is a Japanese singer and actor. He is a vocalist of the

J-pop J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1 ...

group,

Sandaime J Soul Brothers , formerly simply J Soul Brothers and stylized as Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe, are a J-pop vocal and dance group formed by Exile ex-leader and producer Hiroyuki Igarashi in Japan in 1991. Sandaime J Soul Brothers are managed by Hiroy ...

He joined the group after winning the ''Vocal Battle Audition 2'' alongside

Ryuji Imaichi is a Japanese singer and actor. He is a vocalist of the J-pop dance and vocal group Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe. He joined the group after winning the ''Vocal Battle Audition 2'', alongside Hiroomi Tosaka. As a member of Sandaime J ...

. As a member of

, he has received the

Japan Record Awards is a major music awards show, held annually in Japan that recognizes outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association. Until 2005, the show aired on New Year's Eve, but has since aired every December 30 on TBS Japan at 6:30 P.M JST a ...

twice. Tosaka debuted as an actor in the 2014 film ''

Hot Road is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Taku Tsumugi. It was adapted into a live action film that was released on 16 August 2014. Characters *Kazuki Miyaichi lives with her mother. Kazuki does not like her mother's boyfriend ...

,'' for which he won the Newcomer of the Year Award at the 38th

Japan Academy Film Prize The , often called the Japan Academy Prize, the Japan Academy Awards, and the Japanese Academy Awards, is a series of awards given annually since 1978 by the Japan Academy Film Prize Association (日本アカデミー賞協会, ''Nippon Akademii- ...

. In 2019, he starred in '' Yuki no Hana ("Snow Flower")'', a romance film based on

Mika Nakashima is a Japanese singer and actress. Five of her studio albums, one of her mini-albums and one of her compilation albums have reached number one in Japan's Oricon album chart. She also embarked on an acting career, most notably as Nana Osaki in the ...

's famous song of the same title. In 2017, he debuted as a soloist with the digital single "Wasted Love" , while remaining a member of

. For his solo activities he uses his birth name stylized as HIROOMI TOSAKA. In April 2019, he released "Blue Sapphire", the theme song for the film '' Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire (名探偵コナン紺青の拳(こんじょうのフィスト))'' included in his single “Supermoon” released on April 10. On February 20, 2021, as he moved his solo project to his own company CDL entertainment(LDH Records), where he can produce on his own, he changed his stage name as an solo singer into ØMI. On October 15, 2021, he released the digital single "ANSWER ... SHINE". The song "You (Prod. SUGA of BTS)" on this single was produced by

SUGA Suga may refer to: * Suga, Iran, a village in Qazvin Province, Iran * Suga language, a language of Cameroon * Suga (rapper) (born 1993), South Korean rapper, songwriter, and record producer * ''Suga'' (EP), 2020 EP by Megan Thee Stallion * ''Sug ...

from

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-pr ...

. It topped iTunes Top Songs Chart in 42 countries and regions around the world, and ranked #3 on Billboard

World Digital Song Sales The World Digital Song Sales chart (formerly World Digital Songs) is a weekly record chart compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Established in 2010—with the issue dated January 23—as one of 21 genre-specific s ...

Weekly Charts.

Early life

Hiroomi Tosaka was born on March 12, 1987, in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan. He did not have too much enthusiasm about studying as a high school student, so he decided to went to a

technical college An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...

for hairstylists after high school without too much consideration about his future. He went to Kubota Barber Beauty College, and after graduation, he worked at a

hair salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment dealing with cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, and medical spas. Beauty treatments Massage for the body is a ...

. He quit his job after 6 months and started to work as a

shop assistant A retail clerk, also known as a salesclerk, shop clerk, retail associate or (in the United Kingdom) shop assistant or customer service assistant, is a service role in a retail business. A retail clerk obtains or receives merchandise, totals bil ...

at an apparel store in

Daikanyamachō, Shibuya , or simply , is a neighborhood in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. The neighborhood is known for its small boutique shops, giving it the nickname "the Brooklyn of Tokyo." It is served by Daikan-yama Station on the Tokyu Toyoko Line. Education ope ...

. The customers he served during that times included Takahiro and

Ryohei Suzuki is a Japanese actor who is represented by the talent agency Horipro. Early life He graduated from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies with a Bachelor's degree in English Studies in March 2006. When he was a student, he worked part-time in NHK ...

. Though he was always fond of

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, he considered being a singer a dream too unrealistic to achieve, and therefore preferred a future as a hairstylist. When he was studying at Kubota Barber Beauty College, Takahiro passed the ''Vocal Battle Audition 2006: Asian Dream'' and became a vocalist of Exile. Tosaka was very much impressed and inspired by this since Takahiro had also been a hairstylist before the audition. For this reason, the dream of becoming a singer became serious for him.

Career

In February 2010, Tosaka participated in ''Exile presents Vocal Battle Audition 2: ~Yume o Motta Wakamono-tachi e~''. He received a flyer and decided to have a try, but he did not have any experience at singing besides being good at

Karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music i ...

. Since he had not received professional vocal training or sung in public before, he was called the "Cinderella Boy without Experience" during the audition. However, his talent began to show and helped him to pass the audition. He then met

in the second round of the audition, and they both considered each other to be strong competitors after seeing their performances for the first round on Shûkan Exile's coverage of the audition. As Imaichi and Tosaka both were selected as two of the ten finalists after the third round, it was announced that the two winners of V''ocal Battle Audition 2'' would become the vocalists of the new dance and vocal group

. On September 15, 2010, the final round of the audition was held at Akasaka Blitz music venue, and Tosaka won the audition alongside Ryuji Imaichi. The two became the vocalists of

. A few days later, as they finished the recording of Sandaime J Soul Brothers' first single "Best Friend's Girl", the seven members of Sandaime J Soul Brothers met each other for the first time. On September 27, he made his first public appearance as a singer during the ''Fantasy Goya-sai: Exile Tamashī'' (FANTASY後夜祭～EXILE魂～; ''FANTASY Late Night Festival ~EXILE Soul~'') live performance from

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

at Toyota Stadium. On November 10, Tosaka made his mainstream debut as member of Sandaime J Soul Brothers with the single, "Best Friend's Girl". In February and March 2012, Tosaka participated in ''VBA Live Tour 2012 Vocal Battle Stage'' held in Tokyo and Osaka, alongside other LDH's vocalists who have participated in the ''Vocal Battle Audition.'' This is the first time he performed without performers after his debut. From 2012 to 2015, Tosaka was a studio commentator for the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show '' Terrace House: Boys × Girls Next Door'' and the film '' Terrace House: Closing Door''. From November 2012 to March,2013, he also appeared in TBS's music variety show ''EX-LOUNGE''. In August 2014, he made his acting debut in the film ''

''. Leading the film alongside Rena Nōnen, he played Hiroshi Haruyama, who was a member of the motorcycle gang "Nights" and fell in love with Rena Nōnen's character Kazuki Miyaichi, a troubled teenage girl. With his role in this film, he won Best New Artist Award at the 39th Hochi Film Awards, Sponichi Grand Prize Newcomer Award at the 69th Mainichi Film Awards, the New Actor Award at the 24th Japan Movie Critics Awards, and the Newcomer of the Year Award as well as Popularity Award at the 38th Japan Academy Film Prize. In 2015, he released his first solo song "Link" in Sandaime J Soul Brothers' album '' PLANET SEVEN'' under the name of the group. He also composed the lyrics to the song, which was his first attempt at lyric composition. In October, he released his first photo essay ''Nobody Knows'', which has sold more than 180 thousand copies. On 15 October, he teamed up with Sandaime J Soul Brothers' performer Naoki Kobayashi and

Takanori Iwata is a Japanese dancer and actor. He performs with the J-pop, J-Pop groups Sandaime J Soul Brothers and Exile (Japanese band), Exile. As a member of Sandaime J Soul Brothers, he has received the Japan Record Awards twice. He earned his first lead ...

to form Sandaime's special sub-unit "The Sharehappi from Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe", and released their one and only single, ''Share The Love'', which is a theme song used in the advertisement for

Pocky is a Japanese sweet snack food produced by the Ezaki Glico food company. Pocky was first sold in 1966, and was invented by Yoshiaki Koma. It consists of coated biscuit sticks. It was named after the Japanese onomatopoeic word , which is suppos ...

. On October 21, the first season of the drama '' High＆Low: The Story of S.W.O.R.D.'' was broadcast, which was part of the ''

High&Low ''High&Low'' (stylized as HiGH&LOW), is a Japanese action media franchise centred around the Exile Tribe. Produced by Exile Hiro, the ''High&Low'' entertainment project consists of television series, various films and other media, including mus ...

'' franchise, the action and music franchise produced by LDH. Tosaka played Hiroto Amamiya, and Takahiro played his older brother Masaki. As the High&Low franchise continued to produce more films,concerts, games, mangas in the following years,Tosaka continued to reprise his role in those follow-ups. In 2016, when Sandaime J Soul Brothers released a documentary about themselves, ''Born in the EXILE'', Tosaka and Ryuji Imaichi, the two vocalists of

, composed the lyrics of the theme song together to express the "soul" of the group. Meanwhile, he also reprised his role as Hiroto Amamiya in TV drama '' High&Low Season 2'' broadcast in April'','' the film ''

High&Low The Movie ''High&Low The Movie'' (stylized as HiGH＆LOW THE MOVIE) is a 2016 Japanese action film directed by Shigeaki Kubo. Released in Japan by Shochiku on July 16, 2016, It is the first original film of the ''High&Low'' franchise, following the story of ...

'' released in July. In October, the film ''

High&Low The Red Rain ''High&Low The Red Rain'' (stylized as ''HiGH＆LOW THE RED RAIN'') is a 2016 Japanese action film directed by Yūdai Yamaguchi. As the first spin-off of the High&Low franchise, it focuses on the story of the Amamiya Brothers, one of the stronge ...

'' was released. Tosaka, together with Takahiro and Takumi Saitoh, starred in the film as the Amamiya Brothers. Tosaka also released his first songs under his own name when he participated in the soundtracks for the ''

series.'' His first solo song under his name, "CHAIN BREAKER", was released in ''High&Low Original Best Album'' and was about his character Hiroto Amamiya. He also featured in a few songs of Takahiro's band

Ace of Spades The Ace of Spades (also known as the Spadille and Death Card) is traditionally the highest and most valued card in the deck of playing cards in English-speaking countries. The actual value of the card varies from game to game. Design The orn ...

, including "SIN", "TIME FLIES", and "THE RED RAIN, which were all about the Amamiya Brothers and were used as soundtracks in the ''

'' series. On July 27, 2017, Tosaka made his solo debut with the digital single "Wasted Love", produced in collaboration with DJ

Afrojack Nick Leonardus van de Wall (; born 9 September 1987), better known as Afrojack, is a Dutch DJ, music producer and remixer from Spijkenisse, South Holland. In 2007, he founded the record label Wall Recordings; his debut album '' Forget the World' ...

who had previously worked together with

. Previous to his solo debut, he also featured in Sandaime's member CrazyBoy (Elly)'s song " OZ Monster feat. OMI" released in February. On September 27, he held his first oversea fan meeting event in Shanghai. On October 13 in the same year, Tosaka released his 2nd digital single "Diamond Sunset". Besides, he also reprised his role as Hiroto Amamiya in the film ''

High&Low The Movie 2 / End of Sky ''High&Low The Movie 2 / End of Sky'' (stylized as HiGH&LOW THE MOVIE 2 / END OF SKY) is a 2017 Japanese action film directed by Shigeaki Kubo and Tsuyoshi Nakakuki. It's the third film of the High&Low franchise, and the second film focusing on ...

'' released in August and ''

High&Low The Movie 3 / Final Mission ''High&Low The Movie 3 / Final Mission'' (stylized as HiGH&LOW THE MOVIE 3 ／ FINAL MISSION) is a 2017 Japanese action film directed by Shigeaki Kubo and Tsuyoshi Nakakuki. It's the fourth film of the High&Low franchise, and as the final episode ...

'' released in November. On January 26, 2018, he released his third digital single "Luxe", featuring Sandaime groupmate CrazyBoy(Elly). He also featured in Honest Boyz(a hip-hop unit led by Sandaime's leader Naoto) 's single "BEPPING SOUND feat. HIROOMI TOSAKA" released on June 16. On August 8 in the same year, Tosaka released his first solo album ''FULL MOON''. Additionally, he went on his first solo tour ''Hiroomi Tosaka Live Tour 2018 "Full Moon"'' from August 18 to December 23, which attracted about 240,000 attendants during 23 performances in 11 cities. Besides, on a program of LDH TV,the exclusive members-only streaming service of LDH, Tosaka challenged himself to be a Record producer. Together with Sandaime J Soul Brothers' member Elly, he produced singer CRAZY SHIKAKKEI("Crazy Quadrilateral" ). CRAZY SHIKAKKEI is the alias used by Masayasu Yagi in this "Super Star Project", and "WANAWANA", the first single of CRAZY SHIKAKKEI , was released on October 19, 2018, debuting at number one on downloading charts. CRAZY SHIKAKKEI also performed in Tosaka's live in

Yokohama Arena is an indoor arena located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five-minute walk from the ...

on October 24. In 2019, Tosaka starred in '' Yuki no Hana("Snow Flower")'' as Yusuke Watahiki, a romance film based on

's famous song of the same title. On February 22, 2019, it was announced that Tosaka would be in charge of the theme song for the film '' Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire'' (名探偵コナン紺青の拳（こんじょうのフィスト)), titled "Blue Sapphire". In March he released the live footage of his ''Hiroomi Tosaka Live Tour 2018 "Full Moon"'' concerts at

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...

, which took the first place on Oricon's weekly DVD, BD and joint DVD/BD ranking at the same time with about 59.000 copies sold in the first week. On March 27, it was announced that Tosaka would hold his first performance in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

at
OTAQUEST Live
' on July 3, alongside other Japanese acts such as

m-flo is a Japanese hip hop group consisting of record producer DJ Taku Takahashi, Verbal and Lisa. Lisa left the group in 2002 to pursue a solo career and the remaining members then started the M-Flo Loves... project working different vocalists fo ...

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Kiriko Takemura (Japanese: 竹村桐子, born January 29, 1993), known professionally as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (Hiragana: きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ), is a Japanese tarento, singer, and model. Her public image is associated with Japan's ''kawai ...

, CrazyBoy and

Yasutaka Nakata is a Japanese DJ and music producer. He formed the band Capsule in 1997 with vocalist Toshiko Koshijima and himself as composer and record producer when both were 17. The band debuted in 2001 with the song "Sakura". He is known for being the ...

. On April 10, Tosaka released his first physical single "Supermoon" ,which also contained "Blue Sapphire" and have one version of its cover drawn by

Gosho Aoyama is a Japanese manga artist best known for his manga series ''Detective Conan'' (1994–present), also known as ''Case Closed'' in some English-speaking countries. As of 2017, his various manga series had a combined 250 million copies in print wo ...

. Shortly afterwards, he released the sequel and digital single "Supermoon ~Sen~" on July 12. The music video for the title track "Naked Love" was shot in Los Angeles and stars Tosaka alongside American actress

Lauren Tsai Lauren Tsai (born February 11, 1998), is an American visual artist, model, and actress. She is best known to audiences for her appearance in the Fuji TV and Netflix series '' Terrace House: Aloha State''. She made her acting debut in the third an ...

. On July 20 and 21, Tosaka held his first solo overseas concert in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

titled ''Hiroomi Tosaka Taipei Concert 2019 Supermoon ~Under the Moonlight~'', 3 years after he visited the island for the first time for an overseas premiere of the film ''

''. On November 20, Tosaka released his second physical single "Overdose" on November 20. On January 8, 2020, Tosaka released his second studio album ''Who Are You?''. In January and February, he had a joint dome tour ''LDH PERFECT YEAR 2020. SPECIAL SHOWCASE RYUJI IMAICHI / HIROOMI TOSAKA'' with

. On July 1, the live footage of the joint tour was released and was ranked No.1 on Oricon's weekly DVD, BD and joint DVD/BD ranking at the same time with about 50,547 copies sold in the first week. On February 17, 2021, it was announced that he would release a new single ''ANSWER... SHADOW'' in May and three songs from the single would be pre-delivered for digital streaming in a monthly manner starting with "ANSWER... SHADOW" on February 20. All songs would be produced by himself as he moved his solo project to his own company CDL entertainment, where he can produce on his own. It was also announced that he changed his stage name for his solo project into ØMI.

Personal life

He has an older sister. He played soccer in his school days and is a big fan of soccer. He expressed in several occasion that Takahiro has a major influence on his life and his music career. Takahiro's success during the ''Vocal Battle Audition 1'' inspired Tosaka to take part in ''Vocal Battle Audition 2'' , which led to his debut as vocalist of

. Takahiro also encouraged him to debut as an actor.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Digital singles

Other Solo Songs

Participating works

Video releases

Lyrics

Filmography

TV shows

TV Dramas

Films

Voice acting

Music videos

Tie-ups

Bibliography

Photo essays

Works

Artist Production

* CRAZY SHIKAKKEI

Tours

''Hiroomi Tosaka Live Tour 2018 "Full Moon"(2018)'' ''Hiroomi Tosaka Taipei Concert 2019 Supermoon ~Under the Moonlight~(2019)'' ''LDH Perfect Year 2020 Special Showcase Ryuji Imaichi / Hiroomi Tosaka(2020)''

Awards

Other Work

On September 29, 2019, Tosaka was officially appointed as a tourism ambassador for Taipei to promote Taipei in Japan.

References

External links

* at LDH Japan * at Sandaime J Soul Brothers Official Website * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tosaka, Hiroomi Japanese male actors 1987 births Living people People from Hamura, Tokyo Singers from Tokyo LDH (company) artists 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese male singers Musicians from Tokyo