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| Top row from left to right: Tatsuya Ueda, Jin Akanishi, Koki Tanaka Bottom row from left to right: Junnosuke Taguchi, Kazuya Kamenashi, Yuichi Nakamaru |
KAT-TUN is
one of the better known boy bands of Johnny & Associates. The
group's name is an acronym based on the first letter of each member's
family name until Jin Akanishi left the group to pursue his solo
career in 2010. From then on they used the KA from Kamenashi to fill
in the missing gap. Similar artists are: News, Kis-My-Ft2, Arashi
(嵐) and Hey! Say! JUMP.
Like every
new Johnny's member all the guys had to go through a singing and
dancing training program to support their seniors. In 2001 Kinki Kids
member, Koichi Domoto, needed some back-up dancers for the music
program “Pop Jam”. The 6 junior members he chose were the KAT-TUN
members. They were supposed to be a temporary unit, but due to their
popularity, the 6 juniors became a permanent unit.
The year
2002 started brightly for KAT-TUN. In response to the overwhelming
requests, they held their first concert “Okyakusama wa Kamisama -
Concert 55man Nin Ai no Request ni Kotaete!!” (お客様は神サマーConcert
55万人愛のリクエストに応えて!!).
Like the title says, 550.000 people were able to get a ticket for
this performance. KAT-TUN had broken records not only within their
own record label but also within Japan. They were the first band of
Johnny's to hold a concert before an official debut. That same year
they broke an other record by performing 11 times in one day.
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| Seishun Amigo |
Even with
all the media attention and popularity, KAT-TUN didn't officially
debut until 2006. Kazuya Kamenashi however debuted in 2005 thanks to
the drama “Nobuta o Produce”. Kamenashi and his co-star Tomohisa
Yamashita (better known as Yamapi) formed a temporary unit called
“Shūji to Akira”. The unit was named after the drama characters.
Even after the drama was over, Kamenashi and Yamapi regularly
performed the song "Seishun Amigo". Their single became #1
in Japan so not only Kamenashi's popularity increased rapidly, but it
also created a hype for KAT-TUN's official debut.
March 22,
2006 was the date for KAT-TUN's debut. They released the single “Real
Face”, album “Best of KAT-TUN” and DVD “Real Face Film” at
the same time. In the first week all 3 releases topped the weekly
Oricon charts. “Best of KAT-TUN” sold 556.548 copies, “Real
Face” 754.234 and “Real Face Film” 374.202. With these
numbers, KAT-TUN holds the record for the highest weekly single debut
sales (previously held by Arashi). On March 17 they held their debut
show in Tokyo Dome, and after that they went on their first full
tour.
In the
beginning of October rumors started spreading around. It was said
that Akanishi was going on hiatus from the band to study English in
the USA. On Friday the 13th of that month it was announced
that the rumors were true. Jin was going to study abroad for at least
6 months, so he wasn't included in the release of the upcoming single
as he didn't record for it. He wouldn't be featured on the cover
either. The rest of the band however, remained busy. During
Akanishi's absence they kept touring and released 2 new singles plus
2 new DVDs.
In 2007 they
started their nationwide tour “Tour 2007 Cartoon KAT-TUN II You”
without Akanishi. The next day KAT-TUN's variety show “Cartoon
KAT-TUN” aired. Akanishi was absent for 5 episodes since he
returned to work on April 20. On April 21 he joined the group again
for the final show in Sendai to mark his official return.
The rest of
2007 was as busy as ever. "Yorokobi no Uta" was used for
the drama Tanaka starred in and “Keep the Faith” was the theme
song for the drama “Yukan Club” which featured Akanishi &
Taguchi. “Keep the Faith” won the award for the best theme song
at the 17th TV Life Drama Awards. As a result of their hard work,
KAT-TUN stole the heart of the Japan Gold Disk Awards in 2007 and
landed six awards for their releases, including best single and best
music video of the year.
KAT-TUN kept
busy in 2008 too. They released the single “Lips”, which was used
for Kamenashi's new dramas “One Pound Gospel”, album “KAT-TUN
III: Queen of Pirates” and their first Christmas single “White
X'mas”. They also broke an other record this year. KAT-TUN was the
first band to play a total of four consecutive days at Tokyo Dome. It
was an historic event since no artist had ever done it since the
opening of the Dome in 1988.
2009 was yet
an other busy year. The members got a lot of TV appearances, acting
opportunities and hosted a radio show. KAT-TUN also broke their own
record of 2008 by giving 8 consecutive days in Tokyo Dome.
The first
few months of 2010 seemed to be slow, but they picked up the pace
again when "Love Yourself (Kimi ga Kirai na Kimi ga Suki)"
was released and the new tour dates were announced. Everyone was
surprised to hear that the nationwide and first Asia tour would be
without Akanishi. He would give solo performances in Los Angeles. On
July 21 Akanishi confirmed that he would leave KAT-TUN to focus on
his solo career.
Losing a
member didn't make the group slow down. They released an other single
and full album in between tours.”CHANGE UR WORLD” claimed the #1
spot in the weekly Oricon charts.
In 2011 the
remaining 5 members of KAT-TUN released the single “Ultimate
Wheels” which was used for the CM of Suzuki Solio. They also became
the 4th Johnny group to conquer the 5 big domes of Japan.
On March 29 it was announced Johnny’s Company would start a new
charity project called “Marching J”. It's a fundraising project
for the Tohoku Earthquake victims. In September the guys confirmed
that they would host a new TV show called “KAT-TUN no Zettai
Manetaku Naru TV”.
On
January 13 2012, KAT-TUN endorsed the mobile game site "entag!"
which used KAT-TUN's album track "SMILE FOR YOU" as a CM
song and the first-ever KAT-TUN animation was launched on entag! site
for a limited period. February 12 was the kick off for the new tour
"KAT-TUN LIVE TOUR 2012 CHAIN". With this tour the became
the first Johnny group to play in the disaster affected areas. Their
latest album “CHAIN” got released on February 22.
Music
Station presented a special report on January 13 about the “Most
Powerful Group BEST 20”. It listed the Top 20 most powerful groups
of all-time in terms of physical single and album sales. KAT-TUN was
listed at #16.
Even
now KAT-TUN is busy, and they only seem to be growing stronger. If
they keep up this pace, I think we can expect some great things in
the future.
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