NEWS (ニュース, Nyūsu?), is a six-member Japanese musical group consisting of Keiichiro Koyama, Ryo Nishikido, Tomohisa Yamashita, Takahisa Masuda, Shigeaki Kato and Yuya Tegoshi. The group's name is an acronym based on the cardinal directions (North, East, West, South) and the members locations.[1] Formed in 2003 by Johnny Kitagawa as a nine member group under the label Johnny's Entertainment, NEWS released a promotional single "NEWS Nippon" (NEWS ニッポン, NEWS Japan?), which was used for the World Cup of Volleyball Championships. In 2004, Takahiro Moriuchi left the group and the remaining eight members released their debut single, "Kibō: Yell" (希望 ~Yell~, Hope ~Yell~?), which debuted atop the Oricon charts.
In 2006, the group released their fifth consecutive number-one single, "Sayaendō/Hadashi no Cinderella Boy" (サヤエンドウ/裸足のシンデレラボーイ, Peas/Barefoot Cinderella Boy?), as the current six-member group due to the controversy surrounding then-members Hiroki Uchi and Hironori Kusano.[2] After a brief hiatus, they released their seventh number-one single, "Hoshi o Mezashite" (星をめざして, lit. Aim for the Stars?). In 2008, they released their tenth single, "Happy Birthday," which made NEWS the second Japanese group after label-mates KinKi Kids to have ten consecutive number-one singles since their debut.[3]
