Jpop

Being amateurish is what makes SMAP such pros. NHK’s “The Professional” profiles, through interviews and situational coverage, people who are notable for their dedication to some craft or business vision.

The series grew out of “Project X,” the very popular documentary series about Japan’s industrial breakthroughs of the past, and is meant to spotlight innovators and creative types who are currently operating. Last week, the series featured SMAP, which may sound like a joke. Though the five-member boy band is the most famous pop act in Japan, their professionalism is not directly linked to their singing and dancing abilities; and the program made it clear that SMAP’s success, both as a group and as individual stars, has nothing to do with capability. Because they appear on TV so often, the five men, ranging in age from 34 to 39, have occasionally admitted that they know they aren’t talented.

They're fey, maybe not gay, but anyway, the 'talent' are coming out to play. It’s been more than 9 months since this column last looked at Johnny’s Jimusho, Japan’s most powerful talent agency, and in the meantime a lot has happened to the young male charges of reclusive company president Johnny Kitagawa.

For one thing, these charges, or at least some of them, are no longer young, which could be seen as a problem for an agency whose mission is to provide Asian females with pulchritudinous boys to gawk at and fantasize over. Notification You’ve reached your story limit as a non-registered user. To read more, please sign up or log in via one of the services below. This will give you access to 15 additional stories this month. Aramatheydidnt: ABSOLUTELY HEART-ATTACK INDUCING PHOTOS HAVE LEAKED FROM KODA KUMI'S TOURBOOK OMG!!!! Omg!

Koda Kumi's tour pamphlet for the DEJAVU TOUR 2011 have leaked!!!!!!!! WATCH OUT THIS POST IS HOT!!! Only the highest quality photoshop for the most flawless diva on the planet tbqh! This is the way i love you. - [Translation] Johnnys-net KKL Uwasa. Continuing the KKL-themed translation from: These are the rumours.

Best taken with a big pinch of salt and sense of humour. =D Some very vague ones have been skipped. =P Also, a lot of these came up during the period KinKi insisted that they did not meet up privately, so they brought up seemingly small things whose point was simply to counter that statement. Notes: - I didn't verify the authenticity of any of these. . - These are summaries, only a few parts were direct translations. . - (Bracketed) are the original poster's comments. . #5-30 | #142In 1995 KinKi went to Hawaii for 'Get The KinKi' photoshoots. . #6-32KinKi were spotted at a mall carpark about to go home after shopping. #6-33Kouichi was seen taking a long-haired daschund [referring to Kenshirou] out for walks. #6-34On radio, Tsuyoshi said he wanted to buy a bigger TV set to play games on. 芸能界の裏の顔. Adult Content Notice. There’s been a big jump in the popularity of the already much-followed Korean pop music (or K-pop) in Japan over the past year—a trend that’s being attributed to ‘cooler,’ more talented (thanks to a more vigorous training regiment) and more individualistic Korean female pop groups, especially compared to their Japanese counterparts.

I recently spoke to Robert Michael Poole, CEO of Something Drastic International Music Promotion and Tokyo editor at CNNGo, about this phenomenon. Poole follows K-pop closely and has interviewed some of the country’s biggest acts, including 4Minute, 2NE1 and Brown Eyed Girls, and has also worked with Big Bang. Who are the Japanese fans of K-pop? Attending K-pop shows in Japan, I’ve noticed that the majority of the audiences are young girls, not boys. This can be seen as a pop culture reflection of actual social trends. So, Korean girl groups appeal to increasingly independent young women in Japan as role models, while local acts aren’t cutting it anymore? Néojaponisme » Blog Archive » The Jimusho System: Part One. Each country or cultural region has a uniquely-structured industry responsible for producing, promoting, and distributing the products that make up what we consider “pop culture.”

In the case of Japan, there is a single organizational category most responsible for the form and content of pop culture: the artist management company, called colloquially jimusho (“office.”) The jimusho wield a powerful cultural influence on all fields that require performers — television (variety and drama), advertising, music, modeling, gravia, and films. I will argue in this series that much of the content produced in these specific fields conforms to the business needs of artist management companies much more than it is created in response to audience desires. The opposite is also true: Non-jimusho controlled fields such as manga and indie music have enjoyed much more freedom of expression.

Part I – What are the Jimusho? Japanese jimusho, on the other hand, hire their talent as salaried workers.