21 January 2012

Kis-My-Ft2, Everybody Go (Roller Skating)!

Members: Kitayama Hiromitsu, Senga Kento, Miyata Toshiya, Yokoo Wataru, Fujigaya Taisuke, Tamamori Yuta & Nikaido Takashi

(L to R) Nikaido Takashi, Tamamori Yuta, Senga Kento, Fujigaya Taisuke,
Yokoo Wataru, Kitayama Hiromitsu & Miyata Toshiya
Their name is pronounced Kiss-my-foot-two and just like KAT-TUN the letters of the name correspond with the first letter(s) the last names of the members, the 2 comes from the ‘Ni’ in Nikaido being the same kanji as the number 2.

The group was formed in 2005 with two Junior groups, Kis-My-Ft and A.B.C. Jr. being merged to create Kis-My-Ft2 as an eight member unit. They kept the image of Kis-My-Ft by having roller skating during their performances being a main feature, akin to Hikaru Genji. Also like Hikaru Genji they had an age split with the four oldest members and the four youngest. They lost their ‘I’ not long after being formed, and one of the older members, and have been a seven member group since.

They were one of the main Junior groups for a while but it was not until 2008 did their popularity really begin to take off. They held a joint concert with A.B.C-Z that year and in 2009 followed up with a solo national tour. Since then they have had a national tour every year. In 2010 they had a digital single debut with their two signature songs, Firebeat and Inori.

In February of 2011 at one of their concerts they received the news that they would be debuting in the spring of that year during an MC break during the concert. That date ended up being pushed back though as the next month the March 11th earthquake and tsunami hit Japan and it would have been ill-fitting to debut while the country dealt with the initial aftermath of the disaster.

Finally in August Kis-My-Ft2 released their debut single, Everybody Go. The song was the theme song of the J-drama Ikemen Desu Ne, which starred Tamamori Yuta and Fujigaya Taisuke. The single was the third highest debut for a Johnny’s group behind KAT-TUN and Kinki Kids. Since their debut they have released their second single and will be releasing a third single and their debut album in the spring of 2012.

Kitayama Hirosuke is the oldest member of the group and his group color is red. He is also one of the two lead vocalists of the group. He is known for being able to fall asleep anywhere at any time, but is terrible at waking up. Even though the group does not have a leader Kitayama tends to act like an older brother for the other memebers. While he was a Junior he attended Asia University and graduated in 2008.

Senga Kento is the youngest member of the group with blue being his group color. Before joining Johnny’s he was active in national dance competitions and is the strongest dancer of the group, even choreographing dances for the group. He tends to get lovely picked on by others because he does not always read the atmosphere and can be airheaded.

Miyata Toshiya is the biggest dork of the group and is known for being the goofy one. He is actually very kind which the other member recognize and appreciate. He is a fan of manga and anime and has a bit of a reputation of being a geek from that. He attended and graduated Kokushikan University. His group color is purple.

Yokoo Wataru is one of the older members of the group and is known for being tidy, so much that he will even clean up after his group mates. He is also known for being one of the most mature and reliable members of the group. He can play the guitar and does so whenever the group performs their song Smile. His group color is orange.

Fujigaya Taisuke is one of the lead vocals of the group and his group color is pink. He has been in J&A the longest having joined in 1998. He admires Tanaka Koki from KAT-TUN because of his rapping and like Koki writes and performs his own raps. He is one of the more active members when it comes to acting and is one of the more popular members of the group for this.

Tamamori Yuta is one of the members being pushed with acting roles. He made his acting debut in 2009 in the Gokusen 3 SP and in 2011 he starred in his first drama, Ikemen Desu Ne. He sees himself as a shy person and the other members have mentioned that he was the last member of the group to warm up to everyone. His group color is yellow.

Nikaido Takashi is known to be the brat of the group and enjoys playing pranks. He is known for being direct with his thoughts and words, even when it comes to sempai. He is also known for doing imitations that his fellow group members praise him for. He is a scaredy-cat despite being known as a troublemaker. His group color is green.


TRIVIA: While they debuted after KAT-TUN, Kis-My-Ft2 was the first of the two that covered the departure of one of their members by having the ‘Ki’ in Kitayama’s name be the ‘Ki’ in Kis-My-Ft2 back when Junior Iida left, much like how Kamenashi’s ‘Ka’ became the ‘KA’ in KAT-TUN when Akanishi Jin left.

It was reported that they had another song lined up for their debut song but after March 11th it was decided they would change it to a song more appropriate with an uplifting message.

Kitayama went to the same high school as Yamashita Tomohisa.




Next Entry >  Yamashita Tomohisa, Johnny’s Golden Boy




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

5 comments:

Natalie (DSQ) said...

Thanks for this post it is amazing!! I wonder is this the last one oer are you gonna do a special one for Sexy Zone/NYC since they both have jr in them but atill release stuff?

Thennary Nak said...

Thanks.

Well I still have Yamashita Tomohisa to do this Saturday and then I will wait to see what happens when A.B.C-Z have their debut release. If they and/or SZ get their own sections then they will get their own entries. If not I have a couple of posts that will lump the groups that don't really fit or it isn't really apparent what's going on with them yet.

Jay said...

I love to read your entries, but I don't comment because my english is still very poor to say what I really want to say. However, I came to understand very well when it comes to reading.

Kis-My-Ft2 is my favorite group along with Hey! Say! JUMP, that's how I got here.

*Sorry if I wrote something wrong*

Jay said...

I just wanted to tell you about a detail (and if you want you can delete this comment then), when you name the members at the beginning of this entry and describe each one, to Kitayama you wrote his name as "Hirosuke" instead of "Hiromitsu". Have you noticed?. I hope you not to take wrong this comment, since I don't know that intentions can be seen in english, just wanted to tell you if you hadn't noticed ^^

*Sorry for my bad english*

Thennary Nak said...

Thank you, I love it when readers comment. And I understand about being able to read in a language and not really knowing how to write.

Thank you for pointing out the mistake. I appreciate it when readers do so, as I may not realize I messed up otherwise and not be able to correct it.

Your English is fine. I had no problem understanding you and I am very glad you left your comments.