Members

♥ yamashita tomohisa / yamapi → april 9, 1985
♥ nishikido ryo / ryo → november 3, 1984
♥ koyama keiichiro / koyama → may 1, 1984
♥ masuda takahisa / massu → july 4, 1986
♥ tegoshi yuya / teshi → november 11, 1987
♥ kato shigeaki / shige → july 11, 1987

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♥ kusano hironori / notti → february 15, 1988
♥ uchi hiroki / uchi → september 10, 1986

ADDITIONAL BAND INFO

formed in september 2003, NEWS was originally made up of 9 juniors - the 8 mentioned previously members plus Moriuchi Takahiro. their first release, NEWS Nippon, was a limited release available exclusively at 7-11 stores as a special promotion corresponding with the release date of november 7, 2003. their single was used as the official theme of the japanese women's volleyball team for the 2003 world women's volleyball championship.

in december 2003, member Moriuchi Takahiro left the group and johnny's entertainment entirely, however, the group did not disband and instead continued with the other 8 members. the group released their official debut single, kibou ~yell~, on may 12, 2005 - it ranked #1 on the oricon charts. it was followed with their Akaku Moyuru Taiyou and Cherish singles, then by their first album touch, then with their TEPPEN single, all #1 on the oricon charts.

in july 2005, member Uchi Hiroki was caught drinking underage in public and was suspended indefinitely. the group did not release any singles or albums without Uchi, despite continuing their other activies. in january 2006, member Kusano Hironori was caught by the paparazzi holding an alcoholic drink. despite denying the accusations of drinking underage, Kusano withdrew himself voluntarily from group activities indefinitely. the group released Sayaendou/Hadashi no CINDERELLA BOY in march 2006 before it was decided that the now 6-member group would be put on hiatus until 2007.

the members not on hiatus continued their activites, despite not appearing together in concerts or Shounen Club recordings until the release of the english Miso Soup single by members Tegoshi Yuya & Masuda Takahisa (only in Sweden) under the name TegoMass. The japanese version of the single was released soon after it (under the name TegoMasu) on december 20, 2006 along with the release of an MV and PV for both versions of Miso Soup. A new version of the Sayaendou PV was also re-released with cartoon versions and concert footage of the 6 members who sang the song. not long after, on december 30, 2006, the return of NEWS was officially announced, but as a 6-member group with previously suspended members Uchi Hiroki and Kusano Hironori resuming activities as trainees.

the group got busy quickly, making their first return perfomance at Johnny's Surprise Countdown 2006/2007, followed by a press conference announcing their return as a 6-member NEWS. the group went on their spring concert tour 2007, alongside the release of the NEWS 2007/2008 calendar and the Hoshi wo Mezashite single. the 2 trainee members (Kusano and Uchi)'s return was in Shounentai's Playzone, although they are still considered juniors and not part of their group(s).

the group had a concert DVD, never ending wonderful story, released during the summer, with plans for a taiwan concert also being announced. the boys have been busy with both group and individual projects, but there have also been rumours of a new single. there haven't been any confirmed news about it, but nevertheless, ganbare NEWS ♥

credit : LJ

Nana