12 November 2011

KinKi Kids, It's Not What You Think

Members: Domoto Tsuyoshi & Domoto Koichi 

(from left to right) Domoto Tsuyoshi & Domoto Koichi


Don’t let the names fool you. The Kinki stands for the prefecture the members are from and while they have the same last name they aren’t related to each other, even though Domoto is not a common surname.

KinKi Kids is technically the first Kansai group to debut from the agency, as Kinki is in the Kansai region, but are not usually considered as such as they joined the agency back when all Juniors lived in a dorm in Tokyo. Before debuting they went through a lot of name changes starting with Johnny’s Kansaigumi, Domoto Brothers, WDomoto, KANZI BOYA to finally Kinki Kids that eventually standardized the spelling of the group to KinKi Kids.

As a Junior duo they did pretty much everything together. They both were in popular dramas together as Juniors and even held a solo concert at the Nippon Budokan in 1994. Then in 1997 they debuted with Garasu no Shounen, which debuted at #1 on the Oricon chart and sold over a million copies, which only Kondo Masahiko had done before. They also released their first album the same time as their debut single and it also ranked #1 for its debut and sold more than million copies eventually.

The duo has a Guinness World Record for having every single since their debut rank #1 for its debut week and attained it with their thirteenth single. This was the first time a Japanese musical artist attained a Guinness World Record. As of 2011 this record stands at thirty-one singles with the closest runner up being one of Johnny’s other groups, KAT-TUN, who are at sixteen.

KinKi Kids also hold the distinction of being the first Johnny’s group to be on an agency owned record label, Johnny’s Entertainment.

They have been hosts of several different programs together. Currently they are hosts of the popular Shin Domoto Kyodai variety program, which is a talk and music based program.

Domoto Tsuyoshi is known for his singing skills and talent in music. He has gone under a few different names for his solo music works, which he pens all himself, from Endlicheri Endlicheri to 244 Endli-x until finally going to Tsuyoshi for his most recent work . In 2011 he released an album, NIPPON, in Europe. His solo material tends to be rock orientated and not really mainstream.

Domoto Koichi is known the prince of the agency and for his dance skills. His birthday s January 1st so during Johnny’s Countdown, the annual countdown concert for all the debuted Johnny’s groups, he usually gets his birthday well wishes from the other groups when it officially become January 1st. Every year he stars in a musical, Shock (the name is changed slightly every year but Shock is always a part of it). He has had the oppurtunity to create a couple of Junior groups, KAT-TUN and J-Support (later called K.K.Kity), and for the latter he even wrote a song for, Private Hearts.

(from left to right) Domoto Tsuyoshi & Domoto Koichi


TRIVIA: Nakai Masahiro was the one that gave them the name KinKi Kids after the duo became regulars on one of SMAP’s variety programs.

During their debut year they were selected to be main personalities for NTV’s 24-Hour Television event.



Next Entry > Arashi, Storming to the Top




Directory >
Introduction
Johnny’s Juniors, full of rising stars and heartbreak
The Early and Rocky Path to Fame
Kondo Masahiko: Singer, Dancer, Actor, Professional Race Car Driver
Giving a New Meaning to Playzone, Shounentai
Hikaru Genji, Shining the Brightest and Crashing the Hardest
Otokogumi, Rocking It Old School
The Living Legend of SMAP
TOKIO, From Spaceships to the Over 30s World
Victory, Volleyball, Vegetable, Vicylce? V6
KinKi Kids, It's Not What You Think
Arashi, Storming to the Top
The Inseparable Duo, Tackey & Tsubasa
North, East, West, South ... It's big NEWS
Kansai Underdogs,  Kanjani∞
Cartoon? KAT-TUN!
Jumping to Their Dreams, Hey! Say! JUMP
Johnny's Black Sheep, Akanishi Jin
How to Debut Without Even Trying, Ikuta Toma
Kis-My-Ft2, Everybody Go (Roller Skating)!
Yamashita Tomohisa, Johnny’s Golden Boy
Entering the Sexy Zone
The 5Stars A.B.C-Z
International Ventures
Johnny's and Charity 
Odds & Ends

2 comments:

Ani2 said...

When I first heard of Kinki Kids and that both are called Domoto, I seriously thought they are brothers ^^
Well, they´re not "kids" anymore either but nobody cares lol
But anyway, I like this duo, both are really talented I think.
Even though Tsuyoshi´s singing is excellent and Koichi is apparently very successful with SHOCK.
There are lots of older songs which I like of Kinki Kids.
I hope those two will stay successful for a long time!

Thennary Nak said...

I think they're really talented too and I'm happy they have all the success they do. Like you I hope it continues for a long time as well.