SMAP
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SMAP is a Japanese "idol" group, formed by Johnny & Associates. Originally, there were six members in the group; current members are Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Goro Inagaki and Shingo Katori. Their musical debut was in 1991. Since then they have released many CDs, three of which have been sold more than a million. Recently, the interval of releasing single CDs is becoming relatively long, approximately once a year. The members of SMAP have also starred in many television variety shows, dramas, commercials, and movies. Their fanbase mostly consists of Japanese women.
HistorySMAP was first formed in 1988, though their début single came in 1991. The letters “SMAP” officially stand for "Sports and Music Assemble People". SMAP originally consisted of the current five members plus Katsuyuki Mori (森 且行 Mori Katsuyuki?), who left in May 1996 to pursue a career in auto racing. SMAP was started as an idol group by Johnny & Associates, a talent agency specializing in teenage boys. The SMAP members met each other in 1987 and were called "Skate Boys". They were backup dancers for Hikaru Genji, which was a popular idol group at the time. In 1988, they formed SMAP. Nakai, the oldest, was appointed the group's leader. Their début in 1991, in a time when there weren't many music programs, was not immediately successful. Of all of Johnny's groups, SMAP was the least popular. In August 1991 a Saint Seiya musical sponsored by Bandai, was shown in the Aoyama theater in Tokyo, Japan. The story recalls the Sanctuary and Poseidon chapter, starring the members of SMAP as the 5 bronze saints and Poseidon. Since SMAP was so unsuccessful, Nakai asked Johnny's office to let SMAP have a variety program to make people laugh with their unique personalities. The program was called "I Love SMAP" (愛ラブSMAP ai rabu SMAP?, a pun as the first character also means "love"). Through this program, SMAP slowly gained popularity. 1993 was a year of opportunities for SMAP. They had a hit single, and SMAP member Takuya Kimura was in a TV drama called "Asunaro Hakusho", in which he played Osamu Toride, a shy boy. Asunaro was a big hit and Kimura's popularity soared. At the same time, SMAP also provided the opening ("Egao no GENKI") and ending songs for the anime Hime-chan's Ribbon, and Tsuyoshi Kusanagi appeared in multiple episodes both as himself as the voice of a regular character. SMAP also recorded the opening song, "Kimi Iro Omoi", for the anime Akazukin Cha Cha, and this time the youngest member, Shingo Katori, lent his voice for the whole show as the young strong werewolf, Riiya. After that, SMAP members starred in movies both individually and as a group, and SMAP continued to release new hit singles composed by professionals. Their song "Yozora no Mukou" was mentioned in some Japanese textbooks. In 1996, SMAP started their own variety program called SMAP X SMAP (also called S x S or SmaSma). On S x S, they cook, perform in comedy sketches, play games, sing, dance, and so on. As "an idol group that does anything", they began starring in a wide variety of programs ranging from live stage to music, dancing, hosting other programs, acting in movies, commercials, etc. In 2000, NTT East produced two animated and two live-action television commercials for their ISDN service featuring a more updated version of the anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. The live action commercials featured some of the members of SMAP in Gatchaman costumes. In 2001, Inagaki was involved in a traffic altercation. There were allegations of wrongdoing on his part, and he briefly retreated from the public spotlight. However, the ultimate result of the incident was to put SMAP in the public eye once more. Inagaki has since made a comeback, and starred in a 2004 drama about a fictional Japanese investment banker killed in the events of September 11. In 2003, SMAP leader Nakai was identified as the highest tax payer of any entertainer in Japan by the Japanese National Tax Bureau [1]. That same year, he was involved in at least four television shows simultaneously, in addition to commercials. There were speculations that SMAP would disband following Takuya Kimura's announcement of his marriage and Goro Inagaki's traffic altercation in 2001. Although they did not release even a single in 2004, the popularity of SMAP is still strong. This is reflected in the charts, where both their latest album and a recent single (017 SAMPLE BANG! and BANG BANG! バカンス!) topped the respective daily charts just moments after their release, although it did not become the annual top. MembersAll of the members of SMAP have acted in numerous television dramas, variety programs commercials, and movies, but each also cultivates a distinctive image and personality. Image:AyumiHamasaki livesmap.jpg
The SMAP, Takuya Kimura performing $10 (Ten Dollars) with Japanese superstar Ayumi Hamasaki , February 2007.
MusicSMAP has released over thirty singles, and three of them, "Yozora no mukou" (夜空ノムコウ "Beyond the Night Sky"?), "Lion Heart", and "Sekai ni hitotsu dake no hana" (世界に一つだけの花 "A Flower Unlike Any Other in the World"?), have sold more than two million copies each. Image:Sekaini.jpg
Sekai ni hitotsu dake no hana became SMAP's best selling single and also for the year of 2003
"A Flower Unlike Any Other in the World" was very popular in Japan more than a year after its release in 2003 and sold over two million copies. It was the only single selling over a million copies that year, a year that saw CD sales declining due to the Japanese economic slump. This song was selected as the Space Shuttle Discovery crew wake-up call in August 2005, on STS-114 Flight Day 13. The song is about individuality, and since it became a hit fame during the lead up to and aftermath of the 2003 Iraq war, some seemed to perceive it as a plea for peace. The song made it to No. 1 on the Oricon 2003 Yearly Singles Top 100. A line from the end and beginning of the song, "NO.1 にならなくてもいい もともと特別な Only one", roughly translated, "You don't have to become the best. You're special to begin with, the one and only (you)", was made reference to on some occasions. The music and lyrics of the song were created by Noriyuki Makihara, a popular Japanese singer and songwriter. Although SMAP did not release a new song in 2004, it held the #1 spot for the first few weeks into the year and finished the year on the #11 spot. SMAP was invited to perform in Kouhaku that year, but they refused for the second time since 2001 because all the individual members had so many commitments that year, such as movies and dramas, that they wanted to rest. In retrospect, 2004 was a year that did not have a single million-selling CD. "Arigatou" (ありがとう "Thank You"?) was SMAP's 40th single, and was released on Oct 11th,2006. It is an expression of thanks in honor of the 15th anniversary of SMAP's debut. Singles
Albums
ActingImage:AyumiHamasaki livesmap2.jpg
Japan's Ayumi Hamasaki dubbed “The Empress of JPop" as a special guest at "SMAP x SMAP", February 2007.
Their variety program "SMAP x SMAP" shows several types of entertainments ranging from cooking, comedy, and games to singing and dancing, often with celebrity guests, including celebrities like Will Smith, Ayumi Hamasaki, Michael Jackson,Utada Hikaru, David Beckham, Tom Cruise, The Backstreet Boys, Sheryl Crow, Richard Gere, and Kwon Sang Woo, though most guests are Japanese tarento ("talents"). At the beginning of 2004, Kimura and Kusanagi each starred in a drama show ("PRIDE" and "Boku to Kanojo to Kanojo no Ikiru Michi" or "The Way We Live", respectively) both the high-rating dramas of the season. Inagaki sang the song for "Boku to Kanojo to Kanojo no Ikiru Michi". (Initially, the fact that Inagaki was singing the song was kept a secret, but after numerous fans called Fuji TV, it was revealed to the public.) A film Kusanagi starred "Yomigaeri" was considered to be a hit in 2003. Other projectsBesides singing and acting, the group also manages to be active in numerous other forms of media fields as well. Besides their weekly variety show SMAPxSMAP, the individual members are also currently regulars/hosts on the following shows: Nakai Masahiro: Inagaki Goro: Kusanagi Tsuyoshi: Katori Shingo: Kimura Takuya: In the year 2003, three of the books ranked in the year's best selling 10 books were released by SMAP: Kimura's "First Essay(Kaihou-ku "open area")", Katori's "English Berabera", and also Katori's "Diet Shingo". In 2002, the group released a soft drink called "Drink! SMAP" in order to promote a CD of the same name. SMAP was also chosen to be official spokespersons for Square-Enix's popular Dragon Quest series of role-playing video games.[citation needed] External links
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