| Tomohisa Yamashita 山下智久 |
|
|---|---|
| Born | April 9 1985 |
| Origin | Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan |
| Genre(s) | J-pop |
| Years active | 1996–present(groups) 2006–present (solo) |
| Associated acts |
NEWS Shuuji to Akira Kitty GYM |
Tomohisa Yamashita (山下 智久 Yamashita Tomohisa?, born April 9,1985) is a member of the J-pop group NEWS from Johnny's Entertainment, Inc.
Contents |
Profile
- Nicknames: Yamapi (山ピ), Yamashita-kun,YamaP, Pi, Pi-chan, Pi-kun, P-tan, Tomo-chan
- Birthplace: Chiba Prefecture, Japan
- Birthdate: April 9, 1985
- Height: 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
- Weight: 65 kg (140 lb/10.2 st) (Source: [1])
- Blood Type: A
- Family: Mother (Yamashita Naomi), Younger Sister (Yamashita Rina) and pet dog Hime-chan (Princess) and P-chan
- Education: Attending Meiji University, faculty of Business, majoring in Marketing.
- Favorite Phrase: Maji de? (Really?)
- Favorite band/singers: Southern All Stars, Mr.Children, GLAY, Fukuyama Masaharu
- Best Friend(s): Jin Akanishi, Yuu Shirota, Ryo Nishikido, Toma Ikuta, Hideaki Takizawa
- Reason for Joining Johnny’s: When he saw Hideaki Takizawa act in a drama
- Personality: reserved but politely friendly around anyone not considered a close friend
Biography
He entered Johnny & Associates Entertainment Agency when he was 11 years old. He is affectionately called YamaPi (short for Yamashita and pink) by his friends, which is a nickname given to him by Hideaki Takizawa (Tackey & Tsubasa). His closest friends call him Pi, which was first used by his best friend Jin Akanishi (KAT-TUN). Since joining JE, he has been a member of Jr. groups B.I.G., Four Tops, and most recently NEWS. Yamashita began to appear in television dramas soon after he joined JE. In 2000, at age 15, his performance in Ikebukuro West Gate Park earned him an award for "Best Supporting Actor". That same year, he was voted first place in the Annual Junior Awards for "Best Boyfriend", "Most Beautiful", etc. for the first time. When Takizawa made his debut with Tsubasa Imai as Tackey & Tsubasa in 2002, he left as the leader of Johnny's Juniors. Around the same time, Yamashita and fellow Juniors Toma Ikuta, Jun Hasegawa, and Shunsuke Kazama formed Four Tops. Four Tops then began to host the Junior television program, The Shōnen Club (Boy's Club). In September 2003, eight other boys from Johnny's Juniors were chosen to form the group NEWS with Yamashita as the leader. NEWS's formation came as a shock to not only the fans of Four Tops but its own members as well. Yamashita later revealed that at the time, aside from Ryo Nishikido, he had barely talked to any of the other group members since they were all juniors in relation to his status within Johnny's and he had been informed that the group would merely be a temporary one-month unit. NEWS made its formal debut on May 12, 2004. Since its debut, NEWS has had all consecutive #1 singles on the Oricon Ranking Chart.
In October 2005, Yamashita and Kazuya Kamenashi from KAT-TUN formed Shuuji to Akira to promote their drama, Nobuta wo Produce. It was named after their characters in the show, Shuuji and Akira. They also released a single, Seishun Amigo, as Shuuji to Akira, which sold over one million copies in four weeks. Seishun Amigo was the number one best selling single on the Oricon Yearly Single Rankings for 2005. NEWS, however, was temporarily disbanded and all group activities suspended after the suspension of two of its members for underage drinking. In spring 2006, Yamashita starred in "Kurosagi: The Black Swindler", a drama based on the manga of the same name. For this purpose, Yamashita recorded his first single as a solo artiste "Daite Señorita" which was #1 in the Oricon ranking. As of June 2006, he became part of an unofficial group within Johnny's Entertainment called "No Border", which includes members: Matsumoto Jun of Arashi, Murakami Shingo of Kanjani8, Satou Atsuhiro, Ikuta Toma of Johnny's Junior's, Domoto Koichi of Kinki Kids, Yamaguchi Tatsuya of TOKIO and Takizawa Hideaki of Tackey & Tsubasa. The group was formed when the 8 members from different JE groups met up for dinner and decided to name themselves "No Border." They are known to interact freely, bypassing the sempai-kouhai relationships formed by JE. There is a 7 part round-robin on their jwebs about the formation of the group. Each member has a specific color - White, Black, Red, Pink, Purple, Gold, Blue, Grey. However, who holds which color is still unknown. In the latter half of 2006, Yamashita and Thai brother duet Golf & Mike teamed up with Kitayama Hiromitsu (Kis-my-ft2), Inoo Kei (J.J. Express), Totsuka Shota (A.B.C.), and Yaotome Hikaru (Ya-Ya-Yah), to form a temporary unit called Kitty GYM, though there has never been a second T. This unit was made to cheer on the Japan Women's Volleyball team, and they released a single in August called "Fever to Future" under the name "GYM" which stands for Golf, Yamashita, and Mike, respectively. Yamashita returned as a member of NEWS on December 31st 2006 on Johnny's Countdown 2006-2007. Early 2007, Yamashita along with KAT-TUN's Koki Tanaka and Taisuke Fujigaya of Kis-my-ft2, starred in Byakkotai, a two-part mini-drama. Yamashita's first film, Kurosagi is due to be released in 2008.
Filmography
- 1998.03 Shinrei Safaa no Shi (Child)
- 1998.12 Shounentachi (Kakuda Shinya)
- 1999.02 Nekketsu Renaidou (Bloodtype O Boy, Episode 7)
- 1999.05 P.P.O.I (Amano Taira)
- 1999.07 Kowai Nichiyoubi (Episode 5)
- 1999.09 Kowai Nichiyoubi 2 (Episode 13)
- 1999.12 Kiken na Kankei (Miyabe Satoshi, Episode 10, Final Episode)
- 2000.04 Ikebukuro West Gate Park (Mizuno Shun)
- 2000.12 Shijou Saiaku no Deeto (Okamura Yuuki, Episode 1)
- 2000.12 All Star Chuushingura Matsuri (Asano Takumi)
- 2001.01 Kabachitare! (Tamura Yuta)
- 2001.04 Shounen wa Tori ni Natta (Nagashima Ken)
- 2002.01 Long Love Letter (Otomo Tadashi)
- 2002.07 Lunch no Joou (Nabeshima Koushirou)
- 2003.04 Crazy Virgin Road (Hajime)
- 2003.07 Stand UP!! (Iwasaki Kengo)
- 2003.10 Budou no Ki (Shindou Yousuke)
- 2004.01 Sore wa, Totsuzen, Arashi no you ni... (Fukasawa Takuma)
- 2005.07 Dragon Zakura (Yajima Yuusuke)
- 2005.10 Nobuta wo Produce (Kusano Akira)
- 2006.04 Kurosagi (Kurosaki)
- 2007.01 Byakkotai (Sakai Mineji and Sakai Shintaro)
- 2007.04 Proposal Daisakusen (Iwase Ken)
- 2008.03 Kurosagi (Movie) (Kurosaki)
- 2008.04 Proposal Daisakusen SP (Iwase Ken)
Discography
- For NEWS, Shuuji to Akira and Kitty GYM-related releases, see NEWS' Discography, Shuuji to Akira's Single and Kitty GYM
Singles
- 2006.05.31 Daite Senorita
Variety Shows
- 1998.09 Love Juniors, 8 Jida J
- 1998.11 Boys Be...Jr (Episode 8)
- 1999.04 Seven Samurai, J Family Betrayal
- 1999.12 Yattaru J
- 2000.04 Children Rose Empire 2000, The Shonen Club (still running), Music-Enta, Gakibara
- 2001.04 Uso!Japan
- 2003.10 NEWS Best 10
- 2007.?? Music Fighter
External links
- Official sites
