Few J-urban singers can boast the plaintively pleading pipes of Shota Shimizu, who grew up on American gospel, soul, and classic R&B in his Osaka hometown of Yao. Shota made his recording debut in 2008 after winning over audiences at amateur nights at New York's Apollo Theater. Since then, he has released a string of silky-smooth hits occasionally punctuated with rapped verses, à la Chris Brown. Like Céline Dion, for whom he recorded a tribute, Shota's voice can express both the deepest melancholy and the highest peaks of romantic joy.