The Identity of the “Traitor” Who Drove SMAP to the Edge of the Cliff Immediately after Their Debut

In the previous article, “[On the Eve of SMAP’s Birth] The Fearless Ability of ‘Shonen-tai’ and ‘Hikaru Genji’ to Fulfill Janie Kitagawa’s Ideals,” we discussed the two groups that brought the Johnny’s office to its peak just before SMAP’s debut.

‘SMAP Can’t Dance.’

SMAP were abandoned children. They were not Johnny’s’s elite. They were dropouts.

Six members were selected from the members of the Skate Boys, who danced in the background at the height of Hikaru Genji’s popularity, and formed in April 1988. Here is a list of the members at that time in order of age.

Masahiro Nakai (15 years old)
Takuya Kimura (15)
Goro Inagaki (14)
Katsuyuki Mori (14)
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (13)
Shingo Katori (11)

Nakai and Kimura were just after entering high school. Katori is still in elementary school. The group gives the impression of being not only disparate in age, but also disjointed.

The name “SMAP,” an acronym for “Sports Music Assemble People,” does not ring a bell at all, to be honest. At first, it seemed to be a meaningless symbol.

On New Year’s Day 1991, three years after their formation, SMAP held their first concert at the Nippon Budokan. The three performances, day and night, were fully booked. But …….

By the third time on stage, they were out of tune and their dancing was disjointed. Their smiles were drawn back. She had no stamina. However, the record company representative gave her a cruel warning. She was scheduled to make her debut in April, but the company told her that they would not be releasing her. The songs were too bad.
(Nakagawa, Usuke, “SMAP to Heisei” [SMAP and Heisei], Asahi Shinsho)

In the beginning, it was often said that SMAP could neither sing nor dance well. Later, Masahiro Nakai’s tone-deafness even became a topic of conversation. Even in 2015, the year before the breakup, Mary Kitagawa publicly stated, “SMAP can’t dance,” according to the January 29 issue of Shukan Bunshun (weekly magazine).

SMAP were abandoned children. What on earth had abandoned them?

Abandoned by both the hit and the times

It’s Janney Kitagawa. No, I am sure that Janney brought SMAP into the world with the love they deserved.

Let me restate this accurately.

It was abandoned by Janney Kitagawa’s “sense of value.

What are values?　For Janney, who began producing idols after being moved by the musical film “West Side Story,” the brilliance of the boys singing and dancing was supreme.

With Shonen-tai and Hikaru Genji, this was achieved. For example, all three members of Shonen-tai could do backflips. SMAP, their juniors, have no such acrobatic skills (only Kusanagi Tsuyoshi can do backflips). Their singing is terrible and their dancing is a lousy …… dropout. They were totally “abandoned” by Johnny’s aesthetics.

The next time they were abandoned was when they hit …….

On September 9, 1991, late from their original schedule, they released their debut song “Can`t Stop! -LOVING-” was released. It was the first number 2 on the Oricon hit chart. This was its highest position, and it finally failed to reach the top.

Both Shonen-tai and Hikaru Genji’s debut songs debuted at No. 1 on the charts. They took their time before their debut, prepared carefully, and suddenly reached the top of the charts the moment they were released to the public. That was Johnny’s way. The 150,000 copies sold was said to be one of the lowest for the agency at the time.

With the release of the second single “Justice no Omikata wa Rikuninai” on December 6 of the same year, the highest chart position plummeted to a whopping No. 10. After that, it continued to languish at No. 3, No. 5, No. 8, No. 7 …… and on and on.

It was not until their twelfth song, “Hey Hey Ookini Maidou Ari,” released on March 12, 1994, that SMAP finally reached No. 1 on the charts. It was released on March 12, 1994, a long three years and six months after their debut song.

In Johnny’s, where the mission is to have a number one hit, SMAP had completely fallen short. There must have been little hope for their future as singers. Why had they been abandoned by their hits?

The question then becomes the third point of view.

Yes, SMAP was abandoned by the …… era.

What is the era?　It was from the end of the Showa period to the beginning of the Heisei period. It was the period between the end of the Showa Era and the beginning of the Heisei Era, later called the “bubble economy,” which was in full bloom and then collapsed.

The “amateur manager” who reached out to them

SMAP was formed in April 1988 and released its debut song in September 1991. What exactly happened during those three years and five months?

◎September 1989: “The Best Ten” broadcast ended.
◎October 1990: “Night Hit Studio” ended.

I see…this is it. The Best Ten” was broadcast on TBS for 11 years from 1978. Night Hit Studio” was a long-running program that had continued for 22 years since 1968. The two major primetime singing programs came to an end one after the other during this period.

All of the older groups, including the Tanokin trio, Shibukitai, Shonen-tai, and Hikaru Genji, gained nationwide popularity by showing up to sing and dance on both shows. But ……. By the time SMAP debuted, that stage had faded away. NTV’s “The Top Ten” had also ended earlier (in March 1986). Around this time, singing programs disappeared one after another, depriving idol singers of the opportunity to make their debut. It was also called the “Idol Winter Era.

It was in the midst of such a winter period that SMAP, of all groups, started out as an idol group. It was bad luck, one can only say.

SMAP had been ruthlessly abandoned by the times.

They were abandoned by Janie Kitagawa, by their hits, and by the times. It was a triple whammy. They were the down-and-out group of the office. They are unsuccessful idols. There was no sign that they would ever become popular.

It was no surprise that they disappeared without a trace of success. The values of the Johnny’s office up to that point, the production of Johnny Kitagawa and the management of Mary Kitagawa – even with the power and shrewdness of these two wheels, it would have been extremely difficult for them to make it. It seemed obvious.

Let’s put it simply: SMAP is the disqualified group of Johnny’s idols.

They were about to be completely discarded.

……That’s when it happened.

A woman, unable to bear to look on, spoke up.

I want to do something about SMAP. I want to help these kids.

I am not a creator. Not even a manager. She was a clerk at the Johnny’s office.

He was Michi Iijima.

The people around him looked at him coldly.

What in the world can an unsuccessful idol and an amateur clerk do?

It was only natural that they would think so. But fate is a funny thing. In the darkness of the bottom, a ray of light eventually shines through like a miracle.

In the next article, “[From B-grade idol to a completely different person] The ‘historic shift’ made by manager Michi Iijima on the eve of SMAP’s breakthrough,” we will take a look at the unexpected work that SMAP did before their big break and the path they took on their way up the ladder.