Post by smashers7nisa on Apr 19, 2008 3:49:06 GMT -5
The group name came from the first letter of each of the members' family names and the boys often seat themselves accordingly during interviews. The pronunciation is supposedly close to the English word "cartoon" (kah-toon). The youngest member of KAT-TUN, Kamenashi Kazuya is unofficially considered the group's "leader".
KAT-TUN 2007The group was formed in 2001 by Kinki Kids member Domoto Koichi and they worked as his backup dancers before moving on to singing and performing on their own. For five years they performed during concerts and on TV, gaining many fans, yet did not have officiallly debut. However, in January 2006 it was announced that the group would debut on March 22nd with their single Real Face and album Best of KAT-TUN. Real Face sold 754,234 copies in its first week, surpassing the record held by ARASHI for most copies of a debut single sold in the first week. It sold over a million copies in 2006 and became the year's number one single.
Later in August of 2006, KAT-TUN hosted the 24 Jikan Terebi (24 Hour TV) charity event. This program was the second most watched 24 Jikan Terebi program in the charity's history with a peak viewer ship of 32.8% and an average of 17.7% in the Kantou Region of Japan. The program raised ¥300 million for charity ($2.6 Million USD). The shirts worn by all participants in the program were designed by Nakamaru, himself in collaboration with Studio Ghibli.
In early October 2006 rumors spread that Akanishi Jin was going to go on hiatus from the band to study English in the US. On Friday 13th of that month there was a press conference confirming that the rumors were in fact true. It was revealed that member Akanishi Jin would be taking a hiatus in order to study abroad for a minimum of six months. He was not included in the group's third single single.
In November of 2006, the group would have released their third single PURE ONE including the theme songs of the drama Tatta Hitotsu no Koi as well as the theme song of Sapuri "your smile". They did release a "music box" collection album with their popular songs redone in a relaxing music box style. However the single's date was pushed back to December and the track listing changed. KAT-TUN officially announced that they would continue as a five person group for the time being. KAT-TUN's 3rd Single Bokura no Machi de was released December 7, 2006.
On April 18th of 2007, KAT-TUN released their second album. The First Press Limited Edition included a CD containing 7 of their pre-debut songs and the Normal Edition included the unreleased theme song used for the J-drama Sapuri, now titled "YOU". The album artwork did not feature Jin but he is featured on some of the audio of the album.
On April 19th it was announced that Akanishi would be returning to KAT-TUN and this was further described in a press conference on the 20th. Akanishi soon joined the KAT-TUN concert series and began working as an active member again. KAT-TUN's 4th single, Yorokobi no Uta was released on June 6th and is the theme to the J-drama Tokkyu Tanaka 3 go, which starred Tanaka Koki.
KAT-TUN's 5th single Keep the faith was released on November 21, 2007. The song was used as the theme for the J-drama Yukan Club, which starred Akanishi Jin and Taguchi Junnosuke, as well as Kanjani8 member Yokoyama Yu.
Their sixth single LIPS was released on February 6, 2008. This song was used for Kamenashi Kazuya's J-drama 1 Pound no Fukuin, also starring Hey! Say! JUMP member Yamada Ryosuke.
It has been announced that KAT-TUN is due to have a summer concert from June to August 2008. A few days after the concert news, DON'T U EVER STOP has also been announced to be KAT-TUN's 7th single and will be released on May 14, 2008. This single will have four versions, three limited versions and one regular version. The three limited versions will include solos from each member.
Members
Kamenashi Kazuya
Akanishi Jin
Taguchi Junnosuke
Tanaka Koki
Ueda Tatsuya
Nakamaru Yuichi
Official website - www.j-storm.co.jp/kattun/
