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SMAP
SMAP (Japanese: スマップ, Hepburn: Sumappu) was a Japanese boy band, composed of Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori. The group was created in 1988 by music producer Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Johnny & Associates, originally as a six-piece with Katsuyuki Mori, until his departure from the band in 1996. The name stands for "Sports Music Assemble People". After making their debut in 1991, the group took the Japanese entertainment industry by storm, becoming one of the most successful boy bands in Asia. The group is often referred to as a "national treasure" and a "fortune and property of the country" in Japan.
SMAP was regarded as an iconic group in Japan, after achieving an unprecedented level of success in numerous genres in the entertainment industry, including music, television, film, radio, and theater, as a group and individually. SMAP was credited for changing the Japanese entertainment and music industry, in terms of prolonging longevity of boy bands and broadening careers by creating new opportunities for bands that followed. After starting out as a typical boy band, with a fan base predominantly of female teens, they gradually transformed into a band with a wider audience, expanding their fan base to preteens, male adults, and even the elderly, after their success as actors and television personalities.
SMAP released 55 singles, all of which reached the top 10 in the charts, 22 consecutive number-one singles, and 33 number-one singles in total. The band has had 24 top-10 albums and 14 number-one albums. "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana", released in 2003, is the best selling single in the 21st century and the third best selling single in Japanese history and has become the most recognized song in Japan,[citation needed] as it appears in text books used in school and children are taught to learn the song at a young age. Other best selling singles by the group include, "Beyond the Night Sky", "Lion Heart", "Shake", "Aoi Inazuma", which also have become some of the most popular songs in Japan. Throughout their career, the band has sold over 38.5 million records in Japan alone.
In April 1996, the group launched their weekly variety show, SMAP×SMAP, which quickly gained high ratings and became one of the most famous television shows in Japan. The distinct format of the program has received widespread critical praise. The show ranked No. 1 in the annual household share ratings in 1996, 1997, 1999–2002, 2006, and 2016, making it the most watched television show in Japan. The episode that aired in January 2002 is currently ranked No. 7 for the most watched Japanese variety show in history, with 34.2 million viewers. It is the eighth longest-running prime-time television program in Japan, as of 2016.
SMAP officially disbanded on December 31, 2016.
In 1986, Masahiro Nakai (age 14), auditioned to enter Johnny & Associates, a Japanese talent agency that recruits and trains young boys, preteens to teens, to become singers and members of boy bands. Later, in 1987, Takuya Kimura (age 15), Goro Inagaki (age 14), Katsuyuki Mori (age 13), Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (age 13), and Shingo Katori (age 10) auditioned individually and joined the agency. In Autumn 1987, twenty boys, from ages ten to seventeen, were put together into a group called The Skate Boys, which was initially created as backup dancers for a famous boy band, Hikaru Genji. In April 1988, producer Johnny Kitagawa chose six out of the twenty boys to create a new boy band and named them "SMAP".
While the group continued to work as backup dancers for Hikaru Genji, they spent their early years as actors and television personalities. In 1988, they starred in a weekly variety program, Watto Atsumare, with Masataka Itsumi and Cha Kato and appeared regularly until the program ended several months later. In 1989, they started to host their own music show, Uta no Big Fight and Pop City X, as well as appearing regularly on a variety program, Idol Kyowakoku, from 1989 to 1991. In 1988, SMAP made their acting debut in a drama television series, Abunai Shonen III, playing themselves as the main role. Their first self-titled variety program, SMAP no Gakuen Kids, aired from 1990 to 1991.
On January 1, 1991, the band held their first concert in Nippon Budokan and their first tour from March through April, before releasing any music. On September 9, 1991, they released their first single, "Can't Stop -Loving-" from Victor Entertainment, which peaked at No. 2 on the charts. Subsequent singles, "Seigi no Mikata wa Ate ni Naranai", "Kokoro no Kagami", "Makeru na Baby" peaked in the top 10. The band asked the fans to write the lyrics for "Kokoro no Kagami", and the one submitted by a fourteen-year-old girl was chosen. The song was later used in a Panasonic television commercial. They were invited to perform the song at Kohaku Uta Gassen, an annual music show, on December 31, 1991.
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SMAP
SMAP (Japanese: スマップ, Hepburn: Sumappu) was a Japanese boy band, composed of Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori. The group was created in 1988 by music producer Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Johnny & Associates, originally as a six-piece with Katsuyuki Mori, until his departure from the band in 1996. The name stands for "Sports Music Assemble People". After making their debut in 1991, the group took the Japanese entertainment industry by storm, becoming one of the most successful boy bands in Asia. The group is often referred to as a "national treasure" and a "fortune and property of the country" in Japan.
SMAP was regarded as an iconic group in Japan, after achieving an unprecedented level of success in numerous genres in the entertainment industry, including music, television, film, radio, and theater, as a group and individually. SMAP was credited for changing the Japanese entertainment and music industry, in terms of prolonging longevity of boy bands and broadening careers by creating new opportunities for bands that followed. After starting out as a typical boy band, with a fan base predominantly of female teens, they gradually transformed into a band with a wider audience, expanding their fan base to preteens, male adults, and even the elderly, after their success as actors and television personalities.
SMAP released 55 singles, all of which reached the top 10 in the charts, 22 consecutive number-one singles, and 33 number-one singles in total. The band has had 24 top-10 albums and 14 number-one albums. "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana", released in 2003, is the best selling single in the 21st century and the third best selling single in Japanese history and has become the most recognized song in Japan,[citation needed] as it appears in text books used in school and children are taught to learn the song at a young age. Other best selling singles by the group include, "Beyond the Night Sky", "Lion Heart", "Shake", "Aoi Inazuma", which also have become some of the most popular songs in Japan. Throughout their career, the band has sold over 38.5 million records in Japan alone.
In April 1996, the group launched their weekly variety show, SMAP×SMAP, which quickly gained high ratings and became one of the most famous television shows in Japan. The distinct format of the program has received widespread critical praise. The show ranked No. 1 in the annual household share ratings in 1996, 1997, 1999–2002, 2006, and 2016, making it the most watched television show in Japan. The episode that aired in January 2002 is currently ranked No. 7 for the most watched Japanese variety show in history, with 34.2 million viewers. It is the eighth longest-running prime-time television program in Japan, as of 2016.
SMAP officially disbanded on December 31, 2016.
In 1986, Masahiro Nakai (age 14), auditioned to enter Johnny & Associates, a Japanese talent agency that recruits and trains young boys, preteens to teens, to become singers and members of boy bands. Later, in 1987, Takuya Kimura (age 15), Goro Inagaki (age 14), Katsuyuki Mori (age 13), Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (age 13), and Shingo Katori (age 10) auditioned individually and joined the agency. In Autumn 1987, twenty boys, from ages ten to seventeen, were put together into a group called The Skate Boys, which was initially created as backup dancers for a famous boy band, Hikaru Genji. In April 1988, producer Johnny Kitagawa chose six out of the twenty boys to create a new boy band and named them "SMAP".
While the group continued to work as backup dancers for Hikaru Genji, they spent their early years as actors and television personalities. In 1988, they starred in a weekly variety program, Watto Atsumare, with Masataka Itsumi and Cha Kato and appeared regularly until the program ended several months later. In 1989, they started to host their own music show, Uta no Big Fight and Pop City X, as well as appearing regularly on a variety program, Idol Kyowakoku, from 1989 to 1991. In 1988, SMAP made their acting debut in a drama television series, Abunai Shonen III, playing themselves as the main role. Their first self-titled variety program, SMAP no Gakuen Kids, aired from 1990 to 1991.
On January 1, 1991, the band held their first concert in Nippon Budokan and their first tour from March through April, before releasing any music. On September 9, 1991, they released their first single, "Can't Stop -Loving-" from Victor Entertainment, which peaked at No. 2 on the charts. Subsequent singles, "Seigi no Mikata wa Ate ni Naranai", "Kokoro no Kagami", "Makeru na Baby" peaked in the top 10. The band asked the fans to write the lyrics for "Kokoro no Kagami", and the one submitted by a fourteen-year-old girl was chosen. The song was later used in a Panasonic television commercial. They were invited to perform the song at Kohaku Uta Gassen, an annual music show, on December 31, 1991.