Nov 06 2008
KAT-TUN
Members
- Kamenashi Kazuya
- Akanishi Jin
- Taguchi Junnosuke
- Tanaka Koki
- Ueda Tatsuya
- Nakamaru Yuichi
Background
The name KAT-TUN comes from the first letter of each of the members’ surnames. The members of KAT-TUN were handpicked from the Johnny’s Juniors by Domoto Koichi (Kinki Kids) in 2001. They performed as his background dancers before moving on to develop a fanbase and song repertoire of their own. It is no secret that KAT-TUN’s members often fought amongst themselves in their early days, and even now they do not tend to hang out together outside of work. KAT-TUN gained a lot of popularity as juniors, holding a solo concert tour and becoming the first undebuted group to perform on Johnny’s annual New Years countdown program. Finally, in March of 2006, the group debuted with their first major single “Real Face”. The song was a huge hit, and KAT-TUN has been topping the charts and selling out huge concert venues ever since. In April of 2007, they began their own weekly TV show, Cartoon KAT-TUN.
In general, KAT-TUN projects a harder image than their Johnny’s cohorts. Their songs are often heavily rock-influenced, and their performance costumes lean less toward brightly colored suits adorned with sequins and more toward shredded and layered casual punk. Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin are by far the most popular group members and they also sing most of the lead vocals. Tanaka Koki usually provides a rap interlude for their songs, and Nakamaru Yuichi often has a featured “beat boxing” section during the rap or instrumental break. While KAT-TUN does have their signature sound, they have ventured into a wide variety of other genres including pop ballads and R&B.
Discography
Singles
- Real Face, 3/22/2006
- Signal, 7/19/2006
- Bokura no Machi de, 12/7/2006
- Yorokobi no Uta, 6/6/2007
- Keep the Faith, 11/21/2007
- Lips, 2/6/2008
- Don’t U Ever Stop, 5/14/2008
- White X’Mas, 12/3/2008
Albums
- Best of KAT-TUN, 3/22/2006
- Cartoon KAT-TUN II You, 4/18/2007
- KAT-TUN III Queen of Pirates, 6/4/2008
Downloads
Real Face- Their debut single and most successful single to date, selling over a million copies. It’s a good representation of KAT-TUN’s style.
Don’t You Ever Stop- Their most recent single (as of November 2008). A personal favorite.
Harukana Yakusoku- A pre-debut song released on their first album. Another personal favorite. More pop and less rock than most of their post-debut work.