SO YOU WANT TO BE A FANGIRL

Years and years ago, Johnny H. Kitagawa had a dream... a dream to surround himself with hordes of dancing, shirtless boys. And lo, Johnny's Entertainment began. Johnny's Entertainment is a management company that really has producing male idols down to a science. Johnny's groups include Hikaru Genji (the, I kid you not, rollerskating Johnny's), SMAP (who're not even singers anymore, as much as pure celebrities), Tokio (the Johnny's version of a rock band), KinKi Kids (the Guiness record-breaking, top-selling duo), Arashi (the new pop/rap group), and many others. The Johnny's aren't all perfect, of course. I nearly wet myself laughing every time I see Hikaru Genji skating around. It's a running joke that SMAP leader Nakai-kun can't (and doesn't) sing. KinKi Kids perform some of the cheesiest idol songs I've ever heard in my life. But love them or hate them, Johnny's are extremely talented and well-trained. Most all Johnny's groups are chosen from a giant pool of young boys and adolescents known collectively as Johnny's Junior. The Juniors pay their dues tagging along to other Johnny's concerts and eventually work their way up through a series of small groups to hopefully become big Johnny's stars. By the time they make it big, they know how to do absolutely everything, and make it look easy, too.

In late 1995 a new Johnny's idol group debuted, called V6. Three major things distinguish them from the pack. First of all, they're subdivided into two groups. The older three make up the group 20th Century (ToniSen), while the younger three make up Coming Century (KamiSen). The guys sometimes act as V6, and sometimes as a subgroup. Second, V6 is produced by Avex Trax, the label that also has Hamasaki Ayumi, Amuro Namie, Do As Infinity, Da Pump, trf, and countless others. But most importantly, Avex Trax is home to the Super Eurobeat series, making them the place to go for good techno music. Therefore, many of V6's songs, especially the early ones, had a definite dance/techno beat. Finally, V6 are simply AMAZING performers. They sing, they dance, they perform acrobatics and magic... and that's only within the first few minutes of their concert! Even beyond their skill, though, I love them because they're honestly funny guys. Click on their individual profiles below to learn more about them!

20th Century

a.k.a. ToniSen
Sakamoto Masayuki
Nagano Hiroshi
Inohara Yoshihiko

Coming Century

a.k.a. KamiSen
Morita Go
Miyake Ken
Okada Jun'ichi