J-pop singer Shinjiro Atae talks coming out, “Into the Light,” & his theme song for the year
Shinjiro Atae is undeniably his most comfortable on stage. It’s no surprise, considering he’s been performing his entire life – starting with dance at 10 years old, which led to his 2005 debut with Japanese co-ed pop quintet AAA, and then subsequent success as a solo artist.Still, nothing could have tempered the 34-year-old’s nerves for his most recent go behind the microphone: a free fan event in Tokyo where he publicly came out as gay to an audience of near 2,000.“It has taken me a long time to be able to say I am gay,” Atae revealed in his speech. “However, I’ve come to realize it is better, both for me, and for the people I care about, including my fans, to live life authentically than to live a life never accepting who I truly am.”Shinjiro’s devotion to living his truth is already extending to music; the announcement arrived alongside synthy and snappy new single “Into the Light,” which recounts his journey to self-acceptance.It’s a new chapter for the Kyoto-born performer, who currently resides in Los Angeles.
It’s also one he never imagined. Having gotten his start in the API pop idol machine, the concept of being an openly-out singer –– especially in Japan, where LGBTQ+ issues are still taboo –– seemed virtually impossible.But Atae is ready to bask in his newfound light.
Nearly a week after his coming out, we caught up with Atae over Zoom.He revealed his next big project: a documentary, produced by Green Book‘s Peter Farrelly and Fisher Stevens and directed by close friends Carlie Mantilla-Jordan and John Eliot Jordan.
The film will document both his coming out journey and the aftermath. “I don’t know when we are going to finish [filming],” he said. “But it’s up to them not me.
