KAT-TUN: История японской бойз-группы

Japanese boy band

KAT TUN (カトゥーン) is a Japanese boy band formed under Smile Up (formerly known as Johnny & Associates) in 2001. The group's name was originally an acronym based on the first letter of each member's family name: Kazuya Kamenashi, Jin Akanishi, Junnosuke Taguchi, Koki Tanaka, Tatsuya Ueda, and Yuichi Nakamaru. Their debut on March 22, 2006, was marked by a tripartite release of a CD single, album and music DVD on their exclusive record label J One Records. Since then, all of their single, album and music DVD releases have debuted at number one on the Oricon music and DVD charts. In 2010, Akanishi left the group to start a solo career, making the group's acronym then come from Kamenashi, Taguchi, Tanaka, Ueda, and Nakamaru, and the group toured with five members. In 2013, Tanaka's contract was terminated for several violations, leaving KAT TUN as a four man ensemble, and Tatsuya Ueda took the T to keep the acronym. By the end of March 2016, Taguchi left both the group and the agency, leaving KAT TUN with only three remaining members.

Before becoming KAT TUN, each member belonged to different trainee units within Johnny & Associates. In 2001, eight members were chosen to become a temporary dancing unit in order to support Koichi Domoto in the NHK music program, Pop Jam. The eight members were switched around before it officially became KAT TUN, with the current three members plus Jin Akanishi, Koki Tanaka and Junnosuke Taguchi. Although the formation was only meant to be a temporary support unit, KAT TUN gained a great deal of attention and became a solid unit. In 2002, in response to many requests, KAT TUN held their first concert called 3=Okyaku sama wa Kami summer Concert 55man Nin Ai no Request ni Kotaete!! (2=お客様は神サマーConcert 55万人愛のリクエストに応えて!! ), for which 550,000 people tried to get tickets. That same year, they performed eleven shows in a single day. This is the current record in Japan for the most performances in one day. Since then, KAT TUN has held concerts in Japan almost every season. In 2003–2004, their popularity rose to that of a debuted group, to the point where they performed on Music Station multiple times before debuting. In 2005, KAT TUN released their first major DVD, 3=KAT TUN Live Kaizokuban (2=KAT TUN Live海賊帆), which topped the Oricon yearly chart for the best selling DVD. At the 20th Japan Gold Disc Awards, Live Kaizokuban placed on the Music Video Of The Year list. They became the second artists to do so, the first being Ayumi Hamasaki. With these numbers, KAT TUN holds the record for the highest weekly single debut sales (previously held by Arashi with their debut single "Arashi" of 557,000 copies sold in 1999). In addition, "Real Face" topped the Oricon charts for three weeks straight, becoming the first debut single to do so in Japan in 8 years 8 months since KinKi Kids' debut single "Garasu no Shōnen." The single sold over a million copies in nine weeks, making "Real Face" the highest selling single for the year 2006. In March 2006, KAT TUN became the first group to hold their own performances in Japan's most popular stadium, Tokyo Dome, before debuting. They performed to 110,000 people over two days and about 630,000 people in total during the tour. About three months after releasing "Real Face", KAT TUN released their second single, "Signal", on July 19. On October 12, member Akanishi announced a hiatus from the group in order to study linguistics abroad in the United States, leaving KAT TUN as a five member group for six months. The remaining members continued activities by releasing their third single, "Bokura no Machi de" as the theme song to members Kamenashi and Tanaka's drama, Tatta Hitotsu no Koi and their second album, Cartoon KAT TUN II You on December 7. KAT TUN is the first group in Japan to have all three singles from debut to exceed 500,000 in yearly sales, taking first, fifth and thirteenth place on the Oricon yearly singles chart. Akanishi joined the rest of KAT TUN during their tour on April 21 in Sendai for the encore, marking his official return to KAT TUN. On June 6, KAT TUN released their fourth single, "Yorokobi no Uta", as the theme song to Tanaka's drama, Tokkyu Tanaka 3 Go. On November 21, they simultaneously released their fifth single, "Keep the Faith", as the theme song to members Akanishi and Taguchi's drama, Yukan Club, and the DVD to their Tokyo Dome Live of KAT TUN "Real Face" concert. The DVD marked their fifth consecutive release topping the Oricon musical DVD chart, and set the opening week record for the year. KAT TUN took the annual number one position on the Oricon musical DVD charts for the third time in a row with the release. After KinKi Kids, KAT TUN is the second artist to have all singles since debut to exceed 300,000 in sales during their first week.

KAT TUN released 'Lips', the theme song to Kamenashi's drama based on the manga One Pound Gospel, as their sixth single on February 6. The single topped at number one on the Oricon charts. KAT TUN released their seventh single "Don't U Ever Stop" on May 14, which topped the weekly Oricon chart. On May 15, during the MC segment promoting "Don't U Ever Stop" on Music Station, Kamenashi announced that two shows had been added to their Tokyo Dome tour dates, resulting in a total of four consecutive days at the Dome. This marked a historic event in the Dome's history, as KAT TUN became the first Japanese artist to hold four consecutive days at the stadium since it opened in 1988. Other Japanese artists, such as SMAP, X Japan and Ayumi Hamasaki have had three consecutive days at the Dome. The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson have played multiple days at the Dome, but they were not consecutive. On June 4, KAT TUN released their third album, KAT TUN III: Queen of Pirates. On December 3, KAT TUN released "White X'mas", their first Christmas single. On December 21, it was announced that KAT TUN would release a new single "One Drop" as a tie in theme song to Kamenashi's new drama, Kami no Shizuku, just two months after their "White X'mas" single. The release consisted of three versions: Limited Edition w/DVD, Regular Edition (First Press) and a Regular Edition.

On February 10, KAT TUN released their first single since March 2009, which was used for Kamenashi's live action drama adaptation of Tomoko Hayakawa's manga series Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge, which premiered January 15 on TBS. The single, "Love Yourself (Kimi ga Kirai na Kimi ga Suki)", debuted at number one on the Oricon weekly singles chart, resulting in KAT TUN's eleventh consecutive number one single since their debut. It became KAT TUN's first single to sell more than 350,000 copies in its first week since the May 2008 release of their single "Don't U Ever Stop", which sold more than 381,000 copies in its first week. On March 24, Johnny & Associates announced that KAT TUN would go on their first Asia concert tour as a five member group while Akanishi held his own solo concerts in the United States, making him the first Johnny's artist to perform solo in the United States. KAT TUN is set to have their Asia Tour from early May to late August and although the majority of the concerts will be held in Japan, KAT TUN will also be heading to Bangkok on July 31, Seoul from August 6 to 7, and Taipei from August 27 to 28; other sources say that a Hawaii concert is also being considered. Due to his absence from KAT TUN's Asia concert tour and single promotions, Akanishi did not participate in the recording of KAT TUN's twelfth single "Going!" set for release on May 12. Due to the political unrest in Thailand, Johnny & Associates announced on May 15 that KAT TUN's concert in Bangkok would be indefinitely postponed. KAT TUN released their first 2010 album, No More Pain, on June 16 in two versions: a limited and regular edition that both include solo songs by each member. The limited edition contains thirteen songs and a bonus DVD with the PVs and making of's the album's songs while the regular edition contains a bonus track. although he had not appeared on any event to his fans until October. KAT TUN continued as a group of five. On August 28, the last day of their World Big Tour 2010, KAT TUN revealed their 2011 tour plan to celebrate their fifth anniversary by performing at industrial complexes in five cities in Japan and expanding its overseas tour to five different countries including Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, China, and Hawaii. The Hawaii concert would make them the first Johnny artist to hold a concert in Hawaii. The World Big Tour is where former member Tanaka Koki gave the name "hyphens" to the fans, saying that the fans unite KAT TUN together. On October 13, KAT TUN announced the release of their new single, "Change Ur World", which was KAT TUN's 13th single and the first single after Akanishi's official departure, was released on November 17. The single debuted at number one on the Oricon weekly singles chart for selling 230,829 copies, resulting in KAT TUN's thirteenth consecutive number one single since their debut plus all of their 13 singles sold over 200,000 copies in the first week. On December 29, KAT TUN released KAT TUN NO MORE PAIИ WORLD TOUR 2010 DVD, featuring their last day in Japan leg of their successful World Big Tour 2010 at Kyocera Dome and more concert footages from their Korea and Taiwan legs.

The group announced a release of their 14th single on 2010s Christmas Eve, "Ultimate Wheels" on February 2, 2011, along with a tie in CM of Suzuki Solio car that the group endorsed. On January 6, KAT TUN announced its plan of KAT TUN Live Tour 2011 during May to October. The tour includes the 5 big dome tour at Sapporo Dome, Tokyo Dome, Nagoya Dome, Yahoo Dome in Fukuoka, and Kyocera Dome in Osaka and a special live event in Kawasaki on July 17–19. KAT TUN will become the fourth Johnny group to be able to conquer the 5 big domes in Japan after SMAP, KinKi Kids and Arashi. After October, the group will start their Asia Tour that includes Thailand, Taiwan, and Korea. "Ultimate Wheels" became their 14th straight No.1 single since their debut. The total number of copies sold in the first week was over 180,000 copies, reported by Oricon. Early March, KAT TUN announced three new songs in three days, including "Perfect" for Kamenashi's new Aoki TV commercial, "White" for a Sofina commercial, and "Diamond" as the theme song of NTV telecasts of Yomiuri Giants baseball games. It was announced on March 29 that Johnny's Company would start a new charity project called Marching J, a fundraising project for the Tohoku earthquake victims. The first part of the project started as an event held from April 1 through April 3. From the company, SMAP, Tokio, KinKi Kids, V6, Arashi, Tackey and Tsubasa, NEWS, Kanjani8, KAT TUN, Hey! Say! JUMP and some of Johnny's Juniors participated in this first event. The first event will be held in Tokyo, in front of the first Yoyogi gymnasium. Groups took turns according to their schedule and will have a talk session in front of the fans, also calling out for donations for the earthquake victims. And due to this disaster, all the planned events to celebrate KAT TUN's 5th debut anniversary were canceled. On May 18, KAT TUN's 15th single, "White", was released with "Perfect" as its coupling song. By this time, they also announced another two new songs, "Cosmic Child" for a Wing TV commercial, and "Run For You" for a New Suzuki Solio commercial. On May 29, KAT TUN with all its five members joined another Marching J project, "Johnny's Charity Baseball Tournament" with other Johnny artists and juniors at Tokyo Dome, in which the ticket sales would be donated for Japan's earthquake and tsunami victims. It was announced in mid June that members Kazuya Kamenashi, Koki Tanaka and Yuichi Nakamaru would star in this year's Dream Boy musicals as the leads, shows will commence from September 3 to 25. On September 8, 2011, it was confirmed that KAT TUN would host a new TV show titled KAT TUN no Zettai Manetaku Naru TV, their first show since Cartoon KAT TUN ended in March 2010. The new show began airing on October 18 on NTV. During the broadcast of the first episode, it was revealed that the show will only air for a limited time until the end of December 2011 with a total of 10 episodes. On September 30, 2011, KAT TUN announced their 17th single "Birth" as the soundtrack to Kamenashi Kazuya's drama "Youkai Ningen Bem" would have been released on November 30. "Birth" became their 17th straight No.1 single on the Oricon's weekly chart since their debut.

KAT TUN began their new year with an extreme special TV show titled KAT TUN no Sekaiichi Dame Yoru Ni, a one off show broadcast on the night of January 1 on TBS. A few weeks later they announced the release of their sixth album, titled Chain, scheduled for release on February 22. On January 13, KAT TUN endorsed the mobile game site Entag which used KAT TUN's album track "Smile for You" as the commercial song and the first ever KAT TUN animation, "Ai wa KAT TUN", voiced by KAT TUN themselves, was launched on The Entag site for a limited period. On February 11, they kicked off their nationwide tour "KAT TUN Live Tour 2012 Chain". This tour covered 12 cities, including Sendai. The tour started in Niigata and will end in Sendai. They will become the first Johnnys group to perform in the affected areas after the earthquake and tsunami disaster. Music Station presented on Jan 13 with a special report for the 'Most Powerful Group BEST 20' which listed the Top 20 most powerful groups of all time in terms of physical single and album sales, KAT TUN was listed at number 16 with their five year debut, 17 singles and 5 albums, together they have sold over 8,450,000 records. Music Station hints to this ranking included the debut single 'Real Face' which became 2006's number 1 selling single and how they managed to hold 8 consecutive concerts at Tokyo Dome. Among the groups in Top 20, KAT TUN is apparently the newest group on the list. KAT TUN's 6th studio album, "CHAIN", reached No.1 on Oricon album ranking on March 5, making them the first male artist in history to have six consecutive No.1 albums ever since the debut. KAT TUN broke the record for the first time in 24 years and 10 months. On March 8, it was announced that the second episode of KAT TUN no Sekaiichi Dame Yoru Ni will be aired on April 3. Official confirmations for the upcoming 2012 shows for Johnny's long running Dream Boys musicals were released, and once again member Kamenashi reprises his role as the main lead for the musical. According to confirmation, the shows will begin in September. On April 20–22, KAT TUN performed at Tokyo Dome as parts of their LIVE TOUR 2012 CHAIN tour. According to news reports, KAT TUN's original idea "Flash Tree" spotlights was introduced for the first time in Johnny and also Tokyo Dome's 25m moving stage was the longest in Johnny's history. On June 27, KAT TUN released its 18th single To The Limit, which was used as a tie up song for Suzuki Solio Bandit CM. On June 29 Music Station reported that KAT TUN ranked as No.10 best selling Heisei era's idol with the total sales of 6,661,293 copies from 17 singles. In early August it was announced that KAT TUN's Sekaiichi Dame Yoru Ni TV special will be turned into a regular show due to the success of the previous 2 special episodes. The regular show was renamed KAT TUN Sekaiichi dame na yoru! and began airing on August 24 on TBS. KAT TUN's 19th single "Fumetsu no Scrum" which was used as the theme song for Kanjani8 member Yasuda Shota's drama Dragon Seinendan, was released on September 12 and sold around 157,000 copies within its first week of release, this gives KAT TUN their 19th consecutive #1 single since their debut in 2006. In November, KAT TUN achieved their 9th consecutive no.1 music DVD, and 8th no.1 overall DVD with their live DVD, "KAT TUN LIVE TOUR 2012 CHAIN TOKYO DOME." The latter achievement puts them at 3rd place among male groups who have done the most no.1 overall DVDs in history after B'z and Mr. Children.

"Expose" sold 155,000 copies in the first weeks. With this single, their number of consecutive singles topping the chart has reached 20. KAT TUN is the second artist to top the singles chart for 20 consecutive singles since the debut. It was only achieved by their senior KinKi Kids 8 years and a month ago with “Anniversary”. In October 2013, Koki Tanaka was removed from the band and the talent agency for having violated his contract, leaving KAT TUN as a four man ensemble. The mini album "Kusabi" was released on November 27, 2013, on J Storm. The title track "Kusabi" was used as the theme song for the drama Henshin Interviewer no Yūutsu starring KAT TUN member Yuichi Nakamaru and actress Fumino Kimura, while "Gimme Luv" was used in a Suzuki Solio Bandit television commercial. "Kusabi" debuted at the number one spot top the Oricon weekly album chart, selling approximately 168,000 copies in its first week of release. The album is KAT TUN's seventh consecutive album to achieve number one, putting them in a tie with singer Hikaru Utada for most consecutive album number ones in Oricon chart history. "In Fact" was their 22nd single released on June 4, 2014, under the label J One Records. The title track "In Fact" was the main theme song for the TV drama series "First Class". In Fact debuted at the number one spot top the Oricon weekly single chart, selling over 146,000 copies in its first week of release. With this, KAT TUN achieved their 22nd consecutive No.1 with their 22nd single. On June 25, "Come Here" album was released and KAT TUN became the first artist in history to have 8 consecutive No.1 albums since debut according to Oricon.

"Dead or Alive" was released on January 21, 2015, and it debuted at the number one spot on the Oricon weekly single chart, selling over 192,000 copies in its first week of release. With this, KAT TUN has then achieved their 23rd consecutive No.1 with their 23rd single. They are currently behind KinKi Kids who are with 34 consecutive No.1 singles since debut. On November 24, 2015, before their performance at Best Artist, Junnosuke Taguchi surprised the audience by announcing that he had decided to quit not only KAT TUN but also from Johnny's Entertainment and that he would retire from the industry by Spring the following year.

KAT TUN released two more singles as a four member group—"Tragedy" on February 10, 2016, followed by "Unlock" on March 2, 2016, both of which had reached number 1 in Oricon chart in their first week. A compilation album entitled "KAT TUN 10th Anniversary BEST 10Ks" and a 3 Dome Tour entitled "KAT TUN 10th Anniversary Live Tour 10Ks" were announced by the three remaining members through their official website. They also announced that the group activities of KAT TUN will be on a temporary, indefinite hiatus (or so called "recharging period") starting on May 1, 2016, as each member focused more on their solo projects and works. KAT TUN 10th Anniversary Best "10Ks" album was then released on March 22, 2016 (the same date with their debut album released back in 2006) and has reached number 1 in the Oricon chart in its first week. On August 17, 2016, KAT TUN released the DVD for KAT TUN 10th Anniversary Live Tour "10Ks!” and it reached the number one spot in the Oricon Chart as well. While the group activities are temporarily on hold, each member had their own individual projects, apart from the regular TV programs where they were regulars individually. All had been part or starred in different dramas, movies and theatrical plays and all three also had the chance to perform in a concert and stage shows. On January 1, 2018, on the annual Johnny's Countdown, a big surprise had been announced and that KAT TUN had finally resumed their group activities. The group sang their debut song, "Real Face", which was then followed by their song "Ask Yourself", the main theme song for Kamenashi's drama. After the performance, the group also announced that concert dates had been decided, which would be happening on April 20–22, 2018. The group later announced they would be releasing Cast on 18 July, their first original album in four years. On July 31, 2019, KAT TUN released their ninth full album, Ignite.

In January 2021, NTV drama 'Red Eyes: Kanshi Sousa han' premiered on January 23, starred Kamenashi. The title of the theme song was "Roar", and it's a song about one's determination to keep walking towards the future even though the present is ambiguous and has no correct answer. The single was released on March 10 as KAT TUN's first single in three years. To commemorate the 15th anniversary of debut, KAT TUN embarked on their nationwide tour '15th Anniversary Live KAT TUN' on March 20 at Yoyogi National Stadium First Gymnasium (Tokyo), and wrapped up on June 9 at Marine Messe Fukuoka, 22 performances in 7 cities. Their live tour was later released through DVD and Blu ray on November 24, which feature footage from the group's concert on May 29 at Pia Arena MM. On September 8, KAT TUN announced double sided A side single "We Just Go Hard" (featuring AK 69), the single was the image song for NTV's broadcast of professional baseball Dramatic Baseball 2021 as well as the theme song for NTV's 'Going! Sports & News'. Meanwhile, "Euphoria" as the theme song for Bishounen's drama The High School Heroes that premiered on July 31. In February 2022, KAT TUN announced the release of their digital single "Crystal Moment", as the theme song for NTV's coverage of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the rap lyrics were written by Arashi's Sho Sakurai. For the first time in about two and a half years, KAT TUN announced the release of the 10th full album Honey. Two songs, "Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" and "Sting", are the lead songs, with the album released on March 29. They also held "KAT TUN Live Tour 2022 Honey" from April 1 to June 4, via eight locations. On February 15, 2023, “Fantasia” album was released following KAT TUN's "Honey" released in March 2022. "With the theme of "genreless", it is a work that collects songs of various genres. Contains 15 songs including DIRTY LUV, Wild Rose, Love Lots Together, and others.

The group has had three different radio shows, each hosted by different members and all have aired for several years. Former members Jin Akanishi, Koki Tanaka and Junnosuke Taguchi hosted KAT TUN Style together from April 2006 until March 2012. Yuichi Nakamaru and Tatsuya Ueda hosted R One KAT TUN every Tuesday from 12 am – 12:30 am. Kazuya Kamenashi had his own radio show called Kamenashi Kazuya Kase by Kase until it ended on September 20. He has a new radio show called Kamenashi Kazuya Hang Out and currently airs every Saturday from 10:20 am – 10:50 am. Taguchi Junnosuke also had his own radio show called "Tag tune driving" and a radio show together with Yuichi Nakamaru called "KAT TUN no Gatsūn" from April 2012 and ended in March 2016.

As a group, KAT TUN has appeared in Koichi Domoto's Shock musical, Summary of Johnnys World with NEWS and Ya ya yah and Johnny's long running Dream Boys musicals from 2004 to 2006. Since 2004, member Kazuya Kamenashi has played the lead role in Dream Boys musicals consecutively each year, after senior Hideaki Takizawa handed down the role to Kamenashi. Kamenashi and fellow KAT TUN member Koki Tanaka paired up to play the lead roles for the shows held in 2007 and 2008. The pair collaborated once again as the leads for the 2011 shows alongside fellow KAT TUN member Yuichi Nakamaru. The 2012 shows for the musical began in September, and once again Kamenashi reprised his role as the lead for the musical.

Since their first concert in 2002, granted after overwhelming numbers of fan requests to Johnny's, KAT TUN regularly holds concerts during almost every season of the year in Japan. This has helped them gain more popularity with their fans. It was considered remarkable for a Johnny's group which had not yet officially debuted to be able to hold its own concerts. KAT TUN was the first Japanese artist to perform for four days in a row at Tokyo Dome during their Queen of Pirates tour. The following year, they broke their own record becoming the first artists ever to perform for eight consecutive days at Tokyo Dome during their Break The Records: By You & For You 2009 tour. Now, Johnny & Associates submitted this new record to Guinness Book of World Records for KAT TUN to be recognized as the Japanese boy band who broke the records in Tokyo Dome performances. The group (excluding Jin Akanishi) held their biggest ever concert tour in 2010 titled KAT TUN NO MORE PAIИ WORLD TOUR 2010 which consisted of concerts in many major cities across Japan. The tour also included concerts held in Taiwan and Korea; the first time the group has ever toured outside Japan for their official concerts. Although during their pre debut years, KAT TUN had on several occasions toured overseas with their senior groups, while they were still Johnny Jrs. Their nationwide tour for 2012 titled KAT TUN LIVE TOUR 2012 CHAIN began in Nagiita on Feb 11, they toured 12 cities across Japan including Sendai; which was one of the worst affected areas by the Tohoku earthquake & tsunami disaster back in March 2011.

KAT TUN regularly appeared in TV commercials to endorse for NTT docomo, SKY PerfecTV!, Rohto and Lotte from 2005 to 2009. Since 2010, member Kazuya Kamenashi endorses Panasonic's Lamdash shaver and DOLTZ electric toothbrush, and AOKI 3D slim suits. Kamenashi also endorses KIRIN's 'Gogo no Kocha' tea since March 2012, and is endorsing SOURS Gummies since early 2013. Since early 2011, the group together has endorsed Suzuki's 'SOLIO' car, and has sung commercial theme songs for Sofina and Wing products. The group are also currently endorsing the mobile game site entag!.

On August 26–27, 2006 KAT TUN members were the main personality supporters for the NTV telethon 24 Hour Television: Love Saves the Earth charity program.