Kento Nakajima’s Request at Solo Debut: Forget Sexy Zone?

At the much-anticipated solo debut press conference

Kento Nakajima (30), who graduated from Sexy Zone (hereafter referred to as “SeKZo,” now “timelesz”) in April this year to pursue a solo career, announced during a recent group press conference that he will release his debut solo album, N / bias (Non-bias), on December 25. He also revealed plans to hold his first solo concert, KENTO NAKAJIMA 1st Live 2025 N / bias, from January 17 to 19 next year at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena.

After leaving Sexy Zone, Nakajima began his solo activities in April and established a fan club. He stated, “I wanted a place where I could immediately give back to my fans,” and initiated the production, aiming to release it on Christmas, December 25. While he had previously engaged in solo activities through the HITOGOTO Project, writing and performing theme songs for lead dramas, this marks the first time under his own name.

The album will be released by Sony Music, which is home to artists such as YOASOBI and the popular band King Gnu. Nakajima stated, “I have a goal of doing many anime theme songs, and Sony is the best at making that vision a reality. My friend Ayase from YOASOBI is also with Sony, and I’ve learned a lot from our conversations. It feels like it was inevitable that I would end up here.” While the press conference offered valuable insights into Nakajima’s future vision, it was revealed that the organizers had made a certain request to the media behind the scenes.

 

For some reason, the title Former Sexy Zone has been concealed.

“Currently, Nakajima is signed with STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (STARTO Inc.), which acquired the management rights of talents from the former Johnny’s Office (now SMILE-UP.). It seems that the company requested the media to refrain from using the title ‘Former Sexy Zone.’

Sexy Zone transitioned to a three-member group after Nakajima’s sudden departure. Due to the sexual abuse scandal involving the late Johnny Kitagawa, the group’s founder and the one who named them, they were forced to change their name to timelesz. Currently, the group is holding auditions for new members to fill Nakajima’s position. However, as Nakajima’s image remains inseparable from Sexy Zone, only a small number of media outlets adhered to this request,” said an entertainment journalist.

The journalist explained the reasoning behind STARTO Inc.’s request:

“To begin with, right after Nakajima announced his departure this January, his romantic relationship with former E-girls member and singer Reina Washio was reported by Josei Seven. The announcement of his departure, which came just before the group’s renaming, followed by the romance report, led fans to feel that the damage caused to Sexy Zone is immeasurable.

Additionally, when it was announced that Nakajima and Tatsuya Kitani’s unit ‘GEMN’ would be performing the theme song for the anime ‘Oshi no Ko,’ which started airing in July, or when he collaborated with ‘TVXQ’ at the FNS Music Festival, timelesz fans raised questions such as, ‘Didn’t he want to go solo?’ It seems STARTO Inc. took these measures to avoid backlash from fans,” the journalist added.

When contacted about the matter, STARTO Inc. did not respond by the deadline.

Nakajima’s single “Hitogoto feat. Kento Nakajima,” released on October 2, sold approximately 29,000 copies in its first week, ranking 5th. It was far behind JO1, who topped the Oricon Weekly Singles Ranking. This shows that the damage from fan defection seems to be quite serious. At least for now, it might be understandable that his agency is trying to sanitize his past group affiliation to benefit his solo career. Nakajima’s solo activities appear to have a tough road ahead.

 

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