Sanma Akashiya Joins Takuya Kimura’s Album: Fans Disappointed Despite Star-Studded Lineup

Takuya Kimura has revealed that he will release his third original album, “SEE YOU THERE,” on August 14 this year. It has been noted that despite receiving song contributions from eight artists with whom he shares a close relationship, including some from his SMAP days, there are fans who have expressed disappointment at the collaborations.

After the dissolution of SMAP at the end of 2016, Kimura focused on his acting career for a while. In January 2020, he released his first solo album, “Go with the Flow,” marking a serious return to music. This upcoming album, coming 2 years and 7 months after “Next Destination,” released in January 2022, has been eagerly awaited by fans who are expressing their joy on social media.

According to the announcement, the album features contributions from a lineup of distinguished artists such as AI, Uru, Toshinobu Kubota, Mariya Takeuchi, Tsuyoshi Domoto (KinKi Kids), Ryota Yanagisawa (SUPER BEAVER), and Takuro Yoshida, along with the participation of entertainer Sanma Akashiya. Kimura and Sanma have a personal relationship and previously co-starred in the 2002 drama series “Sora Kara Furu Ichioku no Hoshi” (Fuji TV), with their subsequent New Year special “Sanma” becoming an annual tradition.

Sanma, who shares a private friendship with Kimura, previously attempted lyric writing on the track “Born ready” from Kimura’s previous album, “Next Destination.” For the new album, he took on lyric writing duties for the song “Menu.” On the official website, Sanma commented, “During our last ‘Sanma’ trip to Amami Oshima, Kimura remembered me saying I would write a ballad for his next album, so I decided to challenge lyric writing once again.”

Additionally, Domoto mentioned that he received an offer from Kimura, his senior, and expressed, “I never dreamed such a day would come in my life. Please enjoy the dance number where his charisma fills the gaps between the notes.”

Furthermore, despite retiring from music activities in December 2022, Takuro Yoshida accepted Kimura’s enthusiastic offer and composed the lyrics and music for “The Moment I Touched Your Air.”

After details of the album were revealed, several negative comments emerged from internet users:

“Using only well-known artists for the album production isn’t interesting. Does he lack confidence in his own singing?”

“He always gathers a star-studded lineup for his albums. Just like in dramas, it seems he can’t succeed without surrounding himself with big names.”

“I want to hear Kimura-kun’s music with new, undiscovered talents or challenging collaborations. It feels dull when it’s just big names around.”

In addition, some fans who have been following Kimura on social media expressed disappointment:

“I thought his album was finally being released, but Sanma again… Why does he always have to include Sanma?”

“I don’t mind them being friends in private, but I wish they wouldn’t collaborate professionally.”

“It gives off the same old impression of always using the same people. There’s no evolution or new chemistry, so it’s not exciting.”

“There are fans who feel that the lineup involved in Kimura’s new album lacks freshness. In this album, Kimura covers ‘Kokoroe,’ the theme song of his starring drama ‘Kazama Kosuke – Kyojo Zero’ (Fuji TV), originally by Uru. Uru had previously provided two songs, ‘Sunset Bench’ and ‘I wanna say I love you,’ for Kimura’s first album ‘Go with the Flow,'” noted an entertainment writer.

Kubota composed Kimura’s solo song “Style,” featured on SMAP’s album “super.modern.artistic.performance” (released in 2008). Kimura also collaborated with Takeuchi on her single “Kon’ya wa Hearty Party” (released in 1995). The writer further pointed out, “Even with Sanma, they have a longstanding relationship, so the lineup doesn’t offer much novelty.”

However, despite these sentiments, the previous album performed well, achieving first place on the “Oricon Weekly Combined Album Rankings” announced on January 28, 2022. This high expectation for Kimura may have contributed to such comments.

On Kimura’s official YouTube channel, a video of the song “Stay Safe,” provided by AI, was uploaded on May 28. While it hasn’t exploded in views (with around 280,000 views as of June 7), the sales of this album itself are anticipated to grow. All eyes are on the results.