SMAP To Do Theme For New Kusanagi Drama

SMAP member Kusanagi Tsuyoshi is starring in a new drama called "Ninkyo Helper", and he and his SMAP brothers will be providing the show's theme song!

The song, "Sotto Gyutto" (Gently tightly) will be SMAP's 44th single, and is set for release on August 26th. It will have been approximately one year since the release of SMAP's last single, "Kono Toki, Kitto Yume Ja Nai" in August of 2008. The song's music was written by hit-maker Kubota Toshinobu with lyrics by Aso Tetsurou, who also wrote the lyrics for SMAP's "Dear WOMAN". Kubota previously wrote the music for Kimura Takuya's solo song "Style", but it was his first time to write for a SMAP single.

"Ninkyo Helper" begins running on July 9th on Fuji TV, Thursday nights at 10 PM. Speaking of SMAP's participation in the drama, Kusanagi said, "I'm very happy that our group has performed the theme. I sometimes hear it while we're filming, and I find it gives me strength. I hope my co-stars feel the same way."

Source: musicjapanplus

SMAP to Promote Softbank Mobile

The fathers of the Johnny's revolution are going to be advertising for telephone service company Softbank come August. Commercials that will begin running then will feature all 5 members of the smash boyband, including renaissance man Kimura Takuya, whose beautiful smile can be hard to miss here in Japan.

The group will be advertising some new part of Softbank's service, the details of which have not yet been announced.

Source: music japan

NHK and Johnny's reportedly feuding

Clothing-averse pop star Tsuyoshi Kusanagi might be back on the celebrity circuit again, but his lightning-fast rehabilitation hasn’t come without the odd hitch. Weekly magazine Shunkan Bunshun reported in its June 11 edition on a feud between NHK and Johnny’s, the imperious talent agency behind Kusanagi’s supergroup, SMAP.

In an article rich in sensationalism and low on specifics, the magazine claimed that NHK had incurred the wrath of Johnny’s after it defied a request from the agency not to transmit a live broadcast of the press conference held with Kusanagi after his arrest.

As a result, it seems that the broadcaster wasn’t even invited to the soft-focus conference held with Kusanagi on May 28, prior to his TV comeback.

Does this mean that SMAP won’t be appearing on NHK’s end-of-year extravaganza, “Kohaku Uta Gassen?” Your guess is as good as ours. (Metropolis)

Source: japan today