NEWS

NEWS
NEWS (also seen as News and NewS) is a Johnny's Entertainment group composed of six members (formerly nine). stands for the four compass directions: North, East, West and South.

MEMBERS
CURRENLY MEMBERS:
 * Yamashita Tomohisa (Leader)
 * Nishikido Ryo
 * Masuda Takahisa
 * Kato Shigeaki
 * Koyama Keiichiro
 * Tegoshi Yuya

FORMER MEMBERS:
 * Uchi Hiroki
 * Kusano Hironori
 * Moriuchi Takahiro

INFORMATION
The original nine members of NEWS were handpicked from the larger group of Johnny's Jr. and several smaller groups in September of 2003. Their first single,, which was released in 2003, was only available in limited edition at Seven Eleven stores. At the time, the unit was only formed to promote the women's volley ball tournament, hence why their single NEWS Nippon was not their official debut single, but because of the popularity of the unit, they had another single released on May 2004. This single Kibou ~Yell~, became their official debut single and debuted at number 1 on the Oricon charts and also finished the year in the 13th position. The member count at the time of their official debut was at 8, with Moriuchi Takahiro leaving the unit and Johnny's Entertainment entirely in December 2003. He is currently working with AMUSE as part of the band ONE OK ROCK.

The unit highlights the connection between Kanto and Kansai Johnny's with two members, Nishikido Ryo and Uchi Hiroki, being Kansai Juniors. Even though the boys debuted with NEWS, they did have a second debut with their Kansai unit Kanjani8 later that year. Since both boys frequently moved between the two units, NEWS was often featured with only the 6 kanto members. In 2005, the unit did a collaboration with KAT-TUN and Junior units in the SUMMARY of Johnny's World. That year also marked their first member loss since December 2003. Uchi Hiroki, 19 at the time, was caught drinking in public while underage and was suspended from the agency.

In early 2006 Kusano Hironori, 17 at the time, was also accused of drinking but when questioned about it, he denied the accusation but still decided to withdraw out of his own accord. For a short term NEWS performed with only six members and they released the single Sayaendou / Hadashi no Cinderella Boy. However in May 2006, the group was temporarily suspended from further group activities, so that they could reflect on the misdeeds done by some of its members. The group was expected to return in 2007 with all 8 members. During the time of their suspension, the members each had their own activities; the duo Tegomass was created with Tegoshi and Masuda, while Yamashita performed alongside Golf and Mike in the unit GYM for the women volleyball tournament 2006.

On December 30th, 2006 it was announced that NEWS would be returning as a 6 member group, and would be appearing on Johnny's Countdown 2006-2007. In January 2007, it was announced that Uchi Hiroki and Kusano Hironori would be returning as 'trainees'. According to fans and websites, the rank 'trainee' is lower than the position of a junior. After almost a year long hiatus, NEWS released a single, Hoshi wo Mezashite, as the theme song for the Japanese release of Happy Feet in which Tegoshi Yuya was the voice of the main character, 'Mumble'. Later that year, it was announced that Uchi and Kusano would be appearing alongside M.A.D. and Chinen Yuuri in Shounentai's musical PLAYZONE 2007. Handwritten letters were sent to their fans announcing their return to the stage. Members of Shounentai also said in a message on the official website for the play that they hoped both boys would be able to leave the trainee title in the end of September, when the play ends.

It was stated at the end of PLAYZONE that the current schedule for the boys were empty and that they did not know what the upcoming months had in store for the boys. However, Uchi Hiroki appeared in Kanjani8's latest concert where the Kanjani members welcomed Hiroki back as a member of their unit and mentioned that now their group was complete.

In January 2008, it was reported that Uchi Hiroki and Kusano Hironori had graduated from their trainee status. It is uncertain whether they will be returning to NEWS, but in the meantime they will pursue solo activities. As for Uchi, it is also uncertain whether he will return to Kanjani8. He starred in a dorama called Isshun no Kaze ni Nare, along with Nishikido Ryo. NEWS did a concert tour named "NEWS CONCERT TOUR pacific 2007-2008". They had their first live concert in Tokyo Dome in January 2008.

Albums
DVDS / VHS
 * [2004.04.07] NEWS Nippon 0304 (NEWSニッポン 0304)
 * [2005.04.19] SUMMARY of Johnny's World with KAT-TUN
 * [2007.08.08] Never Ending Wonderful Story
 * [2008.08.13] NEWS CONCERT TOUR pacific 2007 2008 -THE FIRST TOKYO DOME CONCERT-
 * [2009.11.04] NEWS Live Diamond