Artist Of the Month (April) : KAT-TUN
Alright...note to self: Do not get so carried away with the next artist of the month....
the commercials were probably going a bit overboard ^^;;
About KAT-TUN (Taken from several sites, including Wikki):
~ Their Name ~
The group name came from the first letter of each of the members names and the boys often seat themselves accordingly during interviews.
Kamenashi Kazuya, 亀梨和也, (born February 23, 1986)
Akanishi Jin, 赤西仁, (born July 4, 1984)
Taguchi Junnosuke, 田口淳之介, (born November 29, 1985)
Tanaka Koki, 田中聖, (born November 5, 1985)
Ueda Tatsuya, 上田竜也, (born October 4, 1983)
Nakamaru Yuichi, 中丸雄一, (born September 4, 1983)
Though the official leader of the group is Ueda Tatsuya, Kamenashi and Akanishi often take the leading positions.
~ Early History ~
KAT-TUN is a unit of Johnny's Jr., a large group of boys which make up the Junior branch of the Johnny & Associates entertainment company. They made their professional debut with their single "Real Face", released in March 2006. They previously released a concert DVD which features approximately 10-15 of their songs.
Before joining KAT-TUN, each member belonged to different Junior units. In 2001, KinKi Kids member Koichi Domoto personally picked 6 Johnny's Jr. members to be his back dancers in the NHK music program, Pop Jam. He chose Kamenashi, Akanishi, Taguchi, Tanaka, Ueda and Nakamaru to be his back dancers and gave them the unit name KAT-TUN.
Initially, KAT-TUN was only meant to be a dancing unit to support Koichi Domoto. However, KAT-TUN gained a great deal of attention so the formation was kept and KAT-TUN remains a solid unit. For five years they performed during concerts and on TV, gaining many fans, yet strangely did not have an official debut.
~ Debut ~
Their debut was announced January 29, 2006. This was a long-awaited event for both the members and their fans. The debut was accompanied by a concert tour of Japan. They released a single (Real Face), an album (Best of KAT-TUN), and a DVD (Real Face Film) on the same day, March 22, 2006.
~ Debut Sales ~
With the release of their album, single and DVD, KAT-TUN broke numerous records. "Best of KAT-TUN" debuted with sales of 556,548 copies, "Real Face" debuted with 754,234 copies, and "Real Face Film" debuted with 374,202 copies. With these releases, KAT-TUN topped all three Oricon charts, only the second artist to do so in the history of the charts (the first artist to do so was Ayumi Hamasaki). They hold the records for the highest single debut sales as well as the record for highest DVD debut sales. Their single "Real Face" topped the Oricon charts for 3 weeks, making them the first artist in the millennium to do so. Their single sold over one million copies in nine weeks.
~ Releases ~
KAT-TUN: SIGNALKAT-TUN released their 2nd single on July 19, 2006 entitled "SIGNAL" with its carrier single "Signal" featured on their new DoCoMo CM - DoCoMo Foma 902is
In November of 2006, the group would have released their third single PURE ONE including the theme songs of the dorama Tatta Hitotsu no Koi as well as the theme song of Sapuri "your smile", which had previously only been named "Opening Theme". They did release a "music box" collection album with their popular songs redone in a relaxing music box style. However the single's date was pushed back to December and the track listing changed. KAT-TUN officially announced that they will continue as a five person group for the time being.
KAT-TUN released their 3rd new single - "Bokura no Machi de" (In Our Town) on December 7, 2006, without one of their lead vocalists, Akanishi, who is currently on hiatus*. The single includes the theme song from Tatta Hitotsu no Koi starring Kamenashi and Tanaka.
In April of 2007, KAT-TUN plans to release their second album. The Special Edition will include a CD containing 7 of their pre-debut songs and the Normal Edition will include the unreleased theme song of the Sapuri, which is titled "YOU". It is as of yet unknown as to whether this album will feature Akanishi Jin or not.
*In early October 2006 rumors spread that Akanishi Jin was going to go on Hiatus from the band to study English in the US. On Friday 13th of that month there was a press conference confirming that the rumors were in-fact true. It was revealed that member Akanishi Jin would be taking a hiatus in order to study abroad for a minimum of six months, therefore he would not be included in the next single's release as he did not record on the single and would not be on the cover.
Albums
~*~
Best of KAT-TUN
~
Live at Kaizokuban
~
Dream Boys OST
~*~
Singles
~*~
Signal
~
Real Face
~
Bokura No Machi De
~
Yorokobi no Uta
~
Shuuji to Akira: Seishun Amigo - Single, 320 kbps w/ scans
~*~
Live Rips/Solo's
~*~
KAT-TUN live
~
Jin and Kame Duets
~
Kamenashi Kazuya Solos
~
Akanisi Jin Solos
~
Other Solos
~*~
MV's
~*~
Signal
~
Real Face (Subbed)
~
Bokura No Machi De
~
Yorokobi no Uta
~
Shuuji to Akira: Seishun Amigo (Part One)(Part Two
~*~
Real Face: MV's
~*~
Real Face (Subbed)
~
Real Face: Jin's MV
~
Real Face: Kame's MV
~
Real Face: Junno's MV (Part 1)(Part 2)
~
Ueda's MV (Part 1)(Part 2)
~
Koki's MV (Part 1)(Part 2)
~
Nakamaru's MV (Part 1) (Part 2)
~
Real Face: PV
~*~
PV's
~*~
Real Face
~
Six Senses
~
Gloria
~
She Said + Kizuna
~
Jin: Hesitate
~
Jin: It Can't Be
~
Jin and Kame: Bonnie Butterfly
~
Jin and Kame: Kokoro Ni Yume Wo Kimi Ne Wa Ai Wo
~
Jin and Kame: Hira Hira
~
~*~
Musicals
~*~
Dream Boys: KAT-TUN vs. KANJANI 8:
Disc 1(Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)
~
Disc 2(Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)
~
SUMMARY of Johnny's World:
(Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)
~
SUMMARY of Johnny's World - Backstage (Subbed):
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six
~*~
Concert: KAT-TUN - Live at Kaizokuban (four 30 minute videos):
~*~
Disc One Part One Part Two Part Three
~
Disc Two Part One Part Two Part Three
~
Disc Three Part One Part Two Part Three
~
Disc Four Part One Part Two Part Three
~
Live at Kaizokuban: CD
~*~
Concert Clips
~*~
Jin: When I'm Thinking of You
~
Jin: Murasaki
~
Johnny's Big Suprise Countdown 2004-2005
~*~
T.V. Apperances
~*~
HEY HEY HEY - 06-17-07 (Subbed)
~
KAT-TUN and K8: Love Confession (Subbed)
~
KAT-TUN X3 (07/30/2005):Part One Part Two Part Three
~
KAT-TUN X3 (08/06/2005): Part One Part Two Part Three
~
Shonen Club(04/16/2006)(Subbed)Part One Part Two Part Three
~*~
Special Unit: Shuuji to Akira (Kamenashi Kazuya of KAT-TUN and Yamashita Tomohisa of NEWS)
~*~
Seishun Amigo - Single, 320 kbps w/ scans
~
Shuuji to Akira: Seishun Amigo (Part One)(Part Two
~*~
DVD Extras
~*~
The Making of Signal:Part One Part Two
~*~
CM's
~*~
2002 - Lotte Crunky
~
2003 - Lotte Crunky
~
2004 - Lotte Crunky
~
Jin and Hideaki: Lotte Soh Ice Cream
~
Crunky Caffe Latte
~
Lotte Purasu X
~
ROHTO
~
Ueda: ROHTO
~
Koki and Jin: ROHTO Oxy
~
Koki and Jin: ROHTO Oxy II
~
Koki and Jin: ROHTO Oxy III
~
Jin and Nakamaru: ROHTO Lip Balm
~
Jin and Nakamaru: Lip Gloss II
~
ROHTO Lip Gloss
~
ROHTO Lip Gloss II
~
Sky PerfecTV! Baseball
~
Sky PerfecTV! Football
~
Do Co Mo
~
Jin: Sea Breeze
~
2005 (Jin and Kame) - DDR with Mario
~
Yuuki Dorama CM
~*~
um....tee hee ^^;;
the commercials were probably going a bit overboard ^^;;
About KAT-TUN (Taken from several sites, including Wikki):
~ Their Name ~
The group name came from the first letter of each of the members names and the boys often seat themselves accordingly during interviews.
Kamenashi Kazuya, 亀梨和也, (born February 23, 1986)
Akanishi Jin, 赤西仁, (born July 4, 1984)
Taguchi Junnosuke, 田口淳之介, (born November 29, 1985)
Tanaka Koki, 田中聖, (born November 5, 1985)
Ueda Tatsuya, 上田竜也, (born October 4, 1983)
Nakamaru Yuichi, 中丸雄一, (born September 4, 1983)
Though the official leader of the group is Ueda Tatsuya, Kamenashi and Akanishi often take the leading positions.
~ Early History ~
KAT-TUN is a unit of Johnny's Jr., a large group of boys which make up the Junior branch of the Johnny & Associates entertainment company. They made their professional debut with their single "Real Face", released in March 2006. They previously released a concert DVD which features approximately 10-15 of their songs.
Before joining KAT-TUN, each member belonged to different Junior units. In 2001, KinKi Kids member Koichi Domoto personally picked 6 Johnny's Jr. members to be his back dancers in the NHK music program, Pop Jam. He chose Kamenashi, Akanishi, Taguchi, Tanaka, Ueda and Nakamaru to be his back dancers and gave them the unit name KAT-TUN.
Initially, KAT-TUN was only meant to be a dancing unit to support Koichi Domoto. However, KAT-TUN gained a great deal of attention so the formation was kept and KAT-TUN remains a solid unit. For five years they performed during concerts and on TV, gaining many fans, yet strangely did not have an official debut.
~ Debut ~
Their debut was announced January 29, 2006. This was a long-awaited event for both the members and their fans. The debut was accompanied by a concert tour of Japan. They released a single (Real Face), an album (Best of KAT-TUN), and a DVD (Real Face Film) on the same day, March 22, 2006.
~ Debut Sales ~
With the release of their album, single and DVD, KAT-TUN broke numerous records. "Best of KAT-TUN" debuted with sales of 556,548 copies, "Real Face" debuted with 754,234 copies, and "Real Face Film" debuted with 374,202 copies. With these releases, KAT-TUN topped all three Oricon charts, only the second artist to do so in the history of the charts (the first artist to do so was Ayumi Hamasaki). They hold the records for the highest single debut sales as well as the record for highest DVD debut sales. Their single "Real Face" topped the Oricon charts for 3 weeks, making them the first artist in the millennium to do so. Their single sold over one million copies in nine weeks.
~ Releases ~
KAT-TUN: SIGNALKAT-TUN released their 2nd single on July 19, 2006 entitled "SIGNAL" with its carrier single "Signal" featured on their new DoCoMo CM - DoCoMo Foma 902is
In November of 2006, the group would have released their third single PURE ONE including the theme songs of the dorama Tatta Hitotsu no Koi as well as the theme song of Sapuri "your smile", which had previously only been named "Opening Theme". They did release a "music box" collection album with their popular songs redone in a relaxing music box style. However the single's date was pushed back to December and the track listing changed. KAT-TUN officially announced that they will continue as a five person group for the time being.
KAT-TUN released their 3rd new single - "Bokura no Machi de" (In Our Town) on December 7, 2006, without one of their lead vocalists, Akanishi, who is currently on hiatus*. The single includes the theme song from Tatta Hitotsu no Koi starring Kamenashi and Tanaka.
In April of 2007, KAT-TUN plans to release their second album. The Special Edition will include a CD containing 7 of their pre-debut songs and the Normal Edition will include the unreleased theme song of the Sapuri, which is titled "YOU". It is as of yet unknown as to whether this album will feature Akanishi Jin or not.
*In early October 2006 rumors spread that Akanishi Jin was going to go on Hiatus from the band to study English in the US. On Friday 13th of that month there was a press conference confirming that the rumors were in-fact true. It was revealed that member Akanishi Jin would be taking a hiatus in order to study abroad for a minimum of six months, therefore he would not be included in the next single's release as he did not record on the single and would not be on the cover.
Albums
~*~
Best of KAT-TUN
~
Live at Kaizokuban
~
Dream Boys OST
~*~
Singles
~*~
Signal
~
Real Face
~
Bokura No Machi De
~
Yorokobi no Uta
~
Shuuji to Akira: Seishun Amigo - Single, 320 kbps w/ scans
~*~
Live Rips/Solo's
~*~
KAT-TUN live
~
Jin and Kame Duets
~
Kamenashi Kazuya Solos
~
Akanisi Jin Solos
~
Other Solos
~*~
MV's
~*~
Signal
~
Real Face (Subbed)
~
Bokura No Machi De
~
Yorokobi no Uta
~
Shuuji to Akira: Seishun Amigo (Part One)(Part Two
~*~
Real Face: MV's
~*~
Real Face (Subbed)
~
Real Face: Jin's MV
~
Real Face: Kame's MV
~
Real Face: Junno's MV (Part 1)(Part 2)
~
Ueda's MV (Part 1)(Part 2)
~
Koki's MV (Part 1)(Part 2)
~
Nakamaru's MV (Part 1) (Part 2)
~
Real Face: PV
~*~
PV's
~*~
Real Face
~
Six Senses
~
Gloria
~
She Said + Kizuna
~
Jin: Hesitate
~
Jin: It Can't Be
~
Jin and Kame: Bonnie Butterfly
~
Jin and Kame: Kokoro Ni Yume Wo Kimi Ne Wa Ai Wo
~
Jin and Kame: Hira Hira
~
~*~
Musicals
~*~
Dream Boys: KAT-TUN vs. KANJANI 8:
Disc 1(Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)
~
Disc 2(Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)
~
SUMMARY of Johnny's World:
(Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)
~
SUMMARY of Johnny's World - Backstage (Subbed):
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six
~*~
Concert: KAT-TUN - Live at Kaizokuban (four 30 minute videos):
~*~
Disc One Part One Part Two Part Three
~
Disc Two Part One Part Two Part Three
~
Disc Three Part One Part Two Part Three
~
Disc Four Part One Part Two Part Three
~
Live at Kaizokuban: CD
~*~
Concert Clips
~*~
Jin: When I'm Thinking of You
~
Jin: Murasaki
~
Johnny's Big Suprise Countdown 2004-2005
~*~
T.V. Apperances
~*~
HEY HEY HEY - 06-17-07 (Subbed)
~
KAT-TUN and K8: Love Confession (Subbed)
~
KAT-TUN X3 (07/30/2005):Part One Part Two Part Three
~
KAT-TUN X3 (08/06/2005): Part One Part Two Part Three
~
Shonen Club(04/16/2006)(Subbed)Part One Part Two Part Three
~*~
Special Unit: Shuuji to Akira (Kamenashi Kazuya of KAT-TUN and Yamashita Tomohisa of NEWS)
~*~
Seishun Amigo - Single, 320 kbps w/ scans
~
Shuuji to Akira: Seishun Amigo (Part One)(Part Two
~*~
DVD Extras
~*~
The Making of Signal:Part One Part Two
~*~
CM's
~*~
2002 - Lotte Crunky
~
2003 - Lotte Crunky
~
2004 - Lotte Crunky
~
Jin and Hideaki: Lotte Soh Ice Cream
~
Crunky Caffe Latte
~
Lotte Purasu X
~
ROHTO
~
Ueda: ROHTO
~
Koki and Jin: ROHTO Oxy
~
Koki and Jin: ROHTO Oxy II
~
Koki and Jin: ROHTO Oxy III
~
Jin and Nakamaru: ROHTO Lip Balm
~
Jin and Nakamaru: Lip Gloss II
~
ROHTO Lip Gloss
~
ROHTO Lip Gloss II
~
Sky PerfecTV! Baseball
~
Sky PerfecTV! Football
~
Do Co Mo
~
Jin: Sea Breeze
~
2005 (Jin and Kame) - DDR with Mario
~
Yuuki Dorama CM
~*~
um....tee hee ^^;;