Bennie K and Maki Goto, appearing both in the music videos of these artists and at their concerts. He also served as a backup dancer at Japanese concerts for western artists such as Ashanti and Missy Elliott. In February 2006, Naoto formed the dance quintet Scream with some of his friends. One of the Scream members was U-YEAH, who got his stage name from Naoto and later became a member of J-Pop group DA PUMP. They performed at many clubs and events in Tokyo and were popular in the underground dance world. 2007-2009: Nidaime J Soul Brothers In 2007, Naoto was invited to join the revival of the group J Soul Brothers, Nidaime J Soul Brothers(The Second Generation of J Soul Brothers), together with Naoki Kobayashi as a performer after the group's producer Hiro decided that they should be a seven-member group. Naoto started using NAOTO as his stage name and performed as a member of Nidaime J Soul Brothers for the first time at COLOR LIVE TOUR 2007 BLUE on 10 November 2007. On 7 May 2008, Nidaime J Soul Brothers released their first single "WE!", which was sold exclusively on Exile's mobile website. Meanwhile, Naoto made his actor debut in Gekidan Exile's 2nd show CROWN ~Nemuranai, Yoru no Hate ni…~ in May. Afterwards, the group went on a nation-wide small-scale tour, the so-called Musha Shugyo ("Samurai training") from October to November, during which the members traveled on a bus and put on 48 shows in 2 months around the country. From 29 November to December, the group also took part in Exile Live Tour Exile Perfect Live 2008. On 25 February 2009, Nidaime J Soul Brothers released their first album, J Soul Brothers, debuting at No.1 on the Oricon Albums Chart on the first day of its release. At the same time, Naoto made his major debut in the music industry. 2009-present: Exile and Sandaime J Soul Brothers On 1 March 2009, as Nidaime J Soul Brothers announced their indefinite hiatus and all members migrated to Exile, Naoto joined Exile. From 1 November, co-starring with Exile's group-mate Kenchi Tachibana, his first TV drama Genryō Boxer started to be released on mobile streaming website BeeTV. Naoto played Susumu Kitaooji , a young boxer who appreciated and looked for delicious food. At the end of the year, he appeared on the stage of NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen for the first