Kuwata is known for his innovation with differing genres of Western music as well as the very popular J-pop music in his native Japan. As a musician, Kuwata performs primarily on lead guitar and lead vocals, although he has experimented with playing in a variety of positions, and released one album in which he played every instrument on the record. As of 2010, Kuwata, frontman for the band Southern All-Stars was ranked #1, and with his solo band, the Kuwata Band, ranked #12 in a list of the top 100 musicians in Japan.{{cite web|url=http://www.hmv.co.jp/news/newsDetail.asp?newsnum=311040091|title=Top 100 Japanese pops Artists - No.1|last=Kuwata|first=Keisuke|date=1998-2009 |work=2009 All Media Guide , Muze Inc., japan music data|publisher=HMV|pages= 音楽 æƒ…å ±ãƒ‹ãƒ¥ãƒ¼ã‚¹/|language=Japanese and English|accessdate=23 January 2010|location=Japan}}
