|
Have I expounded on TV "Talento"? TV Talents are all the rage here. I think I have discussed them a bit before, but I would like to say more (if not repeat myself). Talento are big time celebrities in Japan. They can be found on your favorite TV station. For the most part, they will only be found on that respective TV station. You'll see them in commercials, on game shows, on the season's drama for xxxx night (singing the TV's theme song), on the music shows, and possibly hosting his or her own variety show. They do it ALL. And what's more, most of these talents became stars when they were in elementary school or jr. high school. Many of the male talento that are popular today, started their careers in a dance group called "Johnnys' Jr.". This group is still around today, with at least 25 young boy members. If any of you happen to remember Menudo, I guess this group is a bit like it. Johnnys' Jr. boys dance, and can be seen as back up for many shows and many singers. A few of the members do sing, but the main job is to dance. North American and European groups tend to have back-up singers to add flare, but Japanese groups use dancers. To tell you the truth, I think that singing ability is often the last ability these kids need to have in order to become talento. So let's follow the career paths of the members of the singing group, SMAP. These guys are now in their early 20's, but have been famous for many years. They began their careers in Johnny's Jr. as dancers. Once they hit puberty, it was about time to move on, to make room for younger boys to join the group. These boys eventually formed the group, SMAP. They have released a few albums, and are all the rage. They star in commercials for everything from whiskey to bug repellent. In any given season, I can find at least 2 of the 5 members on a TV drama. They also have their own show, "SMAP X SMAP". I am not sure, but I think it is on at least 3 days a week. It is a combination of a variety show like "Saturday Night Live" and talk show where 4 of the members cook a woman's favorite foods (this segment is called "SMAP Bistro). The last 15 minutes of the show are dedicated either to the guys sitting back stage talking about whatever, or a music segment. Some of these music segments are a riot. The guys really CAN'T sing, and it is really obvious when a guest singer has joined them . They dance around, and sing, and have cool special affects. Sometimes they have back up dancers, usually black men. (That's another thing... If the group is all male, the dancers will be male, and vice versa.) All of the show has the appearance that it was taped, live. I am sure that it isn't broadcast live, but I don't think they ever redo a scene. Sometimes they will be trying really hard to stifle a laugh, but somehow they always manage to go on with the skit. SMAP also does special shows, featuring only one member. One week, a member went to live with a family as a single parent. He played with the children, cooked, took them out, did everything a parent would have to do. It wasn't terribly interesting to me, but the papers raved about it. This past week, Kitamura did a special on ??? I saw only part of it, but I think the title was "The judgment of justice." He dressed up as a pastor, complete with cross, black robe, and stole. He first went to a girl's high school to test whether or not people would pick up cans that had been placed in the hallway. Surprisingly, many students went out of their was to step over the cans, but never made any attempt to dispose of them. Finally, a group of student kicked the 2 cans from the center of the hallway to the side, so they were out of the way. But it wasn't until the second period break, that a girl finally threw the can away. Kitamura did a second test. He took one can, crushed it, and placed it in the hallway. It was there for a long while, stepped over and kicked, before a teacher finally threw it away (many teachers avoided the can, just the as the students did). So, at the end of the day there was an assembly. Everyone gathered in the gym, not knowing a celebrity was in their midst. The lights were dimmed, and suddenly Kitamura stepped out from the curtains, a spotlight trained on him. He gave a little explanation of the day's events and then invited the two who had picked up the cans, to come on stage. He thanked them, knelt, and gave them both a lingering kiss on the top of their hands. The students were in a frenzy! I am sure that all those students, and those watching the program Monday night will never again so easily avoid picking up trash. The next segment was outside Yokohama station. A celebrity friend put on a disguise and went outside to try to solicit money for a shinkansen ride "home." The first guy had no luck, and was eventually told by a policeman to go away. Then Kitamura tried, and had no luck, either. Some people were very rude, some people said they had no money, etc. Then the old friend put on a different disguise to try again. He finally convinced two women to give him the $30. They were then ushered to the van where Kitamura had been watching. He came out of a make-shift chapel, accompanied by smoke machines. He then thanked the women and handed them reward money. Valerie Straayer |