31 July 2010

SHOCK coming to the US? and Domoto Koichi new album

At the final performance of this year's Endless SHOCK musical, which stars Domoto Koichi, it was announced that Johnny's has plans to bring the musical to the U.S. by 2012. Also in 2012 the musical is planned to play in several different cities in Japan instead of only being in Tokyo as all the SHOCK musicals have been so far.

These are still in the planning phase though so there is little information about how the U.S. shows would work if they end up happening.

Also Koichi will be having a solo concert tour beginning on September 11th and ending on November 14th.

Tokyo Graph article. (English)


Also Koichi will be releasing a solo album on September 1st titled BPM. It will come in three versions, two limited editions with DVDs and a regular edition with two bonus tracks. The 1st limited edition will come with a DVD with about 90 minutes of video and is titled Best Performance and Music. The second LE will just have the performance of the song Solitary from the Endless SHOCK 2010 musical.


BPM [w/ DVD, Limited Edition/Type A] / Koichi Domoto


BPM [w/ DVD, Limited Edition /Type B] / Koichi Domoto


BPM [Regular Edition] / Koichi Domoto

TakiCHANnel coming soon.

Takizawa Hideaki seems to have been busy behind the scenes as it has been announced he will be producing webisodes featuring various Junior guests for a special webcast named TakiCHANnel.

The first full episode will launch on August 6th and every Friday after that will have a new episode. Currently there is an introduction video with Tackey and his first group of guests, Kis-My-Ft2. Kisumai will also be the guests for the first episode.

The official website for TakiCHANnel.

I have to say this has me very excited as it's another sign of progression from Johnny's in entering the digital market where everything seems to be heading these days. Not only that but like the Johnny's net videos this is also open for all regions so unlike TV programs international fans have easy access to the videos. Of course it also means that fans should also avoid ripping the videos from the site and uploading them elsewhere, especially since there is no need to do so. I'm sure Johnny's will pull this program if it occurs just as they will pull their other video service.

27 July 2010

Johnny's fall 2010 drama rumors

For a while I've been wondering whether or not to make a post for when the drama rumors come out and have finally decided to just go ahead and do so. I, of course, caution not to take these as things that are set in stone, hence why they are only rumors. For some seasons they've been pretty spot on but for others they've also been quite off so take it all with a gain of salt.

From the list
there are two dramas that are rumored to have Johnny's as leading actors. Of course to probably no one's surprise one of them is for a member of Arashi, this time it is Ninomiya. The other drama is for Nakayama Yuma who will be co-starring with actress Shinohara Ryoko.

TBA
Date: October 2010, Tuesdays 9.00 pm
Station: Fuji TV
Cast: Ninomiya Kazunari

Koganebuta ~ Ketsuzei o Kuraumonotachi
Date: October 2010, Wednesdays 10.00 pm
Station: NTV
Cast: Shinohara Ryoko, Nakayama Yuuma

I'm a bit surprised that Ninomiya is getting another drama with all his recent movie work but I guess Johnny's wants to keep him busy with acting if this rumor pans through.

I was much more surprised to see Nakayama on the list. I had been hoping that a Hey! Say! JUMP member get a drama for the Fall, but as I do like Nakayama I can't feel too heartbroken at the moment, especially with it all being rumor still.

Though it did make me wonder if this would mean we would be getting a new NYC or NYC boys single if Johnny's is in charge of the theme song. I think now that HSJ finally has an album I would be okay with that, though still would prefer more HSJ.

Of course I still haven't given up all hope of someone from HSJ to get a drama role as there are always supporting or guest roles. But as I've mentioned a few times already this is all just rumor right now and it'll still be a bit before the networks begin to make their official announcements.

26 July 2010

Memory lane and hoping for a bright future.

I've been going through my music DVDs and putting up PVs and various live performances up on my sevenload account. During this process I of course re-watched NEWS' Never Ending Wonderful Story concert DVD and found myself completely fangirl-ing over this live performance.

Link: NEWS - Kirameki no Kanata e live


It is so much cute overload from how the members of NEWS interact with their chosen Juniors, my heart pretty much melts every time I see Koyama leading Kyomoto Taiga by the hand around the stage. And then of course there's the novelty of seeing Hey! Say JUMP members in their Junior days when they were all so small.

Of course noticing that four of the six of the Juniors following a member of NEWS have debuted already it made me think about the other two, Morimoto Shintarou and Kyomoto. I think it's pretty much a given that MoriShin will debut at some point with how much attention Johnny's gives him. Kyomoto on the other hand doesn't seem to be such a shoe-in for debut. Though with this month's Shounen Club episode I believe it will be a terrible waste for him not to debut. His a capella of Sunadokei was surprising to me, in the best way possible of course. And he definitely made the most of what camera time he got during the Loveless performance showing that he has the makings of a heart throb as he's growing up.

Link: Johnny's Jr. - Sunadokei + Loveless 2010.07.09 SC


Seriously, if anyone at Johnny's knows what they are doing they'll make sure he's on track for a debut sooner or later. (And I'm personally hoping it'll be sooner.)

And as a special bonus, as I wasn't paying attention when making that clip, I have a music file (m4a) of the performance to share. Here's the mediafire link.

25 July 2010

A quick bit of Kis-My-Ft2 news.

From concert reports from the KAT-TUN concert yesterday it is being reported that Kis-My-Ft2 had an announcement to make at the concert. They will be releasing their first photo book sometime this fall.

As a fan of the group I'm really happy to hear this news, especially IIRC KAT-TUN also had a photo book released when they were still Juniors so it keeps Kisumai on track to follow their foot steps. And I hope they have a bonus CD or DVD with it, though I will still be happy with a regular photo book as well.

23 July 2010

Debut Speculation… A.B.C.-Z (as of 23 July, 2010)

I did not forget about doing other groups for this. You can check out my thoughts about Kis-My-Ft2’s chances at debuting here. Of course since then they got the Dwango CM and have Fire Beat and Inori on sale digitally so I’m more hopeful at the moment about their chances though the deadline I’ve set still stands.

The next group I’ve decided to speculate about is A.B.C.-Z as they just seemed like the natural choice with being paired up with Kis-My-Ft2 in the past and still are from time to time.

To tell the truth I never really thought A.B.C. was going to debut as a group. It wasn’t because they weren’t talented or didn’t put in the same if not more hard work than other Juniors and groups but rather because they just did not have that stand out quality when compared to other Junior groups. I felt that they were going to be a group that would eventually follow the path of groups like M.A. and M.A.D. and be professional back dancers and the ones the older Johnny’s groups use for their concerts and performances when they’ve stopped using the younger Juniors. Which I don’t think is a terrible thing as Yara from M.A. has proven in the past few years you can still be pretty active and visible even if your group didn’t debut.

Of course I kept out the Z for A.B.C.-Z in that because I think there is still a chance for Hashimoto Ryosuke yet to debut. Soon after it was announced that he was being added to A.B.C. (and I began to get over the loss of the short lived Top3) I began to theorize that he was added to this group to get more experience on stage and more training. Before he was good at singing and dancing for the most part but outside of that he seemed like a fish out of water. If you can hunt down pre-A.B.C.-Z Shounen Club clips where Hasshi has to just stand and speak you can easily see how uncomfortable he is at it. So it’s really amazing to see him look and act so confidant when he’s talking on stage now, especially as he’s now willing to let his cute and silly side show much more. And he can now do some acrobatics which I'm sure would be put to use to set him apart if placed in another group for debut.

Hasshi is also the right age to be debuted (I still find it hard to believe he’s the same age as Yamada Ryosuke), as long as Johnny’s doesn’t go for another ‘youngest group to debut’ record, which after Snow Prince Gasshoudan I hope they’ve gotten out of their system. But I see Hasshi being one of the older members in the next volleyball group. He does have a good fanbase and the group will need someone who knows what they’re doing onstage to help guide the ones that don’t have that much experience.

So I think as long as the group is A.B.C.-Z they will still get a good deal of the spotlight for a Junior group even with Johnny’s shifting to younger and fresher Juniors. But I think once Hasshi leaves they will soon begin to get harder to see as they begin to shift to do other things as M.A. does. I’m sure Tackey will always have something for them to do with his musicals, plays and concerts but I wouldn’t be surprised if eventually those are the main ways you can see them in a few years. But I see the members of A.B.C. in it for the long haul and while debut may pass them by they will not be without opportunities within the agency for projects as could be seen with Johnny's having them produce their own concerts as well as concerts for some of the other Juniors when Mori Mitsuko had to cancel her shows earlier this year.

22 July 2010

New V6 single and limited PLAYZONE 2010 single

There a couple of new releases that I know I need to catch up on so here is information for them both.

First up is the new V6 single, which is their first single after their album was released earlier in the year. It is a double A-side and comes in three versions, to be released on September 1st. The Jacket A limited edition has a bonus DVD with the PV for the title track only dreaming as well as footage from their concert this year in Kobe. Jacket B comes with a bonus CD with songs from the two sub-units of V6, 20th Century and Coming Century. The regular edition comes with two group tracks that are not available on the limited editions.

only dreaming / Catch [w/ DVD, Limited Edition / Jacket A] / V6


only dreaming / Catch [Limited Edition / Jacket B] / V6


only dreaming / Catch [Jacket C] / V6


The PLAYZONE 2010 single is of the main theme song of the show, Road To Playzone, and only comes in one version. It comes with a DVD that will have a Road To Playzone clip from the musical. It goes on sale August 18th and will only be on sale until December of this year.

Road To Playzone [CD+DVD] [Limited Pressing] / V.A.


Honestly I can't see why they're releasing this single. They have the track on the album that has already come out. The DVD with clips sounds nice but I wonder if it's getting released because there won't be an actual DVD release of PLAYZONE this year, which could be a possibility as it would not be the first time one hasn't been released. I guess only time will tell. Nakayama Yuma's role in the musical is really my main interest, especially since from reports A.B.C.-Z have pretty lackluster roles in it.

20 July 2010

Upcoming NEWS and Matchy tours

Johnny's net recently updated and they have information up about two tours for two of their acts.

The one I'm sure more people will be excited about is that NEWS will be having a two dome tour in September. They're only hitting up Osaka and Tokyo this time but after not touring together for so long I'm sure fans will be happy anyway, I know I am.

Now they only have to announce a new single to be released around the time of the concert and I'll be a perfectly content NEWS fan.

The other tour is for daisempai, Kondo Masahiko or Matchy, which is a national tour that will begin in September and end in December with dinner show performances in Osaka.

19 July 2010

25th poll results

I confess to being pretty stumped on what poll question to have next, which is why these results have taken so long to be posted. I did consider just dropping a poll for a bit but with the recent news I came up with a couple of questions that should get the polls back on track.

So without further ado, here are the results for 'Which HSJ concert should get a DVD release this year?'

SUMMARY 21

Spring concert, Don't care. 15

Winter concert 3

I honestly hope we get a SUMMARY concert this time around. I have the DVD of the first one and it is something a bit different than the usual concert so I think it would be nice for more people to be able to see it.

Now the next poll question will be 'When a group loses a member who do think you should support?' Of course this question isn't just about the most recent news as there have been other groups that have lost members, so feel free to treat it as a more general question about any Johnny's group that has and may one day lose a member for whatever reason.

17 July 2010

KAT-TUN looks to changing to KaT-TUN

Because I don't think news like this can really wait before it gets spread everywhere, but it looks like Akanishi Jin will be leaving KAT-TUN after all.

Even though I know I've speculated about him leaving after his solo concerts in the U.S. were announced this has taken me by surprise. But it being reported that Kitagawa Johnny himself announced it earlier today at a press conference. Of course earlier in the day it was just an announcement that the final decision will be made after Jin's current solo tour ended and that he just wouldn't be returning to the group for some time but more information has come out and it looks like it's actually rather likely that Jin will permanently be leaving the group this time around.

KAT-TUN is keeping its name intact much the same way Kis-My-Ft2 did when they lost Iida and Kitayama became the 'Ki', with Kamenashi Kazuya now being the 'KA' instead of just the 'K'. And they will also stay together as a group but now as a five man unit instead of their original 6 members.

Tokyo Graph article.

Personally this all seems unreal to me. Perhaps because I'm so used to KAT-TUN being 6 members as when I got into Johnny's Jin had already returned from the U.S. after hsi six month stay there.

There's also the fact that unless Jin has work, other than his current tour, in the U.S. I'm not sure if it would be a good business decision on Johnny's part to have him break away from the group. But maybe he'll try to release music in the U.S. or there was a rumor about him auditioning for a movie a while back so maybe that was a bit more than a rumor. Honestly Johnny's isn't very transparent so I guess all fans can do is wait to see what they have planned and hope for the best.

16 July 2010

Johnny's wants to hear from you.

On my daily visit to Johnny's net I discovered something that I felt was well worth sharing. On the main page for the site they have recently put up a video for PLAYZONE which shows a rehearsal of the ROAD TO PLAYZONE song. It is the full song instead of just a clip, but it's actually not the most exciting part for me.

What really took me by surprise, pleasantly I may add, is that underneath the clip there is a comment field where Johnny's net not only asks for feedback about it in both Japanese and English. In fact the entire comment form is bilingual in both Japanese and English. It also has options for you to put your country and city in as well.

If there is anything that can prove that Johnny's is aware of an international fanbase this is it. And I think it's great that they are letting non-Japanese fans have a say in something.

For those who may have trouble finding the video, as it has its own button to press I made screen cap and drew in arrows to show what you need to click for this to come up.


Of course I do hope if other foreign fans send in comments they do remember that this is mainly for feedback for the PLAYZONE video so they should at least say something about it instead of just asking for things like concerts in their country by other Johnny's artists alone. I think Johnny's would appreciate it. Also I'm sure the answers to Nationality and City will be enough to help them see where there might be enough interest to have their groups/talents go in the future.

15 July 2010

SMAP & Kanjani8 new singles up for pre-order

One piece of news I missed is the new SMAP single This is love scheduled to be released on August 4th. The title track is penned by Japanese group LOVE PSYCHEDELICO and the single will come in three versions.


This is love [Regular Edition] / SMAP


I really question the need for this version of the single as everything on it is on the LEs and I don't think a different jacket image is really worth buying a single for. Especially when there are less song track on the RE than on the LEs.

This is love [w/ DVD, Limited Edition / SB version] / SMAP


The LEs have three songs with karaoke tracks as well a DVD. The different versions seem a bit confusing though as it isn't really explained the difference between each but here is the SB version.

This is love [w/ DVD, Limited Edition / SS version] / SMAP


The SS version is pretty much the same except for the DVD content.


Also since last night the pre-order information for the new Kanjani8 single Life - Menomae no Muko e - is now out as well as full information about the release. This single will also come out in three editions.


Life - Menomae no Muko e - [Regular Edition] / KANJANI8


The RE will contain a bonus track not on the LEs and will have a making of photo booklet with the first press of the RE.


Life - Menomae no Muko e - [w/ DVD, Limited Edition / Type A] / KANJANI8


The first LE type is the usual DVD with PV and making of.

Life - Menomae no Muko e - [w/ DVD, Limited Edition / Type B] / KANJANI8


The second LE type has the continuation of the Prologue of Patch (#5-8) DVD.

13 July 2010

Kanjani8 drama theme song & Kis-My-Ft2 Dwango webpage

Sorry for being M.I.A. recently, I just haven't been feeling well. But I'm better now and I'll be working on catching up now.

First off is the freshest news, Kanjani8 will be doing the theme song for the GM Odore Doctor. This is the first time Kanjani8 are doing a drama theme song. The drama itself stars Higashiyama Noriyuki with Ohkura Tadayoshi also being a part of the cast.

While August 25th has been announced for the release date for the single there is no further information about it yet.

Tokyo Graph article.

Next is some news that has been floating around for a while, but as a part of the campaign with Dwango for Kis-My-Ft2 they have a website. They actually use photos of the group members on the site and advertise that there are downloadable version of the photos for those with Japanese cell phones. They have also listed the locations of advertisements in the Shibuya Station for fans to check out. You can also view the commercials on the website.

Kis-My-Ft2 Dwango website.

07 July 2010

New single for Tokio

Johnny's net has updated with information for a new single from Tokio. It will be released on August 11th and the title will be NaNaNa (Taiyou Nante Irane). Currently the title track is the only song with a known title.

While it will be another release with three different versions it's been changed up a bit so there is only one LE that will come with a DVD. That LE will only include the title track and a backing track of the song as well as the PV with the making of feature. The two other editions are a first press edition and a regular edition that will have the same two tracks as the LE as well as two different tracks for each edition.

I honestly thought it would an album for Tokio next but I guess a single makes sense with Nagase starring in a drama this season so I'm assuming this is the theme song for that.

EDIT: Found the cdjapan listings for the CDs already up for pre-order.


Tokio - NaNaNa (Taiyou Nante Irane)LE


Tokio - NaNaNa (Taiyou Nante Irane)1st Press


Tokio - NaNaNa (Taiyou Nante Irane)RE

02 July 2010

Kis-My-Ft2 star in CM and digital CD release

It has been announced that Kis-My-Ft2 will be starring in commercials for the digital music company, dwango, and will release two of their popular songs, Firebeat and Inori, with the service. The downloads will be available on July 5th but only as cellphone downloads through the dwango service.

Oricon article. (Japanese only)

As a big fan of Kisumai I can't help but feel giddy about this news. I know the last time I wrote about the debut chances of the group I felt there were slim without Johnny's doing something to get the group out there and this is definitely a start. As they don't really let other groups release full songs (I do believe digital sales for Johnny's songs are only partial ringtones at best) this is a big thing. Especially if the sales are good and Kisumai does well on the RIAJ (which is the sales chart for digital songs). Being able to claim to be the first Johnny's group to top the digital charts sounds like the kind of thing Johnny's would love to use to catch people's attention about a newly debuted group.

Not only that but this could also be a sign that Johnny's is getting ready to finally begin releasing music digitally so if Kisumai do well then perhaps it won't be much longer for already debuted groups to have their full songs released digitally.

Kinki Kids concert DVD

Kinki Kids will be releasing a DVD for their 2009-2010 tour last year for their album J on August 11th. It will come in two editions, a regular and a limited. The difference between the two though are minimal, a postcard for the regular edition and a 56 page booklet for the limited, though it is enough to make the limited more expensive than the regular edition.

KinKi Kids concert tour J [Regular Edition] / KinKi Kids


KinKi Kids concert tour J [Limited Edition] / KinKi Kids