History
2001–2005: Formation and pre-debut activities
Before becoming KAT-TUN, each member belonged to different trainee units within Johnny & Associates. In 2001, eight members were chosen to become a temporary dancing unit in order to support Koichi Domoto in the NHK music program, Pop Jam. The eight members were switched around before it officially became KAT-TUN, with the current six members. Although the formation was only meant to be a temporary support unit, KAT-TUN gained a great deal of attention and became solid unit.
In 2002, in response to many requests, KAT-TUN held their first concert called Okyakusama wa Kamisama - Concert 55man Nin Ai no Request ni Kotaete!! (お客様は神サマーConcert 55万人愛のリクエストに応えて!!?), in which 550,000 people tried to get tickets for the show. That same year, they performed eleven shows in a single day. This is the current record in Japan for the most performances in one day. Since then, KAT-TUN has held concerts in Japan almost every season.
In 2003-2004, their popularity rose to that of a debuted group, to the point where they performed on Music Station multiple times before debuting. In 2005, KAT-TUN released their first major DVD, KAT-TUN Live Kaizokuban (KAT-TUN Live海賊帆, lit. KAT-TUN Live: Pirate Sails?), which topped the Oricon yearly chart for the best-selling DVD. At the 20th Japan Gold Disc Awards, Live Kaizokuban placed on the Music Video Of The Year list.
2006: Debut and "Real Face"
On March 22, KAT-TUN released their debut single "Real Face", accompanied by an album, Best of KAT-TUN and a DVD Real Face Film. These were released on their own label J-One Records. The group also went on a nationwide tour, Live of KAT-TUN "Real Face", in support of the album. Within the first week, Best of KAT-TUN, "Real Face" and Real Face Film topped all three Oricon weekly charts by selling 556,548 copies, 754,234 copies and 374,202 copies respectively. They became the second artists to do so, the first being Ayumi Hamasaki. With these numbers, KAT-TUN holds the record for the highest weekly single debut sales (previously held by Arashi with their debut single "Arashi" of 557,000 copies sold in 1999). In addition, "Real Face" topped the Oricon charts for three weeks straight, becoming the first debut single to do so in Japan in 8 years 8 months since KinKi Kids' debut single "Garasu no Shōnen." The single sold over a million copies in nine weeks, making "Real Face" the highest selling single for the year 2006.
In March 2006, KAT-TUN became the first group to hold their own performances in Japan's most popular stadium, Tokyo Dome, before debuting. They performed to 110,000 people over two days and about 630,000 people in total during the tour. About three months after releasing "Real Face", KAT-TUN released their second single, "Signal", on July 19. As expected, it topped the Oricon weekly chart by exceeding 400,000 in sales.
On October 12, member Akanishi announced a hiatus from the group in order to study linguistics abroad in the United States, leaving KAT-TUN as a five-member group for six months.The remaining members continued activities by releasing their third single, "Bokura no Machi de" as the theme song to members Kamenashi and Tanaka's drama, Tatta Hitotsu no Koi and their second album, Cartoon KAT-TUN II You on December 7.
KAT-TUN is the first group in Japan to have all three singles from debut to exceed 500,000 in yearly sales, taking first, fifth and thirteenth place on the Oricon yearly singles chart.
2007: Cartoon KAT-TUN II You
Under the same name as their second album, KAT-TUN started their second nationwide tour, Tour 2007 Cartoon KAT-TUN II You, still without Akanishi, on April 3. The next day, KAT-TUN began to host their own variety show Cartoon KAT-TUN, which aired every Wednesday from 11:55 p.m. to 12:26 a.m.
Akanishi returned to Japan on April 19 and officially resumed work activities on April 20.Akanishi joined the rest of KAT-TUN during their tour on April 21 in Sendai for the encore, marking his official return to KAT-TUN.
On June 6, KAT-TUN released their fourth single, "Yorokobi no Uta", as the theme song to Tanaka's drama, Tokkyu Tanaka 3 Go. The single hit number one on the weekly chart.
On November 21, they simultaneously released their fifth single, "Keep the Faith", as the theme song to members Akanishi and Taguchi's drama, Yukan Club, and the DVD to their Tokyo Dome Live of KAT-TUN "Real Face" concert. The DVD marked their fifth consecutive release topping the Oricon musical DVD chart, and set the opening week record for the year.KAT-TUN took the annual number one position on the Oricon musical DVD charts for the third time in a row with the release.
After KinKi Kids, KAT-TUN is the second artist to have all singles since debut to exceed 300,000 in sales during their first week.
2008: Queen of Pirates
KAT-TUN released the theme song to Kamenashi's drama based on the manga One Pound Gospel as their sixth single on February 6.The single topped at number one on the Oricon charts.
KAT-TUN released their seventh single "Don't U Ever Stop" on May 14, which topped the weekly Oricon chart. On May 15, during the MC segment promoting "Don't U Ever Stop" on Music Station, Kamenashi announced that two shows had been added to their Tokyo Dome tourdates, resulting in a total of four consecutive days at the Dome. This marked a historic event in the Dome's history, as KAT-TUN became the first Japanese artist to hold four consecutive days at the stadium since it opened in 1988.Other Japanese artists, such as SMAP, X Japan and Ayumi Hamasaki have had three consecutive days at the Dome. The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson have played multiple days at the Dome, but they were not consecutive.
On June 4, KAT-TUN released their third album, KAT-TUN III: Queen of Pirates.
On December 3, KAT-TUN released "White X'mas", their first Christmas single. The release consisted of a limited and regular edition, but both would only be sold during the holiday season. The single, with no drama tie-in and no B-side, still sold moderately well with more than 250,000 copies sold in its first week.
On December 21, it was announced that KAT-TUN would release a new single "One Drop" as a tie-in theme song to Kamenashi's new drama, Kami no Shizuku, just two months after their "White X'mas" single. The release consists of three versions: Limited Edition w/DVD, Regular Edition (First Press) and a Regular Edition.
2009: Break the Records: By You & For You
On January 1, it was announced that Kamenashi will continue starring in Dream Boys in September for thirty-eight shows. The stage show is expected to continue for six more years. In addition, KAT-TUN released KAT-TUN Live Tour 2008 Queen of Pirates DVD, featuring their last day of four in Tokyo Dome.
On February 11, KAT-TUN released "One Drop". It became KAT-TUN's ninth consecutive number one single since debut, selling 281,359 copies in its first week.
A month later, on March 11, KAT-TUN released "Rescue" for member Nakamaru's drama, Rescue: Tokubetsu Kodo Kyujotai. It became KAT-TUN's tenth consecutive number one single since debut, selling 322,597 copies in its first week. With this achievement KAT-TUN are now tied with NEWS for the second most consecutive number one singles from debut (Kinki Kids is number one with twenty-eight consecutive number one singles).A week after the release of "Rescue", it was revealed through their official website that KAT-TUN would be releasing their fourth studio album.
On April 1, the title of the album, Break the Records: By You & For You, as well as the track list for KAT-TUN's fourth studio album were released; the release of the album itself is slated for April 29.
It was announced on January 23 that KAT-TUN would hold seven consecutive concerts at Tokyo Dome, Japan's largest and most prestigious arena. Also, making KAT-TUN the first artists in history to do so. However, by the end of March, due to the large number of pre-reserved tickets, KAT-TUN's record breaking concert added extra tour dates. Making KAT-TUN's 2009 concert eight consecutive days in Tokyo Dome from May 15 to the 22, three days in Osaka from May 29 to the 31, and two more days in Tokyo Dome from June 14 to the 15. For a total of thirteen concert performances in two cities, and ten days in total for Tokyo Dome.
Sales for KAT-TUN's 8 consecutive days in Tokyo Dome concert went on sale on April 4. On the very same day all 440,000 seats were sold out.
On their last of the eight days at Tokyo Dome, it was announced that KAT-TUN would once again embark on another summer tour of Japan starting from July 7.
It was reported on May 24 that Johnny Kitagawa was after the acknowledgement of KAT-TUN's eight-day concerts at Tokyo Dome by the Guinness World Records company, for the record of the largest number of consecutive days at a stadium seating more than 50,000 spectators.
2010: International activities
On February 10, KAT-TUN released their first single since March 2009, which was used for Kamenashi's live-action drama adaptation of Tomoko Hayakawa's manga series Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge, which premiered January 15, 2010 on TBS. The single, "Love Yourself (Kimi ga Kirai na Kimi ga Suki)," debuted at number one on the Oricon weekly singles chart, resulting in KAT-TUN's 11th consecutive number one single since their debut.It became KAT-TUN's first single to sell more than 350,000 copies in its first week since the May 2008 release of their single "Don't U Ever Stop," which sold more than 381,000 copies in its first week.
On March 24, Johnny & Associates announced that KAT-TUN will go on their first Asia concert tour as a five-member group while Akanishi will hold his own solo concerts in Los Angeles, making him the first Johnny's artist to perform solo in the United States.KAT-TUN is set to have their Asia Tour from early May to late August and although the majority of the concerts will be held in Japan, KAT-TUN will also be heading to Bangkok on July 31, Seoul from August 6 to 7, and Taipei from August 27 to 28; other sources say that a Hawaii concert is also being considered.Due to his absence from KAT-TUN's Asia concert tour and single promotions, Akanishi did not participate in the recording of KAT-TUN's twelfth single "Going!" set for release on May 12.Due to the political unrest in Thailand, Johnny & Associates announced on May 15 that KAT-TUN's concert in Bangkok has been indefinitely postponed.
KAT-TUN is to release their first 2010 album, "No More Pain", on June 16, 2010.The album will have two versions, limited edition and regular. Both versions will include solo songs by each member. The limited edition will have 13 songs and also include a bonus DVD with PVs and Making-of's the songs in the album. The regular edition will have a bonus track, a total of 14 songs.
Band members
* Kazuya Kamenashi
* Jin Akanishi
* Junnosuke Taguchi (田口 淳之介, Taguchi Junnosuke) (born November 29, 1985)
* Koki Tanaka (田中 聖, Tanaka Koki) (born November 5, 1985)
* Tatsuya Ueda (上田 竜也, Ueda Tatsuya) (born October 4, 1983)
* Yuichi Nakamaru (中丸 雄一, Nakamaru Yūichi) (born September 4, 1983)
Discography
Studio albums
2006: Best of KAT-TUN
* Label: J-One Records
JACA-5038
* Released: March 22, 2006
* Format: CD
* Length: -
* Oricon chart peak: #1
* Sales: 743,359
* RIAJ certification: Double Platinum
SINGLE : Real Face
2007: Cartoon KAT-TUN II You
* Label: J-One Records
JACA-5055~5056 (Limited Edition)
JACA-5057 (First Press Edition)
JACA-5058 (Regular Edition)
* Released: April 18, 2007
* Format: CD
* Length: -
* Oricon chart peak: #1
* Sales: 354,973
* RIAJ certification: Double Platinum
SINGLE : * Signal
* Bokura no Machi de
2008: KAT-TUN III: Queen of Pirates
* Label: J-One Records
JACA-5099~5100 (Limited Edition)
JACA-5101 (Regular Edition)
* Released: June 4, 2008
* Format: CD
* Length: -
* Oricon chart peak: #1
* Sales: 282,402
* RIAJ certification: Platinum
SINGLE : * Yorokobi no Uta
* Keep the Faith
* Lips
2009: Break the Records: By You & For You
* Label: J-One Records
JACA-5142 (Limited Edition)
JACA-5143 (Regular Edition)
* Released: April 29, 2009
* Format: CD
* Length: -
* Oricon chart peak: #1
* Sales: 243,305[5]
* RIAJ certification: Gold[6]
SINGLE : * Don't U Ever Stop
* White X'mas
* One Drop
* Rescue
* 2010: No More Pain
#1 singles
* 2006: "Real Face"
* 2006: "Signal"
* 2006: "Bokura no Machi de"
* 2007: "Yorokobi no Uta"
* 2007: "Keep the Faith"
* 2008: "Lips"
* 2008: "Don't U Ever Stop"
* 2008: "White X'mas"
* 2009: "One Drop"
* 2009: "Rescue"
* 2010: "Love Yourself (Kimi ga Kirai na Kimi ga Suki)"
* 2010: "Going!"
DVDs
* 2003: Okyakusama wa Kamisama - Concert 55 Man Nin Ai no Request ni Kotaete!!
* 2005: KAT-TUN Live Kaizokuban
* 2006: Real Face Film
* 2006: Dream Boys
* 2007: Live of KAT-TUN "Real Face"
* 2007: Tour 2007 Cartoon KAT-TUN II You
* 2008: KAT-TUN Live Tour 2008 Queen Of Pirates
* 2009: KAT-TUN Live Break the Records
The above releases only include group activities. For solo releases, please visit individual members' pages. Note that KAT-TUN has also been prominently featured in other Johnny's groups' concerts and musical releases as well (such as Shock Digest and Dream Boy).
Photobook
KAT-TUN's first official photobook, entitled KAT-TUN 1st in New York (photographer Harumi Yoshimura) was published in December 2003 by Wani Books.
On August 31, 2009, KAT-TUN released their second official photobook entitled KAT-TUN Live Document Photobook: Break the Records, which documents their rehearsals, behind-the-scenes photos and concert photos; it also includes exclusive interviews with the members.
Other activities
TV shows
KAT-TUN had regularly appeared on NHK's Johnny's Jr. show The Shōnen Club and became the regular hosts and leaders of the show until 2006 when they made their official debut. From 2005 to January 2007, KAT-TUN was a regular participant in the variety show Utawara Hot Hit 10 with Jun Matsumoto. From April 4, 2007 to March 24, 2010, KAT-TUN hosted their own talk show Cartoon KAT-TUN every Wednesday.
Musicals
As a group, KAT-TUN has appeared in Koichi Domoto's Shock musical, Summary of Johnnys World with NEWS and Ya-ya-yah and the Dream Boy musicals from 2004 to 2006.
Concerts
Since their first concert in 2002, granted after overwhelming amounts of fan requests to Johnny's, KAT-TUN regularly holds concerts during almost every season of the year in Japan. This has helped them gain more popularity with their fans. It was considered remarkable for a Johnny's group which had not yet officially debuted to be able to hold its own concerts.
KAT-TUN was the first Japanese artist to perform for four days in a row at Tokyo Dome during their Queen of Pirates tour. The following year, they broke their own record becoming the first artists ever to perform for eight consecutive days at Tokyo Dome during their Break The Records: By You & For You 2009 tour. Now, Johnny & Associates submitted this new record to Guinness Book of World Records for KAT-TUN to be recognized as the Japanese boy band who broke the records in Tokyo Dome performances.
Commercials
KAT-TUN regularly stars in TV commercials to endorse for NTT docomo, SKY PerfecTV!, Rohto and Lotte.
Events
From August 26 to August 27, 2006, KAT-TUN were the main personality supporters for the NTV 24 Hour Television: "Love Saves the Earth" charity program.
Awards
2006
* Japan Gold Disc Awards: Music Video Of The Year - KAT-TUN Live Kaizokuban
2007
* Japan Gold Disc Awards: Single Of The Year - "Real Face"
* Japan Gold Disc Awards: The Best 10 Singles - "Real Face"
* Japan Gold Disc Awards: The Best 10 Singles - "Signal"
* Japan Gold Disc Awards: The Best 10 Singles - "Bokura no Machi de"
* Japan Gold Disc Awards: The Best 10 Albums - Best of KAT-TUN
* Japan Gold Disc Awards: The Best Music Videos - Real Face Film
2008
* Japan Gold Disc Awards: The Best 10 Singles - "Keep the Faith"
* Japan Gold Disc Awards: The Best 10 Singles - "Yorokobi No Uta"
* Japan Gold Disc Awards: The Best Music Videos - Live of KAT-TUN "Real Face"
* The 17th TV Life Drama Award: Best Theme Song - "Keep the Faith"
2009
* Japan Gold Disc Awards: The Best 10 Singles - "Lips"
* Japan Gold Disc Awards: The Best 10 Singles - "Don't U Ever Stop"
2010
* Japan Gold Disc Awards: The Best 5 Singles - "Rescue"
LINK
> KAT-TUN Official Site
