Keiichiro Koyama 小山 慶一郎 | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Kei-chan (K-chan), Keii-chan, Koyamacchi |
| Born | 1 May 1984 |
| Origin | Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan |
| Genres | J-pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actor |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Website | www |
Keiichiro Koyama (小山 慶一郎, Koyama Keiichirō, born 1 May 1984) is a Japanese musician and leader[1] of the Johnny's Entertainment group NEWS.
Koyama, born in Sagamihara, Kanagawa as the youngest of two children, is the oldest member of NEWS and is often seen as the mother figure of the group.
Upon entering Johnny's Entertainment on 21 January 2001, Koyama started out with the unit B.A.D. which stands for Beautiful American Dream. His second unit as a junior was B.B.D. which at first stood for Bad Boys Dancing, but was later changed to Best Beat Dancing. In October 2001, he was chosen as a member of Domoto Koichi's project, J-Support, alongside fellow NEWS members Hironori Kusano and Shigeaki Kato. It was in this unit that Koyama started out as an announcer for shows such as the Ya-Ya-yah Show, and this has carried through to NEWS, which he joined in September 2003.
In 2007, he graduated from Meiji University's Department of History and Geography with a degree in Oriental History.[2] He also occasionally participates in dramas such as guest starring in his bandmate Yamashita Tomohisa's drama Kurosagi.
From 2006 until March 2011, he hosted the popular TV variety show Shounen Club (Boys Club) alongside KAT-TUN member Nakamaru Yuichi.[citation needed] He could be seen as a newscaster on NTV's daily news program called "News Every".[1]
On 8 June 2018, Koyama's entertainment career was halted. He attended a party where he gave an underage girl alcohol. The drinking age in Japan is 20 years old, and while she said she was 20 and legally able to drink, it was later discovered that she was in fact younger. This put his entire career on hold, including his entertainment activities with Johnny's Entertainment and his job as a newscaster for the program "News Every."
As of 27 June 2018, Koyama has resumed his entertainment activities. In December 2018, Koyama left the program "News Every."