Make Believe Mailer Vol. 26: SMAP To The Future
The biggest J-pop news of the week came right at the start of it, with talent agency Johnny & Associates announcing plans to launch their first official YouTube channel for their Johnny's Jr. stable of young talent. The agency, responsible for Arashi, KAT-TUN and a bunch of other acts that have haunted me in the Oricon Trail feature below, famously avoided the internet to a ludicrous degree, Yet that appears to be slowly changing. Maybe this happened because of the inevitable rise of online video over TV, or it's a bid to get some international love ahead of the 2020 Olympics, or maybe Johnny's really believes in the global potential of a boy band that roller skates. Whatever the reason, I do think this decision to dip their toes in the digital deep end comes because of the success of someone else.
The face changing J-pop.
Well, three other people — Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Shingo Katori. All of them were formerly of Johnny's marquee act SMAP, and all left the agency following the great SMAP-pening of 2016. After a period of silence, they re-emerged last fall with a 72-hour livestream event on online TV channel AbeMaTV, which found them working at McDonald's and wrecking shit, among other activities. It was a hit. From there, they launched new careers, which found each one of them venturing into a different corner of social media. One became an Instagram person! Another, a YouTuber! Weep for the last, who is a blogger.
So what turned the three SMAP members into a force that (almost certainly) prompted Johnny's to explore this little thing called "the internet?" Well, each one of them does a pretty great job at their respective online activity. At least, they bring a real palpable giddiness to just keep posting content, which gives their creations even more charm. They post almost every day, which would be annoying if they didn't seem so darn happy. And can you blame them? At Johnny's, they were basically forbid from having any kind of presence online. They might not have been able to even look in the general direction of a computer.
Kusanagi's dog is obviously a huge draw for me.
The irony, though, is all this intrigue in their lives only could truly happen because of Johnny's protective fog. Japan went decades only seeing a very crafted side of them, but suddenly they get the real (certainly crafted in some ways, but nothing like '90s SMAP) deal. It helps that they are genuinely inviting types of performers, and quick learners. But that curiosity goes a long way — imagine if Burial just decided to start a cooking show on Twitch one day.
Secrecy helped make people more interested in this moment, but new SMAP's success is ultimately a sign of a changing landscape, one where fans want to get looks at their favorite performers and where access is vital. The trio of entertainers didn't cook up anything new...but they showed how viable it was. And now even the staunchest agencies are coming around. At least, a little bit.
News And Views
An AKB48 member will co-star in a Mexican telenovela. And people say J-pop doesn't travel!
Seiji Ozawa will spend about a month in a Tokyo hospital due to cardiac issues.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of February 26, 2018 To March 4, 2018
A couple weeks back, I said Sekai No Owari's latest ballad would be the year's first real hit in Japan. Well that one is no slouch, Hoshino Gen delivered 2018's first J-pop success with "Doraemon," a ever-so-twangy take on his usual mid-tempo sound written for the newest Doraemon movie. It's as perfect a combination you could ask for, between arguably the most popular pop star going domestically and maybe Japan's most beloved robot cat. While on the topic of how artists use YouTube, peep Gen's clip. Note how smack-dab in the middle of it, he's put an ad for a live DVD. He does that for all his videos! He's learned a new benefit of using social media.
Perfume's GAME (33 1/3)
My entry in the 33 1/3 Japan series is out now! Get a copy at Bloomsbury or Amazon. To stick with the theme of this week's email, part of the book looks at how Perfume became one of the first J-pop acts to actually become big on the internet well before they found anything resembling mainstream success. While it took them a while to actually take advantage of that fact, online communities in the mid 2000s, really liked Perfume, and they were a hit on Japanese video site Nico Nico Douga.
Look At Me!
Talked to CHAI for The Japan Times. Great interview, and they offered a nice take on the concept of "kawaii." They are playing shows in California this week, and then they head to SXSW. Check 'em out.
Speaking of SXSW, wrote a little Sound Off on the changing landscape greeting Japanese acts.
Blog highlights: Half Mile Beach Club, Toiret Status and Oyubi.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
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