Shibutani was already a singer in his own right before the group's debut, immensely popular among Johnny's Jr. fans as the top Kansai Jr. of his time.
Shibutani entered Johnny & Associates in 1996 on his birthday, September 22 (along with future fellow Kanjani Eight member Ryūhei Maruyama) after passing an audition.
Shibutani's big break was an outstanding solo performance on Music Station which would see him move to live in Tokyo, followed shortly by Yokoyama and Murakami.
In 2002, Johnny Kitagawa had the Kansai Jrs put on an old play previously performed by their seniors, SMAP and KinKi Kids, called Another.
In August 2004, the group released its first single, Naniwa Iroha Bushi, an enka song infused with rap.
In addition, Shibutani is also the main vocalist for Kanjani Eight subgroups, SanKyoudai, an acoustic music group, and SubaruBand, a rock band.
As a Jr., Shibutani wrote several original songs in collaboration with the guitarist of Jr. band FIVE, Nakaegawa Rikiya, who composed the melodies.