The “era of Johnny’s dominance” has come to an end… The “latest single” featuring all of Johnny’s talents was unexpectedly defeated by a group of up-and-coming artists.

Artists belonging to STARTO ENTERTAINMENT such as “SUPER EIGHT” and “Snow Man” have released a charity single “WE ARE” under the name “STARTO for you.

It ranked second in the Oricon Weekly Singles Ranking dated August 5, losing out to artists belonging to LDH. The former Johnny’s was once a dominant force in the male idol world, but in recent years other boy groups have emerged.

STARTO ENTERTAINMENT started full-scale operations on April 10 of this year as a management company to replace the former Johnny’s office. This year’s “WE ARE” featured 75 members from 14 groups, ranging from NEWS to the “Ae! group, which made its CD debut in May, and all proceeds will be donated to the victims of the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake that struck at the beginning of the year (both singles and downloads will be available until December 31 of this year).

The CD of “WE ARE” sold 144,001 copies on the first day of its release and ranked No. 1 on the Oricon Daily Single Ranking dated July 23, 2012, followed by the single “24karats GOLD” by the young group “THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE” belonging to LDH. GENESIS” of “THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE,” a young group belonging to LDH, was in the lineup.

What caught the attention of fans was its sales. The single of “THE RAMPAGE” recorded 134,156 copies. Fans on X (formerly Twitter) were surprised that the difference was not as large as they had expected. The song is sung by popular groups such as “Snow Man,” “SixTONES,” and “Naniwa Boys,” which are the most popular groups in the world today. ……” (entertainment writer)

Perhaps feeling impatient, the STARTO side later announced that a lottery would be held at CD stores nationwide to give away special prizes. The winner of the lottery was a B5-size clear file or A4-size clear poster featuring the members’ photos.

The official website of the album also announced the stores where the lottery was held and the EC sites (Tower Records Online and HMV Online). It seems that the special offers were added “after the fact” after the release.

In contrast, “THE RAMPAGE” held “THE RAMPAGE NEW SINGLE “24karats GOLD GENESIS” Release Fan Meeting” from July 8 to 29 at various locations. Purchasers of the single at the event could participate in a special event on a first-come, first-served basis. The members who appeared at each venue were different, and “THE RAMPAGE” was divided into three teams that traveled around the country.

Perhaps the CD sales from the “Fan Meeting” added to the total, “THE RAMPAGE” eventually overtook “STARTO for you” to take the No. 1 spot, and “24karats GOLD GENESIS” by “THE RAMPAGE” sold 219,758 copies in the Oricon Weekly Single Ranking dated August 5, 2012. STARTO for you’s “WE ARE” was No. 2, selling 206,569 copies in its first week.

WE ARE” itself had been available as a digital single from April 10, 9 p.m., prior to the CD release, and reached No. 1 on the Oricon Daily Digital Single (single song) Ranking dated April 10, but with only 6,980 downloads. On the other hand, Snow Man’s “BREAKOUT / You are mine” sold 834,000 copies on the first day in the Daily Single Ranking dated July 30. Rather than a decline in the popularity of the STARTO group, this time the song was not very popular even among fans ……. Or perhaps there were not enough fans eager to contribute to the sales of the group’s joint single.

In addition to CDs, there have been other recent events that show the momentum of boy groups other than the STARTO group. The magazine “Shushoku de Shugyo de Chosen Daigaku” (Asahi Shinbun Publishing) featured Ryoeru Kawashima of Travis Japan (then Johnny’s Jr.) on the cover of its 2006 edition, and since then, Ryohei Abe of Snow Man (2007 edition), Ren Nagase of King & Prince, and Ryohei Kawashima of Travis Japan have been featured on the cover of the same magazine. Prince” Ren Nagase (2008 edition), and other juniors who attended college were also selected for the cover. Last August’s edition of “Universities Selected for Their Employment Power 2024” featured on its cover Tobiki Ukisho of the junior unit “Bishonen,” who was (at the time) a student at Rikkyo University’s Faculty of Law.

However, the cover of the August 30 issue of “Universities Selected for Their Employability 2025” features Xu Fengfang of the 11-member boy group INI, which emerged from the survival audition program “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SEASON 2. Xu, a native of China, is a highly educated member who graduated from Keio University, so he must have been the obvious choice.

It seems that the trend of the times in the boy group industry, including CD sales, is certainly changing.