Hey! Say! JUMP
Hey! Say! JUMP is a nine-member Japanese all-male band under the Japanese talent agency, Johnny & Associates. The name Hey! Say! refers to the fact that all the members were born in the Heisei period, and JUMP is an acronym for Johnny's Ultra Music Power. They are also known as HSJ or just JUMP. Like agency seniors, Hikaru Genji and V6, the group is split into two sub-groups: Hey! Say! BEST (Boys Excellent Select Team) and Hey! Say! 7 (not to be confused with the temporary group with the same name).
During a KAT-TUN spring concert on April 3, 2007, Yuya Takaki, Daiki Arioka, Ryosuke Yamada, Yuto Nakajima and Yuri Chinen were announced to be part of a temporary group called Hey! Say! 7. The name came from the fact that all the members were born in the Heisei period and from the year the group was formed was in 2007.
Initially, the temporary status of the group was unclear, worrying a lot of fans of the Johnny's Jr's group J.J. Express as it could mean that the group was splitting up and that Yuya Takaki, Daiki Arioka and Yuto Nakajima would permanently be in this group instead. |
On September 24, 2007, the five members of Hey! Say! 7 were joined by Johnny's Jr's, Kota Yabu, Kei Inoo, Hikaru Yaotome, Keito Okamoto and past member Ryutaro Morimoto. The ten-member group was split into two sub-groups of five based on age: Hey! Say! BEST (older members) and Hey! Say! 7 (younger members).[1]
It was also, announced, that they would make their CD debut on November 14, 2007 with "Ultra Music Power", which was used as Japan's Volleyball World Cup Relay 2007 theme song.[5][6] On December 22, 2007, Hey! Say! JUMP held their debut concert: Debut Concerton Ikinari! in Tokyo Dome. They became the youngest group ever to perform in Tokyo Dome with the average age of 15.7 years old.[7] |
Members:
Discography
Singles |
Studio Albums |
Trivia:
The group was surrounded by much controversy on June 28, 2011 after the photos of Ryutaro Morimoto smoking underage were leaked. When he was asked about the photos, he said "it was alright," that it was, "no big deal."[13] The following day, in response to the scandal, Johnny's Entertainment issued a statement of apology and planned to suspend Morimoto from all of his activities indefinitely.[14] Following the removal of Morimoto's profile from the official Johnny & Associates website, Johnny Kitagawa himself made an official announcement on the issue. He stated that Morimoto now has ambitions to focus on studying and denied any possibility of him returning.[15] But in 2016, he returned to the entertainment industry as the singer and producer of the five-member group named, Zero.