Shinjirō Atae

Career

2005–2015: AAA and early acting career

Atae was accepted into Avex when he was 14 years old and debuted as a member of the co-ed group AAA in September 2005. In 2006, he also began making acting appearances on television, with his debut role in Karera no Umi VIII: Sentimental Journey, which starred other AAA members. On December 15, 2010, he released his first photo book, Shinking.

Atae was a featured artist on Maekawa's song, "Kimi ga Daisuki de", which was released on March 7, 2012. He was featured in a dating sim visual novel game titled AAA Shinjiro Atae Love Trip, which was released on October 24, 2014.

2016–present: Solo music career

Atae took a brief hiatus in the spring of 2016 to study at a university in Los Angeles, California. On June 20, 2016, due to fan demand, Atae released the song "Reunited" as a digital single, which was originally released on the DVD bundled with Just the Beginning. The song is described as a love song written in English. "Reunited" peaked at #1 on iTunes in Japan.

On July 19, 2017, Atae released "Goody-Good Girl" as a digital single. Later in the year, he released "Can't Stop" and performed both songs at the Girls Award 2017 Spring/Summer and the 2017 Tokyo Girls Collection fashion shows. In August 2017, he started his own fashion brand, I Am What I Am. On June 18, 2018, he pre-released "Gold Mine" as a digital single. Up until the release of the album, he also pre-released the music videos for "Baby", "Love Sugar", and "You Only Live Once."

In May 2019, Atae held his first solo concert on a 6-day tour. In November 2019, he was announced as the image model of the jewelry brand Empathy All People. For his 31st birthday, on November 26, 2019, he released the song "Follow Me" as the theme song used in the commercials for haircare brand Nalow, which he also appeared in.

In November 2020, Atae announced through his official website and social media that he was putting his entertainment career on hold following AAA's hiatus in 2021. On August 11, 2021, right before he went on hiatus, he released his second album, This is Where We Promise.

Personal life Aside from his native Japanese, Atae is fluent in English, having learned English as a hobby and being a student at ECC since he was in elementary school. In 2015, he collaborated with ECC to release a series of English conversation videos and led an English conversation class for 20 students.

At a fan meeting on July 26, 2023, he came out publicly as gay in front of 2,000 fans. Atae also announced he is working on a documentary about his life and journey, which will be produced by Academy Award winners Peter Farrelly and Fisher Stevens. Details about the upcoming project are still being kept under wraps, but a press release did confirm direction will be at the hands of creative duo Carlie Mantilla-Jordan and John Eliot Jordan, who are long-time friends of Atae.

Discography

Studio albums

Title Year Details Peak chart positions SalesJPN This Is Who I Am 2018Released: November 26, 2018 Label: Avex Trax Format: CD, digital download — This Is Where We Promise 2021Released: August 11, 2021 Label: Avex Trax Format: CD, digital download 4 — This Is How I Am 2026Released: April 22, 2026 Label: True Self Format: CD, digital download 9 JPN: 4,737 "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Singles

As lead artist

Title Year Album "Reunited" 2010 — 2012 31 2019 19 This is Where We Promise "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Filmography

Television

Solo DVDs

+ List of solo DVDs, with selected details and chart position Title Year Details Peak chart positionsJPN New Discovery in Hawaii 2013Released: May 1, 2013 Label: Avex Trax Formats: DVD 27

Publications

Photo books Year Title Publisher ISBN 2010 Gakken 2013 Shufu to Seikatsu-sha 2015 The Way I Am Shufu to Seikatsu-sha 2016 Just the Beginning Shufu to Seikatsu-sha

Photo essays Year Title Publisher ISBN 2014 Shinjiro's Photos: Travel & Style Book Shufu to Seikatsu-sha 2017 Shinjiro's Travel Book Shufu to Seikatsu-sha