Korean pop artists continue to do well on the Japanese charts. The hugely popular Tohoshinki (known overseas as TVXQ) was reduced from five members to just two (Yoon Ho, 24 and Chan Min, 22) during a troubled year in 2010, but the duo have seen their “debut” single shoot straight to the top of the Oricon weekly chart. “Why? (Keep Your Head Down)” sold more than 230,000 copies in its first week, making it the second best release week for a foreign artist. The only single to have done better was “Break Out,” released in early January 2010 by the original Tohoshinki lineup. The group now has a total of nine No.1’s, also a record for a foreign artist.
The single release was timed to coincide with two concerts by several acts from the SM Entertainment stable of K-pop artists in Tokyo last week. For local fans, the “SMTown Live” shows were the first chance to see their Korean idols in just over a year. But Tohoshinki will be back soon, appearing at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba Prefecture on February 8 to promote their new single.
Meanwhile, at No.2 on the Oricon singles chart is AKB48 member Sakano Yuri (19), whose solo debut “Dear J” has sold 163,000 copies. On top of the album charts is “Supergood, Superbad,” the solo debut from NEWS member Yamashita Tomohisa (25). The Johnny’s Jimusho aidoru has been building a solo career overseas and last weekend launched his first tour of Asia with two shows in Hong Kong.
Japanese-Korean Ikemen Collaboration
Yesterday saw the launch of a new collaboration between young Japanese singer-actors and a Korean dance-vocal unit. D★Date is a pop offshoot of the D-Boys group of Japanese “ikemen” (handsome) actors, while Choshinsei is a six-member K-pop boy band also known by their translated name of Supernova. The two groups will face off at a special live performance at Universal Studios Japan on March 21 and recording projects are in the works. Media reports say the groups just “hit it off” when they met by chance at a Tokyo record company last month, but there’s little doubt that the collaboration is manufactured. D★Date debuted in December, with the single “Ato 3cm no Mirai” entering the Oricon chart at No.7, and are scheduled to release a follow up single in the spring. Member Seto Koji (22) is currently appearing in this year’s NHK taiga historical drama series “Go.”
Kara Coming to Tokyo This Week
Another K-pop act that have grabbed a lot of headlines recently, though for mixed reasons, are coming back to Japan. The five-member female unit Kara are said to be arriving in Tokyo on February 3 and will be in town for about a week to film the TV Tokyo drama “Urakara.” The group only recently announced that they would be getting back to work with the original lineup, after contractual disputes had them on the verge of breaking up at the end of last year, so filming of the mini-series has been considerably delayed. The episode scheduled to be aired on February 4 will be replaced by a digest of the first three episodes.