singer KAF no Mawarare! MAD TV" broadcast on Tokyo MX.
On March 8, 2023 her 3rd full-length album, Crazy For You, was released. This album would be the final time Iori Kanzaki would act as Kaf's primary composer. In August she would participate in YouTube Music Weekend alongside other Japanese artists, with promotions featuring her prominently appearing in New York City's Times Square
==Discography==
===Albums===
Release Date 	Title 	Catalog no. 	Peak Oricon Pos.	Note
September 11, 2019	Observation α (Aber das ist erst der Anfang.)Observation β (Ich habe kein gutes Gefühl dabei.) 	KTR-004（α）KTR-005（β） 	15 	1st Album
December 25, 2019 	Observation γ (Eine Schwalbe macht noch keinen Sommer!) 	KTR-008 	46 	Remix Album
August 19, 2020 	I SCREAM LIVE 	KTR-016 	— 	Cover Album
November 11, 2020 	Magic α (Ein Lied, um die Welt zu verändern.)Magic β (Wer schön sein will, muss leiden.) 	KTR-019（α）KTR-020（β） 	9 	2nd Album
December 22, 2021 	Magic γ (Je stärker wir sind, desto unwahrscheinlicher ist der Krieg.) 	KTR-039 	— 	Remix Album
March 8, 2023 	Crazy For You α (Dies ist eine Geschichte über das Potenzial eines Mädchens.)Crazy For You β (Es ist auch die Geschichte der Entwicklung eines jungen Mannes.)	KTR-077（α）KTR-078（β） 	10 	3rd Album
===EPs===
Release Date 	Title 	Catalog no. 	Note
May 15, 2019 	Flower & Heart 	KTR-002 	1st EP
July 22, 2020	Flower & Answer (Original Edition)Flower & Answer (Black Clover Edition)	KTR-014（Original）XNKT-00015 (Black Clover) 	2nd EP
===Singles===
Release Date 	Title 	Catalog no. 	Peak Oricon Pos.	Note
December 6, 2018 	Intertwined 	— 	28 	1st EP Single
December 21, 2018 	The Witch 	— 	32 	1st EP Single
December 28, 2018 	Heart & Trick 	— 	33 	1st EP Single
June 28, 2019 	Before The Night Falls 	KTR-003 	— 	—
June 10, 2020 	Confused Telepathy 	KTR-012 	— 	—
September 23, 2020	Love & Flower -AI edition-Love & Flower -KAF edition-	KTR-017（AI）KTR-018 (KAF) 	50 	—
May 19. 2021 	For Example 	— 	— 	Digital Single
June 30. 2021 	Turn into the sea 	— 	— 	Digital Single
===Suite===
Number	Release Date 	Title 	Lyrics, Composition, Arrangement 	Collaborator
1 	October 27, 2021 	Mirror, mirror on the wall	Remi Matsuo (lyrics)GLIM SPANKY (composition)Hiroki Kamemoto (arrangement) 	GLIM SPANKY
2 	November 17, 2021	Imaginary Friend 	Seiko Oomori (lyrics,composition)大久保薫 (arrangement) 	Seiko Oomori
3 	December 8, 2021 	Sunrise 	Iori Kanzaki 	Ayane Sakura
4 	January 19, 2022 	Fly meme 	Tanaka (lyrics)Kenkaiyoshi, Tanaka (musician) (composition)Kenkaiyoshi (arrangement) 	Tanaka
5 	February 22, 2022	My Incense 	Maigo Hanyuu 	Maigo Hanyuu
6 	March 23, 2022 	Springtime 	WhaleDontSleep 	WhaleDontSleep
7 	April 20, 2022 	thunder in bud 	Hakushi Hasegawa 	Hakushi Hasegawa
8 	May 11, 2022 	Beyond META 	MIYAVI, Emyli (lyrics)MIYAVI, Lenard Skolnik, Kelsey Klingensmith (composition)MIYAVI, Lenard Skolnik (arrangement)	MIYAVI
9 	July 13, 2022 	streamline shape mayday 	Saijitsu Haneda (lyrics)HiFi-P (composition, arrangement) 	KAFU (Dropkick on My Devil! ending)
10 	October 12, 2022 	CAN-VERSE 	Pon (lyrics)Hideya Kojima (composition, arrangement) 	ORESAMA
11 	March 8, 2023 	Made in me 	MIKEY, Marie Mizuki (lyrics)MIKEY (composition) MIKEY, Hideki Ataka (arrangement) 	Tokyo Gegegay
12 	April 5, 2023 	secret word 	Takanobu Yoshida (lyrics)ZOOKARADERU (composition, arrangement) 	ZOOKARADERU
- 	April 19, 2023 	AlphaYOU (prompt αU ver.) 	Iori Kanzaki (lyrics)Iori Kanzaki, Yunosuke (composition, arrangement) 	EMA
13 	July 5, 2023 	handicraft-high 	Kenmochi Hidefumi 	Kenmochi Hidefumi
15 	September 6, 2023	My Voice 	Shinichi Osawa 	MONDO GROSSO
===Other===
Release Date 	Title 	Artist 	lyrics, composition, arrangement 	Notes
October 21, 2022	Tokyo Shandy Rendezvous 	MAISONdes	Tsumiki 	Urusei Yatsura (2022) ending
December 2, 2022	Tsubame ~NumaHama Version	KAF 	Ayase (Lyrics, composition)Hare Ichiban (arrangement)	Yoasobi cover for NHK "Minna no Uta"
Category:Japanese singers
Category:Virtual youtuber
Category:Japanese people