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

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.