Popular Japanese boy band Arashi said yesterday on the 20th anniversary of their debut CD release that they will be visiting Singapore on Sunday. This is the first time they are coming here to meet fans.
In a livestream on their YouTube channel, the five-man band said they will visit Jakarta, Bangkok, Taipei and Singapore as part of their Jet Storm tour. Location and timing details are not available yet. It is not known if the band will hold concerts in the four cities.
Jet Storm is a tour Arashi took on in 2006 to Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea. They reportedly visited these three places in one day on their private jet to meet fans and drum up publicity for their tour.
Arashi are one of the most successful Japanese bands and the members are often touted as national idols in the country. They were selected to perform at an upcoming festival celebrating the enthronement of Emperor Naruhito, who ascended to Japan’s Chrysanthemum Throne this year.
The band, which debuted in 1999 under management agency Johnny & Associates, also announced that they now have official social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook and Chinese microblogging site Weibo.
They opened their official YouTube channel last month.
Arashi are the first major act under Johnny & Associates to have several official social media channels.
All 64 of the group’s single releases and their 65th – Turning Up, which was released yesterday – began streaming worldwide yesterday on music streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music.
Member Jun Matsumoto, 36, says: “We wanted our fans to be able to enjoy our music at any time such that even when we go on our hiatus, they won’t feel lonely.”
In January, the band announced an indefinite hiatus from the end of next year, after leader Satoshi Ohno, 38, said he wanted to take a break to pursue other interests.
Matsumoto adds: “It was the late Johnny Kitagawa’s dream that fans around the world can enjoy our music.”
Kitagawa, founder of Johnny & Associates, died in July at age 87.
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