In the special edition program of NHK, titled: “JOHNNY’s World: Top of the Jpops“, it was announced that the elusive President of Johnny’s & Associates, Johnny Kitagawa,will make his TV debut on NHK’s international broadcasting- NHK World.
This is the first time that Kitagawa have agreed to an unprecedented
full coverage though Kitagawa’s face will not be shown; NHK said it will
still be the 1st time that Kitagawa will be on TV.
Johnny Kitagawa has been producing the most famous idols in Japan for over 50 years, he also achieved his 3rd Guinness World Records last year for “Most Number of Singers who have achieved the No. 1 position Produced by an Individual“.
The program covered the commemoration of Guinness World certification last November during one of the show dates of “JOHNNY’s World”
at Imperial Theater. The program also covered some backstage footage
and interviews with Kitagawa, who works as the director and producer, in
a play involving 180 talents including Hey!Say!JUMP, A.B.C.-Z. and Johnny’s Jr.
Kitagawa said that he has a strong desire to bring Japanese
entertainment overseas. In one of the interviews, people can see the
cast of “JOHNNY’S World” having practice sessions.
“JOHNNY’s World: Top of the Jpops” will air on Jan 27th (Sun. 3:10/ 7:10/ 11:10/ 15:10/ 19:10 (UTC)). Check NHK World for your country’s listings.
During the first day of performances in Yokohama Arena, showing off a
total 25 tracks mostly from their first album “one Sexy Zone”, they
vowed to an audience of 15000 people gathered at the venue.
When they were asked about their New Year’s routine, and otoshidama presents from their seniors during Countdown, Nakajima Kento
commented, “I did not get any money but for me, my otoshidama was,
though it’s a little early… I was able to spend that day with Kamenashi (Kazuya), Masuda (Takahisa), Yamada (Ryosuke), Okamoto (Keito) and Johnny-san, we went to eat soba noodles that night so for me that’s a nice equivalent”.
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.”
On November 19th it was revealed that president of the agency, Mr. Johnny Kitagawa
(81) has been certified with another Guinness World Record, this time
as “Most Number of Singers who have achieved the No. 1 position Produced
by an Individual “, making this his third Guinness World Record. In
addition, one person who has contributed to this Guinness world record,
KinKi Kids’ member, Domoto Koichi (33) announced today the production of “Endless SHOCK” (Tokyo Imperial Theater).
Mr. Johnny was watching over the meeting somewhere
in the building when the good news was sent. Last year he was awarded
with 2 other Guinness World Records; “Most Concerts Produced by an
Individual (8,419)” and “Most No.1 Singles Produced by an Individual
(232)”, followed by his third, “Most Number of Singers Produced by an
Individual who have achieved the No. 1 position (35)”. It was revealed
also that among those artist, Domoto Koichi is included to which he commented “I’m also happy for me then”.
The presentation of the certificate was decided in November 14th when
a Chairman of Guinness World Records visited Japan. After watching the
commemorative production “JOHNNY’S World” (Tokyo Imperial Theater), he
handed over the certificate of approval some days later. Just recently,
Johnny Kitagawa had stated he wanted to set 1 or 2 more Guinness World
Record, all the more reason to feel modest and happy he added, “Keeping
the #1 spot is a troublesome thing but as long as they want to keep
making music and becoming number one then it’s a natural thing”.
On top of this happy announcement, there’s still the grieve over the death of Mori Mitsuko
(92) who passed away just recently. “I was surprised to hear she passed
away. I don’t want to remember. Like family, we were really close. Even
now I feel like she’s here. I think we all feel that way”.
However, to overcome this grief, Mr Johnny has decided to aim for his
4th Guinness World Record, “Michael has more than 7, right? I think is
important to set new records. While defending the 3 records we have,
it’s important to always keep challenging new ones”. The challenge of
this 81-year-old continues.
List of 35 Johnny’s who have achieved the No. 1 position
NOTES:
(*) Ranking of #1 releases by each artists
Kanjani8′s releases include also “Eight Ranger”
Domoto Tsuyoshi’s releases include all under his 4 names
On Nov 12th, Yamada Ryosuke, Kota Yabu, and other members of Hey!Say!JUMP, A.B.C.-Z, and Sexy Zone, who appeared in the stage production of Johnny’s World, attended the press conference after their performance at Imperial Theater, Tokyo.
Johnny’s World is the commemorative work of Johnny Kitagawa for being the recipient of Guinness World of Records for “most number of concerts produced”
last year. “I feel honored to be on Johnny’s World stage that is a
culmination of Johnny’s talents that Johnny-san has built,” Yamada
commented.
Yamada also feels proud from the positive response that they
are receiving, “when I think about our final performance, I think
there’s a lot of change from us and that we continue to evolve every
day,” he added.
Johnny’s World will run until Jan 27th next year wherein talents
behind Johnny’s World talents will be spending Christmas and New Year
together.
When ABC-Z’s Fumito Kawai suggested that they
do Christmas exchanged gifts, Yamada then demanded that Fumito should
give them (the younger ones) a New Year’s present since Fumito is
older. “Age? It should be carried-out as to who debuted first,” Fumito
replied that earned laughter among the group.
