Former SMAP member Shingo Katori’s appearance on terrestrial TV is a shocking story! The topic of discussion is his “fan-first” attitude!

Former SMAP member Shingo Katori appeared on the November 16 broadcast of the music special program “Best Hit Songs Festival 2023” (NTV).’ Although he has not had the opportunity to perform on terrestrial TV since the group’s dissolution in 2004, he received a string of rave reviews on social networking sites. In addition, Katori took on the role of Beat Takeshi in a drama reenactment in “Nobody Knows Akashiya Sanma Part 9” (aired on the 26th of the same month). This too received high praise from viewers, showing the high quality of both singing and acting on TV after a long absence.

Katori is a veteran performer with more than 30 years of experience, having joined the former Johnny’s office (now SMILE-UP.) when he was in the 5th grade of elementary school. After leaving the office in 2005, she has been working under former SMAP chief manager Michi Iijima, and has also released songs as a solo artist.

Katori sang “BETTING,” a song in collaboration with the 13-member Korean group SEVENTEEN, at the “Best Hit Song Festival. With his dynamic singing voice and sharp dance moves, he showed off the charm of the “Shingo Katori of today” to the fullest. This was the first time I had seen a solo performance,

I’ve never seen a solo performance before, but Shingo Katori is so cool now!
Shingo, I was surprised to see that your singing has gotten so much better since your SMAP days. Amazing!
Shingo-chan, of course you’re a great singer, but you’re also really cool!　I hope you’ll appear on other music shows!

I wonder if he’ll appear on other music shows. Katori continued to raise his stock in “Nobody Knows Akashiya-sanma,” in which he appeared on the VTR.

He played the role of Beat Takeshi in the special drama. The main character, Akashiya Sanma, was played by Gosuke Iwata (EXILE, J SOUL BROTHERS 3rd from EXILE TRIBE), and the story depicted their friendship when they were young. Katori, in particular, was a perfect Takeji in the way he walked, how he looked, and even the tone of his voice.

Katori’s performance was a hit with viewers,

I was surprised to see that Shingo Katori was exactly like Beat Takeshi.
Shingo Katori’s portrayal of Takeshi looks so much like Takeshi, the way he walks and the way he looks behind him, he looks just like Takeshi. It’s more than just a role.

He was well received by the audience.

On November 18, Katori held a solo concert “Black Rabbit” at the Hiroshima Bunka Gakuen HBG Hall in Hiroshima Prefecture. During the MC time of his solo concert “Black Rabbit” (held at the Hiroshima Bunka Gakuen HBG Hall in Hiroshima Prefecture), Katori revealed the backstory of the “Best Hit Song Festival” two days earlier.

The show was broadcast live from Osaka-jo Hall, and the members of the New Map fan club, a joint official fan site of Katori, former SMAP member Goro Inagaki, and Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, were invited to watch the show. On the day of the event, not only their fans, known as “NAKAMA,” but also fans of several other artists gathered at the venue. Therefore, Katori checked with the staff in advance to see where NAKAMA would be sitting.

However, the designated seats were in different places, so he waved in all directions. Because he told this backstage story at the Hiroshima concert, some people said, “I was shocked to hear that Shingo got a seating chart from the staff and confirmed NAKAMA’s location in the audience. It’s too amazing.” “What kind of artist would go to such lengths? I was shocked to hear that Shingo got a seating chart from the staff and checked NAKAMA’s place in the audience.

In the “Best Hit Song Festival,” while Katori was singing “BETTING,” he got off the stage in the aisle between the audience seats. At this time, he proceeded in the direction of the camera while dancing, then backed up for a moment, returned, and started walking toward the front again. ……

As a matter of fact, there was a woman standing right next to him with a towel scarf, one of Katori’s tour goods, around her neck. When she stepped back, Katori looked down the aisle to check her position, so it must have been a deliberate move.

Fans who checked the singing video again after learning the episode of “checking the seat” commented, “The reason she stepped back once next to the aisle was because NAKAMA was there with a towel next to her, so she was doing fan service for us! I was impressed by Katori’s idol spirit, saying, “I cried when NAKAMA showed me the seating chart and gave fan service to NAKAMA.

Katori, who cares about his fans, will continue to bring happiness to many people.