“Do you want to pretend that Sexy Zone never existed?” Requests to the media at Kento Nakajima’s solo debut press conference.
At the press conference for his solo debut
Kento Nakajima (30), who graduated from “Sexy Zone” (currently “Timelesz”) in April this year, will release his solo debut album “N / bias” on December 25, and will hold his first solo concert at Ariake Arena in Tokyo from January 17 to 19, 2012. He announced at a recent joint press conference that he will hold his first one-man live concert “KENTO NAKAJIMA 1st Live 2025 N / bias” at Ariake Arena in Tokyo from January 17 to 19 next year.
Nakajima started his solo activity in April after leaving Sekzo and opened a fan club. He began producing the song , saying, “I want a place where I can immediately repay my fans,” and came up with the idea of delivering it on Christmas Day, December 25. Nakajima has previously worked as a solo artist in the “HITOGOTO Project,” writing and singing the theme songs for dramas in which he has starred, but this is the first time he has done so under his own name.
It is released by Sony Music, to which “YOASOBI” and the popular band “King Gnu” belong. Nakajima said, “I have a goal to do many theme songs for anime. Sony Music is the best embodiment of this goal. My friend Ayase (of YOASOBI) is also with Sony, and I’ve heard a lot about them. It was inevitable that I would be led here. While the interview provided valuable insight into Nakajima’s vision for the future, the organizers had a “request” for the media behind the scenes.
For some reason, the title of “ex-Sexo” is sealed.
Currently, Nakajima belongs to STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (STARTO), which took over the management rights of his talents from the former Johnny’s (now SMILE-UP.) “Apparently, STARTO requested the media not to use the title ‘ex-Sexo’. Sexy Zone is a group that has been working with Nakajima since his sudden departure from Sexy Zone.
Sexy Zone became a three-member group after Nakajima’s sudden departure, and was forced to change its name due to the sexual assault scandal involving the late Johnny’s founder, the godfather of the group, the former Johnny’s founder, Mr. Kitagawa. However, Nakajima is not a member of Sekzo. However, since the image of Nakajima is inseparable from that of Sexo, only a few media outlets have complied with the “request.
(Entertainment reporter) This entertainment reporter says that there was a good reason behind STARTO’s “request.
In the first place, in January of this year, immediately after Mr. Nakajima announced his departure from the group, “Josei Seven” reported that he had a love affair with former “E-girls” member and singer Reina Washio. Fans were aware of the immeasurable trouble he had caused Sekzo by announcing his departure at a time when the group was about to change its name, and by the subsequent reports of his infatuation.
Also, when it was announced that GEMN, a unit formed by Nakajima and Kitanitatsuya, would sing the theme song for the anime “Suishinoko,” which began airing in July, and when they collaborated with Tohoshinki at the FNS Music Festival, timelesz fans questioned, “Didn’t you want to be on your own? and “Didn’t you want to be alone? It seems that STARTO took this into consideration in order to avoid bashing from such fans.
We sent a questionnaire to STARTO regarding their requests to the media regarding Nakajima’s case, but received no response by the deadline.
Nakajima’s single “Hitogoto feat. Kento Nakajima,” released on October 2, sold approximately 29,000 copies per week, ranking fifth. It was a dismal defeat for JO1, who ranked No. 1 in the same Oricon “Weekly Single Ranking. As can be seen from this, the damage caused by the loss of fans seems to be quite serious. At least at this point, it may be understandable that the agency would “consider” that “laundering” his career with the group would be better for his solo activities. Nakajima’s solo career seems to have a difficult road ahead.
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PHOTO: Ichiro Takatsuka