Johnny’s Reaches Number One in the U.S. Five Years After Johnny Kitagawa’s Death as Takizawa Hideaki Fulfills His Dream

On April 15, three young Japanese men took the stage at one of the world’s largest music festivals, Coachella.

“We are Number_i!”

With that shout, they transitioned from a provocative rap style to intense dance numbers, and the venue erupted with excitement.

It was an impressive performance.

I thought, ‘I’ve witnessed a historic moment.’

How would that person have seen it?

Coachella is a vast plain in Southern California. The same California coastline where, 93 years ago, that person was born in Los Angeles. John Hiromu Kitagawa, yes, Johnny Kitagawa.

He was a legendary figure who transformed the Japanese entertainment industry. Everyone knows his name, but no one has ever seen his face. He never appeared on television even once. However, he did make a single radio appearance in his lifetime (on NHK Radio’s Ninagawa Yukio’s Crossover Talk, broadcast in January 2015).

Johnny spoke warmly with his old friend Yukio Ninagawa. At the beginning, he requested a particular song. The narrator introduces it.

—-Now, let’s present a song that holds special memories for Johnny. Johnny’s Entertainment, which boasts many stars with fans around the world, might have had a song that could have reached number one in the U.S. 50 years ago. In 1964, Johnny’s Entertainment’s first idol group, Johnny’s, debuted, and two years later, in 1966, they traveled to America for serious dance lessons. At that time, Johnny’s friend, Don Adrich, and his brother Dick Adrich, gave Johnny’s a song they had created, suggesting that Johnny’s should perform it. The moment Johnny heard the song, he was convinced it would definitely sell. However, the deal fell through, and the following year, another group released it. That song was ‘Never My Love,’ performed by The Association, which went on to become a number one hit in the U.S.

Johnny Kitagawa’s comment was introduced:

“Actually, this was Johnny’s song. It could have been the song that made Johnny’s number one in the U.S.”

 

 

At the end of his gaze was his ‘homeland,’ America.

What if things had turned out differently? It remains a grand ‘if’ in history.

‘Never My Love’ was subsequently covered by groups like The Four Leaves (1972), Teruhiko Aoi (1977), and Shonentai (1996). For Johnny Kitagawa, this song became a lifelong obsession. Especially noteworthy is the cover by A.B.C-Z in 2013, which likely held particular significance for him.

A.B.C-Z performed the song in the play ‘Johnny’s Legend,’ celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Johnny’s group. At the age of 82, Johnny Kitagawa, five years before his death, was trying to return to the dreams of youth from half a century ago.

What was Johnny Kitagawa’s life, spanning 87 years, truly about? Where was he trying to go? Musician and critic Yoshio Otani made the following comment (co-authored by Kenro Hayami and Toshihiro Yano, ‘Johnny Research!’ <Hara Shobo>, 2012).

“It’s because Johnny-san is a foreigner. In other words, he never really intended to root himself in Japan. He probably still sees Japan as a foreign place, or rather, as a colony of America. Japan might seem to him like a fantastical fairyland, and he might believe that he will eventually wake up from this dream and return to America (laughs).”

Johnny Kitagawa had to return to America! This is a suggestive statement. In the end, that did not happen. He passed away in July 2019 at the age of 87. A grand farewell ceremony was held at Tokyo Dome, and he was mourned almost nationally. He never returned to his homeland, America, and instead, he rested eternally on the distant land of Japan.

What happened afterward? The once-great legend is now condemned as the worst sexual predator in human history. Consequently, Johnny & Associates has ultimately ceased to exist. The group Johnny Kitagawa debuted at the end of his life was King & Prince.

Who was the object of the ‘unattainable love’?

Formed in the spring of 2015 as a six-member group, they debuted in the spring of 2018 with ‘Cinderella Girl.’ One of the members, Genki Iwahashi, left after a long period of hiatus. After Johnny Kitagawa’s death, three members—Yuta Kishi, Sho Hirano, and Yuta Jinguji—also left the group. Why?

It is said that the members had dreams of working overseas, but were blocked by the agency. Just before his departure, Sho Hirano wrote this in his final official blog post.

“Sorry, Johnny! We didn’t reach our goal!! But if we’re told we can’t do it, there’s nothing we can do!!! I guess I’ll get scolded if we meet in heaven, haha.”

However, the three members who left King & Prince and departed from Johnny & Associates later reunited and debuted with another agency. That group is Number_i.

Their debut song “GOAT” had its music video reach 10 million views within three days and topped the world charts. It also shone at the top of the iTunes Hip-Hop chart in the U.S. The song “Never My Love,” which might have made the original Johnny’s group a number one hit in the U.S. in the mid-60s, is translated in Japanese as “Kanawanui Koi” (Unrequited Love). For Johnny Kitagawa, the object of this “Unrequited Love” was, indeed, America.

However, after more than half a century, the three young men from the former King & Prince, who later became Number_i, have finally fulfilled that “unattainable love.” They stood on the shining stage of California, the birthplace of Johnny Kitagawa, and the homeland of his dreams. Who made this possible?

That’s right, it was that man. On the day of the funeral five years ago, he sat in the front passenger seat of the hearse, holding Johnny Kitagawa’s portrait close to his chest.

— It was Hideaki Takizawa.

In the next article, ” [Some Called Him the One and Only KinKi Kids] The Shocking Upbringing That Made Takizawa Hideaki ‘Little Johnny-san’ “, we will report in detail how Takizawa Hideaki inherited the characteristics of his senior idols such as Higashiyama Noriyuki and KinKi Kids.