[Talk] Johnny's Artists and Labels

It is a common misconception that all Johnny's artists are under the same label. Johnny's Jimusho or Johnny and Associates is just a talent agency. The thing is, it wields great power over its artists and is so influential that it kinda clouded the labels.

Truth is, a large number of these so-called Johnny's groups are under an existing label not owned by Johnny Kitagawa.

SMAP, for one, is under Victor Entertainment, TOKIO is under Universal Music, V6 (and its subgroups) and Tackey & Tsubasa are under avex trax, Kanjani8 is under Teichiku/Imperial Records.

The others, however, are under labels that are very, very Johnny's related. For example, KinKi Kids (and the pair's solo activities) and NewS (and its related group Tegomass, and Yamashita Tomohisa's solo single.) are under Johnny's Entertainment (often mistaken for the name of the talent agency itself. - which is why I use the term 'Johnny's' and not 'JE' to describe the boys.) Arashi used to be signed under Pony Canyon but switched to the J-Storm label very early in their career, Hey! Say! JUMP is also under J-Storm. KAT-TUN is under J-One which is under um, J-Storm. Its complicated shit. I don't bother to delve deeper because I am having classes. Classes are tough shit.

The thing is, I predict that all their coming artists will be signed under their own label. They are going to harvest the profits themselves. I would.

Anyways, I was taking a shower just now and I finally understand why HSJ members got to debut so young.

There is a growing tween market in Japan. There is a demand for a tween MALE idol group. (I am aware that lots of female tweens are being placed under the spotlight earlier on. But that is because females expire quick, so they put them out there before they reach puberty. By the time they do, they'd have expired. They like them young, you see.) Yes, and before HSJ, the youngest debuted Johnny's would be Tegoshi. Tegoshi is my age. Meaning, Tegoshi is old. A younger group would lock on to the younger fans, securing the bread and butter for the next 20 years. By throwing them out there young, they would have a longer shelf life. Yes, by the time they expire, they would have laid a lot of golden eggs, the fans would be more loyal if they watched the artists grow.

And frankly, no non-Johnny's group can match the exposure of Johnny's groups. The group that came the closest to actually being wildly successful is W-inds. Ah... I wonder what happened to them. Last I heard, they are still going. I wouldn't have known.

Now there is Tohoshinki. They are selling more and more. But, they are outsiders nonetheless. So it would be hard.

Oh well.

[PV] Kanjani8 - Wahhahha

Why am I not excited like I am supposed to be? Going back to class is like being thrown back to earth, being forced to be grounded. I am so grounded right now, I spent the whole afternoon reading about the format war between Blu-Ray and HD DVD, VHS and Betamax and retrieve my knowledge on economics, not because I have to, but to improve what little general knowledge I have, which is very little. Sigh, life is hard. But when I used to watch these Johnny's idiots prancing around, it made life seem simple, you know? It made everything brighter and problems go away for a while. That is what this is for me. I watch their shows to forget about my life. And its good.

I am thinking about subscribing to business magazines and stuff. Yes, instead of those idol magazines, business magazines. That is all that is on my mind this past week, one week back to class and I have changed this much. But no worries, I still need a hobby. This place will be updated. Because Arashi is an antidepressant. But its Kanjani8 right now.

Okay, the first "WAHHAHHA" shout that the boys did at the beginning, shocked me for a bit. This is the first time I have seen Ohkura (on screen, that is) in weeks, since he is busy with Shock and all, he hasn't been appearing on shows. Its not a bad video. In fact, if you want me to choose between "Step and Go" (CHEAP), "LIPS"(LAME), "Taiyou no Namida"(BORING) or this. I would say this is the most entertaining. They also show you the different types of smiles. The lyrics encourage you to smile. Its a good song. When the three mentioned above kinda disappointed me (as compared to their respective groups' previous releases) this one is good. Its not as gay as "Its My Soul", it just shows the 7 guys cleaning what appears to be a public bath.



I like Hina's, Subaru's, Ohkura's and Ryo's hair. Yoko should have just kept Seishiro-hair. Err, that last shot of Yasu in his bee costume, and the cutesy smile he flashed. He should come out of the closet. I mean, its totally fine, you know? Maruyama... err, err, well, he is just being Maru... although I would recommend a haircut.

The song is not bad. In fact its quit good, especially the chorus, though the other parts aren't as catchy. I bet the boys had fun making the video. Its all-in-all a good video. Not as expensive as KAT-TUN's, presumably. But then they don't rake in as much profit as KAT-TUN. However, it would be smart to try and make them sell more by actually taking a risk and invest a bit more. I know Kanjani8 started out doing enka, their target market was initially fairly small. Their success story is an interesting one and they have indeed taken over more than the Kansai region. But I can't help wondering if they were given a bigger budget and a different marketing strategy, would they have exceeded KAT-TUN.

KAT-TUN had their vibrator microphones, NewS had their fake rain, Arashi had their highspeed whatever camera, all Kanjani8 has are brushes - yet they still managed to make a more entertaining video than the rest, IMO. Teichiku is the label that Kanjani8 is signed under, I went and checked out their list of artists, MAYBE THEY SHOULD INVEST MORE ON K8 BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY SELL.

[Utaban] NewS - Taiyou no Namida

28 February 2008

NewS on Utaban cannot hold a candle to Arashi on Utaban. Mostly because Arashi is crack and would do anything they are asked to despite damaging their image in the process. Pi had problems saying "Oi" in a sissy manner while the other members obeyed, though unwillingly.

Its kinda boring if idols get full of themselves and start to pick and choose what to do, what not to do and are really careful about their image. Sorry to say. I am wondering why are these younger groups so full of themselves when groups like V6, Arashi, TOKIO and KinKi Kids are still able to make fun of themselves, look funny and be total idiots for their jobs? I mean, their job is to entertain fans. Period. And although acting like the prince in shining armour does charm some fans, most fans just wanna see idiotic behavior from them. Yes, we do.

This is when I say, I am impressed at Tegomass for being so cooperative with Utaban staffs and Shige too! xD The "Oi" from Tegoshi is hilarious. Ryo's was funny, even though quite unwilling. Pi just refused to do it by stopping halfway.

Anyways, caps.



Performance

The performance was better than M-Sta's or Heyx3's. Mainly because it is pre-recorded and because there are no live audience. Koyama was more... bearable. No rain this time around.

xD

Oh yeah, and my life currently is in the pits. If there is a Degree in Fangirling offered, I'd so excel. But sadly, life is mundane and so are the courses offered. xD

Oh, Arashi.