Kat Tun

KAT-TUN is a Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates (Johnny’s) in 2001. The group’s name is an acronym based on the first letter of each member’s family name until the departure of Jin Akanishi in 2010. As of 2010, KAT-TUN stands for Kazuya KAmenashi, 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.

History

2001–2005: Formation and pre-debut activities

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 supportKoichi Domoto in the NHK music program, Pop Jam. The eight members were switched around before it officially became KAT-TUN, with the current five members plus Jin Akanishi. 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 Okyakusama wa Kamisama – Concert 55man Nin Ai no Request ni Kotaete!! (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, KAT-TUN Live Kaizokuban (KAT-TUN Live海賊帆 lit. KAT-TUN Live: Pirate Sails), which topped the Oricon yearly chart for the best-selling DVD. At the 20th Japan Gold Disc Awards, Live Kaizokubanplaced on the Music Video Of The Year list.

2006: Debut and “Real Face”

On March 22, KAT-TUN released their debut single “Real Face”, accompanied by an album, Best of KAT-TUN and a DVD Real Face Film. These were released on their own label J-One Records. The group also went on a nationwide tour, Live of KAT-TUN “Real Face”, in support of the album. Within the first week, Best of KAT-TUN, “Real Face” and Real Face Film topped all three Oricon weekly charts by selling 556,548 copies, 754,234 copies and 374,202 copies respectively.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. It topped the Oricon weekly chart by exceeding 400,000 in sales.

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.

2007: Cartoon KAT-TUN II You

Under the same name as their second album, KAT-TUN started their second nationwide tour, Tour 2007 Cartoon KAT-TUN II You, still without Akanishi, on April 3. The next day, KAT-TUN began to host their own variety show Cartoon KAT-TUN, which aired every Wednesday from 11:55 p.m. to 12:26 a.m.

Akanishi returned to Japan on April 19 and officially resumed work activities on April 20. 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. The single hit number one on the weekly chart.

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.

2008: Queen of Pirates

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 tourdates, 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. The release consisted of a limited and regular edition, but both would only be sold during the holiday season. The single, with no drama tie-in and no B-side, still sold moderately well with more than 250,000 copies sold in its first week.

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.

2009: Break the Records: By You & For You

On January 1, it was announced that Kamenashi will continue starring in Dream Boys in September for thirty-eight shows. The stage show is expected to continue for six more years. In addition, KAT-TUN released KAT-TUN Live Tour 2008 Queen of Pirates DVD, featuring their last day of four in Tokyo Dome.

On February 11, KAT-TUN released “One Drop”. It became KAT-TUN’s ninth consecutive number one single since debut, selling 281,359 copies in its first week.

A month later, on March 11, KAT-TUN released “Rescue” for member Nakamaru’s drama, Rescue: Tokubetsu Kodo Kyujotai. It became KAT-TUN’s tenth consecutive number one single since debut, selling 322,597 copies in its first week. With this achievement KAT-TUN tied with NEWS for the second most consecutive number one singles from debut (Kinki Kids is number one with twenty-eight consecutive number one singles). A week after the release of “Rescue”, it was revealed through their official website that KAT-TUN would be releasing their fourth studio album.

On April 1, the title of the album, Break the Records: By You & For You, as well as the track list for KAT-TUN’s fourth studio album were released; the album itself released on April 29.

It was announced on January 23 that KAT-TUN would hold seven consecutive concerts at Tokyo Dome, Japan’s largest and most prestigious arena, making KAT-TUN the first artists in history to do so. However, by the end of March, due to the large number of pre-reserved tickets, KAT-TUN’s record breaking concert added extra tour dates. KAT-TUN’s 2009 concert scheduled eight consecutive days in Tokyo Dome from May 15 to the 22, three days in Osaka from May 29 to the 31, and two more days in Tokyo Dome from June 14 to the 15, for a total of thirteen concert performances in two cities, and ten days in total for Tokyo Dome.

Sales for KAT-TUN’s eight consecutive days in Tokyo Dome concert went on sale on April 4. On the very same day all 440,000 seats were sold out.

On the last of their eight days at Tokyo Dome, it was announced that KAT-TUN would once again embark on another summer tour of Japan starting from July 7.

It was reported on May 24 that Johnny Kitagawa was after the acknowledgment of KAT-TUN’s eight-day concerts at Tokyo Dome by the Guinness World Records company, for the record of the largest number of consecutive concerts at a stadium seating more than 50,000 spectators each day.

2010: International activities and Akanishi’s departure

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 will go on their first Asia concert tour as a five-member group while Akanishi will hold his own solo concerts in The United States, making him the first Johnny’s artist to perform solo in the United States.^[27] 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.

Johnny & Associates announced on July 17 that Akanishi would leave the group in late 2010 to pursue a solo career while the rest of the members would continue to work as a five-member group. On July 21, Akanishi himself confirmed through the official Johnny’s mobile site, Johnny’s Web, that he would leave KAT-TUN to focus on his solo career, although he had not appeared on any event to his fans until October.

KAT-TUN continues as a group of five. On August 28, the last day of their World Big Tour 2010, KAT-TUN revealed about 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. On October 13, KAT-TUN announced the release of their new single, “Change Ur World” which is 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.

2011: 5th Anniversary

The group announced a release of their 14th single on 2010’s 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 Johnny’s Juniors participated in this first event. The first event will be held at 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.

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 the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami victims.

It was announced in mid-June that members Kazuya Kamenashi, Koki Tanaka and Yuichi Nakamaru will star in this year’s Dream Boy musicals as the leads, shows will commence from September 3rd to 25th. This year’s shows will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the venue Imperial Garden Theater, and will also be the last shows for Johnny’s long-running Dream Boy musicals.

On September 8 2011, it was confirmed that KAT-TUN will 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 is scheduled to begin 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.