Released on December 12th, Yamashita Tomohisa′s live
DVD “TOMOHISA YAMASHITA LIVE TOUR 2012〜エロP〜” has sold 34,000 copies on
its first week, topping December 24th weekly sales chart.
Yamashita has topped the overall DVD rankings too for the first time
since going solo. Previous work, “TOMOHISA YAMASHITA ASIA TOUR 2011
SUPER GOOD SUPER BAD” (December 2011) used to be his highest record in
3rd place.
The Blu-Ray edition of this live tour was also released the same day,
selling a total of 5014 copies, making into the 3rd place of weekly
ranking. His previous work ranked in 13th place. Although if we
considerate only the music department, it has reached the 1st place.
This concert was filmed from the tour of his latest album “エロ” (#2
selling release in July 2012) which started on July 28th in Osaka Castle
Hall and the national arena tour final in National Yoyogi Stadium in
Tokyo.
Imagine a music landscape dominated
by just one individual—an all-powerful Svengali who, for more than 45
years, has held a virtual monopoly on male pop groups, producing a
world-record-holding 289 No. 1 hits, 35 chart-topping acts, and, in the
past decade alone, 8,419 concerts. He rarely appears in media, and yet
his power over the press has left them kowtowing to his demands for
decades. His reclusive character is revered and feared in equal parts by
an entire Japanese music industry. Welcome to the world of Johnny
Kitagawa.
Kitagawa’s latest, Vegas-worthy production, “Johnny’s World,”
features a mammoth cast and stunning special effects, including a full
waterfall. (Courtesy of Johnny & Associates (2))
His
story reads like a myth. Born the son of a Buddhist priest in Los
Angeles in 1931, John Hiromu Kitagawa left America for Japan after the
outbreak of the war in the Pacific, not returning until the late 1940s.
Kitagawa later served with the U.S. Army, teaching English to orphans
during the Korean War. “Although Japan was suffering, Korea was
suffering even more,” he recalls sadly.
In the 1950s, Kitagawa moved to Yoyogi, Tokyo, where—after taking four members of a local baseball team to see the movie West Side Story—he
conceived of a plan novel at the time: a music act made up of
good-looking men who could dance and sing simultaneously. He shaped the
athletes into Japan’s first boy band, The Johnnies. They would become
the model for the country’s entire music industry to this day.
“I
had started in an era when boys, male talents, did not sing and dance
in Japan,” says Kitagawa, in his first-ever exclusive interview. “That
was a challenge, and it became a unique spot in the entertainment world,
something unprecedented.”
Kitagawa’s
acts—such as SMAP, Arashi, and KAT-TUN—have become so
ubiquitous across
all forms of Japanese entertainment that seemingly no TV channel,
brand, or company could be complete without their endorsement. His
hit-making formula has been replicated across Asia. Yet Kitagawa is
surprisingly humble and generous, traits that few in the industry expect
of the shadowy kingmaker. “I believe the spotlight should be on the
stars; my role is to help them glow,” he says of his ability to remain
eternally elusive. Though he holds three Guinness records, he remarks,
“This is a team effort. I personally tend to forget all these numbers so
I also thank those who actually keep record!”
He
also downplays the topic of his own legacy. “My only wish is for my
acts and their entertainment to be remembered for what they are,” he
says, adding proudly, “Nobody at Johnny’s was made into a star just
because he was good-looking. They look cool because they do something
cool.”
Kitagawa’s
success has been achieved despite a seemingly anti-PR strategy—images
of his groups do not appear on the company website, and are virtually
never published unless on official merchandise. Yet it’s proven to be a
fruitful recipe. His most successful act, SMAP—a quintet whose ages all
now hover around 40—owe their fame to Kitagawa’s strategy of placing
them on variety and comedy shows, extending their appeal beyond their
looks or songs.
“I
believe entertainment sheds light on people’s lives more than we
realize [and] should be able to breathe the changing seasons of people’s
moods,” Kitagawa says. To ensure his acts remain in vogue, he pioneered
another key component of the Asian music industries—the fan club. With
more than 2.5 million members of “Johnny’s Family Club,” Kitagawa can
ensure that his stable of 500 artists have a built-in fan base.
Kitagawa’s
career, though luminous, has not been without incident. In 1988 a
former member of his group Four Leaves published graphic details of
alleged sexual activities between the staff and some of the young boys
in Johnny’s & Associates, Kitagawa’s production agency. An April
2000 National Police Agency investigation eventually exonerated
Kitagawa. His latest challenge is the rise of Korean K-Pop. “I feel
Japan has become numb [faced with the] competition and I try to make my
acts acknowledge this,” he says.
Kitagawa’s latest production—fittingly titled Johnny’s World—features
a mammoth cast of boys of all ages, including latest popular groups
Hey! Say! JUMP!, Kis-My-Ft2, and Sexy Zone. The musical includes an
onstage replica of the Hindenburg airship, a Titanic
sequence, and a full-flowing waterfall appearing centerstage, and weaves
in Japanese cultural history during tightly choreographed dance
routines in which performers fly out over the audience. It’s a pulsating
medley that seems to include all of Las Vegas’s shows in one, and is a
nod to Kitagawa’s ambition to take a production to Las Vegas himself one
day. “To write, cast, and produce each concert at this age is not
easy,” he says, “but I enjoy every moment of it.”
NEWS‘ latest single, “WORLD QUEST / Pokopon Pekorya” (released December 12th), has sold 131,000 copies in its first week and has topped Oricon’s single chart for the week of December 24th.
With this, NEWS has topped the single chart 15 consecutive times since their debut single, “Kibou ~Yell~” (released May 2004). Including their albums, the group has topped the charts with 20 consecutive releases.
NEWS is the 3rd group to acquire the number 1 spot with 20 consecutive releases since their debut. They are behind KinKi Kids, who achieved this with their single “Kanashimi Blue” on May 13, 2002, and KAT-TUN, who achieved this with their single “WHITE” on May 30, 2011.
“WORLD QUEST” is the official song for ‘FIFA World Cup Japan 2012‘, which is hosted by member Tegoshi Yuya. Meanwhile, “Pokopon Pekorya” is the theme song for Kato Shigeaki’s starring drama, ‘Hana no Zubora Meshi‘ (MBS/TBS).
* Japanese Name: 中山優馬
* Romaji Name: Nakayama Yuma
* Nickname: Yuma.
* Birthdate: January 13, 1994
* Birthplace: Osaka, Japan
* Blood Type: A
* Height: 173cm
* Weight: 53kg
* Nationality: Japanese
* Occupation: Singer, Idol talent, Actor
* Talent agency: Johnny's Entertainment
Trivia
* Hobby: Fishing, baseball and cooking.
* Family: Older sister Yamada Nana (NMB48), formerly Nakayama Nana (SI☆NA)
* Admired Sempai: Kondo Masahiko, Yasuda Shota
* Favorite Manga: "Naruto"
* Favorite Movie: "Umizaru"
* Favorite Color: White
* Favorite food: omurice
* Favorite song: "Murasaki" by Akanishi Jin,"Kan Fu Fighting" by Kanjani8 and "10 Nen Go no Kyo no Hi mo" by Kanjani8
* Nakayama's drama debut at age 14 was in April 2008 when he starred in the NHK dorama Battery, along with fellow Johnny's Jr. Takada Sho and Morimoto Shintaro.
* In June 4th 2009, his debut with the Johnny's Jr. group B.I.Shadow as Nakayama Yuma w/B.I.Shadow was announced.
* In March 2010, Yamada Ryosuke and Chinen Yuuri from Hey! Say! JUMP and Nakayama formed NYC with the debut single Yuuki 100%.
* When he joined Johnny's Entertainment in October 2006, Nakayama, along with two other Kansai Jr. Kamiyama Tomohiro and Fujii Ryusei, formed the Kansai Johnny's Jr. unit TOP Kids.
Solo works
Singles
2012: "Glass no Maho" (in NYC's Wonderful Cupid single)
2012: "Missing Piece"
Featured works
Magazine Article Regular
NYC no Kookan Nikki (POTATO)
Honma no Yuma wa donai ya nen!!! (POTATO)
NYC no 3 smiles (WINK UP)
NYC karafuru tamago (MYOJO)
Events
2012: Nakayama Yuma Surprise Event at Imperial Theater
Albums
2010: Playzon'10 Road to PLAYZONE Original Soundtrack
2011: Playzone'11 Song & Danc'n. Original Soundtrack
2012: Playzone'12 Song & Danc'n. Original Soundtrack
Video albums
2010: Playzone'10 Road to PLAYZONE
2011: Playzone'11 Song & Danc'n.
2012: Playzone'12 Song & Danc'n.
Drama
[2008] Battery as Harada Takumi
[2009] Samurai Tenkousei as Mifune Yuta
[2009] Koishite Akuma ~Vampire Boy~ as Kuromiya Ruka
[2010] Hidarime Tantei EYE as Kaito Masaki
[2011] [Honto ni Atta Kowai Hanashi 2011] as Mikami Shunsuke
[2012] [Tsubasa yo! Are ga Koi no Hi da!] as Sano Satoshi
On December 14th, Arashi held the Tokyo concert of their live tour, ‘Popcorn‘,
at Tokyo Dome and performed a total of 34 songs for their fans. This
tour will run until January and is reported to have attracted 730,000
people with 16 shows.
This year, Arashi also held ‘AraFes‘ at National Olympic Stadium and ‘Arashi no Waku Waku Gakkou‘
at Tokyo Dome. In total, they drew in about 1,046,500 people to their
concerts, making this their first time performing for over 1 million
people in one year.
For this concert, Arashi used a “water screen” for the first time.
When colorful lights were projected onto the water, the members appeared
with an umbrella in their hands, which stirred the crowd of 55,000
fans. During his solo song, Matsumoto Jun changed his clothes on stage and made the female fans scream with excitement.
Before the performance, the members held a press conference where they were asked to sum up the year with one kanji character. Sakurai Sho and Ohno Satoshi answered “wa (circle)“ and “hatsu (first)” respectively. Meanwhile, Aiba Masaki confidently responded, “issho! (together),” which is made up of two characters. While the members and reporters were taken aback by his answer, Ninomiya Kazunari withheld his laughter and said, “He’s a good kid. I’m sorry.”
Arashi will be hosting the ‘Kohaku Uta Gassen‘ on New Year’s Eve for their 3rd consecutive year. Ninomiya declared, “I want to win this year.” Sakurai added, “We want to do something new as a singer.”
It was announced that SMAP’s Nakai Masahiro will be participating on TBS‘ annual New Year’s Eve music program, ‘CDTV Special! Toshikoshi Premier Live 2012→2013‘ as the host. This will be the third consecutive year for him to do so.
The program will air live starting on 11:45 pm on the New Year’s Eve until 5:00 am of New Year’s day. Nakai said, “Though this is my third consecutive year, I can’t help but look forward to participate in this countdown every year.”
As usual, there will be many great artists making their appearances on the show that includes singer-song writer YUI who will go on hiatus at the end of this year, and FUNKY MONKEY BABYS who will be disbanding in the end of March.
Nakai will appear on the show not only as the host, but also as the SMAP member, and perform their big hit special medley.
* Japanese Name: 高木雄也 (たかき ゆうや)
* Romaji Name: Takaki Yuya
* Nickname: Takaki-Kun, Yuyan, Bakaki.
* Profession: Singer and actor
* Birthdate: March 26th, 1990
* Birthplace: Osaka, Japan
* Star sign: Aries
* Blood type: O
* Height: 175cm
* Nationality: Japanese
* Occupation: Singer, Talent, Pop Idol, Actor.
* Talent agency: Johnny's Entertainment
Trivia
* Former groups:J.J. Express, Hey! Say! 7 * Admired senior:Domoto Koichi, Akanishi Jin * Fav. Food:Pizza, Gratin Pineapple * Disliked Food:Paseri * Fav. Color:Orange * Weak Point:Scared of bugs and pigeons * Charming Point:Lips (tend to be move like Akanishi Jin's) * Show:Hyakushiki (Guest)
* On June 12, 2004, he entered Johnny & Associates as a trainee. He became a member of J.J Express.
* On April 3 of 2007, he began activities with Hey! Say! 7, with fellow Hey! Say! JUMP members, Daiki Arioka, Ryosuke Yamada, Yuto Nakajima and Yuri Chinen, starting with a public performance at a KAT-TUN spring concert tour.
* On September 21, 2007, he became a member of Hey! Say! JUMP.
* In 2008 he starred in the third season of hit live action drama, Gokusen, for which he recorded the song Oretachi no Seishun which was released with Hey! Say! JUMP's second single, Dreams Come True.
Discography
Solo Songs
Oretachi no Seishun
Kumo no Ito
Michishirube
Time (Lyrics written by Yuya, arranged by Daiki Arioka)
Concerts
For Hey! Say! JUMP-related concerts, please see Hey! Say! JUMP.
