# Fumiya Fujii

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. 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.

## Biography

Fujii 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. 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).
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, and "Another Orion", released in 1996, sold over 1.2 million copies.
Fujii conceptualized the game Baby Universe; Sony Computer Entertainment Japan helped develop the game, which was released for the PlayStation in Japan and Europe by Sony Computer Entertainment in 1997. It is an interactive art video game where the player manipulates the surreal visuals of items like a kaleidoscope with the controller while equally psychedelic music plays in the background. Players can also insert CDs after removing the game disc to listen to music during the simulation in a manner similar to Vib-Ribbon. Fujii co-owns the copyright to the game.
In addition to singing, he has held solo exhibitions under the name "FUMIYART" 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). 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. 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. 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. 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.
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.
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. 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.
In November 2019, Fujii opened an official channel on YouTube.

## Discography
### Singles

| Year | Album | Chart positions (JP) | Label |
| 1993 | "True Love" | 1 | Pony Canyon |
| 1994 | "Eros" | 3 | Pony Canyon |
| 1994 | "Angel" | 15 | Pony Canyon |
| 1994 | "Days" | 5 | Pony Canyon |
| 1995 | "Time Machine" | 4 | Pony Canyon |
| 1995 | "Heart Break" | 9 | Pony Canyon |
| 1995 | "Get Up Boy" | 17 | Pony Canyon |
| 1996 | "Girl Friend" | 7 | Pony Canyon |
| 1996 | "Another Orion" | 1 | Pony Canyon |
| 1996 | "Snow Crystal" | 16 | Pony Canyon |
| 1997 | "Do Not" | 7 | Pony Canyon |
| 1997 | "Go the Distance" | 15 | Pony Canyon |
| 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 | Sony Music |
| 1999 | "Moonlight Magic" | 11 | Sony Music |
| 2000 | "Stay with me" | 20 | Sony Music |
| 2000 | "Inside" | 10 | Sony Music |
| 2001 | "Upside Down" | 18 | Sony Music |
| 2001 | "Please Let There Be Good Weather Tomorrow" (明日天気にしておくれ, Ashita Tenki ni Shiteokure) | 22 | Sony Music |
| 2001 | "All this love" | 18 | Sony Music |
| 2002 | "Seven Wonders" | 14 | Sony Music |
| 2003 | "Boy's Heart" | 12 | Sony Music |
| 2004 | "Thrill up" | 22 | Sony Music |
| 2004 | "Blowing to Wind of Sunbeam" (木漏れ日の風に吹かれ, Komorebi no Kaze ni Fukare) | 9 | Sony Music |
| 2005 | "To Sky of Victory" (勝利の空へ, Shōri no Sora e) | 33 | Sony Music |
| 2005 | "The Night When You Think Me" (君が僕を想う夜, Kimi ga Boku o Omou Yoru) | 12 | Sony Music |
| 2006 | "Under Harajuku Above Shimokita" (下北以上 原宿未満, Shimokita Ijō Harajuku Miman) | 23 | Sony Music |
| 2007 | "Kimi ni naru" (君になる) | 13 | Sony Music |
| 2010 | "Ima, Kimi ni Itteokou" (今、君に言っておこう) | 14 | Sony Music |
| 2013 | "Seishun" (青春) | 10 | Sony Music |
| 2022 | "Mizuiro to Sorairo" (水色と空色) | 13 | independent |

#### Digital singles

| Year | Single |
| 2010 | "Owaranai Christmas Eve" |
| 2015 | "Tomo yo" |
| 2016 | "Miracle Smile" |
| 2020 | "Te no naru Hou he" |

### Albums
#### Studio albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | JPN Oricon |
| Angel | Released: 6 April 1994 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 1 |
| Rock'en Roll | Released: June 7, 1995 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 2 |
| 'Tears | Released: September 20, 1996 Label:[Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 2 |
| Pure Red | Released: June 18, 1997 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 3 |
| Soramoyou (ソラモヨウ) | Released: October 1, 1998 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 5 |
| 2000-1 | Released: July 1, 1999 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 9 |
| In and Out | Released: July 5, 2000 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 7 |
| Club F | Released: June 20, 2001 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 11 |
| Equal | Released: June 19, 2002 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 8 |
| Right Here Right Now | Released: June 18, 2003 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 7 |
| Lady Sister Baby | Released: October 22, 2003 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 14 |
| Cloverfield | Released: May 19, 2004 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 10 |
| Pop Star | Released: September 29, 2004 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 16 |
| Kimyou na Kajitsu (奇妙な果実) | Released: June 29, 2005 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 15 |
| With The Rawguns | Released: September 20, 2006 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 13 |
| Order Made | Released: June 20, 2007 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 8 |
| F's Kitchen | Released: October 8, 2008 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 8 |
| F's Cinema | Released: September 30, 2009 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 14 |
| Life is beautiful | Released: July 11, 2012 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 6 |
| Winter String | Released: October 31, 2012 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 8 |
| Otona Rock (大人ロック) | Released: July 13, 2016 Label: Space Shower Music Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 6 |
| Fujii Rock (フジイロック) | Released: July 10, 2019 Label: Space Shower Music Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 5 |
| Mizuiro to Sorairo (水色と空色) | Released: November 2, 2022 Label: independent Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 4 |

#### Compilation albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | JPN Oricon |
| Standard | Released: December 16, 1996 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 2 |
| Singles | Released: November 18, 1998 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 7 |
| Fumiya Fujii Anniversary Best "15/25" | Released: May 21, 2008 Label: Sony Music Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 8 |
| Fumiya Fujii Anniversary Best "25/35" | Released: July 18, 2018 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 8 |

#### Self-cover albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | JPN Oricon |
| Re Take | Released: July 31, 2002 Label: Sony Music Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 6 |

#### Cover albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | JPN Oricon |
| My Carol | Released: March 26, 2003 Label: Sony Music Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | - |

#### Remix albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | JPN Oricon |
| The Party Remix | Released: July 31, 2002 Label: Sony Music Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | - |

#### Live albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | JPN Oricon |
| Fumiya Fujii Symphonic Concert | Released: September 24, 2014 Label: Sony Music Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | - |

### Other appearances

List of non-studio album or guest appearances that feature Fumiya Fujii :
| 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

List of songs written or co-written for other artists, showing year released and album name :
| 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" | 1997 | Hinano Yoshikawa | Heart Kabe no Namida |
| "Usagichan Say Goodbye", "Shitteru yo" | 1997 | Hinano Yoshikawa | Usagichan Say Goodbye |
| "Tenshi no Yubikiri", "Fun" | 1998 | Mai Fukuda | Tenshi no Yubikiri |
| "Pure" | 1999 | Noriko Sakai | Pure |
| "Katahou no Tsubasa" | 1999 | 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" | 2004 | Misia | Singer for Singer |
| "Daydreamer" | 2007 | Tackey & Tsubasa | Takitsuba Best |
| "Nobara no Yume" | 2007 | Tokiko Kato | Chanteuse2 -Nobarano Yume- |
| "Love Tear Drops" | 2007 | Takashi Tsukamoto | Jiyuu Honpou |
| "Yawarakai Jikan" | 2007 | 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 |