Tabloid blog Cyzo Woman published an editorial this week with supposed evidence that idol Yamashita Tomohisa might be leaving his group NEWS to officially become a solo artist. On June 3rd, tabloid magazine Friday posted a photo of Yamashita and founder and head of Johnny’s Jimusho, Johnny Kitagawa, after a nice dinner on the town. After the photo was released, this comment was taken from “a reporter who knows a lot about Johnny’s Jimusho”: “The third man in the photo, who had dinner with Yamashita and Mr. Johnny, was Warner Music Asia Pacific’s Lachie Rutherford… He’s the one who supposedly helped Akanishi Jin get a global contract with the company, and attended the press conference in December [announcing Akanishi's solo activities].” Rutherford himself was once an artist, so he has a deep understanding of music, and he is passionate about helping others grow as artists. Rutherford attended Yamashita’s concert, and was supposedly watching the audience’s reactions and enthusiasm during his performance. — According to an anonymous person from the music industry, “There was a rumor that Yamashita was thinking about going solo long before his solo concerts were announced. But at that time, Akanishi’s American tour wasn’t going well, so they decided to leave Yamashita in NEWS and let him have a solo tour. Now, since Akanishi has made his Hollywood debut, they say that there is a sense of competition and jealousy brewing between them, and Yamashita wants more than ever to leave the group and go solo.” Back when Akanishi was planning to go solo, they say Johnny visited several of his solo concerts in Japan to encourage him in his solo pursuits. “In fact, there is word that Mr. Johnny visited Yamashita’s solo concerts in Tokyo four days in a row. At this point, the idol is losing popularity after his scandals with women and his constant partying even after the disaster. He’s not on TV as much anymore, and he very much resembles Akanishi before his solo debut”, says another reporter who is familiar with Johnny’s. Even while saying he will stay with his group, Yamashita has been quoted as saying, “I really want to create complicated dance steps with professional dancers. But with NEWS, it’s hard to get all of the members together, so it’s difficult to up the level of the steps”. Some fans interpret this to mean he is unhappy with NEWS, and not to mention that NEWS hasn’t been active since last fall. — In addition, according to the previous reporter, NEWS member Nishikido Ryo’s other group, Kanjani8, is rumored to be having a nationwide tour and to be appearing on 24-hour Television later this year, as well as celebrating their 8th anniversary as a group, so Nishikido won’t have a lot of time to spend with NEWS. If the members of NEWS can no longer function as a group, each member will have to do solo activities. When it comes to that point, it remains to be seen what path Yamashita will choose. -- Source: Tokyohive, Cyzo Woman *Note: Remember though that this is a tabloid with anonymous commenters, so the information isn’t always 100% reliable.
