is a Japanese recording artist, songwriter, dancer, model, and actress. She is a former member of the
Japanese idol
An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements b ...
girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...
AKB48
AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with it ...
. She was born in
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
,
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...
. In 2011 she debuted solo with a single titled "
Dear J", which was followed the same year by "
Fui ni
is the second solo single by Tomomi Itano (a Japanese idol, a member of AKB48). It was released in Japan on July 13, 2011, on the label You, Be Cool! (a subsidiary of King Records).
The physical CD single reached first place in the Japanese Or ...
" (number 1 in Japan), and later by "
10nen Go no Kimi e" (2012) and "
1%" (2013).
Life and career
2005–2013: Early career beginnings and AKB48
In 2005, Itano joined the
Japanese idol
An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements b ...
girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...
AKB48
AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with it ...
as part of the first team, Team A.
She also modeled for the women's fashion magazine ''
Cawaii!
''Cawaii!'' is a fashion magazine published in Taiwan, People's Republic of China, Thailand, and previously in Japan.
History and profile
Launched as a monthly gal fashion magazine targeted at women in their teens in Japan in March 1996, ''Cawa ...
'', and released her first photo book titled ''T.O.M.O.row'' in April 2009. In early 2010, she played Shibuya in
AKB48
AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with it ...
's TV Tokyo drama ''
Majisuka Gakuen
(lit. "Majisuka Academy") is a Japanese television drama series about high school delinquents, starring members of idol group AKB48.
The first season aired in 2010 on TV Tokyo. A second season Majisuka Gakuen 2 was aired the following year.
Th ...
''. She had a recurring role on ''
Kamen Rider W
, is a 2009-2010 Japanese tokusatsu drama, the eleventh series in the Heisei period run of the Kamen Rider Series and the twentieth overall. It premiered following the finale of ''Kamen Rider Decade'' on September 6, 2009, and aired alongside '' S ...
'' as Queen, alongside fellow AKB48 performer
Tomomi Kasai
is a Japanese singer, actress and a former member of the idol group AKB48, belonging to Team A. She had a recurring role on ''Kamen Rider W'' as Elizabeth, alongside group member Tomomi Itano. Together, they make up the sub-unit Queen & Elizab ...
, until the show ended in late 2010. Together, they made up the sub-unit
Queen & Elizabeth. In AKB48's 2010 general election, she placed fourth overall.
2010-2013: Solo Singles and Majisuka Gakuen 2
Itano released her first single, "
Dear J", on January 26, 2011. It reached number 1 on the Oricon daily ranking and number 2 on the Oricon weekly ranking, selling 204,981 copies. In April, she reprised her role as Shibuya in ''Majisuka Gakuen 2''. Her first digital single "Wanna Be Now" reached number 2 on Recochoku's daily charts and number 6 on the weekly charts. She placed eighth overall in AKB48's 2011 general election held in June. Her second single, "
Fui ni
is the second solo single by Tomomi Itano (a Japanese idol, a member of AKB48). It was released in Japan on July 13, 2011, on the label You, Be Cool! (a subsidiary of King Records).
The physical CD single reached first place in the Japanese Or ...
", was released on July 13 and sold 90,103 copies, and reached number one on the
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
weekly chart.
In 2012, Itano was cited as the "Queen of TV commercials" for having more contracts with companies than any other female ''
tarento
Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in America were described as "tal ...
'' (although her count of 20 was technically a tie with those of fellow AKB48 member
Mariko Shinoda
is a Japanese singer, actress, fashion model, and former member of the Japanese idol group AKB48, in which she was the captain of Team A.
Career
In October 2005, she auditioned for AKB48's first generation roster but failed the audition. Short ...
).
2013: Graduation from AKB48 and new beginnings
On February 1, 2013, during an AKB48 stage greeting, Itano announced she was leaving the group. She released her fourth solo single, "
1%", on June 12. The title track was used in television commercials for
Samantha Vega. The music video was shot in New York, and includes an appearance by the American actress and model
Taylor Momsen
Taylor Michel Momsen (born July 26, 1993) is an American musician, singer, model, and former actress. Prior to her retirement from acting, she portrayed the character of Cindy Lou Who in the film '' How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' (2000) and Je ...
. Itano had her farewell "graduation" ceremony at the Tokyo Dome on August 25,
[ – sources Mantan web 2013-08-25] and a follow-up performance on August 27 at the AKB48 Theater; the performance was streamed live by Nico Nico Namahousou. Her graduation song is "Saigo no Door", which was released as a B-side on one of the editions of AKB48's single "
Koisuru Fortune Cookie
is the 32nd music single, single by the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. It was released in Japan on August 21, 2013. The single contains graduation songs for Mariko Shinoda and Tomomi Itano.
The song has been recorded by AKB48's international si ...
".
2014–present: Solo career success
In an interview with Japanese entertainment website Nihongogo, Itano shared her thoughts on transitioning to a solo artist "In a group you perform as a unit with each member playing a certain character role, however as a solo artist you have to be able to play all the roles at once. You have to take on the roles of being cool, sexy, and cute and although it’s definitely a challenge, it’s something I have to strive for achieving."
In July 2014, Tomomi Itano made her U.S. performance debut at
Union Square
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
for J-POP Summit Festival 2014.
Tomomi Itano has been cast the lead role of a Japanese foreign student based in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
alongside Taiwanese singer-actor Dino Lee in the Chinese romance movie Raincoat (雨衣), as revealed in a press conference the duo appeared in on 29 September 2015. The projected 2-month filming period for the movie that takes place in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
and
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
is ongoing. The film is expected for a release in Spring 2016 in three countries.
Discography
Studio albums
# ''
Swag'' (July 2, 2014)
# ''
Get Ready'' (November 2, 2016)
Extended plays
# ''
Loca'' (October 16, 2019)
Singles
* RIAJ Digital Track Chart was cancelled in July 2012.
Additional digital singles
* "Wanna Be Now" (May 11, 2011)
* (June 1, 2011)
* "Clone" (March 28, 2012)
* ”1%” (Dance Trial Edit) (May 15, 2013)
* “BRIGHTER” (December 4, 2013)
* “Crush” (June 18, 2014)
* ”COME PARTY” (December 10, 2014)
* “HIDE AND SEEK” (April 13, 2016)
* “OMG” (October 26, 2016)
* “Imagination Game” (July 25, 2018)
* (August 7, 2019)
Singles with AKB48
AKB48
Theater performances
With AKB48
;Team A 1st Stage
#
#
;Team A 2nd Stage
#
#
#
#
;Team A 3rd Stage
#
#
;Team A 4th Stage
# Faint
;Himawarigumi 1st Stage
#
#
;Himawarigumi 2nd Stage
# Confession
;Team A 5th Stage
#
;Team K 6th Stage "Reset"
#
As AKB48 subunits
* Honegumi from AKB48
* Natto Angels
*
Queen & Elizabeth
* Team Dragon from AKB48
* AKB Idoling !! !
Filmography
Movies
* ''
Densen Uta
is a 2007 Japanese satiric Japanese horror film produced by Shochiku Corporation and directed by Masato Harada. Many of the cast are members of the AKB48 idol girl group.
Synopsis
Anzu Natsuno ( Yuko Oshima), a student at an all-girl high ...
'' (2007)
* ''
Ai Ryutsu Centre'' (2008)
* ''
Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider W & Decade: Movie War 2010'' (2009) as Queen
* ''
Kamen Rider W Forever: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate'' (2010) as Queen
* ''
Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider OOO & W Featuring Skull: Movie War Core'' (2010) as Queen
* ''
Bad Boys J: Saigo ni Mamoru Mono (2013)
* ''The Virgin Psychics'' (2015) as Eri
* ''The Stare'' (2016)
* ''Raincoat'' (2016)
* ''星くず兄弟の新たな伝説'' (2018)
* ''Imagination Game'' (2018)
* ''
Diner
A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a com ...
'' (2019)
* ''Prison 13'' (2019)
* ''Katsu Fūtarō!!'' (2019)
Dramas
* ''
Kamen Rider W
, is a 2009-2010 Japanese tokusatsu drama, the eleventh series in the Heisei period run of the Kamen Rider Series and the twentieth overall. It premiered following the finale of ''Kamen Rider Decade'' on September 6, 2009, and aired alongside '' S ...
'' (TV Asahi, 2009) (as Queen)
* ''
Majisuka Gakuen
(lit. "Majisuka Academy") is a Japanese television drama series about high school delinquents, starring members of idol group AKB48.
The first season aired in 2010 on TV Tokyo. A second season Majisuka Gakuen 2 was aired the following year.
Th ...
'' (TV Tokyo, 2010) (as Shibuya)
* ''
Sakura kara no Tegami'' (NTV, 2011) (as herself)
* ''
Majisuka Gakuen 2
(lit. "Majisuka Academy") is a Japanese television drama series about high school delinquents, starring members of idol group AKB48.
The first season aired in 2010 on TV Tokyo. A second season Majisuka Gakuen 2 was aired the following year.
...
'' (TV Tokyo, 2011) (as Shibuya)
* ''
So Long!
"So Long!" (stylized as "So long !" with a space before the exclamation mark) is the 30th major single by the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. It is also AKB48's sixth cherry blossom-themed single, and its first single of 2013. This single was rele ...
'' (NTV, 2013)
* ''
Bad Boys J'' (NTV, 2013) (as Nakai Kaori)
* ''
Cook Keibu'' (TBS, 2016)
* ''
FRINGE-MAN'' (TV Tokyo, 2017)
* ''
Mikaiketsu'' (TV Asahi, 2018)
Radio
* AKB48 (2007-10-15,
JOQR-AM)
* (2008-04-07 – present,
JOKR-AM)
* (2010-04-09 –,
JOLF-AM)
References
External links
*
Tomomi Itanoon
King Records
Tomomi Itanoon
Ameba
Tomomi Itano (English page)on
Google+
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Itano, Tomomi
1991 births
Living people
Japanese idols
Japanese female models
Japanese women pop singers
Japanese television personalities
AKB48 members
King Records (Japan) artists
Musicians from Kanagawa Prefecture
Actresses from Yokohama
21st-century Japanese women singers
21st-century Japanese singers
21st-century Japanese actresses