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Tomohisa Yamashita 山下 智久
Also known as	Yamapi (山P), Pi (ぴー)
Born	(1985-04-09) April 9, 1985
Origin	Funabashi, Chiba, Japan
Genres	J-pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, actor, idol
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1996–present
Labels	WMG Japan, Johnny's Entertainment
Website	www.johnnys-net.jp/j/artists/t_yamashita

Tomohisa Yamashita (山下 智久, Yamashita Tomohisa, born April 9, 1985), also widely known as Yamapi, is a Japanese idol, actor, and singer.

Yamashita joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates in 1996 at the age of 11 and made his official CD debut with NEWS in 2004. He debuted as a solo artist in 2006 with the hit single "Daite Senorita". Yamashita graduated from Meiji University's faculty of commerce in the fall of 2008 with a degree in marketing.

His first solo album, Supergood, Superbad, was released on January 26, 2011. Like all of his previous releases, the album debuted on top of the Oricon weekly charts. Yamashita left NEWS to pursue a career as a solo artist on October 7, 2011.

On 29 February, 2012, Yamashita released I, Texas (愛, テキサス), his first single since leaving NEWS and switching labels to Warner Music Japan. His fifth solo single "Love Chase" is slated to be released on 4 July, 2012. The titular song was picked up as an ending theme for the popular animation series Toriko.

His recent works as an actor include the winter 2012 series Saikō no Jinsei no Owarikata: Ending Planner, Ashita no Joe, Code Blue 2, and Buzzer Beat. Code Blue 2 and Buzzer Beat aired in Fuji TV's prestigious getsuku (Monday 9 p.m.) time-slot in Japan, making Yamashita the first person to have starred in two Monday night dramas with only a single drama season in between.

Background

Early life

Yamashita was born in Funabashi, Chiba, as the eldest son. His parents separated early in his life and he was primarily by his mother. He moved to Tokyo during his school years due to the demands of his career.

Yamashita graduated from Horikoshi Gakuen’s performing arts course for high school students in 2004. At Horikoshi, he shared a classroom with celebrities such as Tanaka Koki, Aoi Yu, Ueto Aya, Koike Teppei, and Shirota Yu. Yamashita was accepted into Meiji University's School of Commerce in 2004 and graduated with a major in marketing in 2008.

Pre-debut

As a child, Yamashita aspired to appear on television after watching an early drama with Hideaki Takizawa. He applied to many different talent agencies yet was only given an audition by Johnny & Associates. He entered Johnny & Associates in August 1996 and became part of the Johnny's Jrs.

From 1997 to 2001, he was part of the Johnny's Jr. group B.I.G, which initially included Toma Ikuta, Jun Hasegawa, Shunsuke Kazama, Koki Tanaka, and Koichi Goseki. B.I.G often performed on shows such as Music Jump and 8 Jida J, and were the main personalities of the TV Tokyo television program I Love B.I.G (愛ラブB.I.G, Ai Love B.I.G). Soon after the program ended in April 1999, B.I.G was reduced to just Yamashita and Ikuta. In 2002, following the debut of Tackey & Tsubasa, 4TOPS was created with former B.I.G members Yamashita, Ikuta, Hasegawa, and Kazama to lead the Juniors.

In addition to I Love B.I.G, he appeared in variety programs such as Shownen J, Music Jump, "8 Jida J", Gakibara Teikoku 2000! and USO!Japan. Notably, he was an emcee on the NHK's Shounen Club from its inception in 2000 till his official debut in 2004, and has continued to make infrequent guest appearances on the program. As a Junior, he often participated in concerts and television performances as a back dancer for groups such as V6 and Kinki Kids. It was during this period that he first appeared on television as a singer, performing covers on mainstream music shows such as "Music Station" and "Pop Jam" with the Juniors.

Acting Career

1998 - 2005: Shinya to Akira

Yamashita made his small-screen debut in 1998 with the role of Kakuda Shinya in "Shounentachi". Following this, he starred in various one-shots and televised skits on NTV. 1999 marked both his first appearance in a regular drama with "Kiken na Kankei" and his first lead role as Amano Taira in the live-action adaptation of the manga "PPOI!".

He then starred as Mizuno Shun in the 2000 TBS drama "Ikebukuro West Gate Park". Shun was his first recurring role in a serial and earned him a Nikkan Grand Prix award for Best New Actor at the age of fifteen. That same year, he won a number of idol magazine awards for the first time.

In the following years, Yamashita established himself as a teen actor with a string of schoolboy roles in highly rated dramas such as "Kabachitare", "Long Love Letter", and "Lunch no Joou". He later revealed that he felt his career was jumpstarted thanks to Tokiwa Takako (lead actress of "Kabachitare" and "Long Love Letter") who nominated him to play her younger brother in Kabachitare.

Yamashita continued playing variations of the popular schoolboy in dramas until 2005. Major roles included the virginal train fanatic KenKen in TBS' erotic comedy "Stand Up!!", alongside popular actors of his generation like Oguri Shun, Narimiya Hiroki and Ninomiya Kazunari in 2003 and the rebellious Yajima Yusuke in the live-action adaptation of "Dragon Zakura" in 2005.

Fresh from the success of Dragon Zakura, Yamashita starred in the popular high school drama "Nobuta o Produce" as the flaky, incomprehensibly odd Kusano Akira, acting against Kamenashi Kazuya's award-winning Shuuji. According to Yamashita, Akira was only meant to be an annoying foil for Shuuji but he saw the possibility for Akira to be mesmerizing and decided to take the risk of developing the character in that direction, ad-libbing most of his lines. According to him, "Nobuta wo Produce" was the first time his own efforts at character development received praise and recognition. Despite not receiving star billing, he was rewarded for Akira with a Nikkan Grand Prix award for Best Actor.

2006 - 2011: Kurosaki to Joe

In 2006, Yamashita landed his first lead role as Kurosaki, the titular role in "Kurosagi: Black Swindler". Kurosaki, a vengeance driven orphan turned vigilante, was his most morally grey role to date and a departure from school-based dramas and roles. The serial reunited him with "Nobuta" actress Horikita Maki and starred industry veterans Aikawa Sho and Yamazaki Tsutomu, who became important mentors to Yamashita. "Kurosagi" was successful enough for a cinematic sequel "Eiga: Kurosagi" to be commissioned.

Yamashita starred in the historical drama special "Byakkotai" in January 2007, which followed the story of Sakai Mineji (played by Yamashita) and traced the tragedy of the Byakkotai during the Boshin War. Later that year, he starred as Iwase Ken in Fuji's ["Proposal Daisakusen"], a romantic comedy with time-travel elements, starring opposite Nagasawa Masami who portrayed his childhood friend in "Dragon Zakura". Proposal Daisakusen was one of the most watched romance dramas in 2007, averaging ratings of 17.7%. A Proposal Daisakusen special, starring the original cast of the series, was commissioned for January 2008 and was partially filmed in Hawaii. The role of Iwase Ken earned him another Nikkan Grand Prix poll award.

Yamashita made his cinematic debut in March 2008 with Eiga: Kurosagi, that opened in just over 300 screens in Japan. Despite being a low budget drama spin-off, the film was commercially successful and earned praise from its production company.

More than a year after his last drama, Yamashita starred in the 2008 medical serial "Code Blue" as Aizawa Kousaku, a cold, verging on misanthropic flight doctor trainee. The drama saw him reunited him with "Dragon Zakura"'s Aragaki Yui and "Nobuta's" Toda Erika. Despite competing with the screenings of the Beijing Olympics for much of its run, "Code Blue" emerged as the most watched drama of the season, (artvinfo") and spawned a drama special that aired in January 2009. According to Oricon, the "Code Blue" special was the third most watched drama episode in 2009.

Following this, Yamashita returned to the romance genre with the 2009 summer drama ''Buzzer Beat: Gakkeppuchi no Hero'' as Kamiya Naoki, a down on his luck basketball player. The drama saw him acting against Aibu Saki and fellow Meiji alumni Kitagawa Keiko. Buzzer Beat earned Yamashita a number of acting honors, including a TV Navi award and another Nikkan Grand Prix award.The pairing of Yamashita's Naoki and Kitagawa's Riko was extremely well-received and earned the actors a Yahoo!Japan award for best couple in a drama series. Yamashita and Kitagawa were also rumored to be romantically involved due to paparazzi shots of them together. Yamashita directly dismissed the rumors in November 2009, stating that they were just friends.

The second season of Code Blue" ("Code Blue 2") began airing in January 2010, and saw the series shifting from a Thursday 10pm slot to Fuji TV's prestigious getsuku (Monday 9pm) time-slot. "Buzzer Beat" had previously aired in the same time-slot as well, making Yamashita the first person to have starred in two getsukus with only a single drama season in between. Code Blue 2" improved on the success of the first season and was the most watched drama in the Winter 2010.

In April 2010, just days after filming for Code Blue 2" ended, Yamashita began filming for the cinematic adaptation of the nationally-acclaimed boxing manga "Ashita no Jo". Yamashita underwent harsh professional boxing training in the lead up to the film, losing eight kilos and dropping to a body fat percentage of 5% in order to play Yabuki Joe, a troubled delinquent who discovers purpose and fulfillment through the sport of boxing. Both Yamashita and his co-actor Iseya Yusuke were praised by boxing critics and professionals for the skills they displayed in the film. "Ashita no Jo" premiered in Japan in February 2011, and played in a number of international territories, including South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and Singapore. The film was played in Shanghai as a finalist for the Shanghai International Film Festival.

Music Career

NEWS (2003-2011)

Main article: NEWS

NEWS was formed on September 15, 2003 with Yamashita and eight other members of the Johnny's Juniors. Yamashita subsequently made his CD debut with the limited release of NEWS' volleyball support single "NEWS Nippon" on November 7, 2003. He made his official debut with NEWS' first regular single "Kibou Yell" on May 12, 2004. Just two years later, on May 1, 2006, NEWS was placed on a hiatus by their agency due to the misconduct of certain members. On January 1, 2007, the ban on their activities was lifted and NEWS returned as a six member group consisting of Yamashita, Koyama, Nishikido, Masuda, Kato, and Tegoshi.

As the most experienced member, Yamashita often served as spokesperson and frontman, especially in NEWS' formative years, and he was commonly referred to as the leader of NEWS in various media. However, members of the group, including Yamashita himself, have often stated that he was not the de facto leader of the group.

Yamashita participated in 4 group albums and 14 group singles from 2003 to 2010. The NEWS single "Taiyou no Namida" was utilized as the ending theme for Yamashita's film Eiga: Kurosagi.

On October 7, 2011, Johnny & Associates announced that Yamashita and Nishikido Ryo were no longer members of NEWS, and Yamashita would henceforth be concentrating on his solo projects."Yamapi and Nishikido leave NEWS".| date = October 7, 2011|language=Japanese.</ref> Yamashita later published a message through the Johnny's web subscription service stating that this was a decision taken after much consideration on his part, and he was grateful to the members of NEWS for being understanding.

Temporary Units

Shuuji to Akira (2005)

Main article: Shuuji to Akira

Yamashita and Kamenashi formed the temporary unit Shuuji and Akira (Shuuji to Akira), named after their characters from NTV's "Nobuta o Produce", and released the "Seishun Amigo" single in November 2005. The title track of the single was used as the theme song for "Nobuta".

"Seishun Amigo" was a runaway success, selling over a million copies and going on to become 2005's best-selling single. It also placed #2 on the 2006 Oricon Yearly Charts. The single earned Shuuji to Akira the Japan Record of the Year award. Yamashita and Kamenashi have reunited on various occasions to perform the song, including the 24 Hour TV charity marathons in 2006 and 2009, and the Johnny's Tozai Uta Gassen show in 2010.

"Seishun Amigo" track was included Yamashita's first solo album "Supergood, Superbad", and was one of the opening numbers in his "Supergood, SuperBad" Asia Tour in 2011.

GYM (2006)

In July 2006, Yamashita was teamed up with Thai brothers Golf and Mike, forming the promotional unit "GYM". "GYM" served as image characters for the volleyball world cup and released a single in August 2006 called Fever and Future (Fever to Future), which topped the Oricon Weekly charts in the week of its release. "GYM" was supported by the temporary Johnny's Junior unit "Kitty", and together they were called "Kitty GYM". The members of "Kitty" were Kitayama Hiromitsu, Inoo Kei, Totsuka Shota, andYaotome Hikaru.

Yamashita performed "Fever to Future" during NEWS' "NeverEnding Wonderful Story" Tour in 2007, his "Short But Sweet" concerts in 2009, and his "Supergood, SuperBad" Asia Tour in 2011.

Solo

2006

Yamashita made his debut as a solo artist on May 31, 2006 with the release of "Daite Senorita", the theme song to his drama "Kurosagi". The single topped the Oricon Weekly and Monthly charts, making Yamashita the fifth male solo act to debut at #1 in Oricon’s history, and the first to do so since Kuwata Keisuke.

"Daite Senorita" was one of 2006’s hits and placed at #4 on the Oricon Yearly chart. Yamashita holds a record for simultaneously placing on the 2006 charts as part of four different acts – Shuuji to Akira, Tomohisa Yamashita, NEWS, and GYM.

Yamashita's performance of "Daite Senorita" has been parodied by both comedians and fellow musicians. His first live performance of the song was controversial because he dropped the mike during the chorus, revealing the loud backing track that was being used.<ref="MS">Music Station, "TV Asahi", May 26, 2006</ref>

Yamashita later revealed that the introduction to "Daite Senorita" was included into the song by him because he felt it needed a dramatic introduction.

2009 - 2011

Yamashita made a comeback as a solo artist in November 2009, with the release of his second single "Loveless". The Loveless promotional video was filmed in New York, at Yamashita’s request.

He held his first solo concerts from November 21-23 at the Yokohama Arena, performing to approximately 90,000 people over six shows. The set list included the seven new songs from the "Loveless" single, old hits such as "Daite Senorita" and "Seishun Amigo", NEWS' "Snow Express", as well as self-compositions from his days as a Junior. On November 28, Yamashita reunited on stage with Ikuta Toma for a special performance of KinKi Kids' "Yokubou no Rain", a song they had often performed as Juniors. Yamashita held encore lives at the Osaka Jo Hall from January 6-7 in 2010.

In July 2010, Yamashita released his third single, "One in a Million", earning him a third consecutive #1 as a soloist. Footage from his "Short But Sweet" concerts were included with the Limited Edition of the single. During promotions for "One in a million", Yamashita performed on the same show as popstar Amuro Namie, which later led to Amuro inviting him to feature on the track "Unusual", which was released on her collaboration album "Checkmate" in 2011.

Austrian singer Victoria S. released an English version of "One in a million" some months after Yamashita. This sparked controversy, but the composers of One in a million clarified that they sold the rights for the song to both a Japanese singer and an Austrian singer.

His fourth single "Hadakanbo" was a single sided, promotional single for his first solo album "Supergood, Superbad", and was released a week before the album, on January 19, 2011. Notably, "Hadakanbo" was first single by Yamashita that did not sell more than a 100,000 copies in its first week. It was also the first solo single that did not contain a song that was composed or written by him.

"Supergood, Superbad" was released on January 26 and gave him his first #1 on the album weekly charts. The 2-disc album was a mixture of 80s japanese idol pop songs (Supergood disc) and more western-flavored electronic and house numbers (Superbad disc). Along with "Hadakanbo", the album also included the lead tracks from the "Daite Senorita", "Loveless", "One in a million", and "Seishun Amigo" singles.

Yamashita kicked off his first full fledged solo tour, "Supergood, Superbad: Asia Tour 2011" on January 29 in Hong Kong.announced2010-11-17. Retrieved on 2011-02-10.</ref> The tour included stops in the Asian cities of Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and Bangkok, as well as the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Hokkaido and Fukuoka. Johnny's Junior group A.B.C-Z supported Yamashita during the overseas stops and the Tokyo concerts.

As part of his promotions for the tour, Yamashita performed a special version of "Party Don't Stop" on the South Korean music show, M!Countdown.

Yamashita held 23 shows in Japan alone, and concert attendance for the tour was estimated to be over 200,000 people. The Hokkaido and Taipei shows were postponed due to the Great Tohoku Earthquakes. Instead, Johnnys & Associates sent out the trucks and fuel intended for the shows to help with the relief efforts. Due to the earthquake, Kansai Johnny's Junior auditions were conducted during Yamashita's concerts in Osaka. The tour concluded in Hokkaido on May 31, 2011.

Composing & Song-writing

	Song	Single/Album
Composer; Lyricist	Pain	NEWS Nippon single – NEWS
Lyricist	Yume no Kazu Dake Ai ga Umareru	Akaku Moyuru Taiyou single – NEWS
Composer; Lyricist	Love Song	Touch album – NEWS
Lyricist	Color ("Dragon Zakura" insert song)	''Seishun Amigo'' single – Shuuji to Akira
Composer; Lyricist	Yubiwa	Daite Senorita single – Tomohisa Yamashita
Composer; Lyricist	Houkago Blues	Daite Senorita single – Tomohisa Yamashita
Composer; Lyricist	Gomen ne Juliet	Pacific album – NEWS
Co-Lyricist (with Tanaka Koki)	FIGHT ALL NIGHT	Queen of Pirates album – KAT-TUN
Lyricist	Moonlight	Loveless single – Tomohisa Yamashita
Composer; Lyricist	World is Yours	One in a million single – Tomohisa Yamashita
Co-Lyricist; Co-Composer (with NEWS)	Share	LIVE album – NEWS
Lyricist (Rap)	Snow Express	Sakura Girl single – NEWS
Composer; Lyricist	Ao	Supergood, Superbad album – Tomohisa Yamashita
Lyricist	TOMO	Supergood, Superbad album – Tomohisa Yamashita
Lyricist	Friday Night	Supergood, Superbad album – Tomohisa Yamashita
Co-Lyricist (with R-midwest)	Party Don't Stop	Supergood, Superbad album – Tomohisa Yamashita
Composer; Lyricist	Time	N/A (Performed on Shounen Club, April 2004)
Composer; Lyricist	Let Me	N/A (Performed on Shounen Club, May 2006)
Co-Composer; Co-Lyricist (with Kato Shigeaki)	Road	N/A (Performed on NEWS Spring Concerts, April 2006)
Composer; Co-Lyricist (with Tanaka Koki)	Kiss de Tsutaete	N/A (Performed on Shounen Club, January 2007)
Co-Lyricist (with Koyama Keiichiro)	Ginza Rhapsody	N/A ("NEWS Diamond Party" DVD)

Others

Publications

Yamashita has been writing a regular magazine column for Seventeen (Japan) since July 2006. He has also been publishing a regular journal serial through the Johnny's web mobile subscription (J-web) service since July 11, 2003.

Commercials

Yamashita began starring in televised commercials in 1998 with an appearance in a stationery commercial, alongside fellow B.I.G members Kazama and Ikuta. As a Johnny's Junior, he starred in ads for "Misawa Homes", "Kadokawa Shoten (Weekly Television)", "Glico (Kiss Mint)", "Coca-Cola", and "Pringles".

He landed his first endorsement in 2003 for "Morinaga"'s MOW ice-cream (2003-2008). Throughout his career, he has also endorsed "TBC Esthetic" (2004-2007), "Morinaga"'s Weider-in products (2007-2011), and "Kikkoman"'s Rakubeiji (2007-2009).

Currently, he serves as the spokesperson for "Toshiba"'s Note PC and a variety of "Kirin" products. From April 17 to May 10, "Kirin" created a giant mosaic of Yamashita's face using plastic bottles on the steps in front of Fuji TV's Odaiba headquarters, as part of a promotional event for the "Namacha" product.

Discography

For NEWS, Shuuji to Akira and Kitty GYM-related releases, please see NEWS' Discography, Shuuji to Akira's Single and Kitty GYM.

Albums

Release Date	Title	Label
26 January 2011	SUPERGOOD, SUPERBAD	Johnny's Entertainment

Singles

Release Date	Title	Label
31 May 2006	Daite Señorita (抱いてセニョリータ, Daite Senyoriita)	Johnny's Entertainment
18 November 2009	Loveless	Johnny's Entertainment
28 July 2010	One in a million	Johnny's Entertainment
19 January 2011	Hadakanbo (はだかんぼー, Hadakanbo)	Johnny's Entertainment

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Shounenetachi (NHK)	Kakuda Shinya	Tanpatsu (Short Series)
1999	Nekketsu Renaido (NTV)	N/A	Episode 7
1999	P.P.O.I (NTV)	Amano Taira	Tanpatsu
1999	Kowai Nichiyobi (NTV)	N/A	Episode 13
1999	Kiken na Kankei (Fuji TV)	Miyabe Satoshi	Episodes 10-11; Renzoku (Regular Series)
2000	''Ikebukuro West Gate Park'' (TBS)	Mizuno Shun	Renzoku
2000	''Shijo Saiaku no Date'' (NTV)	Okumura Yuki	Episode 1
2000	''All Star Chushingura Matsuri'' (TBS)	Asano Takumi	Special
2001	''Kabachitare'' (Fuji TV)	Tamura Yuta	Renzoku
2001	''Shounen wa Tori ni Natta'' (TBS)	Nagashima Ken	Special
2002	''Long Love Letter'' (Fuji TV)	Ootomo Tadashi	Renzoku
2002	''Lunch no Joou'' (Fuji TV)	Nabeshima Koshiro	Renzoku
2003	''Stand Up!!'' (TBS)	Iwasaki Kengo	Renzoku
2003	''Budou no Ki (Grapevine)''	Shindo Yosuke	Special
2004	''Engimono: Kuruizaki Virgin Road (Crazy Virgin Road)'' (Fuji TV)		Tanpatsu; Stageplay made for TV
2004	''Sore wa, Totsuzen Arashi you ni'' (TBS)	Fukazawa Takuma	Renzoku
2005	''Dragon Zakura'' (TBS)	Yajima Yuusuke	Renzoku
2005	''Nobuta wo Produce'' (NTV)	Kusano Akira	Renzoku
2006	''Kurosagi'' (Fuji TV)	Kurosaki	Renzoku; First Lead Role
2007	''Byakkotai'' (TV Asahi)	Sakai Shintaro; Sakai Mineji	Two-part Special; Lead
2007	''Proposal Daisakusen'' (Fuji TV)	Iwase Ken	Renzoku; Lead
2008	''Proposal Daisakusen SP" (Fuji TV)	Iwase Ken	Special; Lead
2008	"Code Blue" (Fuji TV)	Aizawa Kousaku	Renzoku; Lead
2009	"Code Blue SP" (Fuji TV)	Aizawa Kousaku	Special; Lead
2009	"Buzzer Beat: Gakeppuchi no Hero" (Fuji TV)	Kamiya Naoki	Renzoku; Lead
2010	"Code Blue 2" (Fuji TV)	Aizawa Kousaku	Second season; Renzoku; Lead

Film

Year	Title	Role
1996	"Shinrei no Surfer Shi"'	Extra
2008	''Eiga: Kurosagi''	Kurosaki
2011	''Ashita no Joe''	Yabuki Joe

References

• One in a Million PV Released News

External links

• Johnny's Net
• Johnny's Entertainment