KAT-TUN 2 Me

“One Drop” short version PV has been released! What’s with JE always releasing only the short version at first lately? It’s kind of annoying. I want to see the whole thing!

Jin cloesups are HOT, Kame looks cute with his curly hair, and the dancing at the beginning almost looks…together? Must be an illusion created by the camera or something. Everyone knows that KAT-TUN refuses to dance in sync on principle.

In bad news, Kami no Shizouka sucks. Like seriously sucks and the ratings reflect this. It’s not Kame’s fault, the plot is just boring. Most of Kame’s fans probably could care less about wine! Sigh. I just hope he’s okay.  I know he can be kind of sensitive and take his work really seriously….

Back to the good news, and maybe bad news for Kame, Maru’s drama is doing quite well. In fact, it’s currently sitting pretty at number 2 in viewership for this drama season. Looking forward to “Rescue” single stuff. After careful scrutiny, I think I like it better than “One Drop” though I definitely like both songs.

Finally, reader Soli pointed out something kind of interesting to me. Seems that a certain song by French R&B artist Priscilla sounds awfully familiar. Youtube link HERE. I’ve got to admit, the similarity to “Love Juice” is hard to deny. Coincidence? Plagerism? Either way, whatever. I never claimed to love Jin for his music composing skills.

Got to get to working on my member/group profiles.

No, despite the title this isn’t about NewS, but it is news! Hahaha! It’s a double pun, because how many days in a week? 7! And how many consectutive days will KAT-TUN be performing at Tokyo Dome this May?? That’s right, 7!

Basically, they’re breaking their own record on Tokyo Dome performances. Each night will have its own theme too. KAT-TUN, breaking records, just because they can.

AND NOW FOR AN OFFER YOU SHOULDN’T REFUSE *EDIT* Thanks, I think I’ve got this worked out now, but I’ll let you know if the situation changes!

I wasn’t planning on going to a Tokyo Dome concert really, since it’s so large and there are a lot of bad seats out there, but in this situation, I might just have to give in. It’d be nice to find someone who speaks English to go with me. On my end, I’m pretty much positive that I can get tickets. I live in Japan, and I know several ways to go about securing them. On your end, you need to be pretty much positive that you will be in Tokyo on the appointed day with the money (in yen) to pay for your ticket. I’m not sure yet how much that will be, but rest assured that it’s not going to be less than $200. I won’t be trying to make a profit here, just cover whatever I had to pay for the ticket. Also, only females over the age of 18 please, and I can’t make any commitments unless you are sure you can come.  I know it’s early, but any takers???

You know you want to,

~Celestia~

PS. The release date for “Rescue” has been set: March 11th, just 1 month after One Drop. KAT-TUN kind of had a lazy 2008, but 2009 is shaping up to be much busier for them! Incidentaly, I saw the covers to One Drop. They put some kind of fur stole on Jin. It makes him look girly. Reeeeeal girly.

I just wanted to say that I LOVE Arashi’s new single, “Believe”. I’m especially glad since I thought “Beautiful Days” was terribly boring. Like, I can’t remember the melody within minutes of listening to it.

Anyway, I’m really excited for this single now. I’m sure that in the current Arashi favorable climate, anything with their name on it would be a big seller, but this song is really great, so I’m predicting some huge oricon numbers.

You can download it HERE

It’ll sure be a challenge for karaoke fans though.

Yay!

~Celestia~

New singles have been announced for both Arashi and KAT-TUN, my two favoritest boybands in the world!

For KAT-TUN we have “Tactics” the theme for Maru’s new drama “Rescue”. Release date is unconfirmed, but the title is confirmed on Oricon, so I’m sure it’s legit. *EDIT* Oricon has now apparently changed their mind and is saying that the title is “Rescue” *EDIT* I’m surprised that they’re doing two singles for drama themes in the same season (the other being “One Drop” for Kame’s drama). The release dates probably will only be a month apart or so! I guess when it rains KAT-TUN it pours, or something.

As for Arashi, another double A-side: “Believe” the theme to Sho’s movie “Yatterman” and “Kumori Nochi, Kasei” which isn’t actually an Arashi single at all but rather an Ohno solo, the theme to his new drama “Uta no Onii-san”. Release date is March 4th.

I’m glad to see the guys getting so much acting work that they’re obligated to do double A-sides and really close together releases for the themes.

Oh, and speaking of “One Drop”, if you’re interested, here’s a download of the full radio rip of the single along with its two B-sides (DTS and On My Mind). I like all three songs, but I’ll refrain from commenting further until I see the PV.

LINK

As a final note, yesterday I was doing an English lesson about “favorites” with some elementary school 6th graders (about 11 years old). Quite a few of the girls Cited their favorite singers as “Hey!Say!Jump!”. The more I think about it, the more I realize that it was a really good move for Johnny’s to debut them when they did. Your average 11 year old might not be as likely to become a fan of a group of guys in their twenties (though some do, like the 6th grader with the Koki keychain on her backpack), but they’ll line up to become fans of a group of cute teenagers. With HSJ, Johnny’s is recruiting a whole new generation of fans. I can see it in action.

WAAAA!!! I almost forgot. I was surprised and pleased to find out that this blog is nominated for the 2nd Annual International Wota Blog awards in the “other” category. “Other” meaning not H!P, AKB48, or Jrock. I have a feeling that the IW crowd and the regular readers of this blog don’t coincide much, but it’d be cool if you’d vote for me. As a bonus, if you’re interested in checking out some other quality Jpop blogging, any of the other nominees would make a great place to start.

Nominees HERE

Vote HERE

Bye Bye,

~Celestia~

I have been so bad about updating this lately! I’ve got a good excuse though. See, I was flying back from Japan, and then I immediately went to Disney World with my family for over a week (I got home less than an hour ago), and now it’s almost Christmas. Phew.

Maybe I’ll have time for a proper update tomorrow. I just wanted to put a shout out, for the records of this blog, that KAT-TUN is going to have a new single “One Drop” to be the theme for Kame’s new drama. Horray! No long wait this time!

~Celestia~

EDIT: Fixed stupid mistakes. Sorry about that.

Oricon has published the chart of the top selling singles of 2008, and once again, Johnny’s have made out like bandits. Arashi in particular has had an incredible year (but we already knew that), taking both 1st and 2nd place with Truth and One Love! WOW! What an incredible accomplishment. Not only that, but all four of their singles this year fall within the top twelve. KAT-TUN was the only other Johnny’s group to grace the top 10, with both DUES and Lips. Kanjani came close with Musekinin hero at number 11.

Let’s look at where all the Johnnys ranked in on the top 30 list. I’m only listing Johnnys here, but you can view the whole list on the Oricon website HERE

1. Truth/Kaze no Mukou e, Arashi

2. One Love, Arashi

8. Don’t U Ever Stop, KAT-TUN

9. Lips, KAT-TUN

10. Beautiful Days, Arashi

11. Musekinin Hero, Kanjani

12. Step and Go, Arashi

19. Taiyou no Namida, NewS

21. Mayonaka no Shadow Boy, HSJ

23. Summer Time, NewS

24. White X-mas, KAT-TUN (keep in mind this is after only 1 week of sales)

25. Dreams Come True, HSJ

26. Happy Birthday, NewS

27. Wahaha, Kanjani

28. Secret Code, Kinki Kids

A full half of the top 10 including #1 and #2, and almost half (15) of the top thirty. Not bad at all!

Love Live the Pretty Boy Empire!

~Celestia~

Just got back from a trip to Kyoto!

I ended up buying that magazine with the awesome Akame shot in it. I can now confirm that it’s 100% real.

Queen of Pirates concert DVD is going to be released on New Years Day. On the one hand, YAY! I was starting to get worried at the lack of DVD announcement. On the other hand, NO! I will still be in the states for Christmas on New Years day, and I won’t be able to buy it until I get back a few days later!

Finally, some magazine did a poll for “Most Kissable Lips” , showing pictures of a bunch of celebrity’s lips (not the rest of their faces). Jin got second place!! Want to know the most hilarious part? They were polling guys, and Jin is the only man to make the top 10 list. LOLOL. Jin’s lips are turning the men of Japan gay without them realizing.

~Celestia~

Turns out that two KAT-TUN members will be appearing in dramas next season. The rumors are true. Kame is going to star in a drama called “Kami no Shizuka”! KAT-TUN is popping up all over the place lately, and I’m loving it.

I know there are some pending download requests. I plan to get to those tomorrow, so no worries.

~Celestia~

Whew. I have been quite busy and then quite sick and then quite busy again, but I’ve managed to start my group and member profiles. So far only a general overview of Johnny’s and KAT-TUN’s profile are up. You can find them under the new “Artist Profiles” link on the upper right. Much more to come soon!

And by the way, it seems that Nakamaru is going to be in a drama with Massu of NewS. Cool. KAT-TUN seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth after their concert tour ended, but all of a sudden it’s like BAM! Jin in a movie! New single! Maru in a drama! Yay!

CU,

~Celestia~

If any of you haven’t heard yet, the rumors of Jin getting his first lead movie role have been confirmed! The movie will be about a 90’s band trying to make it big, with Jin playing the main vocalist. Unfortunately, it’ll be over a year until it’s released. So long to wait! Still though, many congrats to Jin, and now we’ve all got something to look forward to!

If you happen to speak Japanese, you can read all about it HERE

~Celestia~