Tomomi Itano

Biography

Tomomi Itano (板野 友美, Itano Tomomi; born July 3, 1991) is a Japanese performing artist, actress, model and entrepreneur. Nicknamed Tomochin (ともちん), she is best known as a former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. In 2011, she debuted solo with a single titled "Dear J×Dear J26 January 2011 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Dear J3:412TUNNEL4:433Dear J OFF VOCAL VER.3:414TUNNEL OFF VOCAL VER.4:42Disc 21Dear J MUSIC CLIP3:502Tomomi Itano Collection -Special Movie-4:49", which was followed the same year by "Fui ni" (number 1 in Japan), and later by "10nen Go no Kimi e" (2012) and "1%" (2013).

2005–2013: Early career beginnings and AKB48

Born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Itano joined the Japanese idol girl group AKB48 as part of their original generation in 2005. She also modeled for the women's fashion magazine Cawaii!, and released her first photo book titled T.O.M.O.row in April 2009. In early 2010, she played Shibuya in AKB48's TV Tokyo drama Majisuka Gakuen. She had a recurring role on Kamen Rider W as Queen, alongside fellow AKB48 performer Tomomi Kasai, until the show ended in late 2010. Together, they made up the sub-unit Queen & Elizabeth. In AKB48's 2010 general election, she placed fourth overall.

2010-2013: Solo Singles and Majisuka Gakuen 2

Itano released her first single, "Dear J×Dear J26 January 2011 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Dear J3:412TUNNEL4:433Dear J OFF VOCAL VER.3:414TUNNEL OFF VOCAL VER.4:42Disc 21Dear J MUSIC CLIP3:502Tomomi Itano Collection -Special Movie-4:49", on January 26, 2011. It reached number 1 on the Oricon daily ranking and number 2 on the Oricon weekly ranking, selling 204,981 copies. In April, she reprised her role as Shibuya in Majisuka Gakuen 2. Her first digital single "Wanna Be Now×Wanna be now11 May 2011 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Wanna be now3:46" reached number 2 on Recochoku's daily charts and number 6 on the weekly charts. She placed eighth overall in AKB48's 2011 general election held in June. Her second single, "Fui ni", was released on July 13 and sold 90,103 copies, and reached number one on the Oricon weekly chart.
In 2012, Itano was cited as the "Queen of TV commercials" for having more contracts with companies than any other female tarento (although her count of 20 was technically a tie with those of fellow AKB48 member Mariko Shinoda).

2013: Graduation from AKB48 and new beginnings

On February 1, 2013, during an AKB48 stage greeting, Itano announced she was leaving the group. She released her fourth solo single, "1%", on June 12. The title track was used in television commercials for Samantha Vega. The music video was shot in New York, and includes an appearance by the American actress and model Taylor Momsen. Itano had her farewell "graduation" ceremony at the Tokyo Dome on August 25, and a follow-up performance on August 27 at the AKB48 Theater; the performance was streamed live by Nico Nico Namahousou. Her graduation song is "Saigo no Door", which was released as a B-side on one of the editions of AKB48's single "Koisuru Fortune Cookie".

2014–present: Solo career success

In an interview with Japanese entertainment website Nihongogo, Itano shared her thoughts on transitioning to a solo artist "In a group you perform as a unit with each member playing a certain character role, however as a solo artist you have to be able to play all the roles at once. You have to take on the roles of being cool, sexy, and cute and although it’s definitely a challenge, it’s something I have to strive for achieving."
In July 2014, Tomomi Itano made her U.S. performance debut at Union Square in San Francisco for J-POP Summit Festival 2014.
Tomomi Itano has been cast the lead role of a Japanese foreign student based in China alongside Taiwanese singer-actor Dino Lee in the Chinese romance movie Raincoat (雨衣), as revealed in a press conference the duo appeared in on 29 September 2015. The projected 2-month filming period for the movie that takes place in Shanghai and Tokyo is ongoing. The film is expected for a release in Spring 2016 in three countries.

Studio albums

Swag (July 2, 2014)
Get Ready (November 2, 2016)

Singles

• RIAJ Digital Track Chart was cancelled in July 2012.

Additional digital singles

"Wanna Be Now×Wanna be now11 May 2011 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Wanna be now3:46" (May 11, 2011)
"Ai ni Pierce" (愛にピアス, Ai ni Piasu; "Pierced in Love") (June 1, 2011)
"Clone" (March 28, 2012)
”1%” (Dance Trial Edit) (May 15, 2013)
“BRIGHTER×BRIGHTER4 December 2013 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1BRIGHTER3:52” (December 4, 2013)
“Crush” (June 18, 2014)
”COME PARTY” (December 10, 2014)
“HIDE AND SEEK” (April 13, 2016)
“OMG” (October 26, 2016)
“Imagination Game” (July 25, 2018)
“Kimi no Okuru Uta” (君に贈るうた, Kimi ni okuru uta; "Song to give to you") (August 7, 2019)

With AKB48

Team A 1st Stage "Party ga Hajimaruyo" (Partyが始まるよ)
Skirt, Hirari (2nd Unit) (スカートひらり)
Hoshi no Ondo (1st Unit) (星の温度)
Team A 2nd Stage "Aitakatta" (会いたかった)
Nageki no Figure (嘆きのフィギュア)
Garasu no I Love You (ガラスのI Love You)
Senaka Kara Dakishimete (背中から抱きしめて)
Rio no Kakumei (リオの革命)
Team A 3rd Stage "Dareka no Tameni" (誰かのために)
Nage Kissu de Uchiotose! (投げキッスで撃ち落とせ！)
Seifuku ga Jama osuru (制服が邪魔をする)
Team A 4th Stage "Tadaima Rennai Chū" (ただいま恋愛中)
Faint
Himawarigumi 1st Stage "Boku no Taiyō" (僕の太陽)
Itoshisa no defence (愛しさのdefence)
Idol Nante Yobanaide (アイドルなんて呼ばないで)
Himawarigumi 2nd Stage "Yumewo Shinaseru Wakeni Ikanai" (夢を死なせるわけにいかない)
Confession
Team A 5th Stage "Rennai Kinshi Jōrei" (恋愛禁止条例)
Tsundere! (ツンデレ！)
Team K 6th Stage "Reset"
Seifuku Resistance (制服レジスタンス)

As AKB48 subunits

Honegumi from AKB48
Natto Angels
Queen & Elizabeth
Team Dragon from AKB48
AKB Idoling !! !

Movies

Densen Uta (2007)
Ai Ryutsu Centre (2008)
Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider W & Decade: Movie War 2010 (2009) as Queen
Kamen Rider W Forever: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate (2010) as Queen
Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider OOO & W Featuring Skull: Movie War Core (2010) as Queen
Bad Boys J: Saigo ni Mamoru Mono (2013)
The Virgin Psychics (2015) as Eri
The Stare (2016)
Raincoat (2016)
星くず兄弟の新たな伝説 (2018)
Imagination Game (2018)
Diner (2019)
Prison 13 (2019)
Katsu Fūtarō!! (2019)

Dramas

Kamen Rider W (TV Asahi, 2009) (as Queen)
Majisuka Gakuen (TV Tokyo, 2010) (as Shibuya)
Sakura kara no Tegami (NTV, 2011) (as herself)
Majisuka Gakuen 2 (TV Tokyo, 2011) (as Shibuya)
So Long! (NTV, 2013)
Bad Boys J (NTV, 2013) (as Nakai Kaori)
Cook Keibu (TBS, 2016)
FRINGE-MAN (TV Tokyo, 2017)
Mikaiketsu (TV Asahi, 2018)

Radio

AKB48 Ashita made Mou Chotto (明日までもうちょっと。) (2007-10-15, JOQR-AM)
TomoTomo no Yagi-san, Oide (ともとものヤギさん、おいで～♪) (2008-04-07 – present, JOKR-AM)
AKB48 no All Night Nippon (AKB48のオールナイトニッポン7) (2010-04-09 –, JOLF-AM)