While his acting career started in 1999,
Yamashita's musical path took off in 2003 when he was chosen to be the leader and a primary vocalist for the band
NEWS. While the plan was to make the band temporary, with the instant attention they drew,
NEWS became a nationwide hit and is still one of Johnny's most successful pop bands today.
In 2005,
Yamashita formed his second unit,
Shuji to Akira with
Kamenashi Kazuya of
KAT-TUN for the promotion of the drama
"Producing Nobuta", which the duo starred in. The band had a two year run before going on hiatus but still makes a yearly performance on New Year's Eve.
Spring 2006 brought the next recognition to
Yamashita not only for his lead role in the drama "Kurosagi" but also for the release of his first and only single,
Daite Senorita. The single smashed through the Oricon charts ranking #1 and sold over 600,000 copies - twice that of
NEWS' sales per single. Despite his success,
Yamashita said he would not go solo, and would remain a member of
NEWS.
That same summer,
Kitty GYM was formed by
Yamashita and Thai brother duet
Golf and
Mike. They were soon joined by
Kitayama Hiromitsu of
Kis-my-ft2,
Inoo Kei of
J.J. Express,
Totsuka Shota of
A.B.C and
Yaotome Hikaru of
Ya-Ya-Yah. The temporary group, which was created as cheerleaders for Japan's women volleyball team that year, released the single
Fever to Future under the name
GYM which used the initials of the founding members.
Much to the surprise and delight of loyal
Yamapi fans,
Yamashita released a new single called
loveless on November 18, 2009, soon thereafter releasing a PV to accompany it. From November until January, the singer embarked on his first solo tour,
TOMOHISA YAMASHITA First Solo SHORTBUT SWEET ~Mijkai keredo ii jikan wo~.
Throughout the rest of 2010,
Yamashita remained busy with
NEWS but made time in the spring to record his new single,
One in a million which was released in July. In plans for his upcoming 2011 international tour,
Yamashita recently visited China, and was so overwhelmed by the positive response that he added a second date to his January tour.
Along with the January 2011 release of his solo album,
SUPERGOOD, SUPERBAD and the single
Hadakanbo he performed in Hong Kong on January 29th, which was followed by shows in March in Taipei. From there, his next stop was Korea and Thailand in April.
Although rumors have risen that perhaps
Yamashita would leave
NEWS to pursue his solo career full time, the singer has indicated that he does not have this intention, and prefers remaining a mentor and participant in the popular Johnny's group. Even with his heightening solo activity, it appears at this time, his feelings on this issue remains the same.
