Jin Akanishi, born in Koto, Tokyo, Japan, on July 4, 1984, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and actor. He began his music career in 1998 with Johnny & Associates and gained prominence as one of the lead vocalists of the J-pop boy group KAT-TUN, who debuted in 2006 with the Number 1 single “Real Face”. In 2010, Akanishi officially left KAT-TUN to pursue a solo career, having previously released the Number 1 single “Bandage” as the lead vocalist of the fictional band LANDS for his 2010 film debut, Bandage. He launched his solo recording career in March 2011 with the single “Eternal”, which reached Number 1 on the Oricon Singles Chart and Japan Hot 100. Later that year, he made his US debut with the extended play Test Drive featuring Jason Derulo, which reached Number 1 on the Oricon and Billboard album charts in Japan, followed by the single “Seasons”. Akanishi released his debut solo studio album, Japonicana, in March 2012, which reached number 2 on the Oricon Albums Chart and featured the US digital single “Sun Burns Down”. He made his Hollywood acting debut in 2013 starring alongside Keanu Reeves in 47 Ronin. In November 2013, he released his studio album #JustJin, which reached number 3 on the Oricon chart. After leaving Johnny & Associates in 2014, he established his independent label Go Good Records and released the single “Good Time”, the extended play Mi Amor, and the studio albums Me in 2015, Audio Fashion in 2016, Blessèd in 2017, and Thank You in 2019. In 2020, he released his best-of compilation album, Our Best, which reached Number 1 on the Oricon chart, followed by his studio album Yellow Note in 2023.
