Kento Nakajima

Overview

Kento Nakajima (中島健人, born March 13, 1994 in Tokyo) is a Japanese singer, actor, voice actor and television personality under STARTO ENTERTAINMENT. Affectionately known as "Kenty," he is a former member of the idol group Sexy Zone and also performed in Yuma Nakayama w/B.I.Shadow and NYC boys. Since April 2024 he has worked as a soloist on Sony Music Labels, and he is also half of the unit GEMN, which performed the opening theme of the anime Oshi no Ko season 2.

Career

• 2008: Inspired by Shuji to Akira's "Seishun Amigo" in sixth grade and admiring Ryosuke Yamada, he sent in his own application and joined Johnny's on April 20. In October he made his acting debut in the drama Scrap Teacher and started activities as B.I.Shadow with two fellow Juniors.
• 2009: Became a member of Yuma Nakayama w/B.I.Shadow in June, alongside NYC boys, formed with Ryosuke Yamada and Yuri Chinen. They made their CD debut on July 15 and appeared on the 60th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen that New Year's Eve.
• 2011: Sexy Zone was announced on September 29 and debuted on November 16 with the single "Sexy Zone." With an average age of 14.4, it was the youngest group in the agency's history; Nakajima, the oldest member, was 17.
• 2012–2017: Passed the AO entrance exam for Meiji Gakuin University's sociology department in 2012 and graduated in March 2017, later appearing in the university's full-page Asahi Shimbun advertisements for three consecutive years (2017–2019).
• 2013–2016: Starred in his first lead drama role in BAD BOYS J (April 2013) and his first lead film role in the BAD BOYS J movie (November 2013). His first solo variety show, JMK Nakajima Kento Lovehori Ojisama, aired in 2013. He led the 2014 drama Kurofuku Monogatari and the film Silver Spoon, directed and staged his first solo concert at Summer Paradise in August 2015, and headlined the 2016 film Kurosaki-kun no Iinari ni Nante Naranai, which topped the weekend box office and passed one million admissions.
• 2018–2021: Led the primetime drama Dorokei in October 2018, co-hosted Premium Music 2020 with Sho Hirano, co-starred with him in Mimanpolice Midnight Runner (2020), and led Kanojo wa Kirei datta (2021). As WOWOW's special navigator at the 92nd Academy Awards, he interviewed Hollywood stars in fluent English, and from 2021 he hosted WOWOW's film program on his own, returning to the red carpet for the 95th ceremony in 2023.
• 2022–2024: Cast in the international drama Concordia, filmed in Italy, making his overseas acting debut (release in 2024 on Hulu/SkyShowtime).
• 2023: Opened a personal Instagram account; his dance cover of YOASOBI's "Idol" earned 200,000 likes in 14 hours.
• 2024: Announced on January 8 that he would leave Sexy Zone on March 31 while remaining with the agency. He began solo activities on April 1 and launched the fan club I AM:U. He starred in the dramas Living no Matsunaga-san and Shosen Hitogoto desu kara, the latter with the theme song "Hitogoto feat. Kento Nakajima." On June 30 it was revealed that GEMN, performer of "Fatal," was Nakajima and Tatsuya Kitani; they won the MTV VMAJ Best Trending Video award. He made his festival debut at ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2024 on August 4, opened official YouTube and TikTok accounts on October 17, and made his solo CD debut with the album N / bias on December 25.
• 2025: Held his first solo live, KENTO NAKAJIMA 1st Live 2025 N/bias, at Ariake Arena on January 17–19, and opened Weibo, bilibili and RedNote accounts on March 13. In November he announced the collaboration "Gold Unbalance" with Mori Calliope of hololive. He also appeared at Kering's Women in Motion talk event.
• 2026: Became a BVLGARI brand ambassador in January and sang the official cheer song "Kessho" for Japan's team at the Winter Olympics, performing it at the TEAM JAPAN farewell party at Lala Arena Tokyo Bay. In March he launched the KENTY FRAGRANCE series, scents that express the worlds of his songs.

Musical style and persona

Trained on piano since the age of seven or eight, Nakajima famously played "Moldau" at his audition and often performs piano at concerts and in films and dramas. His public persona is the "prince" character with the catchphrase "Sexy Thank You." As a soloist he works across collaborations, including GEMN, Mori Calliope, Yasuyuki Okamura ("Shunpatsuteki ni Koi Shiyou"), and SB19. A devoted film fan, he also voiced Noah Diaz in the Japanese dub of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. His awards include first place in Myojo's Jr. Awards twice, best leading actor honors for Mimanpolice Midnight Runner in 2020, and Weibo's Japan Rising Star award.