Matt Kuwata

His father is former professional baseball player Masumi Kuwata; his older brother Masaki is also a former professional baseball player, and his grandfather is professional golfer Izumi Kuwata.[7][8][3][9][10][11]

When he was 7 years old, his father began playing piano as a form of rehabilitation; at this time, Matt began to teach himself to play piano and violin. However, in elementary school, his father pushed him to continue playing baseball until graduation, in the hope that he would grow to eventually like it and continue. This did not happen; with the support of his mother, Maki, he promptly quit baseball after completing the sixth grade in order to pursue his interest in music. While his older brother appeared to have inherited their father's passion for the sport, Matt was reportedly disinterested in it.[12] His mother wrote a book about the experience, titled Anata wa Anata no Mama de Ii Kodomo no Jiko Kōtei-kan o hagukumu Kuwata Ie no Kosodate (あなたはあなたのままでいい 子どもの自己肯定感を育む桑田家の子育て) (You're Fine the Way You Are: Growing Children's Self Esteem, Raising Children in the Kuwata House).[6][13]

He joined his school's orchestra, where he played drums, flute, and alto sax. In high school, he went on to Horikoshi Gakuen, where he played alto as well as soprano saxophone in wind orchestra. As leader of the orchestra, he won first place in the Tokyo High School Wind Orchestra Competition. He went on to J. F. Oberlin University by way of recommendation for his instrument ability, and studied abroad in America for his fourth year of university. Upon his return to Japan, he graduated and immediately began his activities as a tarento.[14]

Matt is known for his unique makeup style, which has come to be referred to as Matt-ka ("Matt-change"). His appearance has been described as that of a "foreign prince" or "living doll", as well as criticized for looking "unnatural". Matt himself says that he does not consider that to be an insult; that in contrast of the approachable idol image, he wants to be seen as unreachable, like theme park characters he had idolized. He says that, through his appearance, he wishes to convey the message that "your life is your own". He has declined to comment on any rumors of plastic surgery.[3][4][15] He does, however, admit to the use of image editing software, including BeautyPlus and Adobe Lightroom.[16]

In 2019, he was awarded "Most Newsworthy Person in Beauty 2019" at the Bestcosmetics Awards 2019, hosted by VoCE Magazine.[17][18]

In September 2019, he filmed his first starring role in a commercial, advertising Black Thunder candy bars.[19][20] In November 2019, he and his father starred in a commercial for Y! Mobile together.[21]

In March 2020, he starred in a Mouse Computers web commercial, alongside The Fuccons.[22]

In April 2020, he starred in a web campaign for an Earth Corporation insect repelling device.[23][24]

In September 2021, he co-starred in a commercial for Uber Eats, alongside Nanako Matsushima.[25] In the same month, he also appeared in a web commercial for AvanTime Tone Shot Cream, becoming a "beauty ambassador" for the brand.[26]

On December 26, 2019, he released his first music single, ”Yoso mo Tsukanai Story”.[4] His next single, "Unconditional Love", was released on September 30, 2020.[27]

In May 2021, he made a guest appearance in the music video for Kis-My-Ft2 member Kento Senga's solo single, "Buzz".[28]

• Official website