KAT-TUN

KAT-TUN was formed in 2001 with members Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin as the lead vocalists, and supporting singers Tanaka Koki, who wrote and performed the rapped lyrics, Nakamaru Yuichi, Taguchi Junnosuke and Ueda Tatsuya. KAT-TUN is an acronym of the members’ last names.

As is typical for Johnny’s Entertainment artists, the members all took part in short-lived Johnny's Jr. units prior to the formation of their group. However, in 2001, the music program "Pop Jam" was in need of back-up dancers, and the six Juniors chosen by Domoto Koichi of KinKi Kids were none other than the members of KAT-TUN. While the arrangement was initially meant to be temporary, the unit became permanent due to their surge in popularity.

KAT-TUN's potential became clear as early as 2002, when they held their first concert, Okyakusama wa Kamisama - Concert 55man nin Ai no request ni Kotaete, after receiving overwhelming requests. That year, KAT-TUN broke records not only within their own label, but within Japan, as the first band on Johnny's Entertainment to hold a concert before an official debut. Also in 2002, they held eleven performances in a single day, breaking Japan's standing record.

Even without a formal debut, KAT-TUN continued to gain more and more popularity. Between 2003 and 2004 they not only released a photo book, KAT-TUN 1st in New York, and performed on Music Station, but they also released two DVDs, one of which topped the Oricon charts as the best-selling of 2005. The DVD KAT-TUN Live Kaizokuban's popularity continued into 2006, when they won the best music video of the year award at the Japan Gold Disk Awards.

Kamenashi's debut came a year before the rest of his band mates in 2005, when he released Seishun Amigo with fellow Johnny's member Yamashita Tomohisa under the name Shuji to Akira. The release became the number one single in Japan, skyrocketing not only Kamenashi's popularity but also the hype for KAT-TUN's upcoming debut the next year.

KAT-TUN's official debut was March 22, 2006, with the release of their first single, Real Face, and a full-length album entitled Best of KAT-TUN. Their debut show was held at Tokyo Dome on March 17th and, shortly after their start date, they went on their first full tour which ran through the spring and included 40 dates. In October, Akanishi Jin went on hiatus from the band to study abroad but, despite his absence, the band remained busy during the remainder of the year and between touring, released two additional singles as well as two DVDs.

Akanishi returned to the band in April 2007, surprising fans by making an appearance at the final show during their spring tour. After his return, the band continued with the same fervor as the previous year, releasing their second album, cartoon KAT-TUN II You and two singles. Akanishi and Taguchi also starred in the drama "Yukan Club" in which their single Keep the faith made its debut nationally in November, also winning the award for best theme song at the 17th TV Life Drama Awards. As a result of their hard work, KAT-TUN stole the heart of the Japan Gold Disk Awards in 2007, landing six awards for their releases including best single and best music video of the year. The band stayed busy in 2008, not only with individual music activities but also touring and new releases, finishing the year with a new single.

The members of KAT-TUN kept more than a full schedule in 2009 and, along with an abundance of TV appearances and acting opportunities, the band hosted a radio show on Mondays and Wednesdays. Nakamaru also starred in the winter drama "Rescue," which aired in January. Subsequently, KAT-TUN released two new singles, ONE DROP and RESCUE in February and March, respectively.

On April 29, the band debuted their new album, Break the Records -by you & for you-, which was available in two versions. Afterwards, the boys took a well-deserved break before resuming live activities on May 15, where they broke another record in Japan by playing for eight days straight at Tokyo Dome, adding two more dates for a total of ten due to the overwhelming demand. The band sold out all 440,000 seats for the tour in less than 24 hours. In June, KAT-TUN performed the theme song for the popular drama "Mr. Brain" and began their summer tour shortly thereafter, before wrapping up the year with a number of TV and movie appearances.

While the early months of 2010 were slow, KAT-TUN quickly picked up the pace with the release of a new single and the announcement of their tour schedule. Fans were surprised to hear that the band would hold not only their nationwide spring tour, but also their first overseas tour in Asia without Akanishi Jin, who would instead be performing solo in Los Angeles, California.

In July, it was announced that Akanishi would be leaving the band permanently to pursue a solo career. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that he would hold a series of shows in the US that winter. Despite the loss of one member, the band continued strong, releasing another single and a full album, NO MORE PAIИ, between tours; by November, a third single was released entitled CHANGE UR WORLD, which immediately stole the number one spot on the Oricon weekly chart.

Still going strong as a quintet, KAT-TUN planned to hold another world tour in 2011 to celebrate their fifth anniversary. The tour was intended to not only feature Thailand, Taiwan and Korea, but also to stretch to Hawaii. Unfortunately, due to the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the tour had to be cancelled. In the following months, KAT-TUN took part in the Johnny’s Marching J fundraising events to help victims of the disaster.

The group bounced back later that year, releasing the successful singles WHITE and RUN FOR YOU . In September, KAT-TUN debuted a new television show, “KAT-TUN no zettai manetaku naru TV”, which aired from October to December 2011.

The year 2012 was another chart-topping one for the quintet. Their latest album, CHAIN, went on to become the 47th best-selling album of the year in Japan, according to the Oricon charts, and their singles Fumetsu no scrum and TO THE LIMIT took even higher positions. That year also saw the group start to release a solo PV for each member on the bonus DVDs included in the first press editions of their singles. The series commenced with Tanaka’s solo BLACK or WHITE on the single Fumetsu no scrum.

Unfortunately, 2013 was a rather tumultuous year for the group, and on September 30th Tanaka's contract with Johnny's Entertainment was terminated due to repeated violations of the agency's rules, and he officially retired from KAT-TUN. He apologized for causing trouble for the remaining members and the fans and stated that he hoped to continue working in the entertainment industry.

Kamenashi, Nakamaru, Taguchi and Ueda announced that they would continue as KAT-TUN when the news about their bandmate's departure broke. Their first release without Tanaka, a mini-album called kusabi, came out on November 27th and placed 30th on the Oricon charts' ranking of the best-selling albums of the year.

While they have faced many challenges in recent years, the remaining members of KAT-TUN have proved their talents and perseverance by leaps and bounds, and fans can continue to expect great things from these young men in the future.