Naoto

Naoto Kataoka (stylized as NAOTO; born 30 August 1983) is a Japanese dancer, actor, rapper and creative director.

He is a performer (dancer) of J-Pop dance and vocal group Exile, and is a leader and performer (dancer) of J-Pop dance and vocal group Sandaime J Soul Brothers.

Naoto Kataoka was born on 30 August 1983, in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.

He played baseball in junior high school, but stopped doing so after he went to Saitama Prefectural Tokorozawa High School.

At one point in his youth he considered being a comedian and formed a comedy trio, "Jinsei Honoji-gumi", with friends.

Naoto started dancing in high school at age 17 after he joined the Dance Club of his school.

After he became the leader of his dance club in his third year of high school, he became serious about starting a career as a dancer.

Once Naoto graduated, he spent all his time improving his dancing skill, formed the dance team JAZZ DRUG in 2003, which consisted of two male members (Naoto and Nabe) and one female member (Maiko), and started to become active in a wide range of events.

In 2004, Naoto went to Los Angeles and New York to take lessons from famous choreographer Andre Fuentes, who had choreographed for famous artists including Britney Spears.

During his time in the US, Naoto performed at The Carnival.

After returning to Japan he served as a backup dancer for artists such as Ayumi Hamasaki, Ai, Bennie K and Maki Goto, appearing both in the music videos of these artists and at their concerts.

He also served as a backup dancer at Japanese concerts for western artists such as Ashanti and Missy Elliott.

In February 2006, Naoto formed the dance quintet Scream with some of his friends.

One of the Scream members was U-YEAH, who got his stage name from Naoto and later became a member of J-Pop group DA PUMP.

They performed at many clubs and events in Tokyo and were popular in the underground dance world.

In 2007, Naoto was invited to join the revival of the group J Soul Brothers, Nidaime J Soul Brothers(The Second Generation of J Soul Brothers), together with Naoki Kobayashi as a performer after the group's producer Hiro decided that they should be a seven-member group.

Naoto started using NAOTO as his stage name and performed as a member of Nidaime J Soul Brothers for the first time at COLOR LIVE TOUR 2007 BLUE on 10 November 2007.

On 7 May 2008, Nidaime J Soul Brothers released their first single "WE!", which was sold exclusively on Exile's mobile website.

Meanwhile, Naoto made his actor debut in Gekidan Exile's 2nd show CROWN ~Nemuranai, Yoru no Hate ni…~ in May.

Afterwards, the group went on a nation-wide small-scale tour, the so-called Musha Shugyo ("Samurai training") from October to November, during which the members traveled on a bus and put on 48 shows in 2 months around the country.

From 29 November to December, the group also took part in Exile Live Tour Exile Perfect Live 2008.

He was also a member of Nidaime J Soul Brothers until their migration to Exile in 2009.

On 25 February 2009, Nidaime J Soul Brothers released their first album, J Soul Brothers, debuting at No.1 on the Oricon Albums Chart on the first day of its release.

At the same time, Naoto made his major debut in the music industry.

On 1 March 2009, as Nidaime J Soul Brothers announced their indefinite hiatus and all members migrated to Exile, Naoto joined Exile.

From 1 November, co-starring with Exile's group-mate Kenchi Tachibana, his first TV drama Genryō Boxer started to be released on mobile streaming website BeeTV.

Naoto played Susumu Kitaooji, a young boxer who appreciated and looked for delicious food. At the end of the year, he appeared on the stage of NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen for the first time as a member of Exile.

On 19 July 2010, Naoto was announced as member and one of the leaders of Sandaime J Soul Brothers, a new revival of J Soul Brothers, while staying as a member of Exile at the same time.

On 27 September, Naoto appeared and performed first time as a member of Sandaime J Soul Brothers on the stage of Exile's Live FANTASY After Night Festival ～EXILE Soul～.

On 10 November, he debuted in Sandaime J Soul Brothers with the single, "Best Friend's Girl".

Since April 2013, Naoto played Tomonori Kashiwagi in Fuji TV's drama Last Cinderella. He learned the necessary skills of a hairstylist from his hairstylist friends for the role.

Since July, Frenemy~Rumble of the Rat~, a TV drama co-starred by Naoto and Shokichi, began to broadcast on NTV.

Furthermore, he launched his own fashion brand STUDIO SEVEN in 2015 and has been working as the creative director for the brand since then.

In 2016, he formed Hip Hop unit HONEST BOYZ® with his friend Nigo and other members.

As a member of Sandaime J Soul Brothers, he has received the Japan Record Awards twice, and received the same award third times as Exile's member.

Naoto has acted in a few TV dramas and films and he has become a regular guest on TBS's popular Variety show Ningen Kansatsu Variety Monitoring since April 2016.

In 2017, he was appointed as the director for LDH Apparel, a subsidiary of his management company LDH.

Besides, on 18 September, he debuted on the television screen with Okagesamade!, a TV special directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi and dedicated to the 60th anniversary of CBC Television. He also had a guest-star role in Spec –Keishichōkōanbu Kōan Daigoka: Mishō Jiken Tokubetsu Taisaku-gakari Jiken-bo–, another TV Drama directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi, in the same year.

He played himself in the drama and promoted Exile's best-of album Exile Catchy Best.

On 14 February 2020, Naoto opened his own Youtube channel EXILE NAOTO HONEST TV.