Popular all-rounder Wentz Eiji (20) is to make his “world” debut as a model. A regular on the variety show circuit and local fashion magazines, over the last year he has found a new level of success as one half of the acoustic pop duo WaT. Also an actor, he was recently at the Cannes Film Festival where he caught the eye of an editor from a top French fashion magazine. Wentz will appear in the October issue of the magazine Jalouse. He made his modelling debut at the age of four and later became a regular on an NHK kid’s show. At the age of nine, he appeared on the famous New Year spectacle “Kohaku Uta Gassen” as a backing dancer for pop starlet Moritaka Chisato. He formed WaT with Koike Teppei in 2002, and the duo performed on the streets of Tokyo for three years before landing a recording contract with a major label. They have won two major newcomer awards this year. Though he is the second son of a Japanese mother and German-American father, he’s got a lot of mileage from the fact that he’s the only one in the family who has little to no English ability.
• The pop artist most young people would like to have perform at their wedding is Fukuyama Masaharu. He was followed in a recent survey by rock group Mr. Children and pop duo Dreams Come True, a particularly popular choice among females. The fourth most popular choice is Amuro Namie and crooner Hirai Ken is fifth. A bit quiet for the last couple of years, singer/actor Fukuyama’s continued appeal was confirmed when his recently released new single “Milk Tea” entered the Oricon charts at No.1.