Lead (/liːd/) is a Japanese hip-hop dance and vocal group, initially formed under the name Rhymix in Osaka, Japan in March 2002.
The group consists of Shinya Taniuichi, Keita Furuya, Akira Kagimoto and, formerly, Hiroki Nakadoi.
Upon debuting on July 31, 2002 with "Manatsu no Magic", the group experienced early success due to their dancing and vocal skills at a young age.
In 2010, the group moved from Flight Master to the parent label of Pony Canyon with their single "Speed Star".
In 2013, leader and lead vocalist Hiroki Nakadoi left the group after feelings of inadequacy.
Hiroki Nakadoi, Shinya Taniuchi and Akira Kagimoto all attended the CALESS Vocal & Dance School (キャレスボーカル&ダンススクール) in Osaka, Japan, where they met each other and became good friends.
[1][user-generated source] By May 2002, they renamed the group from "Rhymix" to "flow" and began performing by Kyobashi Station.
[2] Meanwhile, on April 13, 2002, the Kyushu/Fukuoka Joint Starlight Audition (九州・沖縄合同スターライトオーディション) was being held in Okinawa by Rising Production on a search for new talent.
At the time, Keita Furuya and another contestant, Seimi Senoe (瀬上聖未), were declared winners out of the 8,751 hopefuls that auditioned.
[5] Lead also became the opening act for budding group w-inds for their first live tour, 1st Message.
The film was based on the life of Kamachi Yamada, a young savant who rebelled against the Japanese educational system.
[11] Lead was also featured in the 2003 film Boutaoshi!, alongside fellow label-mates Flame and other Pony Canyon artists.
[13] The series predominately followed the relationship of Taichi and Natsu Saito (Narumi Konno) throughout their time at Phoenix High School.
By 2008, Lead had released a total of fourteen singles, five albums, seven DVDs and had performed five live tours.
The track list for the album consisted of songs between their 2002 debut with "Manatsu no Magic", up until "Sunnyday", which was released one week prior at the end of July.
The songs for the album were voted on by fans throughout East Asia, including Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea.
[16] This would also be their final single released under the Pony Canyon sub-label Flight Master, whereas the group would move to the main label.
concert for their fan club in March 2013, Nakadoi stepped away from the group due to the belief that his bandmates had surpassed his abilities and he "shouldn't be with members who are aiming higher".
[19] Prior to Hiroki's final decision, the other members questioned if they should remain as a unit if Nakadoi decided to leave.
[23][24] They held their annual tour and released Lead Upturn 2013: Leap on DVD and Blu-ray in December.
The group collaborated with Taiwanese singer/songwriter Ssu Wei Lu (best known by his stage name GboySwag) in February 2020 for the Japanese version of the song "Chao Zhan Kai" (超展開 / Super Expansion), originally released on his 2019 album Chong Dong (虫洞 / Wormhole).
[48] Beginning in April 2020, Lead became recurring guests on Tokyo MX to take part in Japan's "stay at home" order due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The music video for it was choreographed by label-mate Tomohiro Taniguchi of Da Pump, who had created the choreography for their own summer hit "U.S.A."[52] It was used as the ending theme song to the TBS show Hiruobi!
[53] They released two more videos to correspond with the single: a choreography version of "Tuxedo" and a video for "Kangoku Rokku" (a cover of Elvis Presley's 1957 "Jailhouse Rock"), the latter of which premiered on the streaming site YouTube the day before the single's release on September 22.
Beginning in October 2021, member Keita Furuya began taking part in the musical Mademoiselle Mozart, where played the role of Shikaneda.
Lead Upturn 2021 Online Live: Sonic Boom & GuiDance became their eighteenth video release, debuting at No.
[64][65] On April 22, performances of the musical were cancelled due to some of the performers falling ill.[66] In July, Akira began starring in the stage adaptation of Night Head 2041, playing the lead role of Naoto Kirihara, alongside actor Hiroki Ino.
[73] In January, Akira performed in the musical adaptation of the Cesare manga, which was planned for release in 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
[75][76] In March 2023, Keita began playing the character Roger Davis in the rock musical Rent.
At the end of April, Lead held their commemorative performances for their album Singularity, which had initially been cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.