| Sho Sakurai 櫻井 翔 |
|
|---|---|
| Birth name | Sho Sakurai |
| Also known as | Sho-kun, Sho-chan, Keio Boy |
| Born | January 25, 1982 |
| Origin | Minato, Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | J-pop |
| Occupations | Singer, rapper, composer, actor, host, newscaster |
| Instruments | Piano, trombone |
| Years active | 1995 - present |
| Labels | Pony Canyon (1999-2001) J Storm (2002-present) |
| Associated acts | Arashi |
Sho Sakurai (櫻井 翔 Sakurai Shō, born January 25, 1982) is a Japanese idol, singer, television personality, newscaster, actor and former radio host. Along with Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, Satoshi Ohno, and Jun Matsumoto, he is a member of Arashi, which is a Japanese boy band under the management of Johnny & Associates.
Contents |
Biography
Born in Minato, Tokyo, Sakurai has two younger siblings: a sister who is four years younger and a brother who is thirteen years younger. During his middle school years, he sent in an application to Johnny & Associates himself and received an invitation to audition in the mail.[1] Sakurai passed and joined the agency in October 1995.[1]
During the time of Arashi's debut, each member of Arashi were given "leader" roles. He was named the "Study Leader" because of his perseverance in consistently attending school while juggling his work as an idol.[2] He attended Keio University and graduated with a degree in economics in 2004; in turn, he has inspired many other kōhai from the same agency—namely NEWS members Tomohisa Yamashita, Keiichiro Koyama, Shigeaki Kato and Yuya Tegoshi—to also pursue a higher education after high school.
In early 2005, he was a spokesperson for Jōnan Yobiko, an enrichment cram school, as a promoter of education for Japan's youth.
Recording career
Johnny's Jr.
After becoming a Johnny's Jr. in 1995, Sakurai was part of temporary units such as Johnny's Sr. with Musical Academy (MA) members Tomoyuki Yara, Tsuyoshi Yonehana and Shingo Machida, and Zeus with Tackey & Tsubasa member Tsubasa Imai, fellow Arashi member Ohno and former Johnny's Jr. member Yuki Kohara.
Arashi
On September 15, 1999 aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, it was announced that a new Johnny's group named Arashi, the Japanese word for storm, would make their debut on November 3, 1999. Their debut single, "Arashi", was used as the image song for the 8th World Cup of Volleyball hosted by Japan in 1999 and the group served as special supporters for the competition.[3] The single went on to become a major hit, selling 557,430 copies in its first week[4] and almost a million copies by the end of its chart run.
Sakurai is the designated "rapper" of Arashi and although he had written rap lyrics (known to fans as Sakurap) for some of the group's earlier releases under the pen name "Show", his first major contribution was for their eleventh single "Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono". While not the first artist from Johnny's to take on rapping, his breakthrough made it easier for his kōhai to rap as well despite being idols.[5] According to Taichi Kokubun of Tokio, KAT-TUN member Koki Tanaka began to rap because of him.[1]
Solo ventures
In 2006, he was the first member of Arashi to hold a solo concert entitled The Show.[6]
Acting career
Unlike the other members of Arashi who made their major acting debut on stage, Sakurai made his debut on television in Arashi's volleyball-centered short drama V no Arashi in 1999. In 2001, he took part in his first drama series called Tengoku ni Ichiban Chikai Otoko 2 with Tokio member Masahiro Matsuoka. His role won him Best Newcomer in the 5th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix Awards.
In 2002, Sakurai made his motion picture debut in Pikanchi Life Is Hard Dakedo Happy, in which he acted with the rest of Arashi. The same year, he took on the role of Bambi, a college student who becomes part of a burglar ring at the beckoning of his cancer-stricken friend Bussan in order to make Bussan's final days worthwhile. In the drama Kisarazu Cat's Eye with V6 member Junichi Okada playing the character Bussan, the drama would eventually span into two movie sequels entitled Kisarazu Cat's Eye: Nihon Series and Kisarazu Cat's Eye: World Series in 2003 and 2006 respectively.[7]
2003 saw Sakurai's first lead role in the drama Yoiko no Mikata playing a man named Taiyō Suzuki who strives to prove himself capable of being a nursery school teacher. In 2004, he reprised his role for the sequel of Pikanchi Life Is Hard Dakedo Happy, Pikanchi Life Is Hard Dakara Happy, and starred with bandmates Ohno and Matsumoto in the stageplay West Side Story.
While training for a rowing competition with the rest of Arashi on their variety show Mago Mago Arashi, Sakurai filmed for his first starring movie role in the manga-based live-action film Honey and Clover.[8]
After nearly a three-year absence from acting in drama series, Sakurai and bandmate Ninomiya starred together in the manga-based comedy drama Yamada Tarō Monogatari in 2007.[9] By the end of the year, it was announced that he would star as Gan-chan in the Takashi Miike movie Yatterman, which was not released in theaters until the year 2009.[10] Although there was no release of dramas, movies or stageplays from Sakurai in 2008 due to his involvement with the Olympic Games in Beijing and Arashi's concert tours,[11] 2009 saw his first lead role in a drama series since Yoiko no Mikata in 2003. In the drama The Quiz Show 2 with Kanjani8 member You Yokoyama, he played the role of an amnesic host of a live TV quiz program.[12]
Other ventures
From October 05, 2002 to March 30, 2008, Sakurai hosted his own radio show called Sho Beat on FM Fuji.
Newscaster
In 2006, he became a newscaster for News Zero, with a segment every Monday. In 2007, he was chosen to help host NTV's Zero x Senkyo 2007, a special program, regarding the upcoming House of Councillors elections. Sakurai became the first pop idol to host such a program.[13] Following that same year, he was chosen as the main caster for Fuji TV's broadcast of the 2007 Volleyball World Cup, marking it the first time in eight years that he has been involved with the Volleyball World Cup.[3]
In 2008, Sakurai was appointed as the main caster for NTV's coverage of the Olympic Games in Beijing.[11] On June 7, 2009, Sakurai was one of the main newscasters for a special program entitled Touch! Eco 2009, which focused on environmental issues.[14] On August 30, 2009, he was appointed the official caster for the second part of NTV's special program, which covered Japan's 2009 general elections, entitled Zero x Senkyo 2009.[15]
Contributions
Rap lyrics
|
A-side songs
B-side songs
|
Album songs
|
Lyrics
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2004 | "Sketch"[note 1] |
| 2008 | "Green"[note 2] |
Filmography
| Dramas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | V no Arashi | Sho Sakurai | |
| 2000 | Otōsan | Akira Ohmura | Television special |
| 2001 | Tengoku ni Ichiban Chikai Otoko 2 | Ayumi Tōdō | |
| 2002 | Shōnen Taiya: Third Story - Aoki-san Uchi no Oku-san | Sho | Mini-drama (4 episodes) |
| Kisarazu Cat's Eye | Futoshi Nakagomi (Bambi) | ||
| 2003 | Yoiko no Mikata | Taiyō Suzuki | Lead role |
| Ikebukuro West Gate Park Special | Bambi | Cameo appearance | |
| Gekidan Engimono: Fourteenth Story - Haetori Kami | Yōhei Yamada | Mini-drama (4 episodes), lead role | |
| 2004 | Nurseman Special | Masaya Iwata | Television special |
| Gekidan Engimono: First Story - Unlucky Days: Natsume no Mousou | Kantaku | Mini-drama (4 episodes), lead role | |
| Tokio | Tokio Miyamoto | ||
| 2005 | Gekidan Engimono: Eleventh Story - Ishikawa-ken Gosan-shi | Jun Kawase | Mini-drama (4 episodes), lead role |
| Yankee Bokou ni Kaeru Special | Masaya Yoshimori | Television special, lead role | |
| 2007 | Yamada Tarō Monogatari | Takuya Mimura | |
| 2009 | Uta no Onii-san | Himself | Episode 7 guest appearance |
| The Quiz Show 2 | Satoru Kamiyama | Lead role | |
| 2010 | Tokujo Kabachi!![17] | Katsuhiro Tamura | Lead role |
| Saigo no Yakusoku[18][19] | Television special | ||
| Movies | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | Pikanchi Life is Hard Dakedo Happy | Tadashi Kamogawa (Chu) | |
| 2003 | Kisarazu Cat's Eye: Nihon Series | Futoshi Nakagomi (Bambi) | |
| 2004 | Pikanchi Life is Hard Dakara Happy | Tadashi Kamogawa (Chu) | |
| 2006 | Honey and Clover | Yūta Takemoto | Lead role |
| Kisarazu Cat's Eye: World Series | Futoshi Nakagomi (Bambi) | ||
| 2007 | Kiiroi Namida | Ryūsan Mukai | |
| 2009 | Yatterman | Gan-chan | Lead role |
| Stageplays | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | West Side Story | Tony | Lead role |
| 2006 | The Beautiful Game | John Carey | Lead role |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Result | Name | Award | Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Won | 5th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix | Best Newcomer | Tengoku ni Ichiban Chikai Otoko 2 |
| 2009 | Nominated | 61st Television Drama Academy Awards | Best Actor[20] | The Quiz Show 2 |
Notes
- ^ The song was created by Arashi in celebration of their 5th anniversary. It was never released officially and only given to a handful of members of their official fanclub. Sakurai and bandmate Ninomiya wrote the lyrics while Ninomiya provided the composition.
- ^ The song was performed during Arashi's 2008 concert Arashi Marks 2008 Dream-A-Live in order to spread awareness about environmental issues.[16] It has yet to be released officially.
References
- ^ a b c (Japanese) Shōnen Club Premium. NHK. January 18, 2009.
- ^ (Japanese) Arashi no Shukudai-kun. NTV. December 8, 2008.
- ^ a b "Sho Sakurai appointed as Volleyball World Cup caster". Tokyograph. October 3, 2007. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-1827. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
- ^ (Japanese) "1999年11月第3週の邦楽シングルランキング情報". Oricon. http://www.oricon.co.jp/search/result.php?kbn=js&types=rnk&year=1999&month=11&week=3&submit4.x=23&submit4.y=6. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
- ^ (Japanese) Shōnen Club Premium. NHK. 2008-06-15.
- ^ (Japanese) "Arashi Biography 2006". Johnny's net. http://www.johnnys-net.jp/j/artists/arashi/bio/bio06.html. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
- ^ "Kisarazu Cat's Eye World Series (Normal Edition) (Japan Version)". YesAsia. http://www.yesasia.com/us/kisarazu-cats-eye-world-series-normal-edition-japan-version/1004636487-0-0-0-en/info.html. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ (Japanese) Mago Mago Arashi. Fuji TV. December 3, 2005.
- ^ "Nino, Sho-kun co-star in comedy series". Tokyograph. May 15, 2007. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-1046. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ "Sho Sakurai to star in "Yatterman" movie". Tokyograph. November 25, 2007. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-2130. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ a b "Sho Sakurai to cover Olympics for NTV". Tokyograph. April 6, 2008. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-2918. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
- ^ "Sho Sakurai stars in "The Quiz Show"". Tokyograph. MArch 13, 2009. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-4524. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ "Sho Sakurai helps bring politics to youths". Tokyograph. July 10, 2007. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-1344. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
- ^ "Official Touch Eco Website". http://www.ntv.co.jp/ecotv2009/. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ (Japanese) "Sho Sakurai to be Election Navigator". Zoom in Super. August 1, 2009. http://www.ntv.co.jp/zoomin/enta_news/news_167345.html?list=1&count=1. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
- ^ (Japanese) Touch! Eco 2009. NTV. June 7, 2009.
- ^ "Sakurai, Horikita star in "Tokujo Kabachi" drama series". Tokyograph. 2009-11-21. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-5471. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
- ^ (Japanese) "嵐が10年ぶりにメンバー5人全員でドラマ出演！ フジ新春ドラマ『最後の約束』". Oricon. November 11, 2009. http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/movie/70541/. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
- ^ (Japanese) "新春スペシャルドラマ『最後の約束』". Fuji Television News. November 11, 2009. http://wwwz.fujitv.co.jp/fujitv/news/pub_2009/091111varashi.html. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
- ^ (Japanese) "主演男優賞". Television Drama Academy Awards. 2009-07-22. http://blog.television.co.jp/drama/academy/2009/07/post_338.html. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
Further reading
- 嵐お宝フォトBook Big Wave, RECO Books, ISBN 4-862040-51-9.
- アラシゴト—まるごと嵐の5年半 Arashigoto, 集英社, 2005.7.31, ISBN 408780416X
External links
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