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NEWS (band)

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NEWS

NEWS (ニュース, Nyusu) (originally NewS) is a Japanese group formed by Johnny & Associates, under the label Johnny's Entertainment. Before their official they released a single as a nine-member group entitled News Nippon (News ニッポン, lit. News Japan). They officially made their debut in 2004 as an eight-member group with their first number-one single Kibou ~Yell~ (希望 ~Yell~, lit. Hope ~Yell~).

Originally there were nine members but Takahiro Moriuchi left the group before their official debut. In 2005 and 2006, two NEWS members, Hiroki Uchi and Hironori Kusano were suspended from the group due to the incidents of under-aged drinking.[1] Which resulted in the current roster of six-members.[2][3]

NEWS name refers to the cardinal directions- north, east, west and south.[3]

History

2003 – 2004: Formation and debut

NEWS was formed in September 2003[2], the group was comprised with: Tomohisa Yamashita, Ryo Nishikido, Keiichiro Koyama, Shigeaki Kato, Takahisa Masuda, Yuya Tegoshi, Hironori Kusano, Hiroki Uchi and Takahiro Moriuchi. NEWS began their careers promoting the song NewS Nippon for the World Cup of Volleyball Championships, following in the footsteps fellow Johnny groups V6 and Arashi, both who debuted in the same way in 1995 and 1996 respectively.[3] They performed their limited repertoire before matches and toured the country extensively following the championships. They even took a small trip to Taiwan to gain publicity. Despite the controversial beginning and having CD sales confined to 7/11 convenience stores, NewS Nippon was a wildly successful single and the decision was made to keep the unit. Before their first Christmas concert, Moriuchi left. The circumstances were unclear but it was said that he left to concentrate on his studies. NEWS did not release another single until May 2004.

They came out with Kibou~yell~, which was their official debut and it went straight to number one on the charts, as did the following single Akaku Moyuru Taiyo. NEWS was now an established unit.

2005–2006: Rise to popularity, scandals and hiatus

Following their success in the previous year, 2005 proved to be a fruitful year as NEWS released another two singles and their first album, Touch. However, just when NEWS seemed to be one of the most popular groups in Japan, on July 16, 2005, member Hiroki Uchi got himself involved in a case of underaged drinking and was suspended by his agency[4][5], leaving a seven member NEWS.
On January 31, 2006, Hironori Kusano of the group was accused of another incident of underaged drinking and became the second NEWS member to be suspended.[4][5] Releasing their 6th single on 15 March, 2006, it was announced that NEWS was to be put on hiatus due to the temporary suspension of two of their members. NEWS held a 'NEWS Spring Tour 2006' before stopping their activities officially on 1 May, 2006.[4]
Members who were not related to the scandals were allowed to carry on with their solo activities, but no group activities would be carried on during this period until further notice.

2007-2008:NEWS' comeback

The return of NEWS was announced on December 30, 2006, but would continue as a six-member group[2] as Hiroki Uchi and Hironori Kusano were demoted to the position of "trainees".[6] On January 1, 2007, NEWS had their first performance since the hiatus at the Johnny's Concert Countdown 2006-2007.[2][1]. NEWS released their first single since the hiatus on March 7 2007, Hoshi wo Mezashite (星をめざして, lit. Aim For the Stars). It was used as the theme song for the Japanese version of Happy Feet, which starred Yuya Tegoshi, who voiced the main character Mumble.[7] Hoshi wo Mezashite debuted at the number-one spot on both the daily and weekly Oricon charts. After the release of the single, a two month concert tour followed. NEWS released a DVD on August 8th, Never Ending Wonderful Story, which features live performances of the tour and documentaries.[8] NEWS was scheduled to hold a two day concert in Taipei from October 6 to the 7th.[9]. Unfortunately an unexpected typhoon striking the Taiwanese capital on the concert's first day which resulted in the postponement of the concert. Instead, two performances were held on the second day.[10][11]

NEWS simultaneously released their seventh single and second album on November 7. Both releases debuted on the charts at the number-one position. The single was used to promote a Japanese clothing store Russ-K's winter collection.[12] Weeeek sold 263,000 copies and the album Pacific sold 196,000 copies. This was the tenth time in Oricon history an artist reached number-one on both the single and the album charts simultaneously. The last occurrence achieved by KAT-TUN in April 2006. Other artists include SMAP, KinKi Kids, Masaharu Fukuyama, Ayumi Hamasaki, WANDS, as well as Seiko Matsuda[13].

To fruther support their album, NEWS went on their nation-wide tour NEWS CONCERT TOUR Pacific 2007-2008, from December 15th, 2007 to January 27th, 2008. As a special part of the tour, they performed for the first time as a group in Tokyo Dome[14]. The concert, which was held on 9th January 2008 and extravagantly involved the massive usage of 50 tonnes of water to entertain the fans, was due to overwhelming demand for tickets for their Pacific Tour that left near 300,000 fans without tickets. [1]

On January 9, 2008, during the encore of the tour NEWS preformed their eighth single, Taiyo no Namida (太陽のナミダ, Taiyō no Namida, lit. Tears of the Sun). The single was released on was later released on February 8, 2008 and was used as the theme song for the movie Kurosagi, starring Tomohisa Yamashita. On May 8, 2008 NEWS released their ninth single, Summer Time. The song was used to promote the clothing brand Russ-K. Both Taiyou no Namida and Summer Time peaked number-one on the charts, making NEWS the second group after KinKi Kids with the longest streak of consecutive number one singles since debuting. [15]

In August 13, 2008 NEWS released their have released their 10th single, 'Happy Birthday', on October 1, 2008 and will be releasing their third studio album titled 'color' on November 14. 2008. Also, it has been confirmed that NEWS will be having a nation-wide NEWS Winter Tour 2008-2009.

Members

Active members

While there is no indication at present that they will be rejoining NEWS, Hiroki Uchi and Hironori Kusano performed at the 2007 Shonentai Playzone. Uchi and Kusano's graduation from their previous statues of trainees, were announced during the press conference of Isshun no Kaze ni Nare, a short drama in which Uchi made his come back as an actor. He has a major role in the currently airing spring 2008 weekly drama 'Osen'.[5][16]

Former members

He is now the vocalist in the rock band ONE OK ROCK.

Discography

Main article: News discography

DVDs

Other activities

Note: Works such as dramas, movies and shows featuring the minority of NEWS is not listed here. Instead, please refer to the members' respective pages.

Concerts

Commercials

  • TBC Aesthetic Salon (エステティックサロンTBC)
  • Russ-K[18]
  • Lawson (ローソン)[19]
  • KOSÉ [2]

References

  1. ^ a b ""NEWS restarts activities"" (in Japanese). Sponichi. January 01, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d ""NEWS started afresh"" (in Japanese). Sponichi. December 31, 2006. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  3. ^ a b c ""NEWS Oricon page"" (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  4. ^ a b c Kaneko, Ken (2006). Yamashita Tomohisa Otakara Photo Book. R's Publishing Inc. ISBN 4-86204-025-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b c 草野博紀 (くさの ひろのり) エンタニュース情報コミュニティ. Template:Jp icon
  6. ^ ""Kusano and Uchi's rank"" (in Japanese). Sponichi. July 16, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  7. ^ Yuya Tegoshi (voice). Happy Feet (DVD). Warner Home Video. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |year2= ignored (help)
  8. ^ ""NEWS Never Ending Story DVD information"". Yes Asia. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  9. ^ ""NEWS confirm Taiwan concert"" (in Japanese). Sankei Sports. June 18, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  10. ^ ""NEWS Taiwan concert postpone"" (in Japanese). Daily Sports Online. October 07, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ ""NEWS double performace"" (in Japanese). Kikkan Sports. October 08, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ ""Weeeek single information"". HMV. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  13. ^ ""NEWS becomes eighth artist to peak at number one"" (in Japanese). Oricon. November 13, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  14. ^ ＮＥＷＳ初の東京ドーム公演 Nikkan Sports, 2008-01-10. Retrieved on 2008-01-16. Template:Jp icon
  15. ^ NEWSが光GENJI越え！デビュー以来9作連続で1位 Oricon Style, 2008-05-13. Retrieved on 2008-05-17. Template:Jp icon
  16. ^ 内＆草野が少年隊舞台で再出発 Nikkan Sports NEWS, 2007-05-17. Retrieved on 2007-10-08. Template:Jp icon
  17. ^ News、１０月に台湾で初の海外公演! テゴマスが台北で発表 at Sankei Sports
  18. ^ ヤマピー光栄! Newsがメンバー全員で結成以来初のCM出演 Sankei Sports. Template:Jp icon
  19. ^ 元気になろーソン！｜ローソン Lawson. Retrieved on 2008-04-03. Template:Jp icon
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