That being said, I wonder if the guys (you certainly can't call them "boys" these days--I'm younger than Shingo and "boyhood" left me in 2000) are beginning to show the strain of being tied together for so long. Now, I'm only stating this based on reading body language, since I'm not privy to the gossip rags and blogs that somebody living in Japan would be.
Nonetheless, here's Exhibit A, a retrospective from Music Station of SMAP's hits from 1991 to 2003. I don't know if the SMAPers are either tired, embarassed, or just over it, but they don't necessarily seemed all that enthused by glancing back at their past.
And now, here's Exhibit B: The group's recent appearance at last year's Kouhaku (think the Japanese answer to Eurovision). My kingdom to find out what they were thinking while performing. (Tsuyoshi: Stop blocking me! I'm popular now! Shingo: Move it, Inagaki! I'm trying to sing my bit. Goro: I'm still pretty, right? Takuya: I'm not the one singing flat. Nakai: Money!)
Exhibit C: The video for Dear WOMAN. Now, while there's no question that this song is more about praising the women of Japan as opposed to praising the SMAPers themselves, I can't help but wonder as to why the video is shot with each of the guys singing their bits solo. I know they're busy doing tons of things on their own, but is it that tricky to get them all in a studio together? Or at least shots of them doing something together.
Exhibit D: A live performance of Dear WOMAN, which--for me--seems to have that energy in it that was around Take That right before they announced that they were knackered and bored with each other. The fact that the SMAPers are eerily wearing the same 1970s inspired haircuts as Take That did around 1995-6, might be a reason. It also isn't the most cohesive performance beyond dancing. (I don't remember a SMAP song being this heavy on Tsuyoshi & Shingo, not that I'm complaining.)
Exhibit E: (And I swear I am going to be well and truly SMAPed out after this) The video for Dynamite, a 1997 single which seems to show the lads at least appearing to have fun together.
Exhibit F: (I guess, one can never SMAP too much) The presentation of their latest single on their TV show SMAP x SMAP. The ending conversation is quite funny and passive-agressive, like a group of old men (not that I'm saying they're old!) who love bickering with each other.
Exhibit G: (I swear on Nakai's receding hairline this is the last one) The unintentional hilarity that is Five Respect, which features the SMAPers rapping and praising each other while doing their utmost to actually avoid each other onstage.
Despite all the previous, I still like the SMAPers, and hope they're around for quite sometime. (Supposedly, they have another single coming out in this Spring.)
1 comment:
wow! that was smap-tastic!
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