Arashi
Arashi (translates to Storm) is a five-member Japanese boy band under Johnny & Associates. They made their debut in September 15, 1999 in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The group was signed to the Pony Canyon record label from 1999 to 2001 before transitioning to Johnny's Associates-powered J Storm record label in 2002, producing their future singles and albums.
Musical Career
Arashi covers a wide range of music, including R&B, hip hop and various forms of pop music. Aside from being a popular idol group in Japan, the group is widely known across Asia and to J-pop fans all over the world.
In 1999, on the day of their first single's release, more than 80,000 fans showed up to attend the group's debut event. The single, "AERAESHI", went on to become a major hit, selling almost a million copies.
On July 31, 2006, the group embarked on their Jet Storm Tour, which aimed to promote their newest album, Arashic. The one-day tour covered Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea, countries which later became part of their Asia tour (The Thailand concert, Thai-J Pop Concert, was cancelled due to a military coup). The concert in Korea was decided due to the fact that about 1,500 Korean fans gathered at the Incheon International Airport during the group's Jet Storm press conference.[1] The concert, held on November 12, 2006, made Arashi the first group from Johnny's Entertainment to perform an individual concert in South Korea.[2] The group proved popular to Korean fans when concert tickets were sold out in an hour, as some 150,000 people rushed to book tickets online.[3] Aside from their concert performances, the group represented Japan in the 2006 Asia Song Festival, also held in South Korea.[1]
To date, Arashi has released eight albums and nineteen singles. On February 21, 2007, the group released "Love so sweet", the popular theme song for the TV Drama Hana Yori Dango 2 which peaked at the number one spot on Oricon's daily and weekly charts. Their latest single, "We Can Make It!", released on May 2, 2007, also charted number one on Oricon's daily and weekly charts, before falling out of the Top 10 in its second week, only to return back to the Top 10 on its third week. This latest single is Arashi's 8th straight number one release and its 15th number one overall.[4]
Arashi's new album "Time" also debuted at the number one spot on Oricon's charts, selling 191,000 copies in its first week.
The group's next single will feature the song "Happiness", which is used as the theme song for the TBS drama "Yamada Taro Monogatari", starring Ninomiya Kazunari and Sakurai Sho. The single will be released in Japan on September 5, 2007.
On April 2007, the group performed in one of their largest concerts to date. Arashi Around Asia was held in the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, and at the Tokyo Dome, with a combined total capacity of 100,000 people.
Members
Arashi is composed of
Aside from their music careers, Arashi members have also appeared in movies, specials, commercials, stage plays, and various television dramas.
Satoshi Ohno is the reluctant "leader" of the group after winning against Sho Sakurai in a round of rock-paper-scissors with the other members on a Japanese variety show. The exact same pattern of him unwillingly 'winning' against Sho has been seen repeating many times ever since. Being the oldest member of Arashi, he often sings the lead vocals and has stated that he wanted to avoid becoming the leader the most. Ohno performed a solo concert in April 2006. Out of all the members, he has appeared in the fewest dramas, preferring to do stage plays or focus on his art. In an interview, the Arashi members have once stated that Ohno is a new-age idol, who leads his group by not leading at all. Ohno is known to be the best dancer in Arashi. He choreographs several of their dance moves, which the other members sometimes find quite hard to follow. Back when Arashi first debuted and before he was elected leader, Ohno was told by Johnny's Jimusho (Johnny & Associates) to be the Dance Leader.
Sho Sakurai sings most of the rap parts (he is known to fans as "Sakurap"), the lyrics of which he also writes. Sho was the first in the group to perform in a solo concert, The Show. He is currently a Monday co-host of NTV's News Zero. Sho is arguably the best-educated member of the group, having graduated from Keio University, the Japanese equivalent of an Ivy League school. During the early years after Arashi's debut, Sho was appointed by the Jimusho to be the Study Leader. Although he lost in a round of rock-paper-scissors, hence excusing him from being the group's leader, the other four of Arashi have made many remarks that Sho is the one who possesses leadership qualities.
Jun Matsumoto is known for his starring roles in dramas such as Bambino!, Hana Yori Dango & Hana Yori Dango 2, Kimi wa Petto, and Gokusen. He is the youngest member of Arashi but has been said to possess the most sex appeal, according to the other members. He is the first Japanese male to grace the cover of Marie Claire (Japan). Ohno has labeled him the "concert master" because of his take-charge attitude and attention to detail during their live performances. During the years after their debut, he was appointed by the Jimusho as the Comedy Leader. By now he has more or less lose the comedic image and has even gained the nickname Do-S from the other members (S standing for 'sadist'). Jun is one of the three idols who are considered elites in the Jimusho because he was called to join the company by Johnny Kitagawa himself, without having to go through auditions.
Kazunari Ninomiya is the first member of the group to crossover to Hollywood, as he starred in Clint Eastwood's critically acclaimed Japanese language film, Letters from Iwo Jima. Along with bandmate Jun Matsumoto, he is one of Japan's leading young actors and have been said to be able to "act with his eyes". Ninomiya stated that he is left-handed but has been forced to write with his right hand by his parents when he was a child. He plays the guitar, a little piano, composes songs and write lyrics. However, he is usually seen with a game console in hand instead and had publicly admitted that he is an otaku. He is also one half of the Arashi skit duo Ohmiya SK, partnering Satoshi Ohno. During Arashi's early years, the Jimusho appointed Ninomiya as the Performance Leader.
Masaki Aiba is the tallest member of the group, with a distinctive breathy voice. He was once hospitalized after fainting due to the collapse of one of his lungs and was forced to stop playing the saxophone due to the operation he had to undergo. Aiba works with various wild animals as a co-host of the TV show "Tensai! Shimura Doubutsuen". He also excels in sports, especially basketball. He has been known to have considerably short attention span and often jumps between topics during talks and interviews, thus earning himself his reputation as the endearing, flaky member of Arashi. Aiba also has troubles with Japanese, particularly in reading kanji. He can be seen making various reading mistakes in talk shows and live performances; bandmate and childhood friend Ninomiya have made many references to Aiba's Japanese. During the earlier years following Arashi's debut, Aiba's leadership appointed by the Jimusho is 'undecided'.
Arashi has hosted a number of variety TV shows over their career. Currently, they are the hosts of "Mago Mago Arashi" and "Arashi no Shukudai-kun".
