Johnny’s Black Sheep, Akanishi Jin

Akanishi Jin technically failed his audition to join Johnny’s but as he tried to give his number tag back to one of the men at the audition he was told to stay as the man happened to be Johnny Kitagawa. During his early time as a Junior he was a part of Junior groups M.A.D., J2000 and B.A.D. In 2001 he was selected with five other Juniors to create a new Junior group, KAT-TUN, to be back dancers to Domoto Koichi on a program he was a regular on. KAT-TUN became popular and became one of the most popular Junior groups at the time. This eventually lead to a group debut in March 2006.

In October of 2006, much to the surprise of the fans and media, Jin announced that he was leaving the country to study English abroad. He went to the United States and remained there until April of 2007. Upon his return he also was returned to KAT-TUN.

In 2009 he began to start doing solo work, such as not only starring in the movie Bandage but releasing a single and album for the fictional rock band in the movie, LANDS. He followed this by having his own solo concerts in early 2010 in Japan. Then in 2010 made his U.S. concert debut in March, performing in Los Angeles, California. As his Japanese solo concerts wrapped up he announced that he was going on tour in the U.S. and then in July he announced that he was leaving KAT-TUN.

Unlike the first time he left the group his departure this time was announced as final as Jin committed himself to pursuing a career in the United States. Since then he has gone back and forth between Japan and the United States. He has released two Japanese singles and one U.S. single with the next U.S. single scheduled to be released on January 24th. His debut U.S. album, Japanicana, is set to come out on March 6th and will be followed by a North American concert tour.

He surprised everyone in February 2012 by announcing that he had married actress & singer Kuroki Meisa earlier in the month. It is rumored that she is already two months pregnant but that has yet to be confirmed.


TRIVIA: He has a younger brother who also works in the entertainment industry but uses a stage name.

His debut EP, Test Drive, reached number 10 on the U.S. iTunes album charts the day it was released.



Next Entry > How to Debut Without Even Trying, Ikuta Toma




Directory >
Introduction
Johnny’s Juniors, full of rising stars and heartbreak
The Early and Rocky Path to Fame
Kondo Masahiko: Singer, Dancer, Actor, Professional Race Car Driver
Giving a New Meaning to Playzone, Shounentai
Hikaru Genji, Shining the Brightest and Crashing the Hardest

Otokogumi, Rocking It Old School
The Living Legend of SMAP
TOKIO, From Spaceships to the Over 30s World
Victory, Volleyball, Vegetable, Vicylce? V6
KinKi Kids, It's Not What You Think
Arashi, Storming to the Top
The Inseparable Duo, Tackey & Tsubasa
North, East, West, South ... It's big NEWS
Kansai Underdogs,  Kanjani∞
Cartoon? KAT-TUN!
Jumping to Their Dreams, Hey! Say! JUMP
Johnny's Black Sheep, Akanishi Jin
How to Debut Without Even Trying, Ikuta Toma
Kis-My-Ft2, Everybody Go (Roller Skating)!
Yamashita Tomohisa, Johnny’s Golden Boy
Entering the Sexy Zone
The 5Stars A.B.C-Z
International Ventures
Johnny's and Charity 
Odds & Ends