is a Japanese singer-songwriter and actor. He has been well known as frontman of the rock band Anzen Chitai that debuted in 1982 and enjoyed a successful career, particularly during the 1980s. In the 1990s, he also began his career as a solo artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Japanese vocalists.
In 2014, he was ranked first by a panel of 200 experts for the best ever singing voice in Japan. Moreover, in 2021 Koji was voted as the greatest active male Japanese singer, with 190 experts agreeing that he is a "living national treasure of music" and that he portrays an "unparalleled mass of expressiveness and emotion which only seems to get better with age".
Biography As a vocalist and a songwriter of Anzen Chitai, Tamaki spawned multiple successful compositions which were mostly co-written by lyricists including Gorō Matsui and Yōsui Inoue before the group suspended activities in 1993.
In 1987, Tamaki released his first solo single "All I Do" and continued his solo career after Anzen Chitai went into hiatus (1993–2001, 2004–2009). Throughout his solo career, he has released 23 singles and over a dozen studio albums. His song "Den-En," released as a single in 1996, became a massive hit, reaching number two on the Japanese Oricon charts and selling in excess of 900,000 copies.
Tamaki has also been known as an actor who has appeared in seven feature films and numerous television dramas. He began his acting career starring in the 1986 motion picture "Prussian Blue no Shozo."
Anzen Chitai returned from a hiatus and released their new single "Aoi Bara/Wine Red no Kokoro (2010 version)" on March 3, 2010.
On his 2012 album Offer Music Box, Tamaki — who composed the original song — covered Yuki Saito's song "Kanashimi yo Konnichi wa", which was used as the first theme song for the anime television series Maison Ikkoku.
Discography
Albums Studio albums YearAlbumLabelChart positions JPN1987All I DoKitty Records219934Sony Music Entertainment Japan171994Love Song Blue181996Cafe Japan41997Junk Land91998Grand Love121999BMG Funhouse112000Nisemono192001192005Sony Music Entertainment Japan262006Present252007302014.3.19Gold30
Cover albums YearAlbumLabelChart positions JPN1999Wine Red no KokoroFunhouse112012Offer Music BoxSpace Shower Music312014.11.19Space Shower Music312020Chocolate CosmoNippon Columbia21
Live albums YearAlbumLabelChart positions JPN1995TSony Music Entertainment Japan4920056420066020081542015.12.16Space Shower Music732024.2.21TBA
Compilation albums YearAlbumLabelChart positions JPN1994Anzen Chitai/Tamaki Kouji BestKitty -1995Tamaki Koji Best Songs For You -1997Early Times: Koji Tamaki in Kitty RecordsKitty Enterprise -1998Denen Koji Tamaki BestSony192003Best HarvestBMG Japan65Golden Best Tamaki Kōji Early Times PriceUniversal Music Japan -2011GOLDEN☆BEST Tamaki Kouji 1993-2007Sony Music Direct2292017All Time Best112022The Best Album 35th Anniversary: MelodyNippon Columbia12
Singles YearAlbumChart positions(JP)Label1987"All I Do"10Kitty Records1989712"I'm Dandy"101619932241Sony1994"Love Song"351995"Star"9019964921997"Mr. Lonely"141998"Rookie"49Funhouse"Happy Birthday"691999262000"aibo"54200196200483Sony20053548132006"Lion"60200767201362Saltmoderate32202223Nippon Columbia"Beautiful World"26
Videography No.ReleaseTitleKitty Records1st1987.11.01"All I Do" Filmed in U.KSony Records2nd1995.11.01Saikou Desho?!3rd1997.03.21Shall I Make it For You? Cafe Japan TourBMG Funhouse4th1998.03.21We can Believe in our "Junk Land"5th1999.02.24"Grand Love" a Life in Music6th2001.07.25Kono Rhythm DeSony Records7th2005.11.02"Kyou to iu Kono Hi wo Ikiteikou" Live in Zepp Tokyo8th2006.12.05'06 Present Tour Live9th2008.03.26Koji Tamaki'07 Wakusei Tour Live10th2014.04.02Koji Tamaki Music Videos 1996-201311th2015.06.10Gold Tour 201412th2021.08.18Chocolate cosmos: Koi no Omoide, Setsunai Koigokoro13th2021.12.08Billboard classics Premium Symphonic Concert 2021 The Eurasian Renaissance14th2023.08.02Tamaki Kōji 35th Anniversary Concert 35th Special Collections“Arcadia”&“Michi”
Filmography Television The Last Bullet (1995) – Ichiro Yamamura Hideyoshi (1996) – Ashikaga Yoshiaki Konna Koi no Hanashi (1997) – Konosuke Shimodaira Furuhata Ninzaburō (1999) – Shūzō Utena
References
External links Koji Tamaki's Official Website (in Japanese)