Yoohei Kawakami

Yoohei Kawakami
川上洋平
At Tokyo Music Odyssey 2016
At Tokyo Music Odyssey 2016
Background information
Also known asYopeko Toda
Born (1982-06-22) June 22, 1982[1]
Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan[2]
EducationBachelor of Laws at Aoyama Gakuin University
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
  • radio host
  • actor
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active2001–present
Labels
Member ofAlexandros

Yoohei Kawakami (川上 洋平, Kawakami Yōhei; born June 22, 1982) is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter and actor. He is the founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the Japanese rock band Alexandros, formerly known as Champagne. He also hosts the Tokyo FM radio show Oto, Okashi (おとをかし).

Early life

Kawakami was born on June 22, 1982, in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. Due to his father's work, he spent part of his childhood living in Syria from ages 9 to 15, where he attended an American school and developed an interest in classical guitar after taking an elective class in fifth grade.[3]

Upon returning to Japan, he enrolled at Yaei West High School in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, where he became friends with Masaki Shirai and Satoyasu Shomura, who would later become fellow members of Champagne.

In April 2001, Kawakami enrolled in the Faculty of Law at Aoyama Gakuin University. During his time at university, he formed Champagne and began performing street concerts, primarily in Yoyogi Park. Initially serving as the band's lead guitarist, he later became the vocalist following the departure of the original singer.

Career

After graduating from university in March 2007, Kawakami worked as a sales representative for a foreign manufacturing company while continuing musical activities with Champagne. Prior to the band's official debut, he also supported himself by working part-time in telemarketing. Eventually he left his company job in 2010 to become a full-time member of Champagne.[3]

In 2017, Kawakami made his acting debut with a cameo in Closest Love to Heaven. He later appeared in various television dramas, such as Date My Daughter!, Hold My Hand at Twilight and Private Banker.

From 2020 to 2021, he collaborated with Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra as a guest vocalist and performer on two songs of their album Ska=Almighty, including "Almighty - The Masked Promise", which served as the opening theme for the Japanese Tokusatsu drama Kamen Rider Saber.

In 2025, Kawakami wrote the lyrics to the song "Play Out Loud", performed by the fictional band Tenblank for the Netflix original series Glass Heart, and was included on its accompanying album.[4]

In 2026, Kawakami collaborated with SennaRin and Hiroyuki Sawano on the song "Endroll", which was used as an insert song for the movie Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery Of Nymph Circe.[5]

Personal life

Kawakami is a noted film enthusiast who has written a regular film-related magazine column titled ポップコーン、バター多めで ("Popcorn, with Extra Butter").[6] He has also discussed his interest in published interviews and essays.

Kawakami is a pet owner and has spoken publicly about adopting cats from a rescue shelter.[7]

He has stated that he dislikes tobacco, alcohol and gambling.[8][9][10]

Musical influences

Kawakami has cited the British rock band Oasis and its guitarist Noel Gallagher as major influences on his musical style. The band's former name, Champagne, was derived from the Oasis song "Champagne Supernova". During live performances, Kawakami has frequently used an Epiphone Supernova featuring the Union Jack design associated with Gallagher. He has also expressed admiration for bands such as Primal Scream, Blur and Radiohead.[11]

Discography

Participating songs

Release Date Artist/Title Song title Participation
2014 (Unreleased) Possession=80.2 Por Cento
FM802 "Access Campaign"		 "Haru no Uta" Vocalist
March 26, 2014 M-Flo
Future Is Wow		 "Fly" Feature, co-lyricist, co-composer, guest vocalist
2015 (Unreleased) Sugar & The Radio Fire
FM802 "Access Campaign"		 "Music Train: Haru no Majutsushi" Vocalist
October 11, 2017 Momoka Ariyasu
Kokoro no Oto		 "Drive Drive" Lyricist, composer
November 29, 2017 Sugizo
Oneness M		 "Daniela" Feature, guest vocalist
January 8, 2020 Takuya Kimura
Go with the Flow		 "Leftovers" Lyricist, composer, co-arranger
December 23, 2020 Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
Almighty: Kamen no Yakusoku feat. Yoohei Kawakami		 "Almighty - The Masked Promise (ALMIGHTY ~ 仮面の約束, Kamen no Yakusoku) feat. Yoohei Kawakami" Feature, co-lyricist, guest vocalist
March 3, 2021 Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
Ska=Almighty		 "Multiple Exposure (多重露光, Tajū Rokō) feat. Yoohei Kawakami" Feature, guest vocalist
January 20, 2021 Leo Ieiri
Sora to Ao		 "Sora to Ao" Composer, arranger
May 12, 2022 Vansire
The Modern Western World		 "Yoohei FM" Feature, lyricist, vocalist
January 31, 2026 SennaRin & Hiroyuki Sawano
LostandFound		 "Endroll" Feature, guest vocalist

Appearances

Television dramas

  • Date My Daughter! (ウチの娘は、彼氏が出来ない!!, Uchi no Musume wa, Kareshi ga Dekinai!!; January 13, 2021 – March 17, 2021, Nippon TV) – Played the role of Soseki Tachibana.[12]
  • Hold My Hand at Twilight (夕暮れに、手をつなぐ, Yūgure ni, Te wo Tsunagu; January 17, 2023 – March 21, 2023, TBS) – Played the role of Sosuke Yukihira.[13]
  • Private Banker (プライベートバンカー, Puraibēto Bankā; Final Episode: March 6, 2025, TV Asahi) – Played the role of an unnamed secretary.[14]

Variety shows

  • Ōta Ueda (Chukyo TV) – Made occasional guest appearances as a fan of the show and composed its theme song.

Radio

(All on Tokyo FM/JFN network)

  • AlexandLocks! (A segment within School of Lock! under "Artist Locks!", October 2015 – March 2021).
  • Oto, Okashi (April 3, 2021 – ongoing)[15]

Films

Magazines

  • Apparel Brand "glamb" (2015–2016) – Modeled for the spring collection.[18]
  • Essay series in the fashion magazine Men's Non-no Web (Yoohei's Non-no by Alexandros' Yoohei Kawakami, November 1, 2016 – February 3, 2021).[19]
  • Essays for NyAera magazine (February 25, 2022 issue).[20]

Advertisements

Web commercials

Panasonic × Kao Joint Project "#Sentaku" Campaign:

  • Phase 1: "#Sentaku" commercial aired starting October 19, 2021.
  • Phase 2: "New Life Edition" aired starting February 15, 2022.[21]

TV commercials

  • Paidy (Aired starting September 25, 2021).
  • Panasonic's "#Sorezore no Sentaku" commercial aired starting February 10, 2023.

Large-scale billboard commercials

  • Panasonic's "#Sorezore no Sentaku" campaign featuring individual members aired on Shibuya Station's street-facing billboards (14 screens simultaneously for the first time) from November 1–13 and December 7–8, 2022.

Books

Serializations

  • Monthly Classy – Started in the July 2022 issue.

Essay books

  • Alexandros' Yoohei Kawakami's essay collection Yohaku (余拍) – Published on September 28, 2022.[22]
  • Alexandros' Yoohei Kawakami's Popcorn, with Extra Butter (ポップコーン、バター多めで) – Published on September 3, 2024.[23]
  • Alexandros' Yoohei Kawakami's 2nd essay collection Next Act (次幕, Jimaku) – Published on December 25, 2025.[24]

Awards and nominations

JASRAC Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2024 "Senkou" Bronze Award Won

References

  1. ↑ "Yoohei Kawakami's Profile, Images, and Photos (1000079894)". WEB The Television. KADOKAWA. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
  2. ↑ "Yoohei Kawakami". TOWER RECORDS ONLINE. Tower Records. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
  3. 1 2 水田静子 (2020-11-22). "川上洋平の音楽魂──ロックしているから"ブレまくる"". GQ JAPAN (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  4. ↑ "佐藤健主演『グラスハート』劇中バンドのデビューアルバムトラックリスト公開". ORICON NEWS. 2025-07-02. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  5. ↑ "[Alexandros]川上洋平×SennaRinによるデュエットソング「ENDROLL」MV公開 | Daily News". Billboard JAPAN (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-07-23.
  6. ↑ "独断と偏見で選ぶカワカミー賞発表！ [Alexandros]川上洋平、2023年のベストムービーやベストアクターを語る【映画連載：ポップコーン、バター多めで PART2】". ライブドアニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-02-15.
  7. ↑ "[Alexandros] 川上洋平さん・特別インタビュー「一番会ってみたい芸人は、とんねるずさん」!?". CLASSY.[クラッシィ] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-02-15.
  8. ↑ "川上洋平が語る、5つのモノとコト". メンズノンノウェブ | MEN'S NON-NO WEB (in Japanese). 2017-10-25. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  9. ↑ "KAKIZOME! | SCHOOL OF LOCK! | アレキサンドLOCKS!". 未来の鍵を握る学校 SCHOOL OF LOCK!. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  10. ↑ "話題の塩顔イケメン、 [Alexandros]川上洋平さんの素顔に迫る！". CLASSY.[クラッシィ] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-02-15.
  11. ↑ du Plessis, Lauren (2015-07-18). "[ALEXANDROS] - INTERVIEW - JAPAN NIGHT". Electric Bloom Webzine. Retrieved 2026-02-15.
  12. ↑ "［Alexandros］川上洋平がドラマ初出演、北川悦吏子脚本「ウチカレ」で菅野美穂の彼氏候補に（コメントあり）". 音楽ナタリー. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  13. ↑ "川上洋平がドラマ「夕暮れに、手をつなぐ」出演、夏木マリの息子役". 映画ナタリー. ナターシャ. 2022-12-13. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  14. ↑ "『プライベートバンカー』最終回！SPゲスト・中野英雄、[Alexandros]川上洋平も登場". テレ朝POST (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  15. ↑ From October 2021 until March 2024, it was broadcast under the title of 'Panasonic presents "Oto, Okashi"'.
  16. ↑ "［Alexandros］川上洋平が「きょうのキラ君」で映画デビュー、英語教師に". 音楽ナタリー. 2016-11-30. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
  17. ↑ "[Alexandros]『閃光のハサウェイ』で声優初挑戦 ダバオ市民を熱演 川上洋平「名せりふに命を」". ORICON NEWS. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  18. ↑ "川上洋平＆金子ノブアキ、glamb春コレクションのモデルに". Music Natalie. 2015-11-06. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
  19. ↑ "川上 洋平". メンズノンノウェブ | MEN'S NON-NO WEB (in Japanese). 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
  20. ↑ 朝日新聞出版 最新刊行物：別冊・ムック：NyAERA（ニャエラ） 2022 (in Japanese).
  21. ↑ "［Alexandros］川上洋平が「#センタク」プロジェクトでＣＭ出演". Panasonic×花王アタック. 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  22. ↑ "幼少期から、帰国後の学生生活、20代後半でデビューし、駆け抜けてきた音楽への思い、そしてこれからの人生について、川上さんがこれまで明かすことのなかったエピソード". 音楽ナタリー. 2022-09-04. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  23. ↑ "[Alexandros] 川上洋平の映画連載が書籍化、 『ポップコーン、バター多めで（仮）』9月に発売 映画にちなんだイベントを都内で開催 | SPICE - エンタメ特化型情報メディア スパイス". SPICE（スパイス）｜エンタメ特化型情報メディア スパイス (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  24. ↑ "＜レポート＞[Alexandros] 川上洋平が言葉と写真で届ける"今の自分とこれからの自分" 3年ぶりエッセイ『次幕』発売 | Daily News". Billboard JAPAN (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-07-18.
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