The Good

Previous to the company present process dramatic modifications this fall, the entity-formerly-known-as-Johnny’s (critically, I don’t even know what to name it!) had a strong sufficient begin to the yr. Its acts continued to dominate, with report gross sales numbers for King & Prince forward of their reconfiguration and Snow Man main the cost for the company’s new acts.

I don’t assume these preliminary months unveiled any traditional songs, however most artists continued to chug alongside. Travis Japan is slowly getting off the bottom with stronger music. Information celebrated their twentieth anniversary with a triumphant victory lap and clearly-defined sound. And, we obtained robust albums from Horny Zone, KAT-TUN and Snow Man.

Naniwa Danshi unveiled a flurry of latest releases this yr, including gasoline to their already profitable roll-out. Johnny’s West (now known as WEST.) really feel very snug with their sound and are taking increasingly more inventive management as their profession goes on. Their tenth anniversary subsequent yr needs to be attention-grabbing. SixTONES have additionally carved out a really particular area of interest for themselves inside the company.

As traditional, the entity-formerly-known-as-Johnny’s continued to dominate dramas and leisure reveals, although which will change as we transfer into this new period. Their Junior division additionally stays a big aspect of their success, with many of those yet-to-debut teams scoring huge appearances of their very own.

The Unhealthy

I’m undecided we are able to even grade that-which-shall-not-be-called-Johnny’s in 2023 as a result of they’re at the moment enduring a collapse and rebirth the likes of which we’ve by no means fairly seen from an company this massive. After deceased founder Johnny Kitagawa’s a long time of abuse got here to gentle, Johnny’s is altering the whole lot from its identify to its inside construction. And at the very least for the second, a lot of its skills have been blacklisted from sure industrial offers and leisure appearances. This has lengthy been a dominant issue within the company’s success, so it stays to be seen how (or if) they’ll rebound sooner or later. The truth that none of their artists have been invited to the annual Kōhaku Uta Gassen broadcast doesn’t bode effectively.

I’ve an enormous bone to select with all of this as a result of it feels so hypocritical. Kitagawa’s predatorial conduct has lengthy been an open secret. If a non-Japanese speaker all the way in which from the States knew about it, you higher imagine these firms and industrial entities knew about it as effectively. Their holier than thou angle appears moderately late in coming and feels prefer it’s punishing the company’s artists out of a have to course right when Johnny’s ought to have been pushed on this matter years and years in the past. Actually, I really feel unhealthy for the artists. That’s the place my allegiance lies, and I hope that’s the place the company’s consideration will focus as effectively. Their drastic restructuring feels fairly messy however well-intentioned, so we’ll see if they will flip issues round subsequent yr. Nevertheless, it is a state of affairs that goes effectively past Johnny’s so I hope to see consideration paid to the general leisure system.

Even with out this huge upheaval, it was a less-than-stellar yr for the company. A variety of artists minimize ties, together with members of King & Prince, Kis-My-Ft2 and A.B.C-Z. Junior group IMPACTors additionally departed, becoming a member of Hideaki Takizawa’s TOBE and debuting as IMP. The truth is, TOBE has managed to poach most of those departing artists, rapidly establishing a roster that would ultimately go toe-to-toe with the previous Johnny’s. Given how robust TOBE’s output has been up to now, that’s most likely for the most effective.

Amidst all this drama, the company launched a gradual stream of music. A lot of it was superb, however I can’t assist however really feel underwhelmed by their 2023 output as an entire – at the very least in comparison with different years. Veteran teams Kis-My-Ft2 and Hey! Say! JUMP appear a bit forgotten by the company – particularly the previous. I suppose that is pure when you might have new artists coming in, however I simply hate to see their music soften and change into a shadow of previous glories. I hope 2024 generally is a huge yr for each acts.

Gross sales for the brand new two-member King & Prince have been robust, however I don’t assume the two-member configuration is working. I really like each members. I simply don’t love the music they’ve been given. They’re cooler than the sappy mid-tempos they’ve been saddled with and I don’t see this sustaining in the long term.

After I actually give it some thought, I can’t give you a Johnny’s act that felt actually ascendant in 2023. Most easily maintained their stage of recognition. For heavy hitters like Snow Man, that meant one other very robust yr. However with the load of the leisure world bearing down on the company, I actually hope we are able to see some definitive ahead motion subsequent yr. A lot of that may rely on how their new restructuring is perceived by the J-pop infrastructure. As a result of so many sides of the company stay in flux, I don’t really feel like I can assign an correct grade for 2023.

What I’d prefer to see in 2024:

• The turning of a brand new web page, with a construction that advantages artists and followers
• Extra international outreach the place it counts (ie: international touring, official English subtitles not reliant on fan submissions)
• A full Kis-My-Ft2 album (second yr in a row I’ve wished for this!)
• A couple of huge public hits. That is the time to additional discover streaming providers!

Earlier years: 2022 // 2021