Fumiya Fujii (藤井 フミヤ, Fujii Fumiya, born July 11, 1962) is a Japanese musician, actor and former lead singer of The Checkers born in Kurume. His younger brother is Naoyuki Fujii, a musician and former sax player for The Checkers. His eldest son is Fuji TV announcer Kōki Fujii.[2] He formerly belonged to Yamaha Music Foundation and Three Star Pro (both during the Checkers era), and now he is part of a private agency, FFM Co.
Fumiya Fujii 藤井 フミヤ | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Fumiya Fujii (藤井 郁弥) |
| Born | July 11, 1962 Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan |
| Genres | J-pop, rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, actor, composer, producer, cg artist |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, harmonica |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Labels | Pony Canyon Sony Music Associated Records Chaya-zaka Records |
| Website | www |
| Fumiya Fujii | |
|---|---|
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2019 - |
| Subscribers | 66.3[1] |
| Total views | 29,626,026 million times[1] |
Last updated: January 15, 2024 | |
Biography
editFujii was born as the first child to a father who was a Japanese National Railways employee and a mother who was a beautician. When he was a junior high school student, he encountered the Japanese rock band CAROL and started playing music.[3] After graduating from Nanchiku High School, he joined the Moji Railway Administration Bureau of the Japan National Railways (now Kyushu Railway Company), and after a six-month apprenticeship at Tosu Station, he worked as a freight train operator at Haiki Station, maneuvering and switching freight trains. He belonged to the National Railway Workers' Union (Kokurō).[4]
In 1983, after retiring from the Japanese National Railways, Fujii made his debut as the lead singer of The Checkers and had many hits. Not only his singing ability, but also his appearance and behavior attracted attention, and more and more young people imitated his progressive fashion. He also wrote lyrics for most of the original songs released as singles, and became a central figure in songwriting. In 1992, The Checkers disbanded, and the following year, 1993, Fujii changed the spelling of his first name from kanji to katakana, and started his solo career. Naoyuki Fujii, his younger brother, was also a part of The Checkers and began pursuing a solo career as well. Together they did the project F-Blood in the late 1990s. At the time of the breakup, Fujii was invited to the U.S. by Gota Yashiki, who was living in Los Angeles at the time. Kenji Suzuki, who also lived in Los Angeles, chose him and bought him a Gibson B-25 guitar. The first song he composed using this guitar was "True Love". The song, released the same year, sold 2.4 million copies,[5] and "Another Orion", released in 1996, sold over 1.2 million copies.[5]
In addition to singing, he has held solo exhibitions under the name "FUMIYART"[6] and produced the Nagoya City Pavilion "Tower of the Earth" for Expo 2005 (recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest kaleidoscope).[7] He has also appeared in many TV dramas, and provided the voice of Rock Holmes for the 2003 Astro Boy series, in addition to writing and singing its ending theme "Boy's Heart."
His songwriting credits include "Shiroi Kumo no Youni" (composed by Naoyuki Fujii) for the band Saruganseki and "Hoshizora no Katasumi de" (lyrics and composition) for Misia. He has also produced four songs, including "Heart-Shaped Tears" for Hinano Yoshikawa.[8] His many contributions to the local community include composing the Kurume song "Furusato no Sasayaki" for his hometown Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, providing the design for the Kurume Citizen Card, creating the logo for Fukuoka Broadcasting Corporation, and designing the uniform for his alma mater Nanchiku High School.[9] The nickname of Kagoshima City FM, the first community radio station to open in Kagoshima Prefecture on October 1, 1997, "FRIENDS FM 762," was named by Fujii.[10] He has also designed the countdown T-shirts for the 1998 Winter Olympics. The T-shirts were engraved with the number of days remaining until the day of the 1998 games, and Fujii was in charge of designing the shirts from 500 to 401 days before the games.[11]
In 2007, Fujii wrote the lyrics and composed the song "Chinju no Sato" in praise of the 62nd Jingū Shikinen Sengū. It is included in the single "Kimi ni Naru." He stayed in Ise, Mie for three days and composed the song on the riverbank of the Isuzu River near the Uji Bridge.[12]
On December 31, 2008, at a countdown live performance at the Nippon Budokan, Fujii tied with Eikichi Yazawa for first place with 102 performances, including performances during the Checkers era, under the name F-BLOOD, and as a solo artist.[13] In response, he said that he was honored to have stood on the same stage as Yazawa at the Budokan since CAROL (with Yazawa) was the reason why he started his music career.[13]
In November 2019, Fujii opened an official channel on YouTube.
Discography
editSingles
edit| Year | Album | Chart positions (JP)[14] |
Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "True Love" | 1 | Pony Canyon |
| 1994 | "Eros" | 3 | |
| "Angel" | 15 | ||
| "Days" | 5 | ||
| 1995 | "Time Machine" | 4 | |
| "Heart Break" | 9 | ||
| "Get Up Boy" | 17 | ||
| 1996 | "Girl Friend" | 7 | |
| "Another Orion" | 1 | ||
| "Snow Crystal" | 16 | ||
| 1997 | "Do Not" | 7 | |
| "Go the Distance" | 15 | ||
| 1998 | ""Dog of Straw" (わらの犬, Wara no Inu)" | 8 | Sony Music |
| 1999 | ""Age of Wind" (風の時代, Kaze no Jidai) " | 13 | |
| "Moonlight Magic" | 11 | ||
| 2000 | "Stay with me" | 20 | |
| "Inside" | 10 | ||
| 2001 | "Upside Down" | 18 | |
| "Please Let There Be Good Weather Tomorrow" (明日天気にしておくれ, Ashita Tenki ni Shiteokure) | 22 | ||
| "All this love" | 18 | ||
| 2002 | "Seven Wonders" | 14 | |
| 2003 | "Boy's Heart" | 12 | |
| 2004 | "Thrill up" | 22 | |
| "Blowing to Wind of Sunbeam" (木漏れ日の風に吹かれ, Komorebi no Kaze ni Fukare) | 9 | ||
| 2005 | "To Sky of Victory" (勝利の空へ, Shōri no Sora e) | 33 | |
| "The Night When You Think Me" (君が僕を想う夜, Kimi ga Boku o Omou Yoru) | 12 | ||
| 2006 | "Under Harajuku Above Shimokita" (下北以上 原宿未満, Shimokita Ijō Harajuku Miman) | 23 | |
| 2007 | "Kimi ni naru" (君になる) | 13 | |
| 2010 | "Ima, Kimi ni Itteokou" (今、君に言っておこう) | 14 | |
| 2013 | "Seishun" (青春) | 10 | |
| 2022 | "Mizuiro to Sorairo" (水色と空色) | 13 | independent |
Digital singles
edit| Year | Single | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Owaranai Christmas Eve" |
[15] |
| 2015 | "Tomo yo" |
[15] |
| 2016 | "Miracle Smile" |
[15] |
| 2020 | "Te no naru Hou he" |
[15] |
Albums
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon [14] | ||
| Angel |
|
1 |
| Rock'en Roll |
|
2 |
| 'Tears |
|
2 |
| Pure Red |
|
3 |
| Soramoyou (ソラモヨウ) |
|
5 |
| 2000-1 |
|
9 |
| In and Out |
|
7 |
| Club F |
|
11 |
| Equal |
|
8 |
| Right Here Right Now |
|
7 |
| Lady Sister Baby |
|
14 |
| Cloverfield |
|
10 |
| Pop Star |
|
16 |
| Kimyou na Kajitsu (奇妙な果実) |
|
15 |
| With The Rawguns |
|
13 |
| Order Made |
|
8 |
| F's Kitchen |
|
8 |
| F's Cinema |
|
14 |
| Life is beautiful |
|
6 |
| Winter String |
|
8 |
| Otona Rock (大人ロック) |
|
6 |
| Fujii Rock (フジイロック) |
|
5 |
| Mizuiro to Sorairo (水色と空色) |
|
4 |
Compilation albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon [14] | ||
| Standard |
|
2 |
| Singles |
|
7 |
| Fumiya Fujii Anniversary Best "15/25" |
|
8 |
| Fumiya Fujii Anniversary Best "25/35" |
|
8 |
Self-cover albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon [14] | ||
| Re Take |
|
6 |
Cover albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon [14] | ||
| My Carol |
|
- |
Remix albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon [14] | ||
| The Party Remix |
|
- |
Live albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon [14] | ||
| Fumiya Fujii Symphonic Concert |
|
- |
Other appearances
edit| Title | Year | Artist | Album/Single |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Kizetsu suru hood Nayamashii" | 1997 | V.A | Psyche-Delicious Char Tribute Album |
| "Rock'n Roll Widow" | 2004 | V.A | Yamaguchi Momoe Tribute Thank you for... |
| "Cinderella" | 2015 | V.A | A tribute to cools |
| "Yuki no Hana" | 2016 | V.A | Mika Nakashima Tribute |
Songwriting credits
edit| Title | Year | Artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Shiroi Kumo no You ni" | 1996 | Saru Ganseki | Shiroi Kumo no You ni |
| "Generation Gap" | 1997 | V6 | Generation Gap |
| "Heart Kabe no Namida", "Rururu Kataomoi" | Hinano Yoshikawa | Heart Kabe no Namida | |
| "Usagichan Say Goodbye", "Shitteru yo" | Usagichan Say Goodbye | ||
| "Tenshi no Yubikiri", "Fun" | 1998 | Mai Fukuda | Tenshi no Yubikiri |
| "Pure" | 1999 | Noriko Sakai | Pure |
| "Katahou no Tsubasa" | Hitomi Kuroki | Katahou no Tsubasa | |
| "Tsubasa no Sekkeizu" | 2000 | V6 | "HAPPY" Coming Century, 20th Century Forever |
| "Under the sky" | 2003 | Issa (Da Pump) | Extension |
| "Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy" | 2004 | Arashi | Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy |
| "Hoshizora no Katasumi de" | Misia | Singer for Singer | |
| "Daydreamer" | 2007 | Tackey & Tsubasa | Takitsuba Best |
| "Nobara no Yume" | Tokiko Kato | Chanteuse2 -Nobarano Yume- | |
| "Love Tear Drops" | Takashi Tsukamoto | Jiyuu Honpou | |
| "Yawarakai Jikan" | Daikohara Yuki | Grape Home | |
| "Amatsubu no Birthday" | 2012 | Sowelu | Best |
| "Abunai Onna Karinai Otoko" | 2015 | Tube | Your Tube + My Tube |
| "Bang On!" | 2017 | Kishidan | Manyoshu |
| "Kimi wo Daisuki Da" | 2019 | Kis-My-Ft2 | Kimi wo Daisuki Da |
References
edit- ^ a b "About 藤井フミヤ Fujii Fumiya". YouTube.
- ^ 藤井フミヤの長男弘輝さん フジTVアナウンサーに
- ^ "藤井フミヤ"ができるまで
- ^ "藤井フミヤ、元「国鉄の職員」だった過去を告白 「鉄ちゃんの憧れのブルートレインをつないでた」". AOL News. June 16, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ^ a b "Fumiya Fujii Concert Tour 2012 Life is Beautiful". 公益財団法人 瀬戸市文化振興財団. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ^ 扶桑社「FUMIYART」書籍詳細
- ^ "名古屋市パビリオン「大地の塔」". 愛・地球博 オフィシャルサイト. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ^ "吉川ひなの、23年の芸能生活語る – 生意気時代や歌手をやめた理由を告白". Mynavi Corporation. February 20, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ^ INLIFE 男の履歴書 藤井フミヤ
- ^ "会社概要". Kagoshima City FM. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ^ "500日前からカウントダウンTシャツオークションを開始". Japanese Olympic Committee. October 1, 1996. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ^ 式年遷宮奉賛曲「鎮守の里」収録CDを発売－藤井フミヤさん
- ^ a b "藤井フミヤ、永ちゃんと並んで武道館通算公演回数1位に". Oricon. September 29, 2008. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g "藤井フミヤの作品". Oricon (in Japanese). December 30, 2007. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
- ^ a b c d "藤井フミヤの作品" (in Japanese). Mora. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
External links
edit- Fumiya Fujii on Twitter
- Fumiya Fujii's channel on YouTube
- Fumiya Fujii discography at MusicBrainz