let's share everything about them, apa2 je! ;) first, kita mula ngan SMAP...
SMAP - my most favourite group in the whole world! :love:
(top, left to right: Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki)
(bottom, left to right: Shingo Katori, Masahiro Nakai, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi)
Japanese supergroup, SMAP was formed in 1988 with 6 boys hand-picked by talent agency Johnny's Entertainment. Before SMAP, these 6 boys were part of Skateboys, background dancers for Hikaru Genji, the hottest idol group at that time. The name SMAP stands for Sports/Music/Assemble/People, but it is pronounced as one word.
The initial members were, in order of age, Masahiro Nakai, who's officially the leader of the pack (34), Takuya Kimura (34), Goro Inagaki (33), Katsuyuki Mori, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi(32), and Shingo Katori (29).
Though formed as a dancing and singing pop idol group, their CD debut was not until September 1991, although their first concert was held in January that year. Their 15 years of fairytale was not an overnight success story. They had played to a full house, but none of the songs were their own. For years, their CD sales figures were the worst (for a newly debuted group) in Johnny's Entertainment history. They even performed in a half-empty venue, depicting their lack of popularity in their earlier years. But it's this kind of hardship that made them work even harder than everybody else.
As song programmes were being given the chop everywhere at the time, they were "farmed out" to variety shows in order to learn the basics of comedy and slapstick, as well as appearing in TV dramas and stage productions that required teenage boys. Thus, when Takuya Kimura's sudden rise to fame at the end of 1993 gave the entire group the break they needed, they were well-trained and prepared for any offer that came their way. The time was ripe for them, and their 12th single Hey Hey Ookini Maido Ari, which went on sale in March 1994 became their 1st No.1 hit. In less than a year, they became a household name and an unprecedented (in the sense that their popularity spread to age groups who had never shown much interest in young pop idols) phenomenal showbiz success. Their concerts are packed with fans ranging in age from 4 to 84, and the proportion of male audience is constantly rising.
Though it is well known that their ability as singers still leave a lot to be desired, they themselves have never made any bones about this. In fact, their generally poor singing has become a standing joke. Despite this, people in the music business are known to listen to SMAP albums. From around SMAP 007 Gold Singer (1995), their albums have boasted the participation of well-known American jazz and fusion musicians, and the quality of the music is excellent. The musicians apparently enjoy playing for SMAP, because they are given complete freedom. They need not worry about overshadowing SMAP, because all five members know they are hardly first-rate singers and focus on just doing their best. The result of the instruments and vocals concentrating on themselves, nearly oblivious of each other, is a strangely exciting musical duel (their vocal harmony sounds surprisingly good when singing together).
As of Summer 2005, they have 38 singles, 18 original albums, 5 best song collections, and over 300 songs to their name. The songs used to be of the "young love" variety but, since "$10" (late 1993), they have come to have extremely varied and original concepts, quite often at a tangent from the musical trend of the time, or pre-empting it. From around 1998, Japanese music critics started calling it "SMAP" music -- a genre by itself. The vocals, each quite distinctive when singing alone, somehow loses individual characteristics and become the SMAP voice (according to singers who know Kimura personally say that he can actually sing much better, but contains himself knowing that he mustn't destroy the group voice). The annual SMAP concerts may not be a music-lover's heaven, but are extravaganzas packed with singing, dancing and comic turns, and have been called the best shows in Japan, and "a lifetime treat for every Japanese woman". The (nearly) hour-long hilarious stand-up talk section (or the MC segment as they call it), which is unscripted and changes from performance to performance as the whim takes SMAP, is by itself worth hearing.
In April 1996, their own variety show SMAPxSMAP started. Now in its 10th year and immensely popular, every week it features gourmet cooking, contests, comic sketches, parodies and music, all featuring SMAP and usually suggested by them. Katsuyuki Mori left the group at the end of May 1996, very soon after the show went on air but, if anything, both SMAP as a group and the remaining members as individual entertainers have won even greater support and acclaim through the quality and varied nature of their work. Where pop-idols' peak periods are usually three years maximum, SMAP has remained at the top of their profession for 10 years and is still going strong. Over the years, all five members have become top-billing actors, yet in SMAPxSMAP there is no limit to what they can and will do, whether it's dressing themselves up as ice cream cones long past the sell-by date, or vying in a cooking competition with one another for the title of "Bistro King", or fencing traditional-style in dead earnest, or parodying themselves as dumb and untalented (and little known) teenage idols.
At the end of August 2001, the group faced the biggest crisis of their career; Goro Inagaki had gotten himself arrested for illegal parking and resisting police questioning. SMAP was in the middle of their 10th anniversary concert tour, and had to carry on with just the four of them. Although Inagaki was released after two nights and the prosecutor's office had decided not to press charges, it was obvious that the Japanese public's sensitivities would not condone his returning to work without first undergoing a suitable period of self-imposed penance. SMAPxSMAP broadcasts were suspended, and the media speculated on the possibility of SMAP disbanding, or sacking Goro and continuing as a group of four. However, the remaining SMAP members were staunch in their support of Goro. "SMAP are FIVE" became their byword, and also their fans'. Instead of demanding a refund for their concert tickets, SMAP fans who could afford it flew from all around the country to attend even more performances and show support. SMAPxSMAP went back on air after a month, with the four determinedly holding fort until Inagaki could make a comeback. The oldest members, Nakai and Kimura particularly took advantage of every opportunity to keep reminding the public that they were one member short.
The comeback took place on 14th January 2002, on a special live broadcast of SMAPxSMAP. Nearly half the country's viewing populace is said to have tuned in to watch Inagaki make an official apology in front of a live studio audience, and be welcomed back into the fold by a jubilant SMAP. That particular episode made it in SMAPxSMAP history as the highest-rated episode of all time. That summer saw the group doing a concert tour that pulled in the largest number of audience in Japanese showbiz history --1,150,000 tickets sold in 24 performances, proving, in the words of the media, that SMAP was, and is, in both name and actuality, the No.1 supergroup in Japan.
[ Last edited by whitedove at 7-11-2008 12:37 PM ]
TOKIO is a Japanese popular pop/rock band formed by Johnny & Associates in 1994. It is made up of five boys, starting from Sony Records, now from Universal Music Company. The group members are Tomoya Nagase (lead vocal & guitar, 28), Masahiro Matsuoka (drum, 29), Taichi Kokubun (keyboards, 32), Tatsuya Yamaguchi (bass, 34), and Shigeru Joshima, the official group leader (lead guitar, 36).
V6
V6 is a very popular Japanese idol group, formed by Johnny & Associates. They debuted on 1 November 1995 with CD-Single "MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE".
Due to the age difference between the 6 members (the difference between oldest member, Masayuki Sakamoto and youngest member, Junichi Okada, is 10 years), the band was separated into "20th Century (tonisen)" and "Coming Century (kamisen)".
There are many theories behind the meaning of the "V" in V6. It is said that it stands for Victory, but members have mentioned on TV programmes etc that it also means Volleyball (as their debut single was used in the World Cup Volleyball Tournament in 1995), Vegetable (as Sakamoto's parents own a green grocers), Vicycle (obviously means Bicycle - Hiroshi Nagano's parents own a cycling store) and Veteran (as Yoshihiko Inohara was told).
As they are idols, each member takes part in a variety of activities - as well as singing, they appear in TV dramas, variety shows, host radio programmes etc. 20th Century are usually associated with being on stage in plays and musicals, whereas Coming Century are more often in TV dramas (although every member has in the past done both). The most current TV drama involving a V6 member is "Kuitan (Eating Detective)".
Sakamoto is especially famous for his roles in musicals such as 'Footloose', 'Blood Brothers' and 'The Boy from Oz'. Nagano and Inohara also played the leading roles in the Japanese version of the hit musical 'The Producers' which proved to be a great success, being ranked as the No.1 musical of 2005 in a famous Japanese musical magazine.
Junichi Okada is also currently making waves in the movie industry with successive hits such as "Kizarazu Cat's Eyes Nihon Series", "Tokyo Towers" and "Fly Daddy Fly". He is also set to star in a movie by the famous director Hirokazu Kore-eda called "Hana Yori mo Naho".
V6 hosts two weekly TV shows as a group, "gakkou e ikou" and "viva viva V6". However, aside from this group TV shows, they also have individual TV shows, dramas or radio programs in Japan. Ken Miyake is a regular in the TV show "Itou-ke no Shokutaku (The Itou Family Dinner)".
V6 celebrated their 10th year anniversary in 2005. They commemorated the event by holding about 30 concerts in sold-out arenas all over Japan, holding 3 major "Thank You Events", releasing a hit movie "Hold Up Down" and releasing a new album "Musicmind". They also had a rare "Handshake Session" with hundreds of thousands of fans in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka.
20th Century (tonisen) are Masayuki Sakamoto (V6 group leader, 35), Hiroshi Nagano (34) and Yoshihiko Inohara (V6's unofficial spokesperson, 30). Coming Century (kamisen) are Go Morita (kamisen group leader, 27), Ken Miyake (27) and Junichi Okada (26).
[ Last edited by whitedove at 7-11-2008 02:23 PM ]
KinKi Kids
(left to right: Tsuyoshi Dohmoto, Koichi Dohmoto)
KinKi Kids was formed in 1993 but made their debut in 1997 with their single "Glass no Shounen" (Glass Boy), which made them a number one on the hit chart ORICON for many weeks. They are also listed in the Guinness Book of Records, where they are credited with having most singles go to #1. These CDs include "Eien no Bloods (Forever Blood)" and "Hey Minna, Genki Kai? (Hey! How's everybody?)". As of writing, their latest single has also debuted at #1, making them one of Johnny Jimusho's most successful musical artistes. The members are Koichi Dohmoto and Tsuyoshi Dohmoto, both are 27.
Widely known in Japan, the KinKi Kids are very popular among girls of all ages, and their subscription concerts even draw boys. Not only do they sing, but they are also talented actors, having appeared in popular dramas and sitcoms. For example, Tsuyoshi Dohmoto played the title character in Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo (Files of Young Kindachi), and Koichi was in Remote. Both have also collaborated since an early age in hits like Wakaba no Koro (Young Generation) and Miman City with their fellow juniors. They have their own variety show called Domoto Kyoudai (The Domoto Brothers). However despite their shared surnames, they are in fact completely unrelated and hail from two different prefectures in the Kinki region.
Arashi
(left to right: Sho Sakurai, Kazunari Ninomiya, Masaki Aiba, Satoshi Ohno, Jun Matsumoto)
Arashi (the Japanese word for storm), is a Japanese popular group consisting of five boys from the Johnny & Associates stable. They made their sudden debut in September 1999 in Honolulu, Hawaii from the Pony Canyon Music Company. The group members are Satoshi Ohno (group leader, 26), Sho Sakurai (24, group's unofficial spokesperson), Masaki Aiba (24), Kazunari Ninomiya (23) and Jun Matsumoto (23).
This group is widely known for the members' good looks and for the group's smartly executed, powerful dances. The fans' ages range from the low teens up to the mid-forties. On the day of their debut single "A?A?HI", more than 80,000 fans showed up to attend their debut event. Since the debut single, the group has released more than 10 singles. Their first four singles, "ARASHI (Storm)", "Sunrise Nippon (Sunrise Japan)/HORIZON", "Typhoon Generation", and "Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi" attracted many people because they all dealt with nature. The cheap cost of 500 yen also attracted people to buy their 7th, 8th, and 9th singles. Arashi produces a wide range of different types of music, including rap, house, and hip hop. In 2002, Arashi established a music company of their own called J-Storm.
Arashi has also been taking part in various dramas, variety shows, TV commercials, and movies. The entire group played the lead in the drama called "V No Arashi (Arashi of Victory)" that supported the Japanese volleyball team in the World Cup. Other dramas include "Gokusen (Gangster Teacher)" and "Kimi wa Petto (You're A Pet)" by Matsumoto, "Kisarazu Cat's Eye" and "Yoiko no Mikata (A Friend of Good Kids)" by Sakurai, "Stand Up!" by Ninomiya, and "Yankee Bokou ni Kaeru (A Yankee Goes Back to His Alma Mater) by Aiba. The most recent TV drama is "Hana Yori Dango" starring Matsumoto which became a hit in 2005. The group took part in their famous movie, "PIKANCHI~Life is Hard Dakara(so) Happy" and "PIKANCHI Double" that concerned the passionate youth of 5 boys, acted by members of Arashi. The members also have their own TV programmes ranging from "D no Arashi", "Mago Mago Arashi" and "G no Arashi".
[ Last edited by whitedove at 7-11-2008 03:23 PM ]
tadi ade merewang kat soompi..
skali terjumpa thread yg ARASHI ade menari NOBODY song by WONDERGIRLS..
mase konsert dieorg kat KOREA....
tp vclip nie fancam la..
ade 2 clip...
enjoy it!!!
mesti ala2 comey...
yg dgr mase tuh sore SHO jek....
tp lagu nih best dgr klu dgr mp3 or mv die jer, kite xbaper leh dgr WG nyanyi live, kureng ckit... tak tahu la nape, idols pompuan korea xbaper leh nyanyi life... klu laki ok jer, dbsk tuh orait jer nyanyi life... eh, off topic la plak...
wawawa dah ade thread baru rupenye. Tahniah tahniah~!
Korang2 tau tak mana2 orang yg leh wat order Arashi AAA 2008 nye concert goodies?
Nak sangattttttttttttttttt t- shirt diaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Post time 7-11-2008 12:24 PM
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