Hey! Say! JUMP

Overview

Hey! Say! JUMP (HSJ or JUMP) is a Japanese boy band under Starto Entertainment (formerly Johnny & Associates), with the Storm Labels imprint. Formation was announced on September 24, 2007, and the group made its CD debut on November 14, 2007. There is no official leader. The group debuted with ten members, the largest group in Johnny's history, and has sold more than 10 million physical copies in Japan. It was originally split into two sub-groups, Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7.

The name is short for "Hey! Say! Johnny's Ultra Music Power" and refers to the Heisei period in which all members were born, with the idea of jumping high through that era. The official styling uses the Century Gothic typeface for the letter "a".

Key records include the youngest-ever Tokyo Dome performance (average age 15.2) in 2007, the first seven consecutive days of concerts at Yokohama Arena in 2009, an extended run of ten shows over seven days in 2012, the most shows and attendance by an active artist at Yokohama Arena in 2014, and the first two-show day at Tokyo Dome on January 1, 2017. Keito Okamoto and his father Kenichi Okamoto (formerly of Otokogumi) became the first parent and child in Japanese music history to both top the charts with a debut song. Every single and album released so far has debuted at number one on Oricon's weekly chart.

Career

Formation and debut (2007)

At KAT-TUN's spring concert on April 3, 2007, Yuya Takaki, Daiki Arioka, Ryosuke Yamada, Yuto Nakajima and Yuri Chinen were introduced as a temporary group, Hey! Say! 7, formed to sing songs for the anime Lovely Complex. On September 24, Kota Yabu, Kei Inoo, Hikaru Yaotome, Keito Okamoto and Ryutaro Morimoto joined to make ten members. They debuted on November 14 with "Ultra Music Power", the theme of the Volleyball World Cup 2007, which topped the Oricon weekly singles chart. On December 22 they held their first concert at Tokyo Dome, setting a record as the youngest act to perform there (average age 15 years 7 months).

2008–2011

The group released "Dreams Come True" in May 2008, "Your Seed/Bouken Rider" in July (the title song for the Japanese release of Kung Fu Panda) and "Mayonaka no Shadow Boy" in October (theme of the drama Scrap Teacher). In September 2009 a Tokyo Dome show pushed total concert attendance past one million and a dedicated fan club was announced. Yamada and Chinen began working as NYC boys in 2009 and as NYC with Yuma Nakayama in 2010. "Hitomi no Screen" hit number one in February 2010, followed by the first album JUMP NO.1 in July and "Arigatō (Sekai no Doko ni Ite mo)" in December.

In 2011 the group starred in the variety show Yan Yan JUMP. In June Ryutaro Morimoto was indefinitely suspended after photos of him smoking while underage leaked, leaving nine members. "Over" followed in June and "Magic Power" in September, the theme of the Japanese dub of The Smurfs, in which Yamada and Chinen voiced Clumsy Smurf and Brainy Smurf.

2012–2016

In 2012 the group held its first Asian tour and its first overseas concerts, in Hong Kong in May. "Super Delicate" came out in February and the second album JUMP WORLD in June. From November they led the musical Johnny's World. They released "Come On A My House" and "Ride With Me" in 2013, then "AinoArika" and the album smart in 2014. The smart tour drew 1,035,000 fans over 69 shows, a record for an active artist. In 2015 came the album JUMPing CAR, their first own regular show Itadaki High JUMP, co-hosting 24-Hour Television 38 with V6, the Yahoo! Search Awards idol category prize and their first solo countdown concert at Kyocera Dome Osaka. The 2016 album DEAR. made it five consecutive number ones.

2017–2021

In 2017 they released their first best album, Hey! Say! JUMP 2007-2017 I/O, held 10th anniversary tours including a three-dome tour, and made their first appearance on NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen (68th), opening for the white team with "Come On A My House". In 2018 they became Miyagi Prefecture tourism campaign characters; in June Keito Okamoto announced a two-year hiatus to study acting in New York. The album SENSE or LOVE and a four-dome tour followed, along with a second Kohaku appearance. In 2019 the group skipped arena concerts over fans' public-transport etiquette problems, released the album PARADE, toured four domes and appeared on Kohaku a third time. In February 2020 they released "I am/Muah Muah" and took part in the limited-time unit Twenty★Twenty for the Smile Up! Project. On April 11, 2021, Keito Okamoto announced he would leave the group to pursue acting.

2021 onward

The group released "Sing-along" (November 2021), "a r e a / Koi wo Surunda / Harugentori" (May 2022) and the album FILMUSIC! (August 2022). In 2023 came "DEAR MY LOVER / Uraomote" (May), "P.U!" (October) and the album PULL UP! (December). In 2024 they issued the albums UMP (September) and H⁺ (November). In 2025 they released "SUPER CRUISIN'" (March), "encore" (May, with a Special Edition in June), "GHOST" (October), and "Symphony", "Merori" and the album S say (November). On August 28, 2025, Yuto Nakajima announced he would graduate from the group.

Musical style

Hey! Say! JUMP performs bright, energetic J-pop idol music, frequently tied to anime, drama and film themes. The group is built around live performance, regularly playing domes and arenas and setting numerous attendance records.