A born star. Their Johnnys LEGENDs [ViVi 5/21]
As SixTONES are stars, you seem to have lots of touching anecdotes and funny miraculous episodes. Could you share a bit with us too??
Legends of Yugo (Kochi).
Jesse: Kochi told the scary dance teacher whom no one dares to talk back to, “Because I hate dancing”. From then on, he was rarely scolded by the teacher. He is really brave (LOL).
Taiga: When we were juniors, he got criticized by the dance teacher during a rehearsal and was told, “Go home!”. Then, he really tried to go home. Kochi is an “idol who will snap back” (LOL).
Hokuto: Around the time when he entered the agency, Kochi had a hard time remembering the choreography and was squatting in the middle of the practice room while sulking. Everyone became worried about him and wanted to console him. When we got near and called out to him, we realized that he was sleeping soundly…
Shintaro: In the past, Kochi did not have brows. A total Yankee. That must have been his rebellious phrase. Johnny-san was also troubled and told him “YOU, what’s with that?” (LOL).
Juri: The way he had a crew-cut last year with no relation to his job whatsoever. The senpais were also surprised. That is really an episode of bravery. I feel like thanks to that, SixTONES looked a bit more artistic as a whole.
Legends of Taiga (Kyomo)
Jesse: In the past, he always wore a hat and gave off an artistic feel. But recently, he has been losing his fixation (LOL).
Hokuto: Looking back at the rehearsal photos in the past, there is a scene of the 5 of us doing backflips without Taiga. He was the only one who couldn’t do backflips, so he hid in the stage sleeves.
Kochi: When Jesse mixed up the lyrics, he was praised by Johnny-san, “That’s what singing live is about”. But when Taiga mixed up the lyrics, he was scolded greatly by Johnny-san (LOL). He is an existence that would make people ask for perfection.
Shintaro: He gives off a sophisticated feel right now but when he was a high school student, he played with the tip of his hair a lot. He would use an iron to curl it by himself. He was a proper Johnnys back then.
Juri: When we had a Yokohama Arena concert before debut, Kyomo was busy with his musical and could only attend rehearsal twice. But he was perfect during the actual concert. I really thought he was amazing! Now THAT is the Johnnys spirit.
Legends of Juri (Juttan)
Jesse: When he enters the zone, he writes raps continuously without even having his meal or plays games for 14 hours straight. That guy…probably isn’t a human being.
Taiga: I was in the same class as Juri during high school, and he was loved by both guys and girls. He had the entire school under his thumb (LOL).
Hokuto: During the times when Kochi couldn’t make it to the stage play’s rehearsals due to School Kakumei’s recordings”, Juri would fill in for Kochi. I was surprised by how he had memorized 2 people worth of dialogues!
Kochi: We were made to memorize the choreographies of a huge number of songs for a concert in the past. At that time Juri had seen through it, saying “It will definitely be cut” and slacked off. In the end, it turned out exactly the way he said, and the effort of us who practiced hard went to waste… Honestly, when it comes to being sharp, Juri is the top in Johnnys.
Shintaro: It’s the same thing as Kochi, but Juri is a genius when it comes to slacking off. During dance practices, he hides behind the curtain and comes out only during important parts. That technique can only be used by Juri.
Legends of Hokuto (Hokkun)
Jesse: When we were Juniors, he’d try harder than anyone to act cool in front of the camera. But when we were on the train, he’d often fall asleep and bump his head on the window. The gap was no joke.
Taiga: I transferred to the same high school as Hokuto at the same time. Though we were in different grades, we introduced ourselves in front of the school during the morning assembly together. Looking back at it, I feel like it was a legendary moment you’d find in school dramas.
Kochi: That guy used apps to ride on Shinkansen since the era of folded phones! Only he would go “tap” at the ticket gate. That was so cool to the extent it made me admire him (LOL).
Shintaro: In the past, Hokuto used to come to rehearse for concerts from his home in Shizuoka, and he’d memorize everything perfectly after rehearsing once or twice. He had the dependable feel that a foreign player hired to strengthen the team has.
Juri: Hokuto kept teasing YOSHIKI-san aggressively when he was the guest on our radio. He apparently gets too excited when meeting influential figures, but that’s too fearless of him (LOL).
Legends of Jesse (Jeshi)
Taiga: There was a time when Jesse had fallen off from the side stage during “Shounentachi”. He went “THUD!” very loudly, but he was okay with no harm (LOL). That guy is immortal.
Hokuto: During the rehearsal of (Johnnys) Countdown a few years ago, the atmosphere was really tense but Jesse kept fooling around doing caricatures. His mental strength is no joke. That worked, and in the real take, (Domoto) Koichi-kun kept toying with him.
Kochi: He was really shy in the past, but after he turned 20 and started drinking, he turned into his current character. He is a crazy person who brings the energy level from the drinking place to work (LOL).
Shintaro: Jesse’s clothing is flashy, and he also jokes around with the staff in restaurants. He’s full of entertainment for the entire day…To me, he is the most Johnnys-like existence.
Juri: He went, “I ate at the place Maruyama-kun is a regular at recently. Please tell me your contact info”, to Kanjani 8’s Maruyama-kun whom we met by chance in the waiting room. He used such an absurd pretext to get close to him (LOL).
Legends of Shintaro (Shinchan)
Jesse: When we were juniors, Taiga and Shintaro would frequently quarrel and Shintaro would often cry. Although he was a prince-like existence among the juniors, he was unexpectedly a crybaby (LOL).
Taiga: During the Jr era, he appeared on shows like “Tetsuko’s Room” and “SMAP x SMAP” when he was a primary school student. He was really like a living legend. Because he was so far ahead of me, he was a puzzling existence.
Hokuto: When we were younger, I was practising acrobats and ended up landing wrongly. Shintaro got angry and told me, “Don’t try to do something so dangerous!” Even though what he said was right, he was being a really impertinent kid, right? (LOL).
Kochi: From the time when he was a primary school student, he would stay over at senpais and kouhais’ houses, and I had the image of him rarely going back home. It must be because he is naturally someone who “loves people”
Juri: During the recording of “The Shounen Club”, Shintaro gave Higashiyama (Noriyuki)-san the nickname “Yuki-pon”. It’s a legend that surprises all the senpais (LOL).
- ViVi May 2022 -