Beijing News Comics/Zhao Bin in the 1960s: From baseball manager to Johnny Kitakawa was born in Los Angeles, USA in 1931. His father was the abbot of the American villa of Higashihonanji, Japan. However, the young Johnny was not very interested in Buddhism and actively participat

New Beijing News Manga/Zhao Bin

60s: From baseball manager to Johnny's management post

Johnny Kitakawa (Japanese name Kitakawa Kuro) was born in Los Angeles, USA in 1931. His father was the abbot of the American villa of Higashihonyanji, Japan. However, the young Johnny was not very interested in Buddhism and actively participated in literary and artistic activities in high school.

Kitakawa's first job related to the entertainment industry was a part-time assistant music producer at the Los Angeles branch of Takarazuka Theater in high school. Takarazuka's high-level music production ability laid a good foundation for him. In 1950, Mikawa Skylark went to the United States for a performance. The venue happened to be the temple of Kitakawa's family. Because he had worked in Takarazuka, Mikawa Skylark's mentor Haruhi Kawada asked Kitakawa to be responsible for stage supervision, which also made Kitakawa have the idea of ​​entering the entertainment industry for the first time.

While studying at the Sakchi University, Kitakawa organized a band and served as an agent at the same time, but the band disbanded after he graduated.

Baseball developed rapidly in Japan in the 1960s. Kitakawa also organized a baseball team with his friends and served as the team manager. He named Johnnys Baseball Team, and his name came from his nickname Johnnys.

First generation Johnnys.

962, Kitakawa selected four young boys from the team to form an idol group and named Johnnys, which is the first generation Johnnys that Johnnys fans often mention. However, it was not until 1975 that the company was officially independent and reorganized into an independent legal entity.

70s: Yumi Yuki opened up the territory for Kitakawa

"Idol" was once a unique artist profession in Japan. It refers to people who share the growth process with fans, are active on the stage and have unique charm. Generally speaking, idols are involved in singing, acting, drama, and funny fields, but they are not full-time singers, actors, or funny artists.

In the 1960s, the idols in the Japanese entertainment industry were the "Three Omens" represented by Moriki Kazuo , Saigo Hikari, and Hashi Yukio (formerly referred to the three major families except the Tokugawa Moto family during the Edo period of Japan, and later generally referred to the top three in various fields). Most of them are from ballads or singers, and their image is still Showa style, and the songs have strong traditional characteristics. With the rapid development of Japan's economy in the 1970s, more new things have been brought, and for the entertainment industry, changes have come.

国中文版.

Thanks to years of overseas life experience, Kitakawa keenly discovered that the idol artists who used to perform songs and ballads as the core have declined, and fans are eager to see new things. In 1971, Yumi Yumi of , who was in , made her debut and won the Best Newcomer Award in the Japanese Record Award for her debut single "Male Children's Children" in 1972. This was the first artist to win this award. This made him, together with his contemporaries Hideki Nishiki and Goro Noguchi, become the three most popular male idols in Japan in the 1970s, and they are called the "Shinyu Sanjia".

Compared with his predecessors, Yumi Yuki's biggest feature lies in his discovery of his idol and insulating this trait in the music market. Kitakawa and Ginis also innovated for him in musical forms and routes, appearing in front of the world with a more dynamic and youthful image.

80s: Kondo Mahiko and the youth team are the beginning of glory

mentioned Kondo Mahiko. His Cantonese version of his " Xi Shi Yu Song " is "Thousands of Songs" by Chen Huixian , and Anita Mui covered his "Dream Trip". If we put aside those negative news, his songs have had a great impact on both Japan and Hong Kong and Taiwan music scenes.

Kondo Mahiko continues the characteristics of Yumi Goto in style and promotes it. It was also during this period that Johnniez became an important force in the Japanese entertainment industry. Kitakawa himself became the number one producer and boss in the Japanese entertainment industry because of his excellent management methods and keen grasp of the trend of the trend. Kondo Mahiko on the cover of

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However, Kondo Mahiko is hot and cold. In 1989, Akina Nakamori committed suicide by cutting his wrist at his residence. Kondo sent him to the hospital and was rescued.Although both sides have not explained the reason yet, most public opinion at that time speculated that it was related to Kondo. He faded out of the entertainment industry in the early 1990s, but he still maintains his identity as a director of the Johnniez firm, which shows his contribution and Kitakawa's emphasis on him.

html Another top player in the 180s was the youth team known as the starting point of the Johnny's idol group. These three young people who once danced with Maki Kondo - Higashiyama Kino , Nishikori Ichiki, and Uekura Katsuhiko debuted in 1985 with the song "Dance and Dance Party", starting their legendary acting career for more than 30 years.

Youth Team.

Youth Team and the Kitten Club (producer Akimoto Yasuhima ) that debuted at the same time together became the two peaks of the Japanese men and women idol group in the 1980s, and their organizational form, character image, development route, and music form had a profound impact on the entire Asian music scene. It can be said that starting from the youth team, the Japanese entertainment industry began to enter a period of mainly idol groups. This has caused imitation in other parts of Asia, such as the replica of the Junior Team in Taiwan, China, Little Tiger Team .

The template referenced when the Little Tigers was formed was the Youth Team, whether it was the character image, music style, or stage style. Their popular songs, such as "Green Apple Paradise", simply cover the Youth Team's "What's your name?" 》. In mainland China, Shijunfeng, the brokerage company of TFBOYS, which is popular all over the country, also fully draws on Johnny's training model.

The Little Tigers in the early stage of team formation.

At present, in addition to Mahiko Kondo, Kiyuki Higashiyama (a few artists directly recruited by Kitakawa) of the youth team were also recruited by Kitakawa into the management of Gitakawa and became one of the directors.

90s: SMAP and Lan encountered peak and hidden worries

Time entered the 1990s, and Johnny's firm formed a large number of male idol groups, the most representative of which were two popular Japanese national groups - SMAP and Lan ArasHI. Based on the youth team, SMAP and Lan are more versatile, with varying members' images and different personalities.

Take SMAP as an example. SMAP of five people provides fans with more choices, and members are no longer limited to singing. For example, , Nakajimasahiro and , Inagki Goro , who are passionate about variety shows and hosting, , Kimura Takuya , Kasuko Shingo, and Kusama Takashi. Among them, " Long Holiday " starring Kimura Takuya has entered the top ten in the historical viewership rankings of Japanese TV series with an average rating of 36%. If you want to select the most popular group in Asia in the 1990s, then the number one can only be SMAP.

Poster of "Long Holiday" starring Takuya Kimura.

Compared with SMAP, which flourishes in the international market, ARASHI is more inclined to the domestic Japanese market. ARASHI, which debuted in 1999, has truly achieved the full bloom of film and television songs, and has served as the host of the Japanese Red and White Song Festival from 2010 to 2018 (except in 2015), which shows its popularity and status.

started in the 1990s to 2016. It was the most glorious period between Johnniez and President Kitakawa. His subordinates included many popular male idol groups including SMAP, ARASHI, Kanba, and hey says jump. Kitakawa has also become a godfather of idols in the industry. His empire involves all aspects of the Japanese entertainment industry.

SMAP combination.

However, hidden worries still exist. In 2016, Japanese media reported that SMAP's agent Mitochi Iijima withdrew from the firm due to the battle for the president's heirs, and SMAP also announced its disbandment on the same day. On December 26, 2016, the 20-year variety show "SMAP×SMAP" aired ended, which was a huge blow to Kitakawa and Johnnies. With the rise of large-scale group idol groups represented by Yasushi Akimoto's AKB series and the Sakamichi series of Sony , Johnnie's small and exquisite idol groups are becoming increasingly lacking in competitiveness. Although there are still strong combinations, there will be a day to disband sooner or later. The biggest hidden worries of the Kitakawa Empire in the later period were the ones that had no successors and the bottleneck of the development model.

This time is not the time: artists are in constant turmoil, and the company is in chaos

Kitakawa suddenly passed away, leaving behind a mess with Johnnys, which also made fans worried about the future of its artists.

Not only that, Johnniez, who was once known for his strict management, has more and more scandals about his artists. In 2015, Junnosuke Taguchi, a member of the group Kat-Tun of the Johnnie group, suddenly announced his solo flight in the live broadcast. There are many different opinions on the reason for the solo flight, but this way of directly termination of the contract without communicating with the company was Johnnie's first time, which shows the chaos in management. In early 2019, Junnosuke Taguchi was arrested for taking drugs and revealed that he had started taking drugs 10 years ago, which casts a shadow on the Johnnie firm.

Lan ARASHI combination.

In addition to Junnosuke Taguchi, in April 2018, Takashi Yamaguchi, a member of the group TOKIO of the Johnnie group, also called a female high school student to the apartment for forced kissing and forced drinking, and was later sent to the Tokyo District Procuratorate. Faced with the ensuing public opinion storm, Kitakawa, who was in his 80s, rarely sent an apology letter to calm public opinion.

On June 6, 2018, the magazine "Weekly Funchun" revealed that NEWS members Keiichiro Oyama and Nariki Kato forced underage women to drink while attending the party. Two months later, Ryo Nishido, a member of the popular group of Johnnith, was revealed to have an inappropriate relationship with married women. President Kitakawa, who was 86 years old at the time, once again stood at the center of public opinion.

The people are gone, but Johnny's road still needs to continue. The high-level officials are fighting openly and secretly, and the artists are constantly scandal. Whether Johnny's in the storm can bear Johnny Kitakawa's expectations and dreams will take time to test.

□Yuan Lei (Entertainment Reviewer)

Editor of Beijing News Wu Longzhen Proofreading Zhai Yongjun