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| CATEGORIES ABOUT SMAP | |
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SMAP is a very popular until the present time (as of 2006 ), showing incredible longevity for a manufactured group. They produce not just numerous hit singles, but also star in numerous Television Variety Show s, '' Drama s'', Commercial s, Movie s, etc. They are almost unrivaled in their immense popularity among younger, and especially female, Japanese. HISTORY SMAP was first formed in 1988 , though their debut single came in 1991 . SMAP officially stands for the English words "Sports and '''M'''usic '''A'''ssemble '''P'''eople". SMAP originally consisted of the current five members plus Katsuyuki Mori (森 且行) who left in May 1996 to pursue a career in Auto Racing . SMAP was started as an idol group by the famous "Johnny & Associates", a conglomerate known for its "cute boys only" policy. The SMAP members met each other in 1987 and were called "Skate Boys." They were backup dancers for Hikaru Genji (光GENJI), which was a popular idol group at the time. In 1988, they formed SMAP. Nakai, the oldest, became the group's leader. Their debut in 1991, in a time when there weren't many music programs, was not immediately successful. Of all of Johnny's groups, SMAP was the least popular. Since SMAP was so unsuccessful, Nakai asked Johnny's office to let SMAP have a variety program to make people laugh with their unique personalities. The program was called "I Love SMAP." Through this program, SMAP slowly gained popularity. 1993 was a year of opportunities for SMAP. They had a hit single, and SMAP member Takuya Kimura was in a ''dorama'' called 'Asunaro Hakusho," in which he played Osamu Toride, a shy cute boy. Asunaro was a big hit and Kimura's popularity soared. At the same time, SMAP also provided the opening ("Egao no GENKI") and ending songs for the anime Hime-chan's Ribbon , and Tsuyoshi Kusanagi appeared in multiple episodes both as himself as the voice of a regular character. After that SMAP members starred in movies both individually and as a group, and SMAP continued to release new hit singles. Their song "''Yozorano Mukou''" is now in some Japanese textbooks. In 1996 , SMAP started their own variety program called SMAP X SMAP (also called S x S or SmaSma). On S x S, they cook, perform in comedy sketches, play games, sing, dance, and so on. S x S has been one of the most well-known TV programs in Japan since it started. The members of SMAP did things on the show that Japanese celebrities had never done on television before, steering Japanese television in new creative ways and creating even more publicity and popularity for the group. As "the super idol group that does anything", they began starring in a wide variety of programs ranging from live stage to music, dancing, hosting other programs, acting in movies, commercials, etc. In 2001 , Inagaki was involved in a traffic altercation. There were allegations of wrongdoing on his part, and he briefly retreated from the public spotlight. However, the ultimate result of the incident was to put SMAP in the public eye once more, which only increased their popularity. Inagaki has since made a comeback, and starred in a 2004 drama about a fictional Japanese investment banker killed in the events of September 11 . SMAP members are said to be the most famous stars in Japan. Though a comparison to American groups like The Backstreet Boys is not entirely musically inaccurate, even at the peak of their popularity, no American Boy Band has come close to the pervasiveness of SMAP. To give a sense of the popularity (and ubiquity) of SMAP, note that in 2003 , SMAP leader Nakai was identified as the highest tax payer of any entertainer in Japan by the Japanese National Tax Bureau {Link without Title} . That same year, he was involved in at least four television shows simultaneously, in addition to commercials. There were speculations that SMAP would disband following Takuya Kimura's announcement of his marriage and Goro Inagaki's traffic altercation in 2001. Although they did not release even a single in 2004, the popularity of SMAP is still strong. This is reflected in the charts, where both their latest album and a recent single (017 SAMPLE BANG! and BANG BANG! バカンス!) topped the respective daily charts just moments after their release. MEMBERS Singing is only a small part of the reason for SMAP's current fame. All of the members of SMAP have acted in numerous television dramas, variety programs commericials, and movies, but each also cultivates a distinctive image and personality.
MUSIC SMAP has released over thirty singles, and three of them, ''Yozora no mukou'' (夜空の向こう; "Beyond the night sky") , "Lion Heart" and ''Sekai ni hitotsu dake no hana'' (世界に一つだけの花; "The only one flower in the world"), have sold more than one million copies. This especially impressive considering that the Japanese market has only two-fifths the population of the US, and SMAP's audience is mostly domestic. "The only one flower in the world" was still very popular in Japan more than one year after its release in 2003 and sold over two million copies. It was the only single selling over a million copies that year, a year that saw CD sales declining due to the Japanese economic slump. Its popularity (no doubt prompted by the presence of Soichi Noguchi ) led that song to be selected as the Space Shuttle Discovery crew wake-up call in August 2005, on STS-114 Flight Day 13. The song is about individuality, and since it gained fame during the lead up to and aftermath of the 2003 Iraq War , many saw it as a plea for peace. The song made to the number 1 on the Oricon 2003 Yearly Singles Top 100. A line from the end and the beginning of song, NO.1 にならなくてもいい もともと特別な Only one "You don't have to be the best. You're the only one in this world and special as you are," became especially famous in Japan. Singles
Albums
ACTING Their variety program "SMAP x SMAP" is notable for showcasing their wide range of talents with segments ranging from cooking, comedy, and games to singing and dancing, often with celebrity guests, even Western ones like David Beckham , Sheryl Crow , and Richard Gere , though most guests are Japanese ''tarento'' ("talents"). Almost every season for the past few years, you can see at least one drama on TV with a member of SMAP starring in it. At the beginning of 2004, Kimura and Kusanagi each starred in one, both the most popular of the season. Kimura's "PRIDE" was also popular. Inagaki sang the song for Kusanagi's program. Initially, the fact that Inagaki was singing the song was kept a secret, but after numerous fans called " Fuji TV ", it was revealed to the public. Nakai's "Mohouhan" (The Copy Cat) was a hit for the cinemas, and Kusanagi's "Yomigaeri" set a record for Japanese DVD sales. OTHER PROJECTS Besides singing and acting, the group also manages to be active in numerous other forms of media fields as well. Besides their weekly variety show SMAPxSMAP, the individual members are also currently regulars/hosts on the following shows:
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